Akiba ben Joseph

Jewish sage, rabbi, and martyr

• Born: c. 40
• Birthplace: Probably near Lydda, Palestine (now Lod, Israel)
• Died: c. 135
• Place of death: Caesarea, Palestine (now in Israel)

The most influential rabbi in the formation of Jewish legal tradition and Mishnah, Akiba is the one scholar most often quoted in the text. He espoused the unsuccessful cause of Bar Kokhba and died a martyr. The legends about Akiba have been almost as influential as his teachings and life.

Early Life

Akiba ben Joseph (ah-KIHV-ah behn JOH-zehf) was born to humble parents. His father’s name was Joseph, but tradition has no other information about his parentage. Akiba worked as an unschooled shepherd. He was part of the lower class designated as the am-ha-aretz (people of the land), a term of common abuse. While working for a wealthy man of Jerusalem whose name is sometimes given as Johanan ben Joshua, Akiba fell in love with his daughter, Rachel, who returned his love.

This period of Akiba’s life has been variously treated in exaggerated fashion by legendary accounts. Based on the historically most reliable traditions from the Mishnah, it appears reasonably certain that Rachel, agreeing to marry him, was disinherited by her father, and the couple lived in poor circumstances. It was only after his marriage and the birth of a son (probably at about age thirty-five) that Akiba began learning how to read. After learning the basics, Akiba (probably now age forty) left both home and occupation to attend the rabbinic academy at Yavneh, in southwestern Judaea.

In the generation after the destruction of the Temple (c. 80-100 c.e.), the rabbinic assembly at Yavneh was presided over by Rabbi Gamaliel II (an aristocrat) as Nasi (Ethnarch) and Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah (a nonaristocrat) as Ab Bet Din (head of the rabbinic court). It was to the latter that Akiba went for instruction, but Hananiah directed him first to Rabbi Tarfon, who was in turn his teacher, friend, and then follower. Later, Akiba studied with Rabbi Nahum of Gimzo and then Hananiah himself. Thus by birth, training, and temperament, Akiba was aligned with the more liberal antiaristocratic wing of the academy, which traced its roots back to Rabbi Hillel. Finally, Akiba studied under Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, a leading figure of the aristocratic wing, whose tradition went back to Rabbi Shammai. Akiba’s formal training came to a conclusion at Yavneh when in public debate Hananiah was defeated by Eliezer on the primacy of sacrificial duties over Sabbath rest. As the debate was being concluded, the relatively unknown Akiba entered the debate and carried the day against Eliezer. At this point, Akiba was recognized as a rabbi. He began to teach, and pupils began to seek him out.

During this thirteen-year period of study, Akiba must have spent long periods of time away from home. He was encouraged and supported by his wife. While popular legend has undoubtedly exaggerated this aspect of Akiba’s life, there is an underlying truth to the material, and, more important, his love and appreciation for Rachel are reflected in his teaching.

Life’s Work

In the beginning, Akiba began to teach in Yavneh and spent most of his time actively engaging in the disputes of the rabbinical assembly. These must have been vigorous, for tradition indicates that there were punishments meted out to Akiba on several occasions for his lack of respect for procedure and that at one point he left the assembly and retired to Zifron in Galilee. Akiba was later invited to return to Yavneh by Gamaliel.

Akiba was a bald, tall man, muscular from years of outdoor work. He had transformed himself into a gentle scholar who stressed the value of polite behavior and tact. This emphasis on courtesy, however, did not stop him from entering into debates and arguing passionately for his convictions. As part of his philosophy, he upheld the authority of the Nasi, even when he was arguing strongly against the specific ideas that the Nasi held.

While he was never entrusted with either of the chief offices of the assembly, he was an important member of the inner circle. When Gamaliel was removed from office because of his arrogance, it was Akiba who was chosen to inform Gamaliel. Eleazar ben Arariah was made Nasi in his place, but he was a figurehead, and real leadership rested with Hananiah and Akiba. Having secured dominance of the assembly, Akiba and Hananiah brought the number of the assembly members up from thirty-two to seventy-two, seating younger scholars to whom Gamaliel had refused admission because of their positions, which were similar to those of Akiba. Akiba seems also to have played an important part in the restoration of Gamaliel to the position of Nasi. Direction of the assembly was in the hands of Gamaliel, Eleazar, Hananiah, and Akiba. At that time, he was appointed overseer for the poor. In that capacity, he traveled widely in the area, raising funds. He traveled throughout Judaea, Cappadocia, Arabia, and Egypt.

In the fall of 95 c.e., Akiba, Gamaliel, Hananiah, and Eleazar were sent as an embassy to the Emperor Domitian to calm the Imperial displeasure over the fact that a member of the Imperial family, Flavius Clemens, had converted to Judaism. During this visit, the rabbis probably consulted the Jewish historian and Imperial freedman Flavius Josephus for advice on Imperial protocol and influence for their petition. Before this could be done, however, Domitian died, and Nerva was appointed emperor. Although there is no written record of what was done, it would have been unthinkable for the embassy not to have given the new emperor the formal greetings of the Jewish community and to have made expressions of loyalty. Nerva was seen as opening up a new era in Jewish-Roman relations.

At this point (c. 97 c.e.), Akiba was between fifty and sixty years of age. He established his own school at Bene-Berak (near modern Tel Aviv). It was during this time that Akiba’s most enduring work was accomplished. In his teaching, he used a combination of demanding logic, rules of interpretation, and homely parables to put forth his ideas and ideals. He set the basic organization of what was to become the Mishnah into its six parts and developed his ideas of interpretation of the law based on the mystic significance of the text. In addition to a passion for social justice, he developed his unique positions on the role of women, marriage, and other issues. None of these positions was achieved without extensive debate and discussion in Akiba’s own school and in the assembly in Yavneh. There, the new leading opponent of Akiba was Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha. Many of the teachings of these men were later arranged into opposing debates, even when it can be shown that no such discussion took place. The two men had great respect for each other and were cordial in their relations, but they were not friends.

The first generation of Akiba’s disciples—Elisha ben Abuyah, Simeon ben Azzai, and Simeon ben Zoma—did not fare well. Elisha became an apostate, Simeon ben Azzai became mad, and Simeon ben Zoma lost his life. The second generation of scholars taught by Akiba, however, provided the rabbinic leadership of the next generation. Of these, Rabbi Meir and Aquila deserve special attention. Meir, who had studied with Elisha ben Abuyah and Ishmael before coming to Akiba, was responsible for continuing the arrangement of the Mishnah following the principles of Akiba. He wrote down many of the sayings of Akiba, often giving the opposing view of Ishmael. Aquila was a Greek who converted to Judaism and studied with Akiba. With Akiba’s encouragement, he made a new (or made revisions to the) Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures. For a time, Aquila seems to have been in the confidence of both the Jews and the Roman officials.

The last phase of Akiba’s life is a matter of considerable debate among scholars. Relations with Rome, never good under the best of circumstances, went through a series of radical shifts. There is no clear understanding of these years because the sources (Jewish Talmudic and Roman writers) preserve the misunderstandings of the principals. What part, if any, Akiba played in the formulation of Jewish positions is not clear until the very end of the conflict. Some indicate that he used his position as overseer of the poor to travel throughout the land and foment revolt. Others suggest that his position was essentially nonpolitical and that he did not resist until religious practices, including prayer and study, were forbidden. There is no evidence that Akiba was active in politics or any other capacity during the troubles at the end of Trajan’s reign through the beginning years of Hadrian.

In about 130 c.e., to ease some of the existing tension, Hadrian sought to rebuild the Temple but insisted on placing a statue of himself in it and dedicating the temple to Jupiter Capitolinus. The implications of this position for the Jews clearly were not understood by Hadrian. There is a tradition, not in itself improbable, that the rabbis selected the now-aged Akiba to lead a delegation to Hadrian to reverse this stand. It is not known whether they reached the emperor, but their efforts, for whatever reason, were unsuccessful. Open and widespread rebellion broke out, which required five years and some of Hadrian’s best military talent to quell.

Of Akiba’s activities during that period, only a few events are clear. The Talmudic evidence shows that Akiba was a firm supporter of living within the restrictions of 125 c.e. that forbade circumcision and severely restricted the rights of Jewish legal courts and synagogue practices. At some point in the rebellion, Akiba joined other rabbis, including Ishmael, and gave his endorsement to Bar Kokhba. Bar Kokhba (meaning son of a star), the name taken by Simeon ben Kosiba, carried messianic implications; it was Akiba who applied the verse from Numbers 24:17, “The star rises from Jacob,” to him. This stance was not without opposition. The Midrash records that “when Rabbi Akiba beheld ben Kosiba he exclaimed, ‘This is the king Messiah!’ Rabbi Johanan ben Tortha retorted: ‘Akiba, grass will grow in your cheeks and he will still not have come!’” (Lamentations 2:2). Thus, at least in the last stages, Akiba gave his support to Bar Kokhba, who claimed to be the Nasi, superseding the rabbinical Nasi at Yavneh; Akiba hailed him as Savior (Messiah).

Sometime after 130, and possibly as late as 134, Akiba was arrested and imprisoned by the consular legate, Tineius Rufus. For a while, he was allowed to have visitors and continued to teach. There is a strong element of folktale about these circumstances, and the possibility of the sources imitating the classical model of Socrates cannot be ignored. Akiba’s final act of scholarship was to bring the religious calendar into order. Perhaps because these activities were too much for the Romans to allow, or because Akiba’s support of Bar Kokhba made him a symbol of resistance, Rufus brought him to trial in Caesarea and ordered his execution.

Significance

Akiba ben Joseph’s most significant contributions were made to the organization of the Mishnah and the teachings in the Talmud. Akiba took the many rabbinic decisions and arranged them under these major headings: “zeraim” (“seeds,” on agriculture), “mo’ed” (“seasons,” on holidays), “nashim” (“women,” on marriage and divorce), “kodashim” (“sanctities,” on offerings), and “teharoth” (“purities,” on defilement and purification). These headings with their tractates (subheadings) were continued by Rabbi Meir and then codified by Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi around 200. There are more than twenty-four hundred citations of Akiba in the Talmud; he is the most frequently cited authority.

Akiba championed a special method of interpretation of the text that he learned from Rabbi Nahum of Gimzo and that he retained even though the latter abandoned it. Akiba saw hidden significance in every aspect of the received text, whether it was an unusual wording, a special grammatical form, or an aberrant spelling. He was opposed on that count by Ishmael, who declared that the Torah was written in the language of men (with its possibility of error). Akiba made his points by Ishmael’s method and then would extend the argument with his method. Akiba was fond of using parable to explain ethical points.

Akiba’s area of special concern was marriage, where he championed attractiveness for women as a means of holding their husbands’ affections and divorce for loveless matches. He opposed polygamy, which was still permitted and practiced by the aristocrats. As an extension of this stance, he fought for and gained the acceptance of the Song of Songs (Shir ha-Shirim) in the biblical canon, against heavy opposition.

As important as Akiba’s work was, the stories about his life have exerted an equal influence on Judaism. Many of them are gross exaggerations and many are probably apocryphal, but the points that they make are consistent with the known teachings of Akiba.

Bibliography

Aleksandrov, G. S. “The Role of Aqiba in the Bar Kochba Rebellion.” In vol. 2 of Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, by Jacob Neusner. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1973. Aleksandrov refutes the position that Akiba was active in the Bar Kokhba rebellion but admits that he could have given the rebellion moral support.

Finkelstein, Louis. Akiba: Scholar, Saint, and Martyr. Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, 1990. Finkelstein re-creates Akiba’s life by taking a mildly critical look at the biographical sources and then placing the teachings of Akiba where they most easily fit into Akiba’s life. Finkelstein sees Akiba representing the popular party against the aristocrats. He also sees Akiba as a pacifist to the end. Both positions are overstated and are generally not accepted by other scholars.

Goldin, Judah. “Toward a Profile of a Tanna, Aqiba ben Joseph.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 96 (1976): 38-56. An important scholarly article that demonstrates that much of the biographical material about Akiba can be accepted as historical. Goldin’s emphasis is on Akiba’s marriage and his teachings regarding marriage, love, and divorce.

Nadich, Judah. Rabbi Akiba and His Contemporaries. Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, 1998. Anecdotes, legends, and tales about Akiba and his friends of the second century c.e. as well as an account of the stories they themselves told.

Neusner, Jacob. Judaism: The Evidence of the Mishnah. 2d ed. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988. A distillation of Neusner’s work and that of his students. He leads the critical school that rejects much of the traditional information about the rabbis’ lives and questions the attribution of many teachings to specific rabbis.

Schürer, Emil. A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ. Edited and abridged by Nahum N. Glatzer. 1891. Reprint. New York: Schocken Books, 1961. While the bibliography of secondary sources is obsolete, that is the only unusable part of this excellent study. Schürer has an absolute command of the classical and talmudic sources and gives more detail about the Jewish problems of Trajan and Hadrian than one will find elsewhere.

Smallwood, E. Mary. The Jews Under Roman Rule: From Pompey to Diocletian. Vol. 20 in Studies in Judaism in Late Antiquity, edited by Jacob Neusner. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1981. Solid scholarly work that should be used to update that of Schürer. Good background; understandably little on Akiba.

Strack, Hermann L. Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash. 1931. Reprint. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996. There are many guides to the Talmud, but this is still among the best short guides.