Ananias son of Nedebeus (Hebrew: חנניה בן נדבאיḤananyá ben Nadváy "…(son of) the philanthropist") was ahigh priest who according to theActs of the Apostles presided during thetrials of the apostle Paul atJerusalem (Acts 23:2) andCaesarea (Acts 24:1).Josephus calls him "Ananias ben Nebedeus". He officiated as high priest from about 47 to 58.
In the narrative of theActs of the Apostles,Paul was called to appear before the JewishSanhedrin on the instructions of the commander of the Roman garrison in Jerusalem. Ananias heard Paul's opening defense and commanded those who stood by him "to strike him on the mouth". Paul describes him as a "whitewashed wall" (Greek:τοιχε κεκονιαμενε) and testifies that God would strike Ananias for this unlawful command. Those who stood by asked if Paul was reviling or insulting the high priest, and Paul replied that he did not know that the command to strike him had been spoken by the high priest. Seeing that there were bothPharisees andSadducees on the Sanhedrin (seeActs 23:4–9 for the whole context):
But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!" (Acts 23:6, NKJV)
P.C. Barker comments "It is not evident how it was that Paul failed to know the thing that he said he did not know—whether this were that Ananias was the high priest, or whether it were that it was Ananias who uttered the command to smite him on the mouth".[1] TheologianJohn Gill identifiesJoshua ben Gamla as the high priest during the trial, for one possible explanation of Paul's remark.[2]
Quadratus, governor ofSyria, accused Ananias of being responsible for acts of violence. Ananias was sent toRome for trial in 52 but was acquitted by the emperorClaudius. He continued to officiate as high priest until 58.[3] Being a friend of the Romans, Ananias was murdered by the people at the beginning of theFirst Jewish-Roman War.[4] His sonEliezar ben Hanania was one of the leaders of the Great Revolt of Judea.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ananias".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 913.| Jewish titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | High Priest of Israel 46—52 | Succeeded by |