Jesus son of Damneus (Greek: Ἰησοῦς του Δαμναίου, Hebrew: ישוע בן דמנאי, Yeshua` ben Damnai) was a Herodian-era High Priest of Judaea in Jerusalem, Iudaea Province.Note that the Antiquities are in Greek, so it is not clear which variant in Hebrew would have corresponded to the name used by Josephus in this case
In the Antiquities of the Jews (Book 20, Chapter 9) first-century historian Josephus states that Jesus ben Damneus was made high priest after the previous high priest, Ananus son of Ananus, was removed from his position for executing James the brother of Jesus of Nazareth (James the Just).Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 20.9.1 This occurred after a large number of Jews complained and petitioned the king. Jesus ben Damneus himself was deposed less than a year later.
While the authenticity of some passages in Book 18 of Antiquities of the Jews has been subject to debate, some scholars consider the discussion of the death of James in Section 9 of Book 20 to be authentic.Louis Feldman and Gōhei Hata, eds. (1987). Josephus, Judaism and Christianity. BRILL. . pages 54-57Maier, Paul L. (December 1995). Josephus, the essential works: a condensation of Jewish antiquities and The Jewish war. Kregel Academic. . pp. 284-285.
The works of Josephus refer to at least twenty different people with the name Jesus. There is a scholarly consensus that Jesus son of Damneus is distinct from the figure identified as "Jesus called Christ" in Antiquities 20.200, who is mentioned along with the identification of James.Jesus Legend, The: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition by Gregory A. Boyd and Paul Rhodes Eddy (Aug 1, 2007) page 129 John Painter states the phrase "who was called Christ" is used by Josephus in this passage "by way of distinguishing him from others of the same name such as the high priest Jesus son of Damneus, or Jesus son of Gamaliel" both having been mentioned by Josephus in this context.Just James: The Brother of Jesus in History and Tradition (Academic Paperback) by John Painter 2005 page 137 A minority view by Richard Carrier states that the passage refers to Jesus son of Damneus, and "who was called Christ" derives from a marginal comment; Carrier's interpretation has been negatively evaluated. Daniel R. Schwartz. Judean Antiquities 18–20: Translation and Commentary. Brill, 2025. pp. 305–7.
See also Sources for the historicity of Jesus Historical Jesus
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