The leading Pharisee of first-century Jerusalem, grandson of Hillel, honored in Jewish tradition as a pillar of the Law and remembered in Christian scripture as the teacher of Paul.
Life
Rabban Gamaliel the Elder led the Pharisaic school descended from Hillel in the generation before the Temple's destruction, and the Mishnah honors him as one whose death marked the passing of an age of purity and learning. The Acts of the Apostles portrays him as a respected member of the Sanhedrin who counseled tolerance toward the early followers of Jesus, and names him as the teacher of the young Paul. Revered across the tradition for wisdom and moderation, he is a figure where Jewish and early Christian memory intersect; the sources are the rabbinic texts and the New Testament, which are noted as distinct.