High priest; son of Anan, and brother of Jonathan, who was deposed by Vitellius in 37 C.E. in favor of Theophilus (Josephus, "Ant." xviii. 5, § 3). He officiated for about three years, when he was succeeded by Simon Cantheras. This Theophilus is probably identical with the father of the high priest Matthias, and, according to Büchler, he is likewise the same as Hananeel the Egyptian (Parah iii. 5). The name of Theophilus figures in the Seder 'Olam (Neubauer, "M. J. C." i. 167).
Bibliography:- Grätz, Gesch. 4th ed., iii. 317;
- Schürer, Gesch. 3d ed., ii. 218;
- Büchler, Das Synedrion in Jerusalem, p. 97, Vienna, 1902.
W. B. S. Kr.
