A prominent Jew of the time of Christ, mentioned only in the
Fourth Gospel. The name is of Greek origin, but at that epoch
such names were occasionally borrowed by the Jews, and according
to Josephus (Ant. of the Jews, XIV, iii, 2) Nicodemus was the
name of one of the ambassadors sent by Aristobulus to Pompey. A
Hebrew form of the name (Naqdimon) is found in the Talmud.
Nicodemus was a Pharisee, and in his capacity of sanhedrist,
(John, vii, 50) was a leader of the Jews. Christ, in the
interview when Nicodemus came to him by night, calls him a
master in Israel. Judging from John xix, 39, Nicodemus must have
been a man of means, and it is probable that he wielded a
certain influence in the Sanhedrim. Some writers conjecture from
his question: “How can a man be born when he is old?”, that he
was already advanced in years, but the words are too general to
warrant such a conclusion. He appears in this interview as a
learned and intelligent believer, but timid and not easily
initiated into the mysteries of the new