HANAMEL

HANAMEL (or Hananel; Heb. חֲנַנְאֵל, חֲנַמְאֵל), high priest in 37/36 B.C.E., reappointed in 34. According to the Mishnah (Par. 3:5) Hanamel was an Egyptian. However, Josephus states that he was a Babylonian. He was appointed high priest by Herod, who deliberately disregarded the obvious choice, Aristobulus, the younger brother of Mariamne. Herod's choice was dictated by his desire to withhold this office from any member of the Hasmonean family. In face of the protests of Alexandra and Mariamne, Herod was obliged to depose Hanamel and appoint Aristobulus in his stead, but Hanamel was restored to office after the murder of Aristobulus on Herod's instructions. The Mishnah mentions Hanamel as one of the high priests during whose term of office the red heifer was burned. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Schuerer, Gesch, 2 (19074), 269; Halevy, Dorot, 1 pt. 3 (1923), 114ff.; Klausner, Bayit Sheni, 4 (19502), 12–14, 42; A. Schalit, Hordos ha-Melekh (19643), 62–64, 363, 376, 379, 512. (Abraham Schalit)