The Political and Social Background Of Palestinian Judaism (5)

Herod Antipas 4BC – 39AD:

Antipas was a son of Nalthace, full brother of Archelaus. After his father’s death in 4BC, he was appointed the Tetrarch of Baternea, Trachonotis, and Aurantis. He built his residence in Genesaret and named it after Tiberus, the reigning Emperor John 6:1. The city where he built his house was a former cemetery. Hence, the Jews regarded it as unclean and refused to live there. He always pursued his desire and interest. Herod Antipas was first married to the daughter of the Nabataen king, ARETAS. While visiting his brother, he fell in love with his brother’s wife, Herodian, and snatched her from him. That marriage to Herodian produced a daughter Salome. He divorced Aretas. John the Baptist denounced the relationship of Herod Antipas with Herodian, his brother’s wife. Nabataen king would not take kindly to the disgrace to his daughter Aretas, so he waged war against Herod Antipas, disgraced and defeated him.

Many Jews saw Herod Antipas’s defeat as a divine judgment, especially for the beheading of John the Baptist. Herod Antipas was the Ruler of Jesus’ own Country. When he heard of Jesus, Antipas thought Jesus was John the Baptist he killed – Mark 6: 14-16; Luke 9:9. Herod tried to see Jesus thinking he was John. Later on, Pilate sent Jesus to Herod. Herodian persuaded Herod to ask the Roman Emperor Caligula to bestow upon him the title of a king, but this advice misfired for Caligula became suspicious of Herod Antipas, so Caligula sent him into exile to France in 39 AD.

Philip The Tetrarch – 4BC – 34AD:

Phillip the Tetrarch was given the Northern territories over which Herod himself had ruled, primarily in the North and eastern Jordan across the Sea of Galilee. He married his brother’s daughter called, Salome. Philip the Tetrarch was the only Jewish Ruler with a coin minted bearing the name of a Roman Emperor. Unlike most of his brothers, he was a reasonable man well-liked by most people. Cleopatra was Philip the Tetrarch’s mother. He was fair to so many people and well-behaved. Luke 3:1. He died in AD34 without leaving behind a successor.

Herod Agrippa 1:

Palestine came under attack, but at the end of the day, it came under the rule of a Jewish king. Agrippa 1 is a grandson of Herod the great, and he stayed in Rome for many years. During this time, he was able to get the favor of Garnigula. So in AD 37, Garnigula gave Agrippa 1 a territory that Phillip had ruled. At Rome, he lived with the Emperor’s family, and at one point, he commented that Tiberius should have handed over to Caligula, which made Caligula give him the title of a king. Still, when Caligula was murdered in AD 41, Agrippa was in Rome, and he helped Cladius to become Emperor of Rome. As a result, Claudius gave Agrippa Judea, Samaria, and Idumea to rule. During the period he was on the throne, a sharp conflict broke out because Caligula instructed that his Statue be erected in the temple in Jerusalem.

There was excitement among the Jews saying this is another one – Mark 13:14. Agrippa 1 lived all his life in Jerusalem and carried himself like a regular Jew. Agrippa carried himself as a devout Jew and observed the rigid rights of Judaism. In his attempt to please the Jews, he became the first government official to persecute the church of Christ. Like his grandfather, Agrippa wanted buildings erected in his honor. When with the Hellenists, he behaved like them. Agrippa was the one that said he had a divine mandate to become the manifest one. When he died, his throne was not given to his son, who was still underaged; instead, the entire Country was governed by the Roman Procurator, who was subordinate to the Roman governor. He was the one that died with maggots coming out of his body.

Agrippa 11 (AD 50 – AD 110):

Agrippa 11 was the son of Agrippa 1 and the great-grandson of Herod the great. He was 17 when his father died and was not considered mature enough to be crowned. When Agrippa 11 grew up, he was given a small kingdom Chalcis to rule. Later on, he eventually reigned over the former kingdom of Phillip The Tetrarch. He became something of a religious advisor to Roman rulers, which could have been why he was in Syria when Fetus became the procurator of Judea. At that time, he became Agrippa 11 – Acts 25:13; 26:32.

Agrippa 11 appointed the high priest, which infuriated the Jews. The private life of Herod Agrippa 11 was marked with scandal. He had a sister Bernice; they were so close that they did everything together that people concluded they were involved in an incestuous relationship. So the people hated him. During the war between Rome and the Jews, he sided with the Romans; because of that, he retired to Rome.