Gamaliel I

Gamaliel I (flourished 1st century ce) was a tanna, one of a select group of Palestinian masters of the Jewish Oral Law, and a teacher twice mentioned in the New Testament. He lived during the early part of the 1st century ce, prior to the Oral Law’s eventual codification in the Mishna.

Gamaliel in Jewish tradition

According to tradition—but not historical fact—Gamaliel succeeded his father, Simon, and his grandfather, the renowned sage Hillel (to whose school of thought he belonged), as nasi (president) of the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish court. It is certain, though, that Gamaliel held a leading position in the Sanhedrin and that he enjoyed the highest repute as a teacher of the Law. He was the first to be given the title rabban (“our master” or “our teacher”). Like his grandfather, Gamaliel was also given the title ha-Zaqen (the Elder). According to tradition, Gamaliel’s grandson was Gamaliel II, also a noted nasi of the Sanhedrin, and his grandson was Judah ha-Nasi (Judah the Prince), who was instrumental in compiling the Mishna.

Gamaliel established a number of lenient ordinances—in particular, laws affecting women and non-Jews. Of his teachings, only one saying is preserved, in the first book of the Pirkei Avot (“Chapters of the Fathers,” often called “Ethics of the Fathers”) within the Mishna: “Make for yourself a mentor, remove yourself from doubt, and do not frequently tithe by estimation.” Gamaliel’s renown is summed up in these words recorded in the Talmud: “When Rabban Gamaliel the Elder died, regard for the Torah [Jewish Law] ceased, and purity and piety died.”

Gamaliel in Christian tradition

The New Testament (Acts 5:34–39) relates that Gamaliel, whom the text refers to as a Pharisee, intervened on behalf of the Apostles of Jesus when they had been seized and brought to the Sanhedrin. Another passage (Acts 22:3) tells how St. Paul, in a speech to Jews, tried to influence them by stating that he had been a student of Gamaliel (“I am a Jew,…brought up…at the feet of Gamaliel”). According to Christian tradition, Gamaliel embraced Christianity and was baptized by St. Peter and St. John. His body was supposedly discovered in the 5th century and transported to a cathedral in Pisa, Italy. In Eastern Orthodoxy he is considered a saint with a feast day of August 2, the supposed day that his relics were found, and among Roman Catholics his feast day is August 3.