'AQIBÁ' (or 'Aqibá') ben JOSEF, Rabbi. — One of the principal Tannaitic doctors, born in Judea around AD 40, died in AD 137. Legend has embellished his life with marvelous details (a rough shepherd who married the daughter of his wealthy master and, to please his bride, learned to read at the age of forty). Due to his knowledge of the Torah and legal tradition, he became the undisputed master of halakhah (q.v.). He belonged to the school of Jamnia; he lived and taught in Lydda and in Bné Beraq.
'A. is the father of Talmudism. As a casuist, he treated legal prescriptions in themselves, separating them from biblical exegesis; thus he separated halakhah from midrash, disregarding their respective methods. The result was the systematic arrangement of legal traditions by subject; 'A. was the first to collect the halakhic material that later occupied the Mishnah (q.v.), whose spirit and plan he taught. His disciple, R. Meir, continued the collection and organization. The Talmud often refers to the "Mishnah of Rabbi 'A.": this does not seem to refer to a distinct work, but rather to the paternity of 'A. regarding the well-known Mishnah. The halakhic midrashim Sifra and Sifré, attributed to his disciples R. Judah ben Ilai and R. Simeon ben Yohai, contain much material derived from 'A. For biblical exegesis, 'A. established hermeneutic principles (the rules of 'A.) designed to valorize every element of the sacred text. He maintained the divine inspiration of the Song of Songs.
He took an active part in the political events of his people after the destruction of the Temple (AD 70). It is said that he visited Jews scattered in Arabia and Africa and that he came to Rome several times, entering into personal relations with Emperor Hadrian. He was the driving force behind the Bar Kokhba revolt, which 'A. anointed and proclaimed as liberator and Messiah. After the movement failed, the elderly 'A. was imprisoned for three years and then executed under torture in Caesarea. To him is attributed the conception of martyrdom that became prevalent in Judaism (Talmud Bab., Berakhot 61b).
Two Kabbalistic works, which arose 8-10 centuries later, were attributed to him: Séfer Yetsirah (Book of Creation) and Séfer Othijoth (Book of Letters), also called the "Alphabet of 'A." (Venice ed. 1556; in G. Bartolocci, Biblioteca rabbinica, IV, Rome 1693).