Commentaria in I Machabaeorum
The Series of Pontiffs from Alexander the Great to Christ
1. Jaddus. He met Alexander the Great, and reconciled him, who was hostile to the Jews, as Josephus testifies, book 11 and 13, near the end. According to Eusebius he presided 17 years.
The younger brother of Jaddus was Manasses, who went to a temple like the Jerusalem one on Mount Garizim, built by Sanaballat, his father-in-law, and was its Pontiff; concerning which there was perpetual strife and contention between the Jews and the Samaritans until Christ, as is plain from John, chapter 4. See Josephus, book 11, chap. 7.
2. Onias the first, the son of Jaddus, to whom some give
3. Simon, the son of Onias, surnamed the Just, whose praises are described in Ecclus. 50, 4.
4. Eleazar, the brother of Simon, who sent the 72 Interpreters to Ptolemy Philadelphus, that they might turn the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek.
5. Manasses, the son of Onias the first, the brother of Simon, and the uncle of Eleazar.
6. Onias the second, the son of Simon the Just, surnamed the Covetous.
7. Simon the second, the son of Onias the second.
8. Onias the third, surnamed the Holy, the son of Simon the second, who by praying for Heliodorus, scourged by the Angels, obtained life for him, 2 Machab.
he also was called Onias; under Ptolemy Philometor he built a temple at Heliopolis in Egypt, which was called Onion after him.
9. Jesus, or Jason, the brother of Onias the Holy, who, shutting out his brother, bought the Pontificate from Antiochus Epi-
10. Menelaus Onias, the brother of Simon the Benjamite, buying the Pontificate from the same Epiphanes, thrust out Jason, as he had thrust out Onias the Holy; but since he could not furnish the money promised to Epiphanes, Lysimachus his brother was put in his place, 2 Machab. 4, 27. Soon, Lysimachus having been stoned, Menelaus again bought the Pontificate with fresh sums. In the same place, last verse. These therefore were usurpers and false Pontiffs.
11. Mattathias, the father of Judas Maccabeus: of whom and of his sons I have already spoken. Wherefore I shall only briefly recount them, to complete the series of Pontiffs.
13. Jonathan, the brother of Judas.
14. Simon, the brother of Jonathan.
15. John Hyrcanus, the son of Simon.
16. Aristobulus, the son of Hyrcanus.
17. Jannaeus Alexander, the brother of Aristobulus.
18. Aristobulus, the younger son of Jannaeus.
19. Hyrcanus, the elder son of Jannaeus.
20. Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus, in whom the stock of the Asmoneans failed.
21. Ananelus, appointed Pontiff by Herod.
23. Ananelus a second time.
25. Simon Boethus, the father-in-law of Herod, towards the end of whose life Christ was born, the new Pontiff of the New Testament according to the order of Melchisedech, Heb. 7.
Gather from what has been said that from the death of Alexander the Great to the years of the Greeks, that is, to the beginning of the reign of Seleucus in Asia, 12 years passed; from then to the Maccabees 145 years; and finally from the Maccabees to the birth of Christ 165 years. The death of Alexander therefore preceded the birth of Christ by 322 years. See the table of Chronology which I placed before the Pentateuch.