Theophilus was the High Priest in the Second Temple in Jerusalem from AD 37 to 41 according to Josephus's Antiquities of the Jews. He was a member of one of the wealthiest and most influential Jewish families in Iudaea Province during the first century. According to some Christian traditions he was the person to whom the Gospel of Luke is addressed, which would date Luke to within 4 to 8 years of the death of Jesus.