Onias III

The Seleucid Empire controlled Jerusalem during Onias' tenure and Seleucus IV Philopator (reigned 187–175 BCE) was friendly to the Jews and defrayed all expenses connected with their sanctuary.

While this confusion may be due to the Greek transcription of the related Hebrew names Johanan, Honiyya, and Nehonya, the account of Josephus appears wholly unreliable for this very reason.

According to 2 Maccabees, the murdered Onias III was deeply mourned by both Jews and Greeks, and the king also, on his return, wept for him and sentenced Andronicus to death.

[4] Wellhausen and Willrich regard the story of the murder of Onias, as well as the entire list of high priests from Jaddua to the Maccabees, as legendary, while Emil Schürer and Benedikt Niese consider them historical.

[5][6] Onias III is the central figure of the legendary history of later times; the Byzantine Chronicon Paschale says he officiated for twenty-four years, thus placing the beginning of his term of office under Egyptian rule.