Hanina ben Antigonus

Rabbinical eras

Hanina (Hananiah) ben Antigonus (Hebrew: חנינא בן אנטיגונוס, Chanina ben [son of] Antigonus) was Jewish rabbi of the third generation of tannaim.

He was of priestly descent, and a contemporary of Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yishmael.[1]

It is supposed that in his youth he had witnessed the service of the Temple of Jerusalem, since he knew the fluters that played before the altar.[2] If this were so, Ḥanina must have enjoyed unusual longevity, as he often appears in halakic controversy with Akiva's latest disciples.[3] Be this as it may, he was learned in the laws relating to the priests, and many such laws are preserved in his name,[4] while precedents reported by him regarding the services and appurtenances of the Temple influenced later rabbinical opinions.

He is often cited as an authority on marital questions[5] and on other matters.[6] Some halakhic midrashim also have come down from him.[7]

Just one aggadah is recorded under his name:

  • Whosoever practises the precept concerning the fringes on the borders [kanfei] of garments[8] will realize the promise: 'Ten men . . . shall take hold of the skirt [bekanaf] of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you'.[9] On the other hand, he who violates the precept concerning the skirt [kanaf] is included in the verse 'take hold of the ends of [bekanaf] the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it'[10][11]

According to him, when an aged man dies after not more than three days' sickness, his death may be termed kareth, a punishment for secret violations of the Sabbath or of the dietary laws.[12]

  1. ^ Bekhorot 7:5
  2. ^ Tosefta 'Arachin 1:15; compare 'Arachin 2:4
  3. ^ HANINA (HANANIAH) B. ANTIGONUS, jewishencyclopedia
  4. ^ Kiddushin 4:5; Bekhorot 6:3,10,11; 7:2,5; Temurah 6:5
  5. ^ Yevamot 13:2; Niddah 6:13 [compare ib. Gemara 52b], 8:2
  6. ^ Shevuot 6:3; Eruvin 4:8
  7. ^ Bekhorot 7:2,5; Mekhilta, Yitro, Baḥodesh, 6
  8. ^ Numbers 15:38 et seq.
  9. ^ Zechariah 8:23
  10. ^ Job 38:13
  11. ^ Sifre, Numbers 115
  12. ^ Sem. iii. 10