Menahem ben Judah lived around the time of theFirst Jewish–Roman War and is mentioned byJosephus. He was the leader of a faction called theSicarii who carried out assassinations of Romans and collaborators in the Holy Land.[1]
He was the son ofJudas of Galilee and grandson of Hezekiah, the leader of theZealots, who had troubledHerod and was a warrior. When the war broke out, he attackedMasada with his band, armed his followers with the weapons stored there, and proceeded toJerusalem, where he captured thefortress Antonia, overpowering the troops ofAgrippa II. Emboldened by his success, he behaved as a king, and claimed the leadership of all the troops. Thereby, he aroused the enmity of Eleazar, another Zealot leader, and met death as a result of a conspiracy against him (ib. ii. 17, § 9).
Some identify him withMenahem the Essene, includingIsrael Knohl (English edition, 2001), who makes this identification from two purportedly messianic hymns fromQumran.[2][3]
He may be identical with theMenahem ben Hezekiah mentioned in the Talmud (tractate Sanhedrin 98b) and called "the comforter that should relieve", and is to be distinguished fromMenahem ben Ammiel, the Messiah of theSefer Zerubbabel.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906).The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.{{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)This article is an evolution of thecorresponding article which gives the followingBibliography: Grätz, Gesch. passim;Hamburger, R. B. T. s.v. Messiasc;M. Gaster, in Jew. Chron. Feb. 11 and March 11, 1898;A. M. Hyamson, False Messiahs, in Gentleman's Magazine, Ixix. 79–89;Johannis à Lent, De Judœorum Pseudo-Messiis.
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