person · P0150

Rabbi Natan רבי נתן

Babylonian-born sage (HaBavli) who rose to Av Beit Din of the Sanhedrin under Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel II at Usha, and whose career extended into the circle of Rebbi: "Rebbi and Rabbi Natan are the end of the Mishnah." A generational bridge between Usha and the redaction of the Mishnah, he is also the namesake of Avot DeRabbi Natan.

I. Who

Hebrew: רבי נתן
Also known as: Rabbi Natan HaBavli, Nathan the Babylonian
Era: tannaim
Generation: T4

Colleagues: Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel II, Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi

II. When

Traditional: c. 3880–3950 AM
Academic: c. 120–190 CE
Lifespan (traditional): ≈70 years
Precision: approximate

V. How do we know

Claim	Evidence	Confidence	Sources
"Rebbi and Rabbi Natan are the end of the Mishnah; Rav Ashi and Ravina are the end of hora'ah" — he is paired with Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi as closing the mishnaic period.	rabbinic	★★★★★	Bava Metzia 86a
Served as Av Beit Din under Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel II, and with Rabbi Meir plotted to depose the Nasi after the protocols of honor for their offices were curtailed; the plot failed and he was readmitted. Aggadic court narrative.	rabbinic	★★★★☆	Horayot 13b
The expanded commentary-recension of tractate Avot, Avot DeRabbi Natan, bears his name. The attribution is traditional (title only); the extant work's relationship to Rabbi Natan and its date of redaction are debated.	tradition	★☆☆☆☆	Avot DeRabbi Natan 1
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel taunted him that "your father's girdle of office (kamra)" had gained him the position of Av Beit Din — the father is traditionally identified as the Babylonian Exilarch, whence Rabbi Natan's standing. The Bavli's phrase is "kamra of your father"; the explicit Exilarch identification is the standard traditional reading (Rashi ad loc.), not the Gemara's own wording. The research input stated it as explicit; adjusted at ingest.	rabbinic tradition	★★★★☆	Horayot 13b
After the failed plot he personally returned to appease Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel and was readmitted, although his statements were thereafter cited anonymously as Yesh Omrim, "Some say." The reconciliation attempt is explicit.	rabbinic tradition	★★★★☆	Horayot 13b
He traveled to coastal cities and to Cappadocia, where families consulted him after multiple sons died following circumcision; he instructed them to delay, and in each place the surviving child was named Natan the Babylonian after him. Concrete travel and medical-observation narratives; the ancient geographic scope of "coastal cities" is not specified.	rabbinic tradition	★★★★☆	Shabbat 134a
Traditional placement c. 3880–3950 AM (c. 120–190 CE): Av Beit Din in the Usha generation whose activity straddles into the generation of Rebbi. Schematic traditional dating.	tradition reconstruction	★★☆☆☆	Bava Metzia 86a (paired with Rebbi at the end of Mishnah)