Annas

Biblical Record

Annas is named in three books of the New Testament.

• Luke 3:2: The Gospel of Luke dates the beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist to the time of "Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests."
• John 18:12–24: After Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane, he was led "to Annas first." The text introduces Annas as "father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year." The high priest then questions Jesus about his disciples and his teaching, and an officer standing by strikes Jesus with the palm of his hand. Annas then sends Jesus, still bound, to Caiaphas. This scene does not appear in the other Gospel accounts of Jesus' trial and is found only in the Gospel of John.
• Acts 4:6: When Peter and John were interrogated before the council, "Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas" were present.

Significance Within Scripture

Annas appears both at the trial of Jesus and at the interrogation of the apostles. For this reason he is often read as evidence that the temple leadership that rejected Jesus went on to persecute the early church. Acts 5:17 identifies the high priest's associates as "the sect of the Sadducees." Accordingly, the family of Annas is commonly associated with the Sadducees.

Interpretation and Debated Questions

• Why two men are both called high priest: Extrabiblical records indicate that the high priest in office at the time was Caiaphas. Scholars account for this in several ways: that a man who had served as high priest retained the title after leaving office; that the Jews did not recognize Rome's removal of a high priest, whose office was held for life under the Law; or that Annas still held the real power.
• The "high priest" of John 18:19: Interpreters differ over who questioned Jesus. Some hold that it was Annas, since in verse 24 Annas sends Jesus to Caiaphas. Others hold that it was Caiaphas, since verse 13 calls Caiaphas "the high priest that same year."
• Extrabiblical records: According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Annas (Ananus) was the son of Seth. He is said to have been appointed high priest by Quirinius around AD 6 and removed around AD 15. Josephus also reports that five of his sons and his son-in-law Caiaphas each became high priest in turn, and that his son Ananus had James the brother of the Lord put to death in the early 60s.
• A commonly added explanation: On the basis of the "bazaars of the sons of Hanan" mentioned in rabbinic literature, some suggest that the family of Annas profited from commerce in the temple and link this to the cleansing of the temple. This is a conjecture held by some scholars, not something the biblical text states.

In the Korean Church

In the New Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Gaejeong), the name is rendered "안나스" (Annaseu). Annas is mentioned mainly alongside Caiaphas in Holy Week sermons and in Bible studies on the trial of Jesus, usually to illustrate how Jesus was subjected to a series of unjust interrogations. He is seldom treated in depth as a figure in his own right.