Akiba ben Joseph (ca.50–ca.135 AD) (Hebrew: עקיבא) or simply Rabbi Akiva was a Juean tanna of the latter part of the 1st century and the beginning of the 2nd century (3rd tannaitic generation). He was a great authority in the matter of Jewish tradition, and one of the most central and essential contributors to the Mishnah and Midrash Halakha. He is referred to in the Talmud as "Rosh la-Chachomim" (Head of all the Sages). He is considered by many to be the godfather of rabbinical Judaism.