person · P0101
Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus רבי אליעזר בן הורקנוס
Foremost student of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, praised as "a plastered cistern that loses not a drop." A principal teacher of Rabbi Akiva. Later placed under the ban after the "oven of Akhnai" dispute, when he refused to accept the majority ruling.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- רבי אליעזר בן הורקנוס
- Also known as
- Rabbi Eliezer HaGadol
- Era
- tannaim
- Generation
- T2
- Received the mesorah from
- Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai
- Transmitted the mesorah to
- Onkelos, Rabbi Akiva
- Teachers
- Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai
- Students
- Rabbi Akiva, Onkelos
- Colleagues
- Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananiah, Rabban Gamliel of Yavneh, Rabbi Elazar ben Arach
II. When
- Traditional
- c. 3805–3877 AM
- Academic
- c. 45–117 CE
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈72 years
- Precision
- approximate
III. Where
- Places
- Yavneh
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Praised by his teacher Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai as "a plastered cistern that does not lose a drop." | rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| In the "oven of Akhnai" dispute, invoked miracles and a heavenly voice for his position; the sages ruled "it is not in heaven" and followed the majority, and he was subsequently excommunicated.
Aggadic narrative; foundational for rabbinic legal epistemology. |
rabbinic | ★★★★☆ | |
| The Bavli says Rabbi Eliezer never taught anything that he had not heard from his teacher, presenting him as an exceptionally conservative transmitter.
The cited source supports this summary; minor wording or identification details are interpretive.
|
rabbinic | ★★★★☆ | |
| Avot DeRabbi Natan relates that he began study late against the wishes of his wealthy father Hyrcanus, who came to Jerusalem intending to bar him from his property by vow, but instead honored him upon finding him expounding Torah.
Aggadic origin narrative with parallel versions (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 1–2, Bereshit Rabbah 42:1). The research input's ref form was corrected at ingest.
|
rabbinic tradition | ★★★☆☆ | |
| Was arrested by the Roman authorities on suspicion of minut (sectarianism) and released after his answer pleased the judge; he attributed the ordeal to having once approvingly heard a teaching in the name of Yeshu.
Aggadic narrative (continuing on 17a); often read by historians as reflecting Roman actions against Christians around the turn of the second century.
|
rabbinic | ★★★☆☆ |