AZARIAH

AZARIAH (early fourth century c.e.), Palestinian amora. He is believed to have been the pupil of R. *Mana, in whose name he transmitted halakhot (e.g., tj, Shab. 7:1, 9b). Some scholars have identified him with the amora Ezra, but erroneously, since they flourished in different generations. Azariah is often quoted in the aggadah of the Palestinian Talmud and even more often in midrashic literature where he transmits aggadot in the names of R. *Aḥa (Gen. R. 39:6), R. *Joshua b. Levi (Gen. R. 15:7), and Yudan b. Simeon (Gen. R. 39:8).

Azariah himself was a prolific and versatile aggadist. He explains the verse "As an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons" (Song 2:3): As the apple ripens only in the month of Sivan, so Israel emitted a sweet fragrance in the month of Sivan (i.e., at the giving of the Torah at Sinai); and as there are 50 days between the budding and the ripening of its fruit, so did Israel take 50 days between the Exodus and the giving of the Torah (Song R., to 2:3). In the word אֶשֶׁל (eshel, "tamarisk"), which Abraham planted at Beer-Sheba (Geb. 21:33), Azariah sees an allusion to the three duties of hospitality toward guests, who must be provided with food (אֲכִילָה; akhilah), drink (שְׁתִיָּה; shetiyyah), and escort (לְוָיָה, levayah; Mid. Ps. 110:1, ed. Buber, 465, n. 4). The reading "lodging" (לִינָה; linah) for the last does not appear in ancient texts.

bibliography:

Bacher, Pal Amor; Hyman, Toledot, 980.

Rossi, Azariah ben Moses Dei (1511–78). Jewish scholar. Rossi was born into an eminent Jewish family. He was the author of Meʾor Einayim (Enlightenment to the Eyes, 1573–5), which shows his familiarity with Greek and Latin authors, the Church Fathers, and Philo. It was the source of some controversy, as he questioned the historicity of Talmudic legends.

AZARIAH

AZARIAH (end of the first century c.e.), one of the first generation of tannaim after the destruction of the Second Temple. His son was the tanna*Eleazar b. Azariah (Yev. 16a). An affluent merchant, Azariah supported his brother Simeon, also a tanna, so that he might devote himself to his study. It was because of this that Simeon was referred to as "the brother of Azariah" (Zev. 1:2; see Sot. 21a and Rashi, ibid.).

bibliography:

Frankel, Mishnah, 69, 105ff.; Hyman, Toledot, 980.

[Zvi Kaplan]