Joshua ben Hyrcanus

JOSHUA BEN HYRCANUS (beginning of the second century C.E.), tanna. He is only once mentioned in the Mishnah (Sot. 5:5) expounding that Job served the Lord from love (not from fear). For this aggadic teaching he is praised by *Joshua b. Hananiah, who calls him the pupil of the pupil of *Johanan b. Zakkai, referring most probably to *Akiva (see Rashi, Sot. 27b; but see Maimonides, in his Mishnah commentary). Since this saying starts with the formula, "On that day," which often refers to the day on which *Eleazar b. Azariah was installed as a member of the Sanhedrin (Epstein, Tannaim, 424), it is assumed that Joshua was a member of the Sanhedrin in *Jabneh at that period.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.