From this it could be concluded that there was no High Priest for these years, and indeed Josephus , drawing heavily on I Maccabees at this point in his history, comes to that conclusion Ant. It is improbable, however, that the office remained completely vacant for these years.
Stegemann suggests that the reason that nothing is said in 1 Maccabees about a High Priest between Alcimus and Jonathan was apologetic: In addition, the motivation behind the split of the sect from mainstream Judaism appears to have been of a religious rather than political nature[ citation needed ]. Please help this article by looking for better, more reliable sources.
Unreliable citations may be challenged or deleted. June Learn how and when to remove this template message Michael O. Wise posits that the Teacher of Righteousness was the "first messiah", a figure predating Jesus by roughly years.
However, he became dissatisfied with the religious sects in Jerusalem, and in reaction, founded a "crisis cult". While amassing a following, the Teacher and his followers claimed he was the fulfillment of various Biblical prophecies, with an emphasis on those found in Isaiah. The Teacher was eventually killed by the religious leadership in Jerusalem, and his followers hailed him as messianic figure who had been exalted to the presence of God's throne. They then anticipated that the Teacher would return to judge the wicked and lead the righteous into a golden age , and that it would take place within the next forty years.
Wise explains that dating of manuscript copies among the Dead Sea Scrolls shows that the Teacher's postmortem following drastically increased in size over several years, but that when the predicted return and golden age failed to materialize, his following dissipated rapidly.
A Sadducee priest[ edit ] Other documents from the Dead Sea Scrolls portray the Teacher as involved in heavy conflict against a figure termed the " Wicked Priest ", which has led to several proposals for their identity: A Sadducee Zadokite priest as the Teacher, possibly even the legitimate high priest, against a "wicked" Jonathan Maccabee, a significant conflict mentioned in the Books of Maccabees. This was proposed in by Gregory Doudna. Further, according to this hypothesis, Antigonus Mattathias would have been seen as the Wicked Priest.
Antigonus was the last Hasmonean king of Israel. He ruled only for 3 years, and was executed by the Romans in 37 BCE. Antigonus was supported by the Pharisees.
Freund writes "The difference of opinion over the positioning of the Teacher of Righteousness leads me to conclude that perhaps all of these researchers are correct.
Stegemann, The Library of Qumran: Wise, The First Messiah: A Reassessment of the Archaeology of the Site and its Texts. BAR international series,