 Ben Zoma and Ben Azzai are often mentioned together distinguished representatives of this class.Like Ben Azzai, also, he seems to have belonged to the inner circle of Joshua ben Hananiah's disciples, and a halakhic controversy between them is reported in which Ben Zoma was the victor.Ben Zoma was specially noted as an interpreter of the Jewish Scriptures, so that it was said, "With Ben Zoma died the last of the exegetes" ("darshanim").