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79-426: The most commonly argued-for single candidate is Jonathan Apphus , followed by his brother Simon Thassi ; the widespread acceptance of this view, despite its acknowledged weaknesses, has been dubbed the "Jonathan consensus." More recently, some scholars have argued that the sobriquet does not refer to only one individual. Most notably the "Groningen Hypothesis" advanced by García Martinez and van der Woude, argues for

158-548: A messianic figure who had been exalted to the presence of God's throne. They then anticipated that the Teacher would return to judge the wicked and lead the righteous into a golden age , which would take place within the next forty years. Wise explains that dating of manuscript copies among the Dead Sea Scrolls shows that the Teacher's postmortem following drastically increased in size over several years, but that when

237-524: A series of six Wicked Priests . The Habakkuk Commentary (1QpHab) was one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 and published in 1951. The thirteen-column scroll is a pesher , or "interpretation", of the Book of Habakkuk . The Commentary on Psalm 37 is one of the three pesharim on the Book of Psalms and the only other Dead Sea scroll to use the sobriquet. Psalm 37 has been said to have "the strongest literary and thematic links" with

316-569: A desert region in the country east of the Jordan River . They set camp near a morass by the name of Asphar. But Bacchides followed him there and overtook them during Shabbat . Jonathan gave all the baggage into the hands of his brother John who took a small force and headed towards the friendly Nabataeans . The plan was to secure their baggage there but the "sons of Jambri of Medeba ", a hostile tribe apparently, ambushed them during their journey. John and his companions were killed and their cargo

395-570: A friendly conference, and persuaded him to dismiss his army of 40,000 men, promising to give him Ptolemais and other fortresses. Jonathan fell into the trap; he took with him to Ptolemais 1,000 men, all of whom were slain; he himself was taken prisoner. When Tryphon was about to enter Judea at Hadid , he was confronted by a battle-ready Simon. Tryphon, avoiding an engagement, demanded one hundred talents of silver and Jonathan's two sons as hostages, in return for which he promised to liberate Jonathan. Although Simon did not trust Tryphon, he complied with

474-700: A letter which is preserved by I Maccabees and Josephus. Soon, however, a new claimant to the Seleucid throne appeared in the young Antiochus VI Dionysus , son of Alexander Balas and Cleopatra Thea. He was three years old at most, but general Diodotus Tryphon used him to advance his own designs for the throne. In face of this new enemy, Demetrius promised to withdraw the garrison from Jerusalem, if Jonathan, who he now called his ally, would send troops. 3,000 of Jonathan's men protected Demetrius in his capital, Antioch , against his own subjects. As Demetrius II did not keep his promise, Jonathan thought it better to support

553-399: A one standard deviation confidence interval of 104–43 BCE and a two sigma confidence interval of 120–5 BCE (97%); for 4QpPs (4Q171) the one standard deviation confidence interval was 22–78 CE and the two sigma confidence interval was 5–111 CE. Earlier paleographic dating of 1QpHab indicated a date range of 30–1 BCE. The prediction of column 7 of 1QpHab that "the final age shall be prolonged"

632-523: A province; details not found in Josephus), and sent him back with honors to Jerusalem. Jonathan proved grateful. In 147 BCE, Demetrius II Nicator , a son of Demetrius I Soter, started claiming the throne against Alexander Balas. Apollonius Taos , governor of Coele-Syria was probably supporting Demetrius. But he used the opportunity to challenge Jonathan to battle, saying that the Jews might for once leave

711-526: A second letter made promises that he could hardly have kept and conceded prerogatives that were almost impossible. Demetrius subsequently lost his throne and life in 150 BCE. Alexander Balas was victorious and sole ruler of the Seleucid Empire. He was given the further honor of marriage to Cleopatra Thea , daughter of his allies Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II. The wedding took place in Ptolemais in

790-665: A separation has been suggested even without recourse to sources outside the Commentary on Habakkuk. Since the time of de Vaux , the default assumption has been that the Wicked Priest is a single individual, if only because of the appealing parallelism to the Teacher of Righteousness . The consensus time period for the founding of Qumran (150–140 BCE) includes five High Priests: three Hellenized and two Maccabean: Jason , Menelaus , Alcimus , Jonathan , and Simon , and also

869-633: Is a mysterious figure found in some of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran , most prominently in the Damascus Document . This document speaks briefly of the origins of the sect , probably Essenes , 390 years after the Neo-Babylonian Empire captured Jerusalem in 586 BCE . After another 20 years of study and waiting, "God... raised for them a Teacher of Righteousness to guide them in the way of His heart". The Teacher

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948-494: Is excluded). The six "Groningen" High Priests are: Judas Maccabeus (8.8–13), Alcimus (8.16–9.2), Jonathan (9.9–12), Simon (9.16–10.5), John Hyrcanus I (11.4–8), and Alexander Jannaeus (11.12–12.10). The pontificate of Alexander Jannaeus was to overlap with the writing of the Habakkuk Commentary but not the life of the Teacher of Righteousness. The "Groningen hypothesis" argues that relative clauses and

1027-465: Is extolled as having a proper understanding of the Torah , qualified in its accurate instruction (i.e. an inspired interpreter of the prophets , as the one "to whom God made known all the mysteries of the words of his servants the prophets" – 1QpHab 7:5) and being the one through whom God would reveal to the community "the hidden things in which Israel had gone astray". Although the exact identity of

1106-538: Is improbable, however, that the office remained completely vacant for these years. Stegemann suggests that the reason that nothing is said in 1 Maccabees about a High Priest between Alcimus and Jonathan was apologetic : to conceal the fact that the Hasmoneans obtained the High Priesthood by usurping it from its rightful holder, the Teacher of Righteousness. Alvar Ellegård follows this line and argues that

1185-405: Is sometimes interpreted to mean that the Habakkuk Commentary was written approximately 40 years after the death of the Teacher of Righteousness —the time when the final age should have ended, according to the Damascus Document . Moreover, the arrogant man seizes wealth without halting. He widens his gullet like Hell and like Death he has never enough. All the nations are gathered to him and all

1264-468: Is sometimes reconstructed as (fifth) use of the sobriquet. The reconstruction is made by analogy to 4QpPsa frags. 1–10, col. 4.7–10, but has been challenged, thus pushing the first reference to the Wicked Priest to col. 8, with the interpretation of the first of a series of woes. 1QpHab 5.8–12 interprets "wicked one" as the Liar, rather than the Wicked Priest ^   β:  Some scholars question whether

1343-407: Is the Teacher. Barbara Thiering questions the dating of the Dead Sea Scrolls and suggests that the Teacher of Righteousness preached a future fiery judgment, has said "the axe is laid to the roots of the tree," called people "vipers," practiced baptism and lived in the wilderness of Judea. Due to these reasons, she believes there is a strong possibility that the Teacher of Righteousness was John

1422-485: Is the most commonly identified single candidate for the identity of the Wicked Priest. The most popularly accepted piece of evidence for the identification of Jonathan is his "death at the hands of the Gentiles," a characteristic shared only by Menelaus (172–162 BCE), who is generally chronologically excluded. 1 Maccabees 13 recounts the capture and execution of Jonathan at Bascama (in modern Jordan) by Diodotus Tryphon ,

1501-449: Is the proposal that Hyrcanus II was the Teacher of Righteousness. This was proposed in 2013 by Gregory Doudna. Hyrcanus was High Priest from 76 to 67 BCE and 63 to 40 BCE. According to Doudna, Hyrcanus II’s sectarian orientation is generally understood as Sadducee. Further, according to this hypothesis, Antigonus II Mattathias would have been seen as the Wicked Priest. Antigonus was the last Hasmonean king. He ruled only for three years and

1580-594: The Feast of Tabernacles of 153 BCE, Jonathan put on the High Priest's garments and officiated for the first time. It is unknown whom Jonathan displaced as High Priest, though some scholars suggest that this was the Teacher of Righteousness , later founder of the Essenes . In this theory, Jonathan is considered the " Wicked Priest ". Jonathan had determined to side with Alexander Balas, not trusting Demetrius, who in

1659-579: The River Eleutherus . He then returned to Jerusalem, maintaining peace with the King of Egypt despite their support for different contenders for the Seleucid throne. In 145 BCE, the Battle of Antioch resulted in the final defeat of Alexander Balas by the forces of his father-in-law, Ptolemy VI. Ptolemy himself was however among the casualties of the battle. Demetrius II Nicator remained sole ruler of

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1738-480: The Seleucid Empire . However Mattathias died in 167 BCE while the rebellion was only beginning. He was survived by Jonathan and his brothers Eleazar Avaran , Johanan (John Gaddi), Judah Maccabee , and Simon Thassi . They were sworn to continue the rebellion of their father. Judah soon became their leader and the military chief of the rebellion. Jonathan served under his brother and took active parts in

1817-720: The historical Jesus was James, brother of Jesus the Nazarene , the Teacher of Righteousness against the Wicked Priest Ananus ben Ananus , and a "Spouter of Lies" whom Eisenman identifies as Paul the Apostle . This theory is rejected by mainstream scholarship, as the Dead Sea scrolls date to around 100 BCE, predating James by almost 200 years. Stephen Goranson suggests that Judah the Essene, mentioned by Josephus,

1896-461: The mountains and venture out into the plain . Jonathan and Simon led a force of 10,000 men against Jaffa where the forces of Apollonius lay. Not expecting an attack this early in the hostilities, Jaffa was not prepared for a siege, and the gates were opened before the Jewish forces out of fear. But the victory was not yet certain. Apollonius received reinforcements from Azotus and appeared in

1975-402: The perfect are used to describe (and disambiguate) the first five Wicked Priests, while an absolute clause and the imperfect are used to describe the sixth Wicked Priest. However, Lim contends that this requires the granting of "a number of debatable changes to the text," and argues that the relative pronoun is used in the final columns in relation to the "sixth" Wicked Priest. Furthermore,

2054-606: The " Kittim " (identifiable as the Romans due to the distinct practice of " sacrifice to their standards " attested to in 1QpHab 6.6) are referred to in the imperfect and none of the characters associated with the beginning of the Qumran community would have come into contact with the Romans The "Maccabean theory"—as advanced by Cross, Milik, and Vermes—traditionally identifies the Wicked Priest as either Jonathan or Simon. Jonathan

2133-572: The " Teacher of Righteousness " (both the founder and future eschatological teacher of the Qumran community), the "Searcher of the Law" (both the Teacher of Righteousness and another eschatological figure), and "Anointed" (both past prophets and future priests or kings). The " Groningen hypothesis " advanced by Florentino García Martinez, later together with A.S. van der Woude, interprets columns 8 to 12 of 1QpHab as describing six Wicked Priests in chronological (but not absolute, sequential order as Aristobulus I

2212-514: The "second" and "fourth" Wicked Priests are not explicitly referred to as such in the Habakkuk Commentary but rather "the priest who rebelled" (8.16) and "the [Priest] who…" (9.16), respectively. The positing of Judas as the "first" Wicked Priest is attested to in Josephus ( JA 12:4.14, 19, 34), but later contradicted (20: 10.3), and precluded by 1 Maccabees 9, which states that Judas died before Alcimus. Van der Woude reverts to 1 Maccabees 9 for

2291-465: The Baptist . Her belief is based on the idea that the Dead Sea Scrolls were written in code. Richard A. Freund writes, "The difference of opinion over the positioning of the Teacher of Righteousness leads me to conclude that perhaps all of these researchers are correct. A Teacher of Righteousness did lead the group in the second century BCE when it was established. Another Teacher of Righteousness led

2370-717: The Book of Habakkuk, compared to the other Psalms, and the language of Psalm 37 is borrowed by the Habakkuk pesherist in the commentary on Hab. 2:17. The similar language and themes of the Commentaries on Habakkuk and Psalm 37 have been suggested as evidence of common authorship, or at least similar interpretive methods. Radiocarbon dating tests conducted on 1QpHab and 4QpPs at the Arizona Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Facility gave

2449-501: The King of the Arabs" before escaping to Jerusalem. The same passage has also been suggested as a pun on Jannaeus’s verbose moniker (as attested to by contemporary coins, pictured ) —Yehonathan ("Yahweh gave"), often shorted as Yannai—a pun which allegedly also occurs in 1QpHab 10.3–5. Jannaeus’s "fortification, or beautification" of Jerusalem has been compared to the Wicked Priest's illicit building activities. The Wicked Priests pursuit of

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2528-549: The Priest whose ignomity was greater than his glory. For he did not circumcise the foreskin of his heart, and he walked in the ways of drunkenness that he might quench his thirst. But the cup of wrath of God shall confuse him, multiplying his [...] and the pain of [...] The references to the Wicked Priest have been divided into three overlapping themes: violence against the Teacher of Righteousness and his followers, cultic transgressions and non-observance, and divine punishment against

2607-511: The Seleucid Empire and became the second husband of Cleopatra Thea . Jonathan owed no allegiance to the new king, and took this opportunity to lay siege to the Seleucid fortress in Jerusalem and the symbol of Seleucid control over Judea. It was heavily garrisoned by a Seleucid force, and offered asylum to Jewish Hellenists. Demetrius was very angry; he appeared with an army at Ptolemais , and ordered Jonathan to come before him. Without raising

2686-570: The Teacher is unknown, based on the text of the Community Rule , the teachers of the sect are identified as Kohanim (priests) of patrilineal progeny of Zadok (the first high priest to serve in Solomon's Temple ), leading scholars to conclude the Teacher was a priest of Zadokite lineage. One theory initially advocated by Jerome Murphy-O'Connor and subsequently by Stegemann is that the Teacher of Righteousness served as High Priest but

2765-489: The Teacher of Righteousness to the "house of his exile" (1QpHab 11.6) on the " Day of Atonement " (11.7–8) has also been compared to Jannaeus’s known attack on the Pharisees on the Feast of Tabernacles . Antigonus Mattathias was proposed as the figure of the Wicked Priest in 2013 by Gregory Doudna. Antigonus was the last Hasmonean king of Israel, executed by the Romans in 37 BCE. Doudna also proposes that Hyrcanus II

2844-595: The Teacher of Righteousness to the house of his exile that he might confuse him with his venomous fury. And at the time appointed for rest, for the Day of Atonement, he appeared before them to confuse them, and to cause them to stumble on the Day of Fasting, their Sabbath of repose. You have filled yourself with ignomity more than with glory. Drink also, and stagger! The cup of the Lord's right hand shall come round to you and shame shall come on your glory. Interpreted, this concerns

2923-613: The Teacher of Righteousness was not only the leader of the Essenes at Qumran, but was also considered something of a precursor to Jesus Christ about 150 years before the time of the Gospels . In 1965, the Dead Sea Scrolls document known as Melchizedek , dated to around 100 BCE, revealed that the Essenes were waiting for this Melchizedek (מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק‎, romanized: malkī-ṣeḏeq, 'King of Righteousness') High Priest and King Messiah . The Essenes also wrote in this document that they knew

3002-408: The Wicked Priest for these acts. Many scholars have gleaned from this passage that the Wicked Priest and the Teacher of Righteousness followed different liturgical calendars , thus enabling the Wicked Priest to travel on Yom Kippur ; some have even suggested that the Teacher of Righteousness was a schismatic High Priest during the pre-Jonathan intersacerdotium . Several scholars have interpreted

3081-433: The Wicked Priest to having been originally "called by the name of truth." Alexander Jannaeus died, according to Josephus, of quartan fever and alcoholism, which has been compared to the references to "disease" and "drunkenness" of the Wicked Priest. Jannaeus also may lay claim to the "delivered into the hands of his enemies" passage because, according to Jewish Antiquities (13:13.5), he succumbed to an ambush by "Obedas,

3160-500: The Wicked Priest was a High Priest or even a priest at all, and still others whether a historical identification is possible or appropriate. ^   γ:  Daniel 11 was extant in the Qumran corpus: 4QDanc: 11.1–2, 13–17, 25–29; 4QDana: 11:13–16; pap6QDan: 11:33–36, 38. The relevant phrase is extant in the first two scrolls. Jonathan Apphus Jonathan Apphus ( Hebrew : יוֹנָתָן‎ אַפְּפוּס ‎ Yōnāṯān ʾApfūs ; Ancient Greek : Ἰωνάθαν Ἀπφοῦς, Iōnáthan Apphoûs )

3239-519: The Wicked Priest," but interprets the "furious young lion" of 4QpHos 2:2–3 as "the last Priest." The liturgical calendar of 4Q322, 324a–b also drops some names associated with various proposed Wicked Priests. The "scoffers" in Jerusalem from 4QpIsab have also been suggested as followers of the Wicked Priest. Some scholars do not differentiate between the Wicked Priest and the Liar (" Man of the Lie ", Iysh Hakkazav), another sobriquet used in 1QpHab. For example,

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3318-544: The battles against the Seleucid forces. Judah fell in the Battle of Elasa (161/160 BCE) against Bacchides , a Seleucid general under Demetrius I Soter . Bacchides proceeded with crushing rigor against the Maccabean party while at the same time a famine broke out in the land. The Jewish rebels required a new leader and Jonathan was chosen. Jonathan noticed that Bacchides was trying to entrap him. He reacted by retiring with his brothers Simon and John, and his followers to

3397-536: The city. Alexander Balas also contacted Jonathan with even more favorable terms. Including official appointment as High Priest in Jerusalem. Withdrawing his support from Demetrius and declaring allegiance to Alexander, Jonathan was the first member of his dynasty to achieve appointment as High Priest. The title was not merely nominal. Jonathan became the official leader of his people and the Hellenistic party could no longer attack him without severe consequences. On

3476-473: The country. However Jonathan was not idle. He continued activities against the Jews influenced by the Hellenistic civilization . Two years after the departure of Bacchides from Judea, Acra felt sufficiently threatened to contact Demetrius and request the return of Bacchides to their territory. Jonathan was now more experienced in guerrilla warfare , the primary tactic used by the Maccabean forces, and

3555-404: The description of the liar building "his city of vanity with blood" (1QpHab 10.10) has been marshaled another clue to the identity of the Wicked Priest. The best evidence for distinguishing between the two figures is that the Liar is always associated with "false doctrine and the act of misleading" whereas the Wicked Priest is associated with "cultic transgressions and non-observance." Indeed, such

3634-440: The general of Seleucid King Alexander Balas , which some have attempted to fit with this incident. However, there is no compelling textual basis that the "enemies" who "took vengeance on this body of flesh" (1QpHab 9.2) need be Gentiles. Nor can Jonathan be accurately said to have died of "disease." The so-called "King Jonathan Fragment" ( 4Q448 ) has been used both to argue against his identification or for it by connecting it to

3713-400: The iniquity committed against the Teacher of Righteousness and the men of his Council, that he might be humbled by means of a destroying scourge, in bitterness of soul, because he had done wickedly to His elect. Woe to him who causes his neighbours to drink; who pours out his venom to make them drunk that he may gaze upon their feasts. Interpreted, this concerns the Wicked Priest who pursued

3792-461: The king. However, he became dissatisfied with the religious sects in Jerusalem and, in reaction, founded a "crisis cult". While amassing a following, the Teacher (and his followers) claimed he was the fulfillment of various Biblical prophecies, with an emphasis on those found in the Book of Isaiah . The religious leadership in Jerusalem eventually killed the Teacher, and his followers hailed him as

3871-508: The latter evaded the blow; the Jews, defeated, sought refuge by swimming through the Jordan to the eastern bank. In this battle Bacchides is reported to have lost either 1,000 or 2,000 men and he did not make another attempt to cross the river, instead returning to Jerusalem. Jonathan and his forces remained in the swamp in the country east of the Jordan. Following the death of Alcimus , High Priest in Jerusalem sometime later, Bacchides left

3950-418: The motivation behind the split of the sect from mainstream Judaism appears to have been of a religious rather than political nature. Michael O. Wise posits that the Teacher of Righteousness was the "first messiah", a figure predating Jesus by roughly 100 years. This figure, who Wise believes was named Judah, rose to prominence during the reign of Alexander Jannaeus , and had been a priest and confidant to

4029-425: The new king when Diodotus Tryphon and Antiochus VI seized the capital. The latter confirmed all his rights and appointed his brother Simon strategos of the seacoast, from the "Ladder of Tyre " to the frontier of Egypt . Jonathan and Simon toured the region, removing Demetrius II's garrisons; Ashkelon submitted voluntarily, while Gaza was taken by force. Jonathan defeated a force of Demetrius II which invaded from

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4108-641: The nicknames of Mattathias' sons". Wolf suggests that the name was given to him by Mattathias and that the common explanation of the word "Apphus" relates it to the Syriac choppus , "the dissembler". The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia 's article on the Maccabees suggests the meaning is "the wary", but Torrey (in the Encyclopedia Biblica article, "Maccabees") points out that we have no means of ascertaining with what guttural consonant

4187-618: The north, in the plain of Azor , and drove them back over the Eleutherius River. Meanwhile, Simon took the strong fortress of Beth Zur and replaced Demetrius II's garrison with his own. Sources report that Jonathan sought alliances with foreign peoples at this time. He renewed the treaty with the Roman Republic , and exchanged friendly messages with Sparta and other places. In 143 BCE, Diodotus Tryphon went with an army to Judea and invited Jonathan to Scythopolis for

4266-602: The order of the High Priests. John Hyrcanus I is assigned the role of the "fifth" Wicked Priest—the one who pursues the Teacher of Righteousness to his house of exile—merely because it fits the preconceived sequence and in the absence of any documentary evidence. John Hyrcanus I is chosen over Aristobulus I only because of the shortness of the latter’s reign. Alternative identifications of the Wicked Priest include Ananus ben Ananus (cf. Robert Eisenman ) and Jesus (cf. Barbara Thiering ). ^   α:  1QpHab 1.13

4345-436: The people are assembled to him. Will they not all of them taunt him and jeer at him saying, 'Woe to him who amasses that which is not his! How long will he load himself up with pledges? Interpreted, this concerns the Wicked Priest who was called by the name of truth when he first arose. But when he ruled over Israel his heart became proud, and he forsook God and betrayed the precepts for the sake of riches. He robbed and amassed

4424-420: The pesharim but rather from external sources, namely 1 and 2 Maccabees and Josephus Other scholars, however, argue that hereditary illegitimacy is not listed among the indiscretions of the Wicked Priest, and that this interpretation has been foisted upon the text by decades of questionable interpretation. Collins argues further that there is no evidence in the Community Rule or the Damascus Document to support

4503-641: The plain in charge of 3,000 men. They were clearly outnumbered, but Apollonius, relying on his superior cavalry , forced Jonathan to engage in battle. Jonathan assaulted, captured and, burned Azotus along with the resident temple of Dagon and the surrounding villages . In reward of his victory, Alexander Balas granted the High Priest the city of Ekron , along with its outlying territory. The people of Azotus vainly complained to King Ptolemy VI, who had come to make war upon his son-in-law Alexander Balas, that Jonathan had destroyed their city and temple. Jonathan peacefully met Ptolemy at Jaffa and accompanied him as far as

4582-607: The predecessors of the Hasmonean High Priests, who did not share their ability to attack other nations militarily, having been militarily subjugated to Egypt or Syria, and their successors, who were dominated by the Romans. To a lesser extent, that the Wicked Priest was once called "by the name of the truth" (8.8–9) is used to disqualify the pre-Maccabean, Hellenized High Priests, who were not held in high regard by their coreligionists. Similarly, post-Hasmonean High Priests have not received much serious attention because

4661-534: The predicted return and golden age failed to materialize his following dissipated rapidly. Other documents from the Dead Sea Scrolls portray the Teacher as involved in a heavy conflict against a figure termed the " Wicked Priest ," which has led to several proposals for their identity: a Sadducee (Zadokite) priest as the Teacher, possibly even the legitimate High Priest, against a "wicked" Jonathan Apphus . "Zadok" translates as "righteous" in Hebrew. Along these lines

4740-457: The presence of Ptolemy VI. Jonathan was invited but arrived after the wedding ceremony while celebrations continued. He appeared with presents for both kings, and was permitted to sit between them as their equal; Balas even clothed him with his own royal garment and otherwise accorded him high honor. He would not listen to the Hellenistic party that still accused Jonathan, but appointed Jonathan as strategos and " meridarch " (i.e., civil governor of

4819-541: The request in order that he might not be accused of the death of his brother. Tryphon did not liberate his prisoner; angry that Simon blocked his way everywhere and that he could accomplish nothing, he executed Jonathan at Baskama , in the country east of the Jordan. Jonathan was buried by Simon at Modi'in . Nothing is known of his two captive sons. One of his daughters was an ancestor of Josephus . Teacher of Righteousness The Teacher of Righteousness ( Hebrew : מורה הצדק , romanized :  more haṣṣeḏeq )

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4898-417: The riches of men of violence who rebelled against God, and he took the wealth of the peoples, heaping sinful iniquity upon himself. And he lived in the ways of abominations amidst every unclean defilement. Because of the blood of men and the violence done to the land, to the city, and all its inhabitants. Interpreted, this concerns the Wicked Priest whom God delivered into the hands of his enemies because of

4977-457: The rival general with offers of a peace treaty and exchange of prisoners of war . Bacchides readily consented and even took an oath of nevermore making war upon Jonathan. He and his forces then vacated Judea. The victorious Jonathan now took up his residence in the old city of Michmash . From there he endeavored to clear the land of "the godless and the apostate ". Jonathan appears to have used this peaceful period to good advantage, for he

5056-401: The siege, Jonathan, accompanied by the elders and priests, went to the king, and pacified him with presents, so that the king not only confirmed him in his office of high priest, but gave to him the three Samaritan toparchies of Mount Ephraim , Lod , and Ramathaim-Zophim . In exchange for 300 talents of silver, the entire country was exempted from taxes , the exemption being confirmed in

5135-608: The sobriquet of "Wicked Priest" as meaning "Illegitimate Priest," i.e. not of Zadokite lineage. Some interpret 1QpHab 8.9–10—that the Wicked Priest was "called by the name of truth when he first arose"—as the initial acceptance of the Wicked Priest by the Qumran community, before Jonathan combined the diarchy of the Kingship and the Priesthood. The "Groningen Hypothesis" also follows this interpretation, based not on evidence from

5214-498: The son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and a first cousin of Demetrius, against him. Demetrius was now forced to recall the garrisons of Judea, except those at Jerusalem's Akra fortress and at Beth-zur; he also made a bid for the loyalty of Jonathan, whom he permitted to recruit an army and to take the hostages kept in the Akra fortress. Jonathan gladly accepted these terms and took up residence at Jerusalem in 153 BCE. He soon began fortifying

5293-519: The tenses associated with them are often cited as evidence of the impossibility of a single Wicked Priest. Biblical examples of a title applied to a series of successors include Daniel 11, where "King of the North" and "King of the South" can apply to multiple Seleucid and Ptolemaic kings, respectively; other potential sobriquets and titles in the pesharim that can refer to a multiplicity of people include:

5372-458: The time of his appearing due to the prophecies written in Daniel . Critics of this theory accuse it of being too hypothetical: slotting the Teacher as High Priest into a convenient gap during which no other High Priest is recorded in the few sources available. Neither the Damascus Document nor 1QS or 4QMMT suggest that the legitimacy of the High Priest was an issue for the split. In addition,

5451-482: The various figures potentially associated with the intersacerdotium . Various early theories situated the Wicked Priest within time periods running the full gamut from the pre-Hasmonaean period, to that of early Christianity, to that of the Crusades. However, that the Wicked Priest "ruled over Israel" (1QpHab 8.10) and was able to partake in "plundering" (9.7) has persuaded most scholars to exclude from consideration

5530-433: The view that the Qumran community was concerned with the legitimacy of a non-Zadokite High Priest. Suggested equivalents of the Wicked Priest are scattered throughout the pesharim . 4QTestimonia (4Q175) mentions "an accursed man, one of Belial" who—with his sons as accomplices—spilt blood "on the breastwork of Lady Zion." Some scholars consider 4QTestimonia a reference to the Wicked Priest, arguing that it fits Simon, who

5609-455: The word began, or what Semitic consonant the Greek "s" represents, and so "both the form and meaning of the name are, therefore, still to be explained". According to the narrative in 1 Maccabees , Jonathan Apphus was the youngest of the five sons of Mattathias . His father was a priest credited as the founding figure of the rebellion of the Maccabees against Antiochus IV Epiphanes of

5688-489: Was looted . Subsequently, Jonathan was informed that one of the sons of Jambri was leading home a noble bride in great pomp, the Maccabean brothers proceeded to Medaba, ambushed the bridal procession, killed the entire party, to the number of 300, and seized all the treasure. Jonathan and his companions met Bacchides in battle at the River Jordan. Jonathan had encountered and had raised his hand to slay Bacchides, when

5767-563: Was constantly on guard to avoid direct confrontations with enemy forces even while continuing hostile operations. A frustrated Bacchides reportedly took out his anger on the Hellenists and reportedly killed fifty of their leaders out of frustration. Jonathan and Simeon thought it well to retreat farther, and accordingly fortified in the desert a place called Beth-hogla; there they were besieged several days by Bacchides. Jonathan perceived that Bacchides regretted having set out. He contacted

5846-625: Was executed by the Romans in 37 BCE. Antigonus was supported by the Pharisees . Rabbi Harvey Falk identifies Hillel the Elder as the Teacher against a "wicked" Shammai , a significant conflict mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud , Shabbat 1:4 . Most scholars date the Damascus Document and many of the Dead Sea scrolls to the decades around the year 100 BCE, vastly predating Hillel and Shammai. Robert Eisenman has proposed

5925-475: Was murdered with his two sons: Judas and Mattathias. The Nahum Commentary (4Q169) contains numerous explicit references to historical figures, including Alexander Jannaeus, the "furious young lion" who takes revenge on the "seekers of smooth things" for inviting "Demetrius" to conquer Jerusalem. Vermes regards the Nahum Commentary as describing "an age following that of the Teacher of Righteousness and

6004-462: Was one of the sons of Mattathias and the leader of the Hasmonean dynasty of Judea from 161 to 143 BCE. H J Wolf notes that all of Mattathias' sons listed in 1 Maccabees 2:2–5 had double names: John is said to have been called Gaddis; Simon , Thassi; Judas , Maccabeus; Eleazar , Avaran and Jonathan, Apphus. Jewish historian Uriel Rappaport writes that "we do not have an explanation for

6083-413: Was seen as the Teacher of Righteousness . According to Doudna, Hyrcanus II’s sectarian orientation is now generally understood to have been Sadducee ; whereas Antigonus was more sympathetic towards the Pharisees . Several scholars argue that there is no one High Priest who is the strongest candidate for identification with each of the Wicked Priest passages. The different demises of the Wicked Priest and

6162-465: Was soon in possession of great power. An important external event brought the design of the Maccabeans to fruition. Demetrius I Soter 's relations with Attalus II Philadelphus of Pergamon (reigned 159 - 138 BCE), Ptolemy VI of Egypt (reigned 163 - 145 BCE) and his co-ruler Cleopatra II of Egypt were deteriorating. They supported rival claimant to the throne Alexander Balas , who claimed to be

6241-477: Was subsequently ousted by Jonathan Apphus . In 1 Maccabees , no High Priest is named for the period from the death of Alcimus in 159 BC to the claiming of the position of High Priest by Jonathan on the authority of Alexander Balas in 152 BC (1 Macc 10:18–20). From this, it could be concluded that there was no High Priest for these years, and indeed Josephus , drawing heavily on 1 Maccabees at this point in his history, comes to that conclusion ( Ant. 20.237). It

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