Bible Dictionary
HYRCANUS
Hyrcanus was a distinguished son of Tobias whose money was deposited in the Jerusalem temple when Heliodorus attempted to seize its treasures. His exact identity in relation to other men named Hyrcanus is uncertain.
Definition
Hyrcanus was a distinguished son of Tobias who possessed a large sum of money deposited in the Temple of Jerusalem. Heliodorus was sent to confiscate the temple treasures while this money was there.
Biblical Usage
Hyrcanus is mentioned in 2 Maccabees 3:11 and is associated with the events surrounding Heliodorus’s attempted seizure of the temple deposits.
Historical Background
The account places the confiscation attempt in 187 BC. The identity of this Hyrcanus is disputed in the supplied material: he may have been the grandson of Tobias described by Josephus or another man of the same name.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>her-ka'-nus (Hurkanos): "Son of Tobias, a man of great dignity," who had a large sum of money deposited in the Temple of Jerusalem when Heliodorus was sent to confiscate it in 187 BC (2 Macc 3:11 ff). Opinions differ as to the identity of this Hyrcanus. with the grandson of Tobias whose birth and history are related at considerable length by Josephus (Ant., XII, iv, 6 ff), or with another of the same name mentioned in Ant, XIII, viii, 4.</p><p>See ASMONEANS; MACCABAEUS.</p>