The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70 · External witness
Ananias son of Nedebaeus
d. AD 66 (killed at the outbreak of the revolt) · High Priest (c. AD 47–59) · Prosecutor of Paul · Jerusalem
External witness
Who Ananias son of Nedebaeus was
High priest for some twelve years, and the man who presided over the council when Paul was brought before it. He **commanded those standing by to strike him on the mouth**, and drew the retort that named the illegality — “sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?” Paul then withdrew the words on learning who he was, quoting Exodus: thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.
He did not let the matter drop. Luke has him travel down to Caesarea with the elders and **an orator, Tertullus**, to prosecute the case before Felix in person — a high priest appearing as a plaintiff in a Roman provincial court.
Josephus knows him well and not kindly: appointed under Herod of Chalcis, sent to Rome in chains to answer for Jewish–Samaritan violence and acquitted, wealthy, and remembered for having his servants take the tithes from the threshing floors by force. He was killed by the Zealots in Jerusalem at the outbreak of the revolt in AD 66.
**He is a different man from the three other Ananiases this archive holds** — Annas (Ananus I) of the Gospels, Ananias of Jerusalem who died with Sapphira, and Ananias of Damascus who baptised Paul. The name was among the commonest in first-century Judaea.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses.
Common questions
When did Ananias son die?
Ananias son of Nedebaeus is dated d. AD 66 (killed at the outbreak of the revolt) in the archive, which places Ananias son in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70).
Which early sources mention Ananias son?
Ananias son of Nedebaeus is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Luke and Flavius Josephus. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Ananias son from?
The archive associates Ananias son of Nedebaeus with Jerusalem.
Who were Ananias son’s contemporaries?
The archive links Ananias son of Nedebaeus to 5 other figures, including Paul of Tarsus, Antonius Felix, Tertullus and Claudius Lysias. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Scripture record
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Acts 23:2–5
c. AD 57And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? … Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.Luke · read ↗
Acts 24:1
c. AD 58And after five days Ananias the high priest descended with the elders, and with a certain orator named Tertullus, who informed the governor against Paul.Luke · read ↗
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews XX
c. AD 94[Josephus gives his appointment to the high priesthood by Herod of Chalcis, his being sent to Rome in bonds by Quadratus to answer for the Jewish–Samaritan violence and his acquittal there, his great wealth, and the seizing of tithes from the threshing floors by his servants. He records his death at the hands of the Zealots in Jerusalem in AD 66, at the outbreak of the war.]Flavius Josephus · Antiquities XX.v–ix · source text
Josephus, *Antiquities of the Jews* — held in this library. English: William Whiston (1737), public domain.
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 30 · Crucifixion, Resurrection and Pentecost, AD 30–33
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
- AD 62 · James the Just stoned, AD 62
- AD 64 · The Great Fire and Nero’s persecution, AD 64
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Ananias son.