From Rabbi Akiva to Rabbi Ze’era: Rabbinic names in Pirqei deRabbi Eliezer

Pirqei deRabbi Eliezer, a distinctive midrashic composition of the late 8^th-early 9^th centuries CE, is ascribed to a major Rabbinic figure: second century Tanna Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrkanos. This attribution is made in the first two chapters of the text, which recount the story of Rabbi Eliezer’s calling to study Torah and agree almost verbatim with Avot deRabbi Natan B13. The text that follows is replete with rabbinic names, whose dicta are embedded throughout. What rabbinic names are employed in the work? What is the function of the use of these names in Pirqei deRabbi Eliezer? And, why might the controversial figure of Rabbi Eliezer have become attached to this work in particular? This paper will look closely at these questions, concentrating in particular on this final point – the attribution of the work to Rabbi Eliezer, and its significance for our understanding of the work’s place in relation to the rabbinic milieu of its time.