Dosetai is a Greek given name meaning "gift of God". It was extremely popular in late classical Judea and among Jewish communities in Egypt, and corresponds to the Hebrew "Mattaniah" or "Nethaneel," which seems to have been a favorite one both in Palestine and in Alexandria. It has been borne by the following: In legend In a later Midrashic legend, Dosetai b. Jannai is the name of one of the two teachers sent by the Assyrian king to convert the pagans who had settled in Eretz Israel (later on, the Samaritans). The name was probably suggested by its similarity to that of the Samaritan etc. of the Dositheans. Tannaim - Mishnah rabbis Dosetai of Kefar Yatma A pupil of Shammai lived in Kefar Yitma, east of modern Ariel, north of Shiloh. Dosetai b. Matun A tanna mentioned in a baraita as the author of an aggadic teaching, which elsewhere is ascribed to Dosetai b. Judah. According to Yoma 30b, an amora, also named Dosetai b. Matun, handed down a teaching of Johanan's; but the correct reading is "Justai b. Matun," which is found in the parallel passage, Zebachim 99a, and is confirmed by the Jerusalem Talmud. Abba Jose b. Dosetai On Abba Jose b. Dosetai see Bacher, "Ag. Tan." ii. 388. Dosetai b. Jannai A tanna of the late 2nd century, known especially as having handed down teachings of Rabbi Meir, Jose ben Halafta, and Eleazer ben Shammua. On a journey to Babylonia he was ill-treated at Nehardea by the Jewish-Persian authorities, and took revenge by giving a satirical description of them. The account of the affair is preserved in two different versions. Examples of Dosetai's humor are to be found in his answers to his pupils' questions on the differences between man and woman, and in his reply to the question why Jerusalem did not have thermæ like Tiberias: "If Jerusalem had warm springs, the pilgrims coming up for the feasts would have dwelt on the pleasures of the baths offered them, instead of considering how best to fulfill the regulations for the pilgrimage". The words of Ecclesiastes 11:6 ("In the morning sow thy seed," etc.) he explained as a reminder to the farmer to be diligent in his sowing and planting. In another teaching he showed how the person who does not work during the six weekdays will soon find himself compelled to work on Shabbat. One of