person · P0148
Rabbi Nechemiah רבי נחמיה
Student of Rabbi Akiva in the Usha generation and a frequent disputant of Rabbi Yehudah bar Ilai throughout tannaitic literature. His lasting monument is structural: an unattributed (stam) passage of the Tosefta transmits Rabbi Nechemiah's formulation of Rabbi Akiva's tradition, just as stam Mishnah is Rabbi Meir and stam Sifra is Rabbi Yehudah.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- רבי נחמיה
- Also known as
- Nehemiah
- Era
- tannaim
- Generation
- T4
- Received the mesorah from
- Rabbi Akiva
- Teachers
- Rabbi Akiva
- Colleagues
- Rabbi Yehudah bar Ilai, Rabbi Yose ben Chalafta, Rabbi Meir
II. When
- Traditional
- c. 3860–3930 AM
- Academic
- c. 100–170 CE
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈70 years
- Precision
- approximate
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| An unattributed (stam) passage of the Tosefta is Rabbi Nechemiah, following the tradition he received from Rabbi Akiva. | rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| Counted among Rabbi Akiva's seven later students in the alternate list of Bereishit Rabbah — "Rabbi Yehudah, Rabbi Nechemiah, Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yose, Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, Rabbi Chanina ben Chakhinai, and Rabbi Yochanan HaSandlar" — who filled the Land of Israel with Torah.
The Bavli's parallel list (Yevamot 62b) names five students and omits Rabbi Nechemiah; the midrashic seven-name list includes him.
|
rabbinic | ★★★☆☆ | |
| According to Rav Avya's addition, Rabbi Nechemiah was among the sages ordained by Rabbi Yehudah ben Bava between Usha and Shefaram during the Roman ban on ordination, escaping with the others when the gathering was discovered.
The base list names five sages; Rav Avya adds Rabbi Nechemiah as a sixth.
|
rabbinic tradition | ★★★★☆ | |
| Traditional placement c. 3860–3930 AM (c. 100–170 CE): a student of Rabbi Akiva active in the generation of Usha.
Schematic traditional dating. |
tradition reconstruction | ★★☆☆☆ |