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598 Bathyra Bauer

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

where Philip joined them and persuaded them to remain faithful to Agrippa and the Romans (" Vita, During the absence of Philip the Gamalites I.e.). threatened the Babylonians, killed Chares, and maltreated his brother Jesus, because they were relations of Philip. King Agrippa quickly despatched Philip with some horse to Gamala, with instructions to take his relations away and resettle the Bab3r lonians in Batanea (I.e. xxxv., xxxvi.). The city of Bathyra, which was probably called after some person of that name, is not mentioned in rabbinical literature; but probably the eminent Talmud teachers called by that name were natives of this city. Putter ("Erdkunde," xv. 226) thinks Bathyra " is identical with the " Bethora " mentioned in the " Notitia Dignitatum " but the BaiBupa, Btjftupd found in Josephus is the ancient Beth-Choron. According to Richter and Schumacher, the name is •'



still

preserved in that of the village Beterre.

Bibliography:

Gratz, in Mimatsscltrift, t. 115-130; Idem, tier Juden, 4th ed., iii. 199, 480; Boettger, Le&ikon. Flitriux Jnscphus, p. 53; Schumacher, Across the Jordan, p. 53 ; Buhl, Geogr. des Alten Palilstina, p. 346.

Gexvh.

zu

Kr.

G.

S.

BATHYRA (commonly called Betera,

Beterah

598

Hail to thee, Rabbi Judah ben Bathyra but thy net is spread in Jerusalem " (Pes. 34). Since R. Judah was not present himself at the Passover in Jerusalem, it majr be concluded that he was far advanced in years, although as a citizen of a foreign land he was not bound by the law which demanded the celebration of the Passover at Jerusalem (Tos. to Pes. I.e.). At Nisibis in Mesopotamia he had a famous college, which is expressly recommended together with other famous

message

Thou



"

livest in Nisibis,

schools (Sanh.

32Z>).

R. Elcazer b. Shammua, and R. Johanan, the sandal-maker, started on a journey to Nisibis in order to study under him, but turned back when they reflected that they were giving preference to an alien

country over Palestine (Sifre, Deut. 80). R. Judah b. Bathyra himself undertook a journey to Rome with some colleagues. No sooner had they landed at Puteoli than they returned home weeping (ib.). R. Judah once arrived at Nisibis just before the beginning of the fast of the Ninth of Ab, and although he had already eaten, he was obliged to partake of a sumptuous banquet at the house of the chief of the synagogue (Lam. R. iii. 17, ed. Buber " Exilarchs "

[SOTD. iTVnil): A family whose name is probably with that of the city of Bathyra. The name is so rare that all persons called " Bathyra " in the Talmud and Midrash are included in the one family, although there are no data to prove their relationBacher remarks that it is one of the most difship. identical

ficult questions of tannaitic history to distinguish

the several

members of

According to guished

Z.

this family from one another. Frankel, the following can be distin-



The Children of Bathyra (NTJ"D or The Elders of Bathyra (3 'JpT,

'Ol, Pes. Yer. Pes. 66«) vi. 33a): It is commonly assumed that they were two brothers, heads of the Sanhedrin under Herod I.

1.

But as near relations were not allowed to belong to the same judicial college, they probably were merely compatriots; so that the phrase " Sons of Bathyra " was not a patronymic, but a family name (nornen gentilieium). Whether the phrase included two or more persons can not be ascertained. They, however, gave a definite character to the Sanhedrin. Herod favored them probably because they were not Judeans but Babylonians, perhaps forerunners of the colonists for whom the city of Bathyra was founded under Herod. When their ignorance was revealed in reference to the question whether the Paschal lamb may be sacrificed on the fourteenth of Nisan when that date falls on a Sabbath, they modestly resigned their position in favor of the more worthy Hillel. The children of Bathyra who disputed with Johanan b. Zakkai in reference to the New-Year falling on a Sabbath (R. H. 296), can not be identical with Hillel 's opponents, as about one hundred years lie between them the latter must have been descendants of the earlier leaders of the Sanhedrin who probably still retained some of their ancestors' reputation. 2. R. Judah b. Bathyra (also known as R. Judah Bathyra) Eminent tanna. He must have lived before the destruction of the Temple, since he prevented a pagan in Jerusalem from partaking of Thereupon he received the the Paschal offering.



The Mishnah quotes seventeen, the Baraita about forty, Halakot by R. Judah and he was also a prolific haggadist. Since controversies between him and R. Akiba are frein other editions is incorrect).



quently mentioned, these being chronologically impossible, the existence of a second R. Judah b. Bathyra must be assumed (Tos. to Men. 65J " Seder ha-Dorot," ed. Warsaw, ii. 110), who was probably a grandson of the former, and Akiba's contemporary it is possible that there existed even a third R. Judah b. Bathyra, who was a contemporary of R. Josiah

Num. 123) or of R. Judah I. (Hul. 54«; Shab ) 130a; see also Midr. Sam. x.); he also seems to have lived at Nisibis (Sanh. 96a but the version " R. (Sifre,



Judah ben Bathyra " is doubtful "Dikduke Soferim," ad loc., note



see Rabbinowicz, 10).

It is

evident

from the cases quoted in Tosef., Yeb. xii. 11 (compare Yeb. 102a), and Tosef., Ket. v. 1 (Yer. Ket. v. 29<Z; Bab. Ket. 58a; compare Weiss, Z.c.,158, andKid.lOJ), that R. Judah b. Bathyra (probably the earliest one by that name) did not quite keep pace with the Halakah as it was formulated in Palestine, and represented rather the earlier standpoint. This R. Judah is probably also the one who now and again is mentioned simply as "Ben Bathyra"; compare Tosef., Pes. iii. (iv.) 8, where R. Judah and R. Joshua dispute with Ben Bathyra. Here again the first and last names, "R. Judah" and "Ben Bathyra," probably belong together, making one name; so that R. Joshua was the only other person concerned (compare Zeb. 12a). In Mishnah, Pes. iii. 3, the editions have " R. Judah ben Bathyra," while the Yerushalmi has only "ben Bathyra." There is one passage, however, where R. Judah b. Bathyra and b. Bathyra are reported as entertaining different opinions (Ta'anit 3a); hence Maimonides takes "ben Bathyra" to be identical

with "R. Joshua

R. Joshua

b.

Bathyra."

Bathyra: Mentioned in MishYeb. viii. 4; 'Eduy. viii. 1; Parah ii. 5. The names "R. Judah" and "R. Joshua b. Bathyra" being abbreviated in the same way (3"3"''*i), they are often confounded on being written out after 3.

nah Shab.

xii. 5;

lb.