Menahem ben Judah lived around the time of the

First Jewish-Roman War First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and is mentioned by

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

. He was the leader of a faction called the

Sicarii The Sicarii (Modern Hebrew: סיקריים ''siqariyim'') were a splinter group of the Jewish Zealots who, in the decades preceding Jerusalem's destruction in 70 CE, strongly opposed the Roman occupation of Judea and attempted to expel them and th ...

who carried out assassinations of Romans and collaborators in the Holy Land. He was the son of

Judas of Galilee Judas of Galilee, or Judas of Gamala, was a Jewish leader who led resistance to the census imposed for Roman tax purposes by Quirinius in Judea Province around 6 CE. He encouraged Jews not to register and those that did had their houses burnt an ...

and grandson of Hezekiah, the leader of the

Zealots The Zealots were a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First Jew ...

, who had troubled Herod and was a warrior. When the war broke out he attacked Masada with his band, armed his followers with the weapons stored there, and proceeded to Jerusalem, where he captured the fortress Antonia, overpowering the troops of

Agrippa II Herod Agrippa II (; AD 27/28 – or 100), officially named Marcus Julius Agrippa and sometimes shortened to Agrippa, was the last ruler from the Herodian dynasty, reigning over territories outside of Judea as a Roman client. Agrippa II fle ...

. Emboldened by his success, he behaved as a king, and claimed the leadership of all the troops. Thereby he aroused the enmity of Eleazar, another Zealot leader, and met death as a result of a conspiracy against him (ib. ii. 17, § 9). Some identify him with

Menahem the Essene Menahem the EsseneJewishencyclopedia
MENAHEM THE ESSENE article ( ...

including Israel Knohl (English edition, 2001) who makes this identification from two purportedly messianic hymns from Qumran.Israel Knohl trans. David Maisel ''The Messiah Before Jesus: The Suffering Servant of the Dead Sea Scrolls'' 2002 p.61 "Significantly, the only mention of Menahem in the Mishna occurs immediately after the remarks on the wickedness of slighting God's honor. The protagonist of the messianic hymns, whom we have identified with Menahem, describes himself " He may be identical with the

Menahem ben Hezekiah In the Babylonian Talmud Menahem ben Hezekiah was a quasi- messianic Jewish teacher born on the day the Second Temple was destroyed (AD 70). He may be the same as Menahem ben Judah; also see Menahem ben Ammiel. In the Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin ...

mentioned in the Talmud (tractate Sanhedrin 98b) and called "the comforter that should relieve", and is to be distinguished from

Menahem ben Ammiel Menahem ben Ammiel, or ben Amiel, is a character in apocalyptic Jewish texts, the future Messiah ben David of the Sefer Zerubbabel. He fights against Armilus, the Jewish apocalyptic counterpart of the Christian Book of Revelation's Antichrist. He w ...

, the Messiah of the

Sefer Zerubbabel Sefer Zerubavel ( he, ספר זרובבל), also called the Book of Zerubbabel or the Apocalypse of Zerubbabel, is a medieval Hebrew apocalypse written at the beginning of the 7th century CE in the style of biblical visions (e.g. Daniel, Ezekiel) p ...

References

{{JewishEncyclopedia This article is an evolution of th
corresponding article
which gives the following Bibliography: Grätz, Gesch. passim; Hamburger, R. B. T. s.v. Messiasc; M. Gaster, in Jew. Chron. Feb. 11 and March 11, 1898; A. M. Hyamson, False Messiahs, in Gentleman's Magazine, Ixix. 79–89; Johannis à Lent, De Judœorum Pseudo-Messiis. Jewish messiah claimants 1st-century Jews