YEHOSHUʿA BEN ḤANANYAH (first and second centuries CE), Palestinian tanna who taught in Jerusalem and later at Yavneh and Peqiʿin. Legend has it that when he was a child his mother carried him to the study hall so that he would become accustomed to hearing words of the Torah (J.T., Yev. 3a). Because he was a Levite, it is assumed that he sang in the Temple before it was destroyed. He is said to have made his living as a needlemaker or blacksmith.

Yehoshuʿa achieved prominence as a leading rabbinic authority of his day. He was one of the five prominent disciples of Yoḥanan ben Zakkʾai (Avot 2.8). With Eliʿezer ben Hyrcanus, Yehoshuʿa is alleged to have carried Yoḥanan ben Zakkʾai out of Jerusalem in...