Monobaz II or Monobaz bar Monobaz was the son of Helena of Adiabene

Helena of Adiabene

Helena of Adiabene was queen of Adiabene and wife of Monobaz I. With her husband she was the mother of Izates II and Monobaz II. She died about 56 CE. Her name and the fact that she was her husband's sister indicate a Hellenistic origin...

 and Monobaz I

Monobaz I

Monobaz I was king of the neo Assyrian Parthian client state of Adiabene in the 20s and 30s of the 1st century CE. He was the husband of Queen Helena of Adiabene. With Helena he fathered Izates bar Monobaz and Monobaz II....

. Like his younger brother Izates bar Monobaz

Izates bar Monobaz

Izates II or Izates bar Monobaz was a proselyte to Judaism who became King of the Parthian client kingdom of Adiabene. He was the son of Queen Helena of Adiabene and Monobaz I. During his youth he was sent by his father to the court of King Abinergaos I of Characene in Charax Spasinu...

 and his mother, Monobaz became a convert to Judaism

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

. He ruled as king of Adiabene

Adiabene

Adiabene was an ancient Assyrian independent kingdom in Mesopotamia, with its capital at Arbela...

 after the death of his brother Izates around 55 CE. The date of his death is unknown but he is known to have been alive and on the throne during the First Jewish-Roman War

First Jewish-Roman War

The First Jewish–Roman War , sometimes called The Great Revolt , was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews of Judaea Province , against the Roman Empire...

, when he gave aid to the Jewish rebels against the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

.
The Talmud

Talmud

The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

 relates that Monobaz "dissipated all his own hoards and the hordes of his fathers in years of scarcity. His bothers and his father's household came in a delegation to him and said, 'Your father saved money and added to the treasures of his fathers, and you are squandering them.' He replied, 'My fathers stored up below and I am storing up above... My fathers stored in a place which can be tampered with, but I have stored in a place which cannot be tampered with… My fathers gathered treasures of money and I have gathered treasures of souls...' King Monobaz also donated handsome gifts to the Temple in Jerusalem

Temple in Jerusalem

The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...

. "King Monobaz had all the handles of all the vessels used on Yom Kippur made of gold… He also made of gold the base of the vessels, the rims of the vessels, the handles of the vessels, and the handles of the knives...