Gamaliel, << guh MAY lee uhl, >> was the name of six great ancient Jewish scholars who lived in Palestine. The first and best known was Gamaliel I, who died about A.D. 50. He was an expert in the Oral Law and a prominent member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court. He was also a Pharisee who belonged to the school of his grandfather, the great Rabbi Hillel I. According to the Acts of the Apostles (5:34-39), Gamaliel I taught Saint Paul. He is also said to have defended the disciples of Jesus before the Sanhedrin. In the Talmud, Gamaliel is known as a famous interpreter of the Jewish law who established rulings favorable to the legal status of women and non-Jews.
