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Judah III (orNesi'ah II;Hebrew:יהודה נשיאה;יודן נשיאה),Yudan Nesiah, was a prominentJewish sage, who held the office ofNasi of the ancientJewishSanhedrin between about 290 and 320 CE (fourth generation ofamoraim).
He was the son ofGamaliel IV, and grandson ofJudah II.
It is often difficult to know when the Mishna and Talmud are referring to Judah II or Judah III; they do not clearly distinguish between them. Since the title "Nesi'ah" was borne by both, which of the two in any citation is meant by "Judah Nesi'ah" can be gathered only from internal evidence, especially from the names of the scholars mentioned in the context.
He was a pupil of R.Johanan bar Nappaha (d. 279). In a question regarding the time of thenew moon, which he sent toRav Ammi, he introduces a teaching taught to him by Johanan with the words: "Know that R. Johanan has taught us thus all his life long".[1]
Judah III commissioned Johanan's pupilsAmmi andAssi, who directed theAcademy ofTiberias in theLand of Israel, afterEleazar ben Pedat's death, to organize the schools for children in thePalestinian cities.[2] Ammi especially appears as his councilor inaggadic questions.[3] He also visited thebaths of Gadara with Ammi.[4]
Ammi, however, protested against the number of fast-days which Judah set in times of trouble, saying that the community should not be overburdened.[5] OnceHelbo, a pupil of the above-mentioned Samuel ben Nahman, requested Judah, who had absented himself from a fast-day service held in the public square of the city, to take part in the service, which would thereby become more efficacious.[6] The prominent amora Jeremiah is said to have reproached Judah in a letter for hating his friends and loving his enemies.[7]
Germanus, Judah's Roman slave, is mentioned several times.[8]
The most important event of Judah III's patriarchate was the visit of the emperorDiocletian to Palestine.[9] One Friday the patriarch was called upon hurriedly to visit Diocletian atCaesarea Philippi, and his extraordinarily quick journey to there fromTiberias gave rise to a legend in which the aged Samuel ben Nahman appears.[10] On the Church fatherEpiphanius' reference to the patriarch, see Grätz.[11]
When Judah III died (c. 320),Hiyya bar Abba compelled his colleagueZeira, who was of priestly descent, to ignore, in honor of the dead patriarch, the laws to be observed bykohanim.[12] This scene took place in the "synagogue of the vine" atSepphoris; hence it is to be assumed that Judah III was buried at Sepphoris. He was succeeded by his sonHillel II.
Jewish tradition holds that Judah III was interred atOvnit.[13]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906)."Judah III".The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
| Preceded by | Nasi 290–320 | Succeeded by |