ELʿAZAR BEN ʿAZARYAH (late first and early second centuries CE), Palestinian tanna, was a rabbinic sage of the Mishnaic period. Elʿazar, whose traditions are recorded in the Mishnah and related texts, is described as a wealthy priest who was a direct descendant of Ezra. It is as a result of this status that Elʿazar was appointed to be the head of the academy in Yavneh during the brief period that Gamliʾel of Yavneh was removed from that position (J.T., Ber. 4.1, 7d and parallels). This event is already echoed in the Mishnah (e.g., Yad. chap. 4), but its full import is unclear. The Babylonian tradition claims that "on that very day [when Elʿazar was appointed] ʿeduyyot was taught …" (B.T., Ber. 28a). Some modern scholars have understood this tradition...