References (4)
and Annas and Caiaphas were high priests [in the temple in Jerusalem].
[After a detailed account of Roman rule, the religious leadership of Jerusalem is now described. Annas was high priest 6-15 AD. He was deposed by the Romans and his son-in-law Caiaphas was given the position in 18-36 A.D. Although Caiaphas held the title, Annas continued to serve as unofficial high priest among the Jews, see .] Then the word of God came to Zechariah's son John [the Baptist] in the desert.
They took him first to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.
Hannas then sent Jesus, still bound, to the high priest Caiaphas.
The high priest Annas was there, as were Caiaphas [his son-in-law], John, Alexander, and all the others from the high priests' family.
[The Sanhedrin was the highest judicial decision-making body among the Jews, with 71 members. There were two factions in the council – the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Sadducees, who were often in the majority and had initiated the arrest of Peter and John, believed only in the five books of Moses. The Pharisees accepted the entire oral tradition and believed in angels and life after death.
Hannas was high priest and chairman of the council from 6 to 15 CE. At this time, in the early 30s CE, his son-in-law Caiaphas held that title. Caiaphas was high priest from 18 to 36 AD. The fact that Annas is mentioned first probably reflects the real political situation, in which he still had considerable influence. Five of his sons and one son-in-law became high priests. It is not known who John and Alexander are, except that they belonged to the family of the high priests.]
