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Person New Testament

Ananias

Ananias, the high priest, presided over Paul's trial and ordered him to be struck on the mouth for his defense. Mentioned in 2 verses across 1 book, first at Acts 23:2.

Why it matters. High priest during Paul's trial

Primary passages
Last reviewed
2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team

About Ananias

Ananias was the high priest during the time of Paul's trial in Jerusalem. When Paul was brought before the Sanhedrin to face accusations from the Jewish leaders, Ananias presided over the proceedings. During Paul's defense, Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. Paul, unaware that Ananias was the high priest, rebuked him for commanding him to be struck contrary to the law. Later, when Paul was brought before Felix the governor, Ananias, along with some elders and an orator named Tertullus, presented their case against Paul, accusing him of being a troublemaker and a ringleader of the Nazarene sect.

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.

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Appears in Scripture

Named in 2 verses across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.

Record type: Person. FaithGraph explanations on this page are editorial and are not Scripture.