A reward from God

A special Rabbi

Gamaliel the Elder, or Rabban Gamaliel I, was the most distinguished rabbi of his time and a leading authority in the Sanhedrin. He was the first one to have the title “Rabban,” instead of the more common title “Rabbi”. Mishnah speaks of Gamaliel as of one of the greatest teachers in all the annals of Judaism, "Since Rabban Gamaliel the Elder died, there has been no more reverence for the law, and purity and piety died out at the same time."

How Rabban Gamaliel saved Paul

Gamaliel was the grandson of the great Jewish teacher Hillel the Elder and the leader of his school, Beit Hillel. Gamaliel was noted for a more tolerant, liberal attitude in religious legal rulings. We see it clearly in Acts, when some Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus’ apostle, Gamaliel said to them, “Do not meddle with these men, but let them alone; … otherwise, you may perhaps be found fighters actually against God” (Acts 5:34-40). 
 

Hebrew sheds light on the true meaning

There were many rabbis and teachers in Jesus’ time, but it was Gamaliel who guided such a prominent student and gave the world the Apostle Paul! Gamaliel is a Hebrew name meaning reward of God. Was this amazing student his reward of God? Did he himself see it in such a way? Enroll in our live online course, Jewish Background of the New Testament, to discover more about the Jewish inheritance of the first followers of Jesus.