Dosetai
Encyclopedia
Dosetai is a Greek
given name
meaning "gift of God". It was extremely popular in late classical Judea
and among Jewish communities in Egypt, and corresponds to the Hebrew "Mattaniah" or "Nethaneel," which seems to have been a favorite one both in Palestine and in Alexandria (Josephus, "Ant." xiii. 9, § 2; xiv. 10, § 18; xv. 6, § 2). It has been borne by the following:
(mishnah Orlah
ii. 5), lived in Kefar Yatma, east of Ariel
, north of Shiloh.
mentioned in a Baraita
(Ber. 7b; Meg. 6b) as the author of a haggadah sentence, which in another place (Derek Ereẓ, ii.) is ascribed to Dosetai b. Judah. According to Yoma 30b, an amora
, also named Dosetai b. Matun, handed down a sentence of Johanan's; but the correct reading is "Justai b. Matun," which is found in the parallel passage, Zeb. 99a, and is confirmed by the Jerusalem Talmud
(Yer. B. K. vii. 6a). On Abba Jose b. Dosetai see Bacher, "Ag. Tan." ii. 388.
. On a journey to Babylon he was ill-treated at Nehardea
by the Jewish-Persian
authorities, and took revenge by giving a satirical description of the latter. The account of the affair is preserved in two different versions (Giṭ. 14a, b; Yer. Giṭ. i. 43d; Yer. Ḳid. iii. 64a). Examples of Dosetai's humor are to be found in his answers to his pupils' questions on the differences between man and woman (Niddah 31b), and in his reply to the question why Jerusalem did not have thermæ like Tiberias: "If Jerusalem had warm springs," he answered, "the pilgrim
s coming up for the feasts would have dwelt on the pleasures of the baths offered them, instead of considering how best to fulfil the regulations for the pilgrimage" (Pes. 8b). The words of Eccl. xi. 6 ("In the morning sow thy seed," etc.) he explained as a reminder to the farmer to be diligent in his sowing and planting (Ab. R. N. iii.). In another sentence (ib. xi.) he showed how the person who does not work during the six week-days will soon find himself compelled to work on the Sabbath
. One of Dosetai's sermons praises alms
giving, interpreting Ps. xvii. 15 thus: "Through charity
shall I see thy face, and enjoy thy sight on awakening" (B. B. 10a).
of the latter half of the 2nd century CE. He was the author of several halakhic sentences (see B. Ḳ. 83b; Ḳid. 69a, and parallels) and transmitted those of Shimon bar Yochai. On one occasion Dosetai's opinion was opposed to that of Judah ha-Nasi, the patriarch ('Ar. 30a). Four interpretations of Deut. xxxii. bear his name (Sifre, Deut. 306, 309, 318, 320; comp. Bacher, "Ag. Tan."ii. 390 et seq.).
Meïr. He asked the latter what was meant by the sentence, "The belly of the wicked shall want" (Prov. xiii. 25), and Meïr answered by relating an incident characteristic of the pagan
's vain and intemperate love of pleasure (Pesiḳ. vi. 59b; Pesiḳ. R. xxvi. 82b; Midr. Mishle xiii. 25 [where instead of Kokaba, Be-Yeshebab is mentioned as the home of Dosetai]; Tan., Pinḥas, 13; Num. R. xxi.). According to another version of this story, Meïr was the questioner and Dosetai the narrator. It is unnecessary to assume (compare Oppenheim in Berliner's '"Magazin," i. 68, and Goldberg in "Ha-Maggid," xii. 62) that "Dosetai" is here a generic term, meaning a Dosithean (see: Bacher, "Ag. Tan." ii. 32).
ic literature as having handed down the sentences of Samuel b. Naḥman and of Levi
(Bacher, "Ag. Pal. Amor." i. 488, 492, 503; ii. 431; iii. 695).
who lived in the Land of Israel
of the early part of the 4th century. 'Ulla
, a native of Biri
in Galilee
, once addressed a halakic question to him (Ab. Zarah 40a). The Babylonian Talmud contains three interpretations of Scripture from Dosetai's sermons, which were perhaps handed down in the schools of Babylon by 'Ulla, who had come up from Palestine
. One of these refers to Num. x. 36 (B. Ḳ. 83a; compare Sifre
to Num. lxxxiv., and the Baraita
, Yeb. 64a); another, to I Sam. xxii. 1 et seq. ('Er. 45a);, while the third is an original exposition showing how David in Ps. xix. 13 et seq. gradually begs forgiveness for his sins, like a Samaritan pedler unfolding his wares one after the other (Sanh. 107a). Palestinian sources do not mention Dosetai of Biri (Bacher, "Ag. Pal. Amor." iii. 695; Krauss, in "Monatsschrift", xli. 561).
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
given name
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
meaning "gift of God". It was extremely popular in late classical Judea
Judea
Judea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
and among Jewish communities in Egypt, and corresponds to the Hebrew "Mattaniah" or "Nethaneel," which seems to have been a favorite one both in Palestine and in Alexandria (Josephus, "Ant." xiii. 9, § 2; xiv. 10, § 18; xv. 6, § 2). It has been borne by the following:
In legend
- In a later Midrashic legend (Tan., Wayesheb, 2; Pirḳe R. El. xxxviii.) Dosetai b. Jannai is the name of one of the two teachers sent by the Assyrian king to convert the pagans who had settled in Eretz Israel (later on, the SamaritanSamaritanThe Samaritans are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant. Religiously, they are the adherents to Samaritanism, an Abrahamic religion closely related to Judaism...
s). The name was probably suggested by its similarity to that of the Samaritan etc. of the Dositheans (Bacher, "Ag. Tan." ii. 385-387). Compare Dositheus.
Dosetai of Kefar Yatma
A pupil of ShammaiShammai
Shammai was a Jewish scholar of the 1st century, and an important figure in Judaism's core work of rabbinic literature, the Mishnah....
(mishnah Orlah
Orlah
Orlah is the tenth tractate of Seder Zeraim of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. It discusses the laws pertaining to any fruit bearing tree, whose fruits cannot be eaten during the first three years the tree produces fruit...
ii. 5), lived in Kefar Yatma, east of Ariel
Ariel (city)
Ariel is an Israeli settlement and a city in the West Bank. Ariel was established in 1978. Its population at the end of 2009 was 17,600, including 7,000 immigrants who came to Israel after 1990. It is the fourth largest Jewish settlement city in the West Bank., after Modi'in Illit, Beitar Illit,...
, north of Shiloh.
Dosetai b. Matun
A TannaTannaim
The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
mentioned in a Baraita
Baraita
Baraita designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. "Baraita" thus refers to teachings "outside" of the six orders of the Mishnah...
(Ber. 7b; Meg. 6b) as the author of a haggadah sentence, which in another place (Derek Ereẓ, ii.) is ascribed to Dosetai b. Judah. According to Yoma 30b, an amora
Amora
Amoraim , were renowned Jewish scholars who "said" or "told over" the teachings of the Oral law, from about 200 to 500 CE in Babylonia and the Land of Israel. Their legal discussions and debates were eventually codified in the Gemara...
, also named Dosetai b. Matun, handed down a sentence of Johanan's; but the correct reading is "Justai b. Matun," which is found in the parallel passage, Zeb. 99a, and is confirmed by the Jerusalem Talmud
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
(Yer. B. K. vii. 6a). On Abba Jose b. Dosetai see Bacher, "Ag. Tan." ii. 388.
Dosetai b. Jannai
Tanna of the latter half of the 2nd century, known especially as having handed down sentences of the tannaim Meïr, Jose b. Ḥalafta, and Eleazer ben ShammuaEleazer ben Shammua
Eleazer ben Shammua or Eleazar I was a Mishnaic teacher of the 4th generation, frequently cited in rabbinic writings without his patronymic . He was of priestly descent and rich Eleazer ben Shammua or Eleazar I (Hebrew: אלעזר בן שמוע) was a Mishnaic teacher of the 4th generation, frequently cited...
. On a journey to Babylon he was ill-treated at Nehardea
Nehardea
Nehardea or Nehardeah was a city of Babylonia, situated at or near the junction of the Euphrates with the Nahr Malka , one of the earliest centers of Babylonian Judaism. As the seat of the exilarch it traced its origin back to King Jehoiachin...
by the Jewish-Persian
Persian Jews
Persian Jews , are Jews historically associated with Iran, traditionally known as Persia in Western sources.Judaism is one of the oldest religions practiced in Iran. The Book of Esther contains some references to the experiences of Jews in Persia...
authorities, and took revenge by giving a satirical description of the latter. The account of the affair is preserved in two different versions (Giṭ. 14a, b; Yer. Giṭ. i. 43d; Yer. Ḳid. iii. 64a). Examples of Dosetai's humor are to be found in his answers to his pupils' questions on the differences between man and woman (Niddah 31b), and in his reply to the question why Jerusalem did not have thermæ like Tiberias: "If Jerusalem had warm springs," he answered, "the pilgrim
Pilgrim
A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journeying to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system...
s coming up for the feasts would have dwelt on the pleasures of the baths offered them, instead of considering how best to fulfil the regulations for the pilgrimage" (Pes. 8b). The words of Eccl. xi. 6 ("In the morning sow thy seed," etc.) he explained as a reminder to the farmer to be diligent in his sowing and planting (Ab. R. N. iii.). In another sentence (ib. xi.) he showed how the person who does not work during the six week-days will soon find himself compelled to work on the Sabbath
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
. One of Dosetai's sermons praises alms
Alms
Alms or almsgiving is a religious rite which, in general, involves giving materially to another as an act of religious virtue.It exists in a number of religions. In Philippine Regions, alms are given as charity to benefit the poor. In Buddhism, alms are given by lay people to monks and nuns to...
giving, interpreting Ps. xvii. 15 thus: "Through charity
Charity (virtue)
In Christian theology charity, or love , means an unlimited loving-kindness toward all others.The term should not be confused with the more restricted modern use of the word charity to mean benevolent giving.- Caritas: altruistic love :...
shall I see thy face, and enjoy thy sight on awakening" (B. B. 10a).
Dosetai b. Judah
He was a TannaTannaim
The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
of the latter half of the 2nd century CE. He was the author of several halakhic sentences (see B. Ḳ. 83b; Ḳid. 69a, and parallels) and transmitted those of Shimon bar Yochai. On one occasion Dosetai's opinion was opposed to that of Judah ha-Nasi, the patriarch ('Ar. 30a). Four interpretations of Deut. xxxii. bear his name (Sifre, Deut. 306, 309, 318, 320; comp. Bacher, "Ag. Tan."ii. 390 et seq.).
Dosetai of Kokaba
He was a contemporary of the tannaTannaim
The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
Meïr. He asked the latter what was meant by the sentence, "The belly of the wicked shall want" (Prov. xiii. 25), and Meïr answered by relating an incident characteristic of the pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
's vain and intemperate love of pleasure (Pesiḳ. vi. 59b; Pesiḳ. R. xxvi. 82b; Midr. Mishle xiii. 25 [where instead of Kokaba, Be-Yeshebab is mentioned as the home of Dosetai]; Tan., Pinḥas, 13; Num. R. xxi.). According to another version of this story, Meïr was the questioner and Dosetai the narrator. It is unnecessary to assume (compare Oppenheim in Berliner's '"Magazin," i. 68, and Goldberg in "Ha-Maggid," xii. 62) that "Dosetai" is here a generic term, meaning a Dosithean (see: Bacher, "Ag. Tan." ii. 32).
Dosetai
the father of Apotriḳi or Patriḳi. (Ḥul. 64b; compare B. M. 5a). He is perhaps the same Patriḳi or Patriḳ who is mentioned as the brother of Derosa (Yer. Yoma iv. 41d). Dosetai the Elder (Yer. Ned. x. 42b; Yer. Hag. i. 76d), mentioned with a younger Dosetai. He is probably the Dosetai frequently referred to in MidrashMidrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
ic literature as having handed down the sentences of Samuel b. Naḥman and of Levi
Levi
Levi/Levy was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi ; however Peake's commentary suggests this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite...
(Bacher, "Ag. Pal. Amor." i. 488, 492, 503; ii. 431; iii. 695).
Dosetai of Biri
He was an amoraAmora
Amoraim , were renowned Jewish scholars who "said" or "told over" the teachings of the Oral law, from about 200 to 500 CE in Babylonia and the Land of Israel. Their legal discussions and debates were eventually codified in the Gemara...
who lived in the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
of the early part of the 4th century. 'Ulla
Ulla (Talmud)
Ulla or Ulla was a Jewish Talmudist and one of the leading Halakhic amoraim in the Land of Israel during the latter part of the third and in the beginning of the fourth centuries CE ....
, a native of Biri
Biri
-Places:*Biri, Norway, a village and former municipality in Norway*Biri, Hungary, a village in Hungary*Biri, Northern Samar, a municipality in the Philippines*Biri, India, a village in Jaunpur, India*Block Island, an island town in Rhode Island, -Places:*Biri, Norway, a village and former...
in Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
, once addressed a halakic question to him (Ab. Zarah 40a). The Babylonian Talmud contains three interpretations of Scripture from Dosetai's sermons, which were perhaps handed down in the schools of Babylon by 'Ulla, who had come up from Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. One of these refers to Num. x. 36 (B. Ḳ. 83a; compare Sifre
Sifre
Sifre refers to either of two works of Midrash halakhah, or classical Jewish legal Biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Bamidbar and Devarim .- The Talmudic-Era Sifre :The title "Sifre debe Rab" is used by R. Hananeel on Sheb. 37b, Alfasi on Pes...
to Num. lxxxiv., and the Baraita
Baraita
Baraita designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. "Baraita" thus refers to teachings "outside" of the six orders of the Mishnah...
, Yeb. 64a); another, to I Sam. xxii. 1 et seq. ('Er. 45a);, while the third is an original exposition showing how David in Ps. xix. 13 et seq. gradually begs forgiveness for his sins, like a Samaritan pedler unfolding his wares one after the other (Sanh. 107a). Palestinian sources do not mention Dosetai of Biri (Bacher, "Ag. Pal. Amor." iii. 695; Krauss, in "Monatsschrift", xli. 561).