Jason (High Priest)
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Jason (high priest) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_(high_priest) Jump to navigation Jump to search of the Oniad family, brother to Onias III, was a High Priest in (יאסון ,Jason (Hebrew: Yason the Temple in Jerusalem. Josephus records that his name, before he hellenised it, was [Yēshua`).[1 י ֵ ׁשו ּ ַﬠ originally Jesus (Hebrew Jason became high priest in 175 BCE after the accession of Antiochus IV Epiphanes to the throne of the Seleucid Empire. In an ongoing dispute between the current High Priest, Onias III, and Simon the Benjamite, Jason offered to pay Antiochus in order to be confirmed as the new High Priest in Jerusalem. Antiochus accepted the offer and further allowed Jason to build a gymnasium in Jerusalem and create a Greek-style Polis named after the king, Antioch.[2] With the creation of Antioch, Jason abandoned the ordinances given under Antiochus III the Great, which defined the polity of the Judeans according to the Torah. Jason's time as High Priest was brought to an abrupt end in 171 BCE when he sent Menelaus, the brother of Simon the Benjamite, to deliver money to Antiochus. Menelaus took this opportunity to "outbid" Jason for the priesthood, resulting in Antiochus confirming Menelaus as the High Priest. Jason fled Jerusalem and found refuge in the land of the Ammonites.[3] In 168 BCE Jason made a failed attempt to regain control of Jerusalem. Fleeing again to Ammon, he then continued to Egypt, then finally to Sparta, where he died and was buried [4] See also Hellenistic Judaism References Cohen, Shaye J.D. (2006). From the Maccabees to the Mishnah. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0-664-22743-0. Tabernacle Post-exilic 1/2 Herodians to the Jewish Revolt 2/2.