History of Jamnia

Jamnia is probably the same as Jabneh, mentioned as a Philistine city in the Bible (2 Chr 26:6). It is also believed to be the same city as Jabneel, city of Dan (Josh 15:11). It may also be Jemnaan of Judith 2:28 and was a significant location during the Jewish revolts. Control of Jamnia was repeatedly exchanged between Jews and Syrians. Josephus speaks of Jamnia as both a coastal town and an inland one; other early historians propose there were two cities. Philo describes Jamnia as one of Judea’s most populous cities (On the Embassy to Gaius 30 [200]).

According to rabbinic sources, when Titus destroyed the Jerusalem temple in ad 70, Johanan ben Zakkai (a leading Pharisaic proto-rabbinic leader who opposed the Saddusaic leadership) established a center of learning in Jamnia. This attracted early rabbinic scholars to the area, and Jamnia gradually became a new spiritual center in Israel. Israel’s legislative body (the Great Beit Din, later referred to as the Sanhedrin) relocated to Jamnia (b. Rosh Hashanah 31a). Other people associated with Jamnia include:

• Gamaliel II, the leader of Bet Din

• Akiva ben Joseph, a charismatic leader from the days of the Bar Kochba Revolt