Footnote 3 – Who Was He? Rare DSS Text Mentions King Jonathan

The Hasmoneans were the priestly family who ruled Judea from 152 to 63 B.C.E. They headed the rebellion against the Seleucid kingdom between 167 and 161 B.C.E., led first by Mattathias (167–166 B.C.E.) and later by his son Judah the Maccabee (166–161 B.C.E.). After Judah died in battle, his brothers fled to the Judean desert. In 152 B.C.E., his brother Jonathan became the high priest (152–143 B.C.E.). After he was murdered, the last of Mattathias’s sons, Simon, took his place (143–135 B.C.E.). All other Hasmonean rulers were Simon’s descendants. Alexander Janneus was Simon’s grandson. At first, the Hasmoneans held the office of high priest, but the third generation of Hasmonean rulers took the title “king.” In 63 B.C.E., the Roman general Pompey annexed the area, bringing an end to the independence of the Hasmonean state.