In brief
Joshua ben Gamla (died c. 69/70 CE) was a Jewish high priest who officiated circa 64 CE during the waning years of the Second Temple, appointed to the position through the bribery of King Agrippa II by his wife, Martha (Marta bat Baitos), a member of the influential Boethus high-priestly family and one of Jerusalem's wealthiest women.
In Jewish tradition, he is chiefly remembered for enacting the foundational decree on universal elementary education, mandating that every town appoint teachers to instruct boys in Torah reading and Scripture from ages six or seven—a reform progressively building on prior customs to ensure widespread literacy in sacred texts amid social upheaval. The Babylonian Talmud (Bava Batra 21a) extols this initiative, stating that "had it not been for Joshua ben Gamla, the Torah would have been forgotten in Israel," crediting it with preserving Jewish learning for future generations despite prior limitations where only father-supported children or those from age sixteen received formal instruction.
Little is known about Joshua ben Gamla's family background or early life from surviving historical records. His Hebrew name, Yehoshua ben Gamla, indicates that his father was named Gamla, though no further details on parentage, siblings, or ancestral lineage are preserved in primary sources such as the Babylonian Talmud or Flavius Josephus's Antiquities of the Jews. Josephus refers to him in Greek as Iēsous huios Gamala, confirming the patronymic without additional biographical context prior to his priesthood. The absence of such information reflects the focus of ancient Jewish and Roman historians on his later roles amid the turbulent final years of the Second Temple period, rather than personal origins.
