Andronicus ben Meshullam
Encyclopedia
Andronicus ben Meshullam, a Jewish scholar of the 2nd century BCE. According to Josephus
(Ant. xiii. 3, § 4), he was the representative of the Jews in their religious dispute with the Samaritan
s, which was held before King Ptolemy VI Philometor, about the year 150 BCE. Andronicus proved from the Scriptures the historic continuity of the Jewish high priests
; and from the great respect which was accorded the Temple of Jerusalem even by the non-Jewish kings of Asia
, he argued that the claim of the Samaritans that Mount Gerizim
was the sacred place of worship for the Israelites was unjustified.
Andronicus is said to have argued his case so successfully that the king ordered the execution of Sabbeus and Theodosius, the two champions of the Samaritans, this being the penalty agreed upon beforehand for the losing party. This latter point in the story, however, is so incredible that it casts doubt upon the validity of the whole account.
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
(Ant. xiii. 3, § 4), he was the representative of the Jews in their religious dispute with the Samaritan
Samaritan
The Samaritans are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant. Religiously, they are the adherents to Samaritanism, an Abrahamic religion closely related to Judaism...
s, which was held before King Ptolemy VI Philometor, about the year 150 BCE. Andronicus proved from the Scriptures the historic continuity of the Jewish high priests
Kohen
A Kohen is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish Kohens are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron....
; and from the great respect which was accorded the Temple of Jerusalem even by the non-Jewish kings of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, he argued that the claim of the Samaritans that Mount Gerizim
Mount Gerizim
Mount Gerizim is one of the two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the West Bank city of Nablus , and forms the southern side of the valley in which Nablus is situated,...
was the sacred place of worship for the Israelites was unjustified.
Andronicus is said to have argued his case so successfully that the king ordered the execution of Sabbeus and Theodosius, the two champions of the Samaritans, this being the penalty agreed upon beforehand for the losing party. This latter point in the story, however, is so incredible that it casts doubt upon the validity of the whole account.