List of High Priests of Israel

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This page gives one list (partly traditional) of the High Priests of Israel up to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. Because of gaps in the historical record, this list is naturally incomplete and there may be gaps.

1 High Priests of Israel
2 References

[edit] High Priests of Israel

The office did not always pass directly from father to son. The high priests, like all priests, belonged to the Aaronic line. The Bible mentiones the majority of high priests before the captivity, but gives no complete listing of office holders. Lists would be based on various historical sources. In several periods of gentile rulership, high priests were appointed and removed by kings. Still, most high priests came from the Aaronic line. One exception is Menelaus, who may not have been from the Tribe of Levi at all, but from the Tribe of Benjamin.

A traditional list of the Jewish High Priests

[edit] From the Exodus to the Babylonian Exile

Aaron, during the Exodus from Egypt
Eleazar, son of Aaron
Phinehas, son of Eleazar
Abishua, son of Phineas
Bukki, son of Abishua
Uzzi, son of Bukki
Eli, descendant of Itamar, son of Aaron
Ahitub, son of Phinehas, grandson of Eli
Ahijah, son of Ahitub
Ahimelech, son of Ahijah, High Priest during the reign of King Saul
Abiathar, son of Ahimelech, High Priest during the reign of King David
Zadok, son of Ahitub (son of Amariah, son of Meraioth, son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi -- 1 Chr 6:6-8) of the line of Eleazar, High Priest at the construction of the First Temple
Ahimaaz, son of Zadok, High Priest during the reign of King Solomon
Azariah, son of Ahimaaz (during Solomon's reign -- 1 Ki 4:2)
Joash, son of Azariah
Jehoiarib, son of Joash (1 Chr 9:10)
Jehosaphat, son of Jehoiarib
Jehoiada, son of Jehosaphat (c. 842 - 820 BCE -- 2 Ki 11:4)
Pediah, son of Jehoiada
Zedekiah, son of Pediah
Azariah II, son of Zedekiah (c. 733 BCE -- 2 Chr 26:17; seemingly conflated with Azariah I in 1 Chr 6:6-8)
Jotham, son of Azariah
Urijah, son of Jotham (c. 732 BCE -- 2 Ki 16:10)
Azariah III, son of Johanan, son of Azariah II (c. 715 -- 1 Chr 6:9, 2 Chr 31:10)
Hoshaiah, son of Azariah
The Priesthood may have failed during the 50-years' apostasy of Manasseh
Shallum, son of Zadok, son (or probably grandson) of Ahitub, son of Amariah, son of Azariah III (c. 630 -- 1 Chr 6:12, 2 Chr 34:3)
Hilkiah, son of Shallum (c. 622 -- 2 Ki 22:4)
Azariah IV, son of Hilkiah (1 Chr 6:13)
Seriah, son of Hilkiah (2 Ki 25:18)
Jehozadak, son of Seriah, went to captivity in Babylonia, hence unable to perform duties in any temple

Note: A genealogy from Aaron through Eleazar to Jehozadak can be found in 1. Chr chapter 6. The genealogy may include omitted names, like do several other genealogies in the Bible. It can not be said for sure whether the high priests that are not mentioned (such as Jehoiada and Jehoiarib) are left out, or did not belong to the unbroken male line in this genealogy. During the later time of the judges, the office went to Itamar's descendants for a period, the first known and most notable high priest being Eli. After Abiathar was expelled, the office returned to the line of Eleazar. From Solomon's time until the captivity, Josephus names 17 high priests, while Seder 'Olam Zuta names 19. It is not sure whether all those mentioned in the genealogy between Zadok and Jehozadak were high priests.

[edit] After the Babylonian Exile

Joshua, son of Jehozadak, ca. 515-490 BC, after the restoration of the Temple
Joiakim, son of Joshua, ca. 490-470 BC
Eliashib, son of Joiakim, ca. 470-433 BC
Joiada, son of Eliashib, ca. 433-410 BC
Johanan, son of Joiada, ca. 410-371 BC
Jaddua, son of Johanan, ca. 371-320 BC, during the reign of Alexander the Great

Note: The five descendants of Joshua are mentioned in Ne chapter 12. The chronology here given is not sure, however. Jaddua was probably high priest during the time of Darius II of Persia. Some believe there may have been one more Johanan and one more Jaddua in the following time, the latter Jaddua being contemporary of Alexander the Great.

Onias I, son of Jaddua, ca. 320-280 BC
Simon I, son of Onias, ca. 280-260 BC
Eleazar, son of Onias, ca. 260-245 BC
Manasseh, son of Jaddua, ca. 245-240 BC
Onias II, son of Simon, ca. 240-218 BC
Simon II, son of Onias, 218-185 BC
Onias III, son of Simon, 185-175 BC, murdered 170 BC
Jason, son of Simon 175-172 BC
Menelaus 172-162 BC
- Onias IV, son of Onias III, fled to Egypt and built a Jewish Temple at Leontopolis (closed in 66 AD)
Alcimus 162-159 BC

Inter-Sacerdotium:

It is unknown who held the position of High Priest of Jeruslam between Alcimus' death and the accession of Jonathan.

Josephus, in Jewish Antiquities, once suggests that Judas Maccabee, the brother of Jonathan, held the office during this period; Judas had in fact already died.

A vacancy in the high priesthood through these six years is indeed highly unlikely, if not impossible. In religious terms, the High Priest was a necessary part of the rites on the Day of Atonement - a day that could have not been allowed to pass uncelebrated for so long so soon after the restoration of the Temple service. Politically, Israel's overlords probably would not have allowed a power vacuum to last that length of time.

It has been argued that the founder of the Qumran community, the Teacher of Righteousness (Moreh Zedek), was the outcast High Priest of the inter-sacerdotium. In this view, his name was wiped out by his Maccabean successor, supported by both the extant records: the Books of Maccabees and Josephus (who claimed kinship with the Maccabees). This view is based on sources from the Qumran community, that however do not spell out names or events clearly.