Sanballat

Sanaballetes). A Horonite.

Darius III’s satrap in Samaria (JosAJ 11.302), Sanballat was already an old man at the time of Alexander’s invasion (JosAJ 11.311). He was the father of Nicaso and father-in-law of Manasses, the brother of the high priest of Jerusalem, Iaddus (JosAJ 11.302–3; but Nehemiah 13:28 says that Sanballat’s son-in-law was son of the high priest Eliashib and grandson of Jehoiada).666 The mixed marriage was frowned upon and Sanballat planned to make Manasses high priest of a new temple he was to found on Mount Gerizim (JosAJ 11.310).

But the war between Alexander and Darius intervened, and after the battle of Issus Sanballat abandoned Darius and brought 8,000 men to Alexander at Tyre (JosAJ 11.321), thus retaining his position and gaining permission for the construction of the temple on Mount Gerizim. At this point the classical sources speak of the appointment of Andromachus in CoeleSyria, presumably as strategos (C 4.5.9).

Sanballat died before Alexander had completed the siege of Gaza (JosAJ 11.322–5).

The remainder of Josephus’ story, which has Alexander coming to Jerusalem and revering the Hebrew god, is dismissed by many scholars as fiction (Bickerman 1988: 5).667 244 The value of the details of Sanballat’s administration of Samaria and submission to Alexander is also uncertain (cf. Briant 1048).

Berve ii.349 no. 695.