Samuel, Mar

(c. 2–3rd century)

   Babylonian amora. Samuel was a contemporary of RAV and the founder of the great Babylonian academy at Nehardea. The development of Jewish learning in Babylonia can be traced to these two amoraim, and their differences of opinion are frequently found in the Talmud. Whereas Rav was the acknowledged authority on religious law, Samuel was supreme in Jewish civil law.

   Owing to favourable political conditions, Samuel was able to develop internal Jewish autonomy, and exercised power to punish offenders. He kept on good terms with the exilarch and the king, Shapur I, and accepted the general laws of the kingdom as valid in Jewish courts. Samuel was versed in astronomy and claimed he knew the heavens as he knew the streets of his home town, Nehardea. He also made a thorough study of medicine and asserted that he could cure all but three types of illness. He discovered a salve for eye-diseases and when JUDAH HA-NASI became ill with an eye ailment, Samuel healed him.

   Samuel had great integrity as a judge, and opposed the slightest suggestion of undue influence. Once when a man had helped him over the river, he refused to try a case in which that man was a litigant. Samuel also opposed any kind of exorbitant gain. For a man to sell an article for a sixth more than its original value was made illegal. Two of Samuel’s pupils carried on his life-work of developing Jewish learning in the Diaspora. Nachman succeeded him as head of the academy at Nehardea and Judah ben-Ezekiel founded the third great Babylonian academy, at Pumbedita.