person · P0369
Rav Yosef bar Abba מר רב יוסף בריה דמר רב אבא
Gaon of Pumbedita from 814, raised to the chair by a dream over the worthier av beit din Mar Aharon — the pious elder to whose academy, the geonim told, Eliyahu himself would come and sit; Sherira's great-great- grandfather served as his scribe. Two years in office.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- מר רב יוסף בריה דמר רב אבא
- Era
- geonim
- Received the mesorah from
- Rav Shinoi
II. When
- Traditional
- gaon of Pumbedita 4574–4576 AM
- Academic
- gaon 814–816 CE
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈52 years
- Precision
- approximate
III. Where
- Places
- Pumbedita
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| "And after him, Mar Rav Yosef son of Mar Rav Abba, in the year [1]125 [814 CE]... he was exceedingly pious and very old, and it was said that Eliyahu of blessed memory would come to him and sit in his metivta... and he reigned two years."
Accession year per the Iggeret; the tenure is closed at the successor's stated accession.
|
tradition | ★★★★☆ | |
| "It was also said that he would afflict himself over his studies in his youth, and Mar Rav Shinoi the gaon, his master (rabbeih), blessed him and said to him: may you merit to lead your nation." The Iggeret's own word — rabbeih — makes Shinoi his attested teacher; the edge is drawn as reception, not inference.
The one personally attested teacher–student link in the geonic roster between Yehudai and Sherira — found while applying the inference rule, and therefore drawn as received_from proper.
|
tradition | ★★★★☆ |