Salome Alexandra (139-67 BCE), whose Hebrew name was Shelamzion, was a descendant of the Hasmonean family (Maccabees). She was the wife of Alexander Jannai and they had two sons, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II. In her husband’s will, she became head of the secular government, while the high priesthood was given to his oldest son, Hyrcanus II. Alexander considered the Pharisees his enemies. During Shalome’s nine-year reign she completely reversed her late husband’s position and included Pharisees into her government. One of her major appointments was Shimon ben Shetah, leader of the Pharisees, as joint head of the Great Sanhedrin . She also allowed the Oral Law of the Pharisees to be incorporated with the Torah as the law of her royal court. Aristobulus aggressively challenged the authority of his brother, but his mother took military action to stop him -- setting off another Jewish civil war . She did not live long enough to see how the chain of events that would not only t
Blogs about the life of the real Jewish Jesus whose actual name was Yeshua. View his life, teachings and movement in the cultural context of first century Galilee and Judea. Using a Linguistic Model to more accurately understand what his words meant to his original Jewish apostles, followers and audiences.