Statement

Did Hillel, Shammai and the other sages of Pirkei Avot really do and say what rabbinic literature ascribes to them? There is no way of knowing. Some have tried to see in Hillel's teachers, Avtalion and Shemaya, two sages Josephus mentions, the Pharisee Pollion and his disciple Samais, but the idea is shaky, and for Hillel himself no evidence older than the rabbis exists.

References

1. p. 132

   supports · main text · ch. 5

   Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.

   Section: The Emergence of Rabbinic Culture

   Verification anchor recorded · checked against the page text

2. p. 132

   supports · main text · ch. 5

   Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.

   Section: The Emergence of Rabbinic Culture

   Verification anchor recorded · checked against the page text