Johanan (High Priest)

Johanan (Hebrew יוֹחָנָן‎ Yôḥānān), son of Joiada, was the fifth high priest after the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem by the Jews who had returned from the Babylonian captivity. His reign is estimated to have been from c. 410–371 BCE; he was succeeded by his son Jaddua. The Bible gives no details about his life. Johanan lived during the reigns of king Darius II of Persia and his son Artaxerxes II, whose empire included Judah as a province.

Flavius Josephus records that Johanan's brother Jesus was promised the high priesthood by Bagoses, general of Artaxerxes. Jesus got in a quarrel with Johanan in the temple and Johanan killed him. Bagoses knew that Johanan had slain Jesus in the temple saying to him "Have you had the impudence to perpetrate murder in the temple." Bagoses was forbidden to enter the temple, but he entered anyway saying "Am not I purer than he that was slain in the temple?" Bagoses had not seen such a savage crime and responded by commanding the Persians to punish the Jews for seven years. His son Jaddua eventually took over the position when Johanan died, as briefly mentioned by Josephus, but was not accepted in the book of chronicles according to Nehemia 12:23.

Among the Elephantine papyri, a collection of 5th century BCE Hebrew manuscripts from the Jewish community at Elephantine in Egypt, a letter was found in which Johanan is mentioned. The letter is dated "the 20th of Marshewan, year 17 of king Darius", which corresponds to 407 BCE. It is addressed to Bagoas, the governor of Judah, and is a request for the rebuilding of a Jewish temple at Elephantine, which was destroyed by Egyptian pagans. The letter includes the following passage:

...
Wikipedia