Jonathan (; ; died c. AD 58), also referred to as Jonathan the High Priest, was a first-century

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

high priest and

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

leader. Shortly after he was announced

High Priest of Israel In Judaism, the High Priest of Israel (, lit. ‘great priest’; Aramaic: ''Kahana Rabba'') was the head of the Israelite priesthood. He played a unique role in the worship conducted in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple in Jerusalem, ...

, he was killed in AD 58 by

Antonius Felix Antonius Felix (possibly Tiberius Claudius Antonius Felix, in Greek: ὁ Φῆλιξ; born ) was the fourth Roman procurator of Judea Province in 52–60, in succession to Ventidius Cumanus. He appears in the New Testament in Acts 23 and 2 ...

, the Roman

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * Procurator (Ancient Rome), the title of var ...

of the province

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

. He was stabbed by robbers hired by Felix with daggers at the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

Enmity with Felix

Felix disliked Jonathan, because he often got criticized by the latter about governing the Jewish affairs, and threatened to be reported to Caesar if not doing well as the priest was the one who made the recommendation to Caesar to send Felix to be the procurator of Judea. Felix persuaded one of Jonathan's most trusted friends, Doras, a citizen of Jerusalem, to hire robbers to kill Jonathan by promising to give a large sum of money. Doras arranged for some hired men to mingle with the worshippers in the Temple in Jerusalem, while they hid daggers under their garments. These assassins succeeded in killing Jonathan during a Jewish festival and were never caught. The main source that mentions this high priest is the ''

Antiquities of the Jews ''Antiquities of the Jews'' (; , ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus in the 13th year of the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian, which was 94 CE. It cont ...

'' by Flavius Josephus.

Ossuary

It is suggested that this Jonathan is the son of Theophilus ben Ananus mentioned on an

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

ossuary An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years th ...

of the granddaughter of Theophilus, named Johanna. The inscription of the

reads, "Yehoḥanah (Johanna) daughter of Yehoḥanan (Jonathan) son of Thefilus (Theophilus), the High Priest." Since many male descendants of Ananus ben Seth also became high priests in the 1st century CE, it is possible that this Jonathan is the son of

Theophilus Theophilus is a male given name with a range of alternative spellings. Its origin is the Greek word Θεόφιλος from θεός (''theós'', "God") and φιλία (''philía'', "love or affection") can be translated as "Love of God" or "Friend ...

. However, the

only refers to Theophilus as a high priest, so it may have been a different person. According to Tal Ilan, Jonathan was the eighth most common male Jewish name in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. Another possible identification for him is that he was Jonathan ben Ananus.http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7689-high-priest It is possible that the title was restored to him for a second time after 14 years. This could explain why Josephus refers to him only by his first name rather than his full name. Some historians believe that Jonathan's true killers may have been Jewish

Sicarii The Sicarii were a group of Jewish assassins who were active throughout Judaea in the years leading up to and during the First Jewish–Roman War, which took place at the end of the Second Temple period. Often associated with the Zealots (altho ...

, rebels against Roman rule infamous for assassinating enemies with

sica The sica is a short sword or large dagger of ancient Illyrians, Thracians, and Dacians; it was also used in ancient Rome. It is a shorter form of the falx, and the root of the word is the same as the modern sickle. It was originally depicted as ...

References

{{Authority control 1st-century high priests of Israel Ancient Roman murder victims Deaths by stabbing