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Hillel, Simeon, Gamaliel and Paul.

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Trusting in Him

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This is not really a theological subject at all, it's just exploring possible historical connections, which is it does not necessarily fit in other forums.

Hillel was a highly esteamed Jewish sage and teacher to the Jews and father to Simeon. It is said that Simeon was the Simeon of Luke 2:25, which is where the Nunc dimittis comes from.

It is also said that Simeon was father to Gamaliel another esteamed Jewish sage and teacher, who is supposed to have taught Paul (Saul of Tarsus)

Some of these connections are considered as not necessarily proven beyond all doubt. As you can see, nothing theologically important, or in any way significant is dependant on these connections. I just find it interesting!

Does anyone have anythese else to add about this?
Thanks.
 
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HTacianas

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Your question makes me think of Philo of Alexandria. Philo was a contemporary of Gamaliel but there is no known relationship between the two. There is also no known relationship between Philo and any of the apostles but both John and Paul use the same verbiage to describe the same concepts as Philo did in writing the earliest known mention of the Trinity. That Paul is believed to have been a student of Gamaliel and uses the same language as Philo makes me wonder if Gamaliel also taught the same concepts as Philo.
 
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dqhall

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I think the Gamaliel connection to Paul is probable. Luke’s Jesus and Simeon son of Hillel visitation, not a likely connection.

Simon or Simeon and variants of this name may be derived from the name of the Jewish ruler Simon of the Hasmonean (Maccabees) Empire in the second century BC. At this time Hebrew had no vowels. These were added centuries later. Simon is also the birth name of Peter.
 
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Soyeong

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The top two most common names in Israel in the 1st century were Joseph and Simon making up 15.6%, while inside the Bible they are 18.2%. So while it is possible that there is a connection with the Simeon in Luke 2:25 being the same as the father of Gamaliel, there would need to be other corroborating evidence to have good grounds to claim that they are the same person. On the other hand, Gamaliel was a prominent Pharisee in the council at that time (Acts 5:34) and was Paul's teacher (Acts 22:3), and Gamaliel the son of Hillel was also a prominent Pharisee at that time, so there is a much better chance of that being a connection. In the debates between Hillel and Shammai, what Jesus taught was almost always in agreement with what Hillel taught, such as those who were criticizing him for healing on the Sabbath most likely would have been from the house of Shammai.
 
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