Marcus Jastrow and Henrietta Szold posit that Beruriah is a Hebraization of the Latin name Valeria, after a process of rhotacism and betacism.
She had two known siblings: a brother, Simon ben Hananiah, who turned to a life of crime after failing to match Bruriah's success as a teacher, and an unnamed sister, who was sold into sexual slavery and later rescued from a Roman brothel by Beruriah's husband, Rabbi Meir, all according to Avodah Zarah 18a and Bava Kamma 4:17.
She is greatly admired for her breadth of knowledge in matters of both halakha and aggadah and is said to have learned 300 halachot from the rabbis on a single cloudy day, according to Pesachim 62b.
In another instance, Joshua ben Hananiah praises her intervention in a debate between Tarfon and the sages, saying "Beruriah has spoken correctly": Keilim Metzia 1:3 [2] She was also renowned for her sharp wit and often caustic jibes.
[4] Another interpretation of the passage, one that fits with the Tiberian vocalization, suggests that Bruriah explained that the verse does not refer to "those who sin" (as a participle), but habitual "sinners" (as an agent noun).
"[5] Avodah Zarah 18b mentions that, in the middle of his life, Rabbi Meir fled to Lower Mesopotamia, which is referred to as "Babylonia" in Jewish works.
Traditional rabbis such as Yosef Shalom Elyashiv,[6] as well as academic scholars such as Eitam Henkin,[7] have argued that Rashi did not write this story, but rather inserted later into his commentary by a mistaken student.
[8] Other rabbinic sources also take issue with Rashi's commentary, and indeed, there exists a tradition among Orthodox rabbis to name their daughters Bruriah, as an assertion of her righteousness.