Ananias, << `an` uh NY uhs, >> is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Hananiah, which means the Lord is gracious. The Bible mentions five individuals named Ananias:
(1) The angel Raphael claims to be Tobit’s relative Azariah, son of Hananiah. The story is told in Tobit 5. Tobit is a book of the Apocrypha, certain writings that appear in some versions of the Bible.
(2) Another Ananias appears in the genealogy of Judith (Judith 8). The Book of Judith is also part of the Apocrypha.
(3) The Acts of the Apostles tells the story of Ananias, a member of the early Christian church at Jerusalem, and his wife, Sapphira (Acts 5). The couple sell a piece of property and say that they have donated all of the money they received for it to the church. But they keep some of the money for themselves and are struck dead because of their deception.
(4) Ananias was a Jewish follower of Jesus in Damascus. He is an important figure in the story of how Paul became part of the early Christian movement (Acts 9 and 22). Ananias received instructions in a vision to go to Paul (then called Saul), lay hands on him, and heal his sight. After Ananias healed Paul, Paul was baptized and became a missionary for the church.
(5) In Acts 23, Paul appears before the high priest Ananias, who brings a case against Paul to the governor in Acts 24. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Ananias, son of Nedebaeus, was appointed high priest by King Herod Agrippa II and served during the reigns of the Roman emperors Claudius and Nero.
