Ananias

Ananias, meaning the cloud of the Lord or Jehovah is gracious, is the name of three distinct individuals in the New Testament. The most prominent is Ananias of Jerusalem, who with his wife Sapphira conspired to deceive the apostles regarding the proceeds from a land sale, dying suddenly as a consequence (Acts 5:1–11). A second Ananias was the Damascus disciple sent by God to restore Paul's sight following the apostle's encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:10–19).

The third Ananias served as high priest in Jerusalem during Paul's trials before the Sanhedrin and the procurator Felix, commanding that Paul be struck on the mouth before the council (Acts 23:2; 24:1). The Josephus mentions his death during the Jewish revolt. Together, the three men of this name in Acts illustrate contrasting responses to the early Christian movement: deceptive resistance, faithful obedience, and hostile authority.