person · P0019
Avtalyon אבטליון
Av Beit Din of the fourth zug, with Shemaiah. Taught the sages to be careful with their words lest students absorb error. Tradition counts Shemaiah and Avtalyon as descendants of converts.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- אבטליון
- Era
- zugot
- Received the mesorah from
- Yehudah ben Tabbai, Shimon ben Shatach
- Transmitted the mesorah to
- Hillel, Shammai
- Colleagues
- Shemaiah
II. When
- Traditional
- c. 3660–3740 AM
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈80 years
- Precision
- approximate
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| With Shemaiah, formed the fourth zug; taught "sages, be careful with your words, lest you incur the penalty of exile." | rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| Hillel studied under Shemaiah and Avtalyon, famously nearly freezing on the study-house skylight to hear their teaching. | rabbinic | ★★★★☆ | |
| Mishnah Chagigah pairs Avtalyon with Shemaiah; Avtalyon says not to lay hands on a festival sacrifice and is identified by the Mishnah's schema as Av Beit Din.
The Mishnah lists Shemaiah first and Avtalyon second; it states that the first was Nasi and the second Av Beit Din.
|
rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| Yoma portrays Avtalyon and Shemaiah as descendants of converts whom the populace honored over the high priest after Yom Kippur.
The cited source supports this summary; minor wording or identification details are interpretive.
|
rabbinic | ★★★★☆ | |
| Traditional placement c. 3660–3740 AM.
Schematic traditional dating. |
tradition reconstruction | ★★☆☆☆ |