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Ananus ben Ananus (Hebrew:חנן בן חנן‎Hanan ben Hanan; Greek:Ἀνάνου ἌνανοςAnanos son of Ananos;Latin:Anani Ananus orAnanus filius Anani; d. 68 AD) was aHigh Priest of Israel inJerusalem,Judaea in the first century AD. He was the High Priest who ordered the execution bystoning ofJames, the brother of Jesus (James the Just), according to theAntiquities of the Jews ofJosephus. A delegation sent by citizens upset over the perceived breach of justice metLucceius 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 KingHerod Agrippa II before Albinus's arrival and replaced withJesus ben Damneus.^[1]

Ananus was one of the main leaders of theGreat Revolt of Judea, which erupted in 66 AD. He was appointed as one of the heads of theJudean provisional government together withJoseph ben Gurion in late 66. In 68, Ananus was killed during the inter-rebel civil war in Jerusalem. Josephus inThe 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", though in theAntiquities of the Jews he was more critical of his behaviour, calling him "a bold man in his temper, and very insolent".^[2][1]

Josephus's account of the death of James as follows:

Ananus, who, as we have told you already, took the high priesthood, was a bold man in his temper, and very insolent; he was also of the sect of theSadducees, who are very rigid in judging offenders, above all the rest of the Jews, as we have already observed; when, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity [to exercise his authority]. Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the Sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or, some of his companions]; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned: but as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach of the laws, they disliked what was done; they also sent to the king[Agrippa], desiring him to send to Ananus that he should act so no more, for that what he had already done was not to be justified; nay, some of them went also to meet Albinus, as he was upon his journey from Alexandria, and informed him that it was not lawful for Ananus to assemble a Sanhedrin without his consent. Whereupon Albinus complied with what they said, and wrote in anger to Ananus, and threatened that he would bring him to punishment for what he had done; on which king Agrippa took the high priesthood from him, when he had ruled but three months, and made Jesus, the son of Damneus, high priest.^[3]

The current scholarly consensus is that this text is authentic.^[4][5][6][7] Moreover, in comparison withHegesippus's account of James's death in hisHypomnemata, scholars consider Josephus's to be the more historically reliable.^[8]

After Ananus was deposed as high priest, he continued to exercise leadership. "Under the guidance of former high priest Ananus ben Ananus, they (theSanhedrin) 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)."^[9] Later, he marshaled recruits to fight theZealots, resulting in theZealot coup in Jerusalem. While commanding the Jews during the siege, Ananus was killed by theIdumeans or Edomites.^[10]

• Bauckham, Richard (1999). "For What Offense was James put to Death?". In Chilton, Bruce;Evans, Craig A. (eds.).James the Just and Christian origins. BRILL. pp. 199–232.ISBN 978-90-04-11550-7.
• Feldman, Louis H.; Hata, Gōhei, eds. (1987).Josephus, Judaism and Christianity. BRILL.ISBN 978-90-04-08554-1. Retrieved13 February 2012.
• Flavius Josephus; Maier, Paul L. (December 1995).Josephus, the essential works: a condensation of Jewish antiquities and The Jewish war. Kregel Academic.ISBN 978-0-8254-3260-6.
• Painter, John (2004). "Who was James?". In Chilton, Bruce; Neusner, Jacob (eds.).The brother of Jesus: James the Just and his mission.ISBN 0-8146-5152-6.
• Van Voorst, Robert E. (2000).Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.ISBN 0-8028-4368-9.

• "Annas" .New International Encyclopedia. 1905. Has a brief mention of Ananus ben Ananus at the end.

• 1st-century high priests of Israel
• 68 deaths
• Leaders ousted by a coup
• People from Roman Judea

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