In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “tanna”. Today it says “rabbi of the 2nd century”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2015
Judah bar Ilai , also known as Judah ben Ilai , Rabbi Judah or Judah the Palestinian ( , translit : Yehuda bar Ma'arava , lit. "Judah of the West"), was a 4th generation tanna of the 2nd Century and son of Rabbi Ilai I .1 Of the many Judahs in the Talmud, he is the one referred to simply as "Rabbi Judah" and is the most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah . Judah bar Ilai was born at Usha in the Galilee . His teachers were his father, who had studied with Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiba . He was ordained by Rabbi Judah ben Baba at a time when the Roman government forbade ordination. Judah bar Ilai was forced to flee Hadrian 's persecution. Obadiah of Bartenura visiting his tomb wrote in 1495: "About as far from Safed as one may walk on a Sabbath is the grave of the talmudic master Rabbi Judah bar Ilai; and there is a little village there called Ein Zetim. On the grave is a handsome tomb at which candles are lit..." Italian pilgrim Moses Basola (1523) wrote: "They say that once a Muslim woman climbed the tree on the grave in order to gather almonds, upon which the other women told her to first ask the saint's permission. But she showered them with curses. She fell off the tree, breaking all her limbs. She then pledged the gold bracelets on her hands to the saint, purchasing olive trees with them. Subsequently others made pledges as well, and at present he [the saint] has four hundred olive trees. This episode of the woman took place about sixty years ago." Drew Kaplan, "Rabbinic Popularity in the Mishnah VII: Top Ten Overall [Final Tally] Drew Kaplan's Blog (5 July 2011). Roads to Zion: four centuries of travelers' reports . Moses ben Mordecai Basola; Avraham Daṿid (31 December 1999). In Zion and Jerusalem: the itinerary of Rabbi Moses Basola (1521-1523) .2
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 623352596.
The opening as it stood in 2010
Rabbi Judah (Yehuda) ben Ilai , also known as Rabbi Judah or Rabbi Judah bar Ilai , was a Tanna (a sage recorded in the Mishna ), who lived in the 2nd Century. Of the many Rabbi Yehuda's in the Talmud he is the one referred to simply as Rabbi Yehuda. Rabbi Judah ben Ilai was born at Usha , a city in Galilee . His teachers were his father, who had studied with Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiba . Rabbi Judah ben Ilai was ordained by Rabbi Judah ben Baba at a time when the Roman government forbade ordination. Judah ben Ilai was forced to flee Hadrian 's persecution.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 363369812.
The opening as it stood in 2020 16 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
2nd century rabbi (tanna) "Rabbi Judah" redirects here.Judah bar Ilai ( ), also known as Yehuda bar Ma'arava ( , lit."Judah of the West") and Rabbi Judah , was a rabbi of the 2nd century (fourth generation of tannaim ). Of the many Judahs in the Talmud, he is the one referred to simply as "Rabbi Judah" and is the most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 941285130.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
2nd century rabbi (tanna) "Rabbi Judah" redirects here. Judah bar Ilai ( ), also known as Yehuda bar Ma'arava ( יהודה בר מערבא , lit. 'Judah of the West') and Rabbi Judah , was a rabbi of the 2nd century (fourth generation of Tannaim ). Of the many Judahs in the Talmud, he is the one referred to simply as "Rabbi Judah" and is the most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1153297702.
The opening as it stood in 2025
2nd century rabbi (tanna) "Rabbi Judah" redirects here. Judah beRabbi Ilai ( Mishnaic Hebrew : יהודה בר' אלעאי), usually known as Rabbi Judah or Judah bar Ilai , was a rabbi of the 2nd century (fourth generation of Tannaim ), and a disciple of Rabbi Akiva . Of the many Judahs in the Talmud, he is the one referred to simply as "Rabbi Judah" and is the most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah . He is not to be confused with Judah bar Ma'arava ( יהודה בר מערבא , lit. 'Judah of the West'), an amora .There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1292748606. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “tanna”. Today it says “rabbi of the 2nd century”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
tanna
Now
rabbi of the 2nd century
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
