Onias I (Hebrew: חוניו ; Honiyya or Honio ben Jaddua) was the son of the Jaddua mentioned in Nehemiah.[1] According to Josephus, this Jaddua is said to have been a contemporary of Alexander the Great (reigned 336-323 BCE).[2] I Maccabees regards Onias as a contemporary of the Spartan king Areus I (309-265 BCE).[3] "Josephus is ... mistaken in placing it in the time of Onias III instead of Onias I, who was high priest c. 300 B.C. (cf. Ant. xi. 347)."[4]
Simon the Just extolled in the Wisdom of Sirach[5] (according to the Hebrew text the son of Jonathan, but according to the Greek text the son of Onias) and in legend was probably the son of Onias I or, according to some, of the latter's grandson Onias II.
© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search