Ananus ben Ananus (Hebrew: ''Hanan ben Hanan'' Greek: "Ananos son of Ananos" var: Ananias, la, Anani Ananus or ), d. 68
CE, was a
Herodian-era High Priest of Israel
High Priest ( he, כהן גדול, translit=Kohen Gadol or ; ) was the title of the chief religious official of Judaism from the early post- Exilic times until the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE. Previously ...
in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
,
Iudaea Province. He was the High Priest who ordered the execution by
stoning of
James, the brother of Jesus (James the Just), according to the surviving manuscripts of ''
The Antiquities of the Jews
''Antiquities of the Jews'' ( la, Antiquitates Iudaicae; el, Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία, ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by historian Flavius Josephus in the 13th year of the re ...
''. A delegation sent by citizens upset over the perceived breach of justice met Albinus before he reached Judea, and Albinus responded with a letter informing Ananus that it was illegal to convene the Sanhedrin without Albinus' permission and threatening to punish the priest. Ananus was therefore deposed by King
Herod Agrippa II before Albinus's arrival and replaced with
Jesus ben Damneus
Jesus son of Damneus (Greek: Ἰησοῦς του Δαμναίου, Hebrew: ישוע בן דמנאי, ''Yeshua` ben Damnai'') was a Herodian Dynasty, Herodian-era Kohen Gadol, High Priest of Judaea in Jerusalem, Judaea (Roman province), Iudae ...
.
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
, ''Antiquities of the Jews
''Antiquities of the Jews'' ( la, Antiquitates Iudaicae; el, Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία, ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by historian Flavius Josephus in the 13th year of the re ...
'', Book 20, Chapter 9, Section 1
Ananus was one of the main leaders of the
Great Revolt of Judea, which erupted in 66 CE. He was appointed as one of the heads of the
Judean provisional government together with
Joseph ben Gurion
Joseph ben Gurion was according to Josephus one of the chief leaders of the First Jewish–Roman War, which erupted in the year 66 in Roman Judea. Along with Ananus ben Ananus,Ben Zion, S. ''A Roadmap to the Heavens: An Anthropological Study of H ...
in late 66. In 68, Ananus was killed during the inter-rebel civil war in Jerusalem.
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
in ''
The Jewish War'' considered Ananus "unique in his love for liberty and an enthusiast for democracy" and as an "effective speaker, whose words carried weight with the people".
Great Priest
![Josephus Antiquitates Iudaice](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Josephus_Antiquitates_Iudaice.jpg)
Josephus's account of the death of James as follows:
The current scholarly consensus is that this text is authentic.
[ Richard Bauckham states that although a few scholars have questioned this passage, "the vast majority have considered it to be authentic" .] Moreover, in comparison with
Hegesippus's account of James's death in his ''Hypomnemata'', scholars consider Josephus's to be the more historically reliable.
Head of Judean provisional government
After Ananus was deposed as high priest, he continued to exercise leadership. "Under the guidance of former high priest Ananus ben Ananus, they (the
Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , ''synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence 'assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), ap ...
) exhorted the populace for support against the radical priestly Zealots, as these 'persuaded those who officiated in the Temple sacrifices to accept no gift or services from a foreigner' (
BJ II, 409-414)." Later, he marshaled recruits to fight the
Zealots, resulting in the
Zealot Temple Siege. While commanding the Jews during the siege, Ananus was killed by the Idumeans.
[Josephus, The Wars of the Jews. Book 4, Chapter 5]
References
Sources
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External links
* Has a brief mention of Ananus ben Ananus at the end.
{{High Priests of Judaism
1st-century High Priests of Israel
68 deaths
Year of birth unknown