SPECIAL TOPIC: GAMALIEL

I. The Name

A. The name means “God is my rewarder.”

B. He is knows as “the elder” or Gamaliel I to distinguish him
from a later relative, also very active in Jewish leadership.

II. The Man

A. Tradition says he was the grandson of Hillel.

B. Other traditions say he had ties to the royal family of
Herod (i.e., Agrippa I).

C. Tradition says he was president of the Sanhedrin, but this
probably refers to Gamaliel II.

D. He was one of seven highly respected rabbis who were given the
title Rabban.

E. He died before a.d. 70.

III. His Theology

A. He was a highly respected rabbi of Jesus’ day (cf. Acts 5:34).

B. He was known for caring for and staying in control of the
scattered Jews of the Diaspora.

C. He was also known for his concern for the socially
disenfranchised (his Takkonot often began with “for the benefit of humanity”).

1. orphans

2. widows

3. women

D. He was the rabbinical mentor to Paul the Apostle in Jerusalem
(cf. Acts 22:3).

E. In Acts 5:34-39 he gives sage wisdom on how to handle
the early church in Palestine.

F. This rabbi was so highly thought of that at his death it
was said, “When Rabban Gamaliel the elder died the glory of the Torah ceased and
purity and saintliness (lit. “separation’) perished (Sot. 9:15), taken from
Encyclopedia Judaica, vol. 7, p. 296.

G. It must be stated that Gamaliel’s motivation in Acts 5:34-39 is uncertain. He
may have been asserting the wisdom of Pharisees against the impulsiveness of the
Sadducees. These two powerful Jewish sects exploited each other at every
opportunity!