Gamaliel (disambiguation)

Gamaliel, also spelled Gamliel and Gamiliel, is the Greek form of the Hebrew name meaning "God is my reward/recompense" indicating the loss of one or more earlier children in the family. A number of influential individuals have had the name:

Hebrew Bible

* The Hebrew Bible refers to Gamiliel, son of Pedahzur, the leader of the tribe of Manasseh during the census of the Israelites in the Sinai desert (Numbers 1:10;2:20;7:54,59;10:23).

New Testament

* Gamaliel, also called Gamaliel I or Gamaliel the Elder was a first century authority on Jewish law who appears in the Acts of the Apostles. In Christian mythology, he was later considered to be a Christian saint (Saint Gamaliel). In Judaism he is a respected authority quoted in the Talmud.

Other Rabbinical authorities

* Gamaliel II, also known as Gamaliel of Jabneh
* Gamaliel III, son of Judah haNasi the redactor of the Mishna, and his successor as Nasi (patriarch). The redaction of the Mishna was completed under him, and some of his sayings are incorporated therein (Aboth ~i. 2-4). He was father of Judah II.
* Gamaliel IV, grandson of Gamaliel III, patriarch in the latter half of the 3rd century; about him very little is known.
* Gamaliel V, son and successor of the patriarch Hillel II.
* Gamaliel VI, grandson of Gamaliel V, the last of the patriarchs, died in 425.

Gamaliel as an angel

In Kabbalah and Gnostic writings Gamaliel is the name of a great aeon or luminary, a beneficent spirit associated with Gabriel, Abraxas, Mikhar, and Samlo. In the "Revelation of Adam to his son Seth" (a Coptic apocalyptic manuscript) Gamaliel is one of the high, holy, celestial powers whose mission is "to draw the elect up to heaven". Eliphas Levi in his "Philosophie Occulte" rates Gamaliel as evil, an adversary of the cherubim, serving under Lilith.

Gamaliel as a forename

* Gamaliel Bailey (1807-1859) was a U.S. journalist
* Gamaliel Bradford (1768-1824) was an American privateer; at least the second of that name
* Gamaliel Bradford (1863-1932) was an American biographer, critic, poet, and dramatist; the sixth of seven men called Gamaliel Bradford in unbroken succession
* Gamaliel is the middle name of US President Warren G. Harding

Institutions

* Gamaliel University is a Christian school in Indonesia
*Gamaliel Foundation is a Chicago-based non-profit providing training and consultation to affiliated congregation-based community organizations

Places

* Gamaliel, Kentucky
* Gamaliel, Arkansas

Phrase

* "Gamalielese" is a term coined by H. L. Mencken to mock President Harding's speaking style