Acts 4:6

4:6 Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others who were members of the high priest’s family. ¹ 

Acts 5:17

Further Trouble for the Apostles

5:17 Now the high priest rose up, and all those with him (that is, the religious party of the Sadducees ² ), ³  and they were filled with jealousy. ⁴ 

¹ sn The high priest’s family. This family controlled the high priesthood as far back as a.d. 6. Annas, Caiaphas, and Alexander were all high priests at one time (though Alexander held that office after this event).

² sn See the note on Sadducees in 4:1.

³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

⁴ sn Filled with jealousy. In Acts, the term “jealousy” (ζήλος, zhlos) occurs only here and in Acts 13:45. It is a key term in Judaism for religiously motivated rage (1 Macc 2:24; 1QH 14:13-15; m. Sanhedrin 9:5). It was a zeal motivated by a desire to maintain the purity of the faith.