Buni ben Gurion ( he, בּוּנִי בֶּן־גּוּרְיוֹן, ''Būnī ben-Gūryōn''), also called Nicodemus ( he, נַקְדִּימוֹן ''Naqdīmōn''), was a wealthy Jewish man who lived in Jerusalem in the 1st century AD. He is believed by some to be identical to the

Nicodemus Nicodemus (; grc-gre, Νικόδημος, Nikódēmos) was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin mentioned in three places in the Gospel of John: * He first visits Jesus one night to discuss Jesus' teachings (). * The second time Nicodemu ...

mentioned in the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

. Elsewhere he is discussed in

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 ...

' history, ''

The Jewish War ''The Jewish War'' or ''Judean War'' (in full ''Flavius Josephus' Books of the History of the Jewish War against the Romans'', el, Φλαυίου Ἰωσήπου ἱστορία Ἰουδαϊκοῦ πολέμου πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ...

'', and later, rabbinic works:

Lamentations Rabbah The Midrash on Lamentations or Eichah Rabbah (Hebrew: איכה רבה) is a midrashic commentary to the Book of Lamentations ("Eichah"). It is one of the oldest works of midrash, along with Bereshit Rabbah and the Pesiḳta ascribed to Rab Ka ...

, Ecclesiastes Rabbah, the

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cent ...

, and Avot of Rabbi Natan. ''Ben Gurion'' means "son of Gurion" in Hebrew and his real name was apparently ''Buni'' or ''Bunai''. He acquired the nickname ''Nicodemus'', meaning "conqueror of the people" (from and ), or alternate Semitic etymology ''Naqdimon'', signifying "to break through" (from he, דֶּקֶר) because of a miraculous answer to a prayer he made ("the sun broke through for him").Taanit 19b-20a
Sefaria. Retrieved 27 July 2021. Nicodemus appears to have been a wealthy and respected figure, known for his holiness and generosity. He was an opponent 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 ...

and of the rebellion against Rome which led to the destruction of Jerusalem. When

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

became emperor, Nicodemus sought peace with the emperor's son

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

, who was conducting the war. He agitated against the prosecution of the war by the Zealots. In retaliation, they destroyed the stores of provisions that he and his friends had accumulated for the use of pilgrims.

References

{{New Testament people Followers of Jesus Talmud people 1st-century Jews Gospel of John