Ananelus (also known as Hanameel) was a

Jewish High priest In Judaism, the High Priest of Israel (, lit. ‘great priest’; Aramaic: ''Kahana Rabba'') was the head of the Israelite priesthood. He played a unique role in the worship conducted in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple in Jerusalem, ...

in the 1st century BCE. Though of

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

ly descent, he was not a member of the

Hasmonean dynasty The Hasmonean dynasty (; ''Ḥašmōnāʾīm''; ) was a ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during the Hellenistic times of the Second Temple period (part of classical antiquity), from BC to 37 BC. Between and BC the dynasty rule ...

. The

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

(Parah 3:5) identifies him as Hanameel the Egyptian, while

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

("Ant." xv. 2, § 4) identifies him as being from

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

. He was appointed by Herod to fill the office of high priest made vacant by the death of

Antigonus Antigonus or Antigonos (), a Greek name meaning "comparable to his father" or "worthy of his father", may refer to: Rulers * Three Macedonian kings of the Antigonid dynasty that succeeded Alexander the Great: ** Antigonus I Monophthalmus (382� ...

(37 BCE). Ananelus's incumbency was of short duration. Prudence compelled Herod to remove him, and to fill his place with the Hasmonean Aristobulus (36 BCE). The youthful Hasmonean, however, was too popular with the patriotic party; though he was a brother of Mariamne, Herod's beloved wife, he was treacherously drowned at Herod's instigation (35 BCE), and Ananelus was restored to the high position. How long he continued in office is not stated; but it could not have been for many years, since after the execution of Mariamne (29 BCE) Herod remarried, and appointed his second father-in-law, Simon ben Boethus, to the high-priesthood, removing

Joshua ben Fabus Jesus, son of Fabus, also known as Jesus, son of Phabet, Jesus son of Phiabi or Joshua ben Fabus (), was a Jewish High priest (c. 30 – 23 BCE) in the 1st century BCE. He succeeded Ananelus Ananelus (also known as Hanameel) was a Jewish High pri ...

. Ananelus is credited with having prepared the penultimate of seven total "

red heifer The red heifer () was a reddish brown Cattle, cow sacrificed by Temple priests as a ritual purification, purification ritual in biblical times. Ritual in the Torah The red heifer offering is described in Book of Numbers, Numbers 19. The Tora ...

s" (see Numbers 19) which were provided in all the centuries from Ezra's restoration to the final dispersion of the Jews (Parah 3:5).

References

Jewish Encyclopedia: Hanameel the Egyptian
{{High Priests of Judaism 1st-century BCE high priests of Israel