Jose ben Jochanan (Hebrew: יוסי בן יוחנן, Yose ben Yochanan or Joseph ben Johanan) was Av Beit Din (Chief Justice) of the Sanhedrin in the 2nd century BCE.
He and Jose ben Joezer were the successors and, it is said, the disciples of Antigonus of Sokho,[1] and the two together formed the first of a series of duumvirates that transmitted the traditional law; according to tradition, in each pair one was the Nasi (prince or president) and the other was the Av Beit Din (Chief Justice of the Sanhedrin).
[3] A disagreement between the two colleagues with regard to halakhic decisions gave rise to the formation of two different schools.
Both men were opposed to Hellenism, and both belonged to the Hasideans.
Jose ben Joezer and Jose ben Johanan were the last of the "eshkolot",[4] or "wise men" (from Hebrew Eshkolot, "bunches [of grapes]", poet.