| Jose ben Jochanan (Hebrew: יוסי בן
יוחנן, Yose ben Yochanan or Joseph ben
Johanan) was Nasi (president) of the Sanhedrin in the second century
BCE. He was a native of Jerusalem. He and Jose ben Joezer were the
successors and, it is said, the disciples of Antigonus of Sokho[1],
and the two together formed the first of a series of duumvirates that
transmitted the traditional law; in each pair one, according to tradition,
was prince-president ("nasi"), and the other vice-president,
of the Sanhedrin (Av Beth Din).[2] One of Jose's sayings was: "Let
thy house be opened wide; and let the needy be thy household; and
prolong not converse with woman". A disagreement between the
two colleagues with regard to halakhic decisions gave rise to the
formation of two different schools. Both men were opposed to Hellenism,
and both belonged to the Hasideans. Jose ben Joezer and Jose ben Johanan
were the last of the "eshkolot", or "wise men"
(from Hebrew Eshkolot, "bunches [of grapes]", poet. "abounding
in wisdom"). |
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