Onias III
Encyclopedia
Onias III was a Jewish High Priest
, the son of Simon II. He is described as a pious man who, unlike the Hellenizers, fought for Judaism
. Seleucus Philopator defrayed all the expenses connected with the sanctuary and was friendly to the Jews. According to 2 Maccabees
, a traitorous official of the Temple, however, Simon the Benjamite, induced the king, through his official Heliodorus
, to undertake the plunder of the Temple treasury; the attempt was not successful, and the Syrian court never forgave the high priest for its miscarriage. When Antiochus IV Epiphanes became king, Onias was obliged to yield to his own brother Jason
. According to Josephus, Jason became high priest after the death of Onias, the latter's son, who bore the same name, being then a minor. It is strange that both father and son should have been named Onias, and still more strange is the statement of Josephus that the high priest who succeeded Jason and was the brother of Onias and Jason, likewise was called Onias, and did not assume the name of Menelaus
until later; for according to this statement there must have been two brothers of the same name.
While this confusion may be due to the Greek transcription of the related Hebrew names Johanan, Honiyya, and Nehonya, the account of Josephus appears wholly unreliable for this very reason. According to II Macc. iv. 26, Menelaus was not an Aaron
ite, but a brother of the Simon mentioned above, and hence a Benjamin
ite. When Menelaus purloined some vessels from the Temple to curry favor with the Seleucid Syria
n nobles, Onias accused him publicly and then fled to the asylum of Daphne, near Antioch
, where Menelaus, aided by the royal governor Andronicus, had him secretly assassinated, in defiance of justice and of his oath. The murdered priest was deeply mourned by both Jews and Greeks, and the king also, on his return, wept for him and sentenced Andronicus to a well-merited death.
Wellhausen and Willrich regard the story of the murder of Onias, as well as the entire list of high priests from Jaddua to the Maccabees, as legendary, while Emil Schürer
and Benedikt Niese
consider them historical. The passages in Daniel
8:10-11("casting down some of the host and stars...the prince of the host"), 9:26("shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself") and 11:22("...and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant") are generally referred to the murder of Onias. Onias III is the central figure of the legendary history of later times; the Byzantine
"Chronicon Paschale
" says that he officiated for twenty-four years, thus placing the beginning of his term of office under Egypt
ian rule. The Byzantine "Chronographeion Syntomon" follows Josephus in mentioning "another Onias" as the successor of Onias III., referring probably to Menelaus, who ought, perhaps, to be added to this list as Onias IV.
Kohen Gadol
The High Priest was the chief religious official of Israelite religion and of classical Judaism from the rise of the Israelite nation until the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem...
, the son of Simon II. He is described as a pious man who, unlike the Hellenizers, fought for Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. Seleucus Philopator defrayed all the expenses connected with the sanctuary and was friendly to the Jews. According to 2 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
2 Maccabees is a deuterocanonical book of the Bible, which focuses on the Jews' revolt against Antiochus IV Epiphanes and concludes with the defeat of the Syrian general Nicanor in 161 BC by Judas Maccabeus, the hero of the work....
, a traitorous official of the Temple, however, Simon the Benjamite, induced the king, through his official Heliodorus
Heliodorus
-People:Several persons named Heliodorus are known to us from ancient times, the best known of which are:*Heliodorus a minister of Seleucus IV Philopator ca...
, to undertake the plunder of the Temple treasury; the attempt was not successful, and the Syrian court never forgave the high priest for its miscarriage. When Antiochus IV Epiphanes became king, Onias was obliged to yield to his own brother Jason
Jason (high priest)
Jason of the Oniad family, brother to Onias III, was a High Priest in the Temple in Jerusalem.Jason became high priest in 175 BCE after the accession of Antiochus Epiphanes to the throne of the Seleucid Empire....
. According to Josephus, Jason became high priest after the death of Onias, the latter's son, who bore the same name, being then a minor. It is strange that both father and son should have been named Onias, and still more strange is the statement of Josephus that the high priest who succeeded Jason and was the brother of Onias and Jason, likewise was called Onias, and did not assume the name of Menelaus
Menelaus (High Priest)
Menelaus was High Priest in Jerusalem from 171 BC to about 161 BC. He was the successor of Jason, the brother of Onias III.The sources are divided as to his origin...
until later; for according to this statement there must have been two brothers of the same name.
While this confusion may be due to the Greek transcription of the related Hebrew names Johanan, Honiyya, and Nehonya, the account of Josephus appears wholly unreliable for this very reason. According to II Macc. iv. 26, Menelaus was not an Aaron
Aaron
In the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, Aaron : Ααρών ), who is often called "'Aaron the Priest"' and once Aaron the Levite , was the older brother of Moses, and a prophet of God. He represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest of the Israelites...
ite, but a brother of the Simon mentioned above, and hence a Benjamin
Tribe of Benjamin
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Benjamin בִּנְיָמִין was one of the Tribes of Israel.From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BCE, the Tribe of Benjamin was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes...
ite. When Menelaus purloined some vessels from the Temple to curry favor with the Seleucid Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n nobles, Onias accused him publicly and then fled to the asylum of Daphne, near Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
, where Menelaus, aided by the royal governor Andronicus, had him secretly assassinated, in defiance of justice and of his oath. The murdered priest was deeply mourned by both Jews and Greeks, and the king also, on his return, wept for him and sentenced Andronicus to a well-merited death.
Wellhausen and Willrich regard the story of the murder of Onias, as well as the entire list of high priests from Jaddua to the Maccabees, as legendary, while Emil Schürer
Emil Schürer
Emil Schürer was a German Protestant theologian.-Biography:Schürer was born at Augsburg.After studying at Erlangen, Berlin and Heidelberg from 1862 to 1866, he became in 1873 professor extraordinarius at Leipzig and eventually professor ordinarius at Göttingen...
and Benedikt Niese
Benedikt Niese
Jürgen Anton Benedikt Niese , also known as Benedict, Benediktus or Benedictus Niese, was a German classical scholar....
consider them historical. The passages in Daniel
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
8:10-11("casting down some of the host and stars...the prince of the host"), 9:26("shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself") and 11:22("...and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant") are generally referred to the murder of Onias. Onias III is the central figure of the legendary history of later times; the Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
"Chronicon Paschale
Chronicon Paschale
Chronicon Paschale is the conventional name of a 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world...
" says that he officiated for twenty-four years, thus placing the beginning of his term of office under Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian rule. The Byzantine "Chronographeion Syntomon" follows Josephus in mentioning "another Onias" as the successor of Onias III., referring probably to Menelaus, who ought, perhaps, to be added to this list as Onias IV.
Resources
- Gottheil, Richard and Samuel Krauss. "Onias." Jewish EncyclopediaJewish EncyclopediaThe Jewish Encyclopedia is an encyclopedia originally published in New York between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. It contained over 15,000 articles in 12 volumes on the history and then-current state of Judaism and the Jews as of 1901...
. Funk and Wagnalls, 1901–1906, which cites to the following bibliography: - H. P. Chajes, Beiträge zur Nordsemitischen Onomatologie, p. 23, Vienna, 1900 (on the name);
- Herzfeld, Gesch. des Volkes Jisrael, i. 185-189, 201-206;
- Heinrich Grätz, Gesch. 2d ed., ii. 236;
- Emil SchürerEmil SchürerEmil Schürer was a German Protestant theologian.-Biography:Schürer was born at Augsburg.After studying at Erlangen, Berlin and Heidelberg from 1862 to 1866, he became in 1873 professor extraordinarius at Leipzig and eventually professor ordinarius at Göttingen...
, Gesch. 3d ed., i. 182, 194-196; iii. 97-100; - Niese, in Hermes, xxxv. 509;
- Wellhausen, I. J. G. 4th ed., p. 248, Berlin, 1901;
- Willrich, Juden und Griechen vor der Makkabäischen Erhebung, pp. 77, 109, Göttingen, 1895;
- Adolf BüchlerAdolf BüchlerAdolf Büchler was a Hungarian-Austrian rabbi, historian and theologian....
, Die Tobiaden und die Oniaden, pp. 166, 240, 275, 353, Vienna, 1899; - J. P. Mahaffy, The Empire of the Ptolemies, pp. 217, 353, London, 1895;
- Heinrich GelzerHeinrich GelzerNot to be confused with the German classical scholar Matthias Gelzer, who wrote on Julius Caesar and the Late Roman Republic.Heinrich Gelzer was a German classical scholar. He wrote also on Armenian mythology. He was the son of the Swiss historian Johann Heinrich Gelzer...
, Sextus Julius Africanus, ii. 170-176, Leipsic, 1885; - Isaac Hirsch WeissIsaac Hirsch WeissIsaac Hirsch Weiss, also Eisik Hirsch Weiss was an Austrian Talmudist and historian of literature born at Velké Meziříčí, Moravia....
, Dor, i. 130 (on the halakic view of the temple of Onias).