, the son and successor of
Simon II. The circumstance is one indication of a melancholy
process of disintegration that was at that time going on within the
hierocracy. The high-priesthood, although there were exceptional
cases, such as that of Simon II., was regarded less as a sacred
office than as a profitable princedom; within the ranks of the
priestly nobility arose envious and jealous factions; personal
advancement was sought by means of the favour of the overlord, who
had something to say in the making of appointments. A collateral
branch of the ruling family, that of the children of Tobias, had by
means of the ill-gotten wealth of Joseph ben Tobias attained to a
position of ascendancy, and competed in point of power with the
high priest himself. It appears that the above-mentioned Simon,
and his still more scandalous brother AIenelaus, also belonged to
the Tobiadae, and, relying upon the support of their powerful party
(Josephus, Antiquities, xii. 5, 1), cherished the purpose of securing
the high-priesthood by the aid of the Syrian king.
The failure of the mission of Heliodorus was attributed by Simon
to a piece of trickery on the part of Onias the high priest, who
accordingly found himself called upon to make his own
justification at court and to expose the intrigues of his
adversary.
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