Monobaz I (also known as Bazeus or Monobazus; he, ''Munəbāz'') was king of the Parthian client state of

Adiabene Adiabene was an ancient kingdom in northern Mesopotamia, corresponding to the northwestern part of ancient Assyria. The size of the kingdom varied over time; initially encompassing an area between the Zab Rivers, it eventually gained control of N ...

in the 20s and 30s of the 1st century AD. He was the husband ( and brother) of Queen

Helena of Adiabene Helena of Adiabene ( he, ''Hellēnī''; d. ca. 50–56 CE) was a queen mother of the Parthian vassal state of Adiabene (modern-day Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan). With her husband and brother Monobaz I, she was the mother of Izates II and Monobaz II. ...

. With Helena he fathered

Izates bar Monobaz Izates II (Greek: Ἰζάτης, he, זוטוס בן מונבז; ca. 1-54 CE) was king of the Parthian client kingdom of Adiabene from approximately 30 to 54. He is notable for converting to Judaism. He was the son of Queen Helena of Adiabene ...

and

Monobaz II Monobazus II was the son of Queen Helena of Adiabene and King Monobazus I. He is known as Monobaz in the Babylonian Talmud. Like his younger brother Izates bar Monobazus and his mother, Monobazus became a convert to Judaism. He ruled as king of A ...

. ''

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

Genesis Rabbah Genesis Rabbah (Hebrew: , ''B'reshith Rabba'') is a religious text from Judaism's classical period, probably written between 300 and 500 CE with some later additions. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical inter ...

'' 46:10 conflates the identity of Monobaz I with King Ptolemy, “‘And circumcise the flesh of your foreskin’ (Gen 17:1): he foreskinhangs on the body like a sore (''nomi''). It happened that king Munbaz and Zawatus (=Izates), the sons of King Ptolemy, were sitting and reading the book of Genesis. When they came to this verse, ‘and circumcise the flesh of your foreskin,’ one turned his face to the wall and began to cry, and the other turned his face to the wall and lsobegan to cry. 1Then each of them went and had himself circumcised ithout the other knowing” Monobaz II, the son of Monobaz I, is quoted in the Talmud in an account where in he was being criticized for not amassing as much wealth as his forefathers had. His response was this: "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."(b. Baba Batra 11a).

References

Kings of Adiabene 1st-century monarchs in the Middle East Vassal rulers of the Parthian Empire {{Royal-stub