Acts 4:6
And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.
And Annas the high priest,.... So called, either because he had been an high priest, though he was not now, but Caiaphas his son-in-law; or because he was the Sagan of the high priest, and had all the other priests under his government; and is mentioned first, because he was father-in-law to Caiaphas; See Gill on "Luke 3:2" he could not be called so, because he was ayvn, "prince", or president of the council; for not he, but Gamaliel, was president at this time. And
Caiaphas; who was properly high priest, and continued so for three years after the death of Christ:
and John; who is thought by Dr. Lightfoot to be the same with Jochanan, or John ben Zaccai; a famous Jewish Rabbi, who lived at this time, and until, and after the destruction of Jerusalem: this Rabbi was Nhk, "a priest" {t}, as this John was, of the kindred of the high priest; he lived also at Jerusalem; for it is said of him {u}, that he sat in the shadow of the temple, and expounded all the whole day; and a very remarkable story is told of him, which happened just about this time {w}; which is, that
"forty years before the destruction of the temple--the doors of the temple opened of themselves, when Rabban Jochanan ben Zaccai reproved them, saying, O temple, temple, wherefore dost thou fright thyself? I know thee, that thine end shall be, to be destroyed; for so prophesied of thee Zechariah, the son of Iddo, Zechariah 11:1. "Open thy doors, O Lebanon", &c.''
The chief objection to him, as that learned writer observes, is, that he lived and died a Pharisee, whereas this John seems to have been a Sadducee; see Acts 5:17. This puts me in mind of John the high priest, who ministered in the high priesthood fourscore years, and at last became a Sadducee {x}: Beza's ancient copy reads "Jonathan: and Alexander"; whose surname was Lysimachus, and had the title of "Alabarcha"; he was a very rich man {y}: after Alexander the great had been at Jerusalem, this name became frequent among the Jews; and it is said {z} to be promised him, and was fulfilled, that every son that was born to the priests that year he entered Jerusalem, should be called Alexander; and therefore it is no wonder to hear of an Alexander among the kindred of the high priest; frequent mention is made of yrdnokla ybr, "Rabbi Alexander", in the Jewish writings {a}:
and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest; by whose means they were become members of the sanhedrim:
were gathered together at Jerusalem; where the great council only sat, until the destruction of it; it seems by this, that some of the members of it lived in the country; it may be in some of the villages adjacent, where they might be easily and quickly sent for, upon any occasion, as they very likely now were; the Syriac version leaves out the words "at Jerusalem".
{t} Juchasin, fol. 20. 2.
{u} T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 26. 1.
{w} T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 39. 2. & Hieros. Yoma, fol. 43. 3.
{x} T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 29. 1.
{y} Joseph Antiqu. l. 20. c. 4. sect. 2.
{z} Juchasin, fol. 14. 1. & 159. 1. Ganz Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 18. 2.
{a} T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 53. 2. Chagiga, fol. 5. 1. Megilla, fol. 17. 2. Nedarim, fol. 41. 1. Sanhedrin, fol. 98. 1. & passim.