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[204]
Now as soon as Albinus was come to the city of Jerusalem, he used
all his endeavors and care that the country might be kept in peace, and
this by destroying many of the Sicarii. But as for the high priest,
Ananias 1
he increased in glory every day, and this to a great degree, and had obtained
the favor and esteem of the citizens in a signal manner; for he was a great
hoarder up of money: he therefore cultivated the friendship of Albinus,
and of the high priest [Jesus], by making them presents; he also had servants
who were very wicked, who joined themselves to the boldest sort of the
people, and went to the thrashing-floors, and took away the tithes that
belonged to the priests by violence, and did not refrain from beating such
as would not give these tithes to them. So the other high priests acted
in the like manner, as did those his servants, without any one being able
to prohibit them; so that [some of the] priests, that of old were wont
to be supported with those tithes, died for want of food.
1 This Ananias was not the son of Nebedeus, as I take it, but he who was called Annas or Ananus the elder, the ninth in the catalogue, and who had been esteemed high priest for a long time; and, besides Caiaphas, his son-in-law, had five of his own sons high priests after him, which were those of numbers 11, 14, 15, 17, 24, in the foregoing catalogue. Nor ought we to pass slightly over what Josephus here says of Annas, or Ananias, that he was high priest a long time before his children were so; he was the son of Seth, and is set down first for high priest in the foregoing catalogue, under number 9. He was made by Quirinus, and continued till Ismael, the 10th in number, for about twenty-three years, which long duration of his high priesthood, joined to the successions of his son-in-law, and five children of his own, made him a sort of perpetual high priest, and was perhaps the occasion that former high priests kept their titles ever afterwards; for I believe it is hardly met with be fore him.
Flavius Josephus. The Works of Flavius Josephus. Translated by. William Whiston, A.M. Auburn and Buffalo. John E. Beardsley. 1895.
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