Annas was the former high priest who became the father-in-law of Caiaphas. The Gospel of John identifies Annas as Caiaphas’s father-in-law when Jesus is taken into custody before his appearance before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate.
Annas, also known as Ananus son of Seth, served as high priest of Judaea from AD 6 to 15. Although the Roman authorities removed him from office, he remained a powerful figure within the priestly establishment. Several members of his family later held the high priesthood.
Caiaphas served as high priest from about AD 18 to 36 and was married to Annas’s daughter. That family connection helps explain why the two men appear together in the Gospel accounts and in Acts, where they question Jesus’s followers.
A common mix-up is to identify Caiaphas as the former high priest. Caiaphas was the serving high priest during Jesus’s trial; Annas was his influential father-in-law and predecessor.