From Lawrence Mykytiuk’s BAR article identifying real New Testament political figures
Lawrence Mykytiuk • 01/10/2019 As found on Bible History Daily
In “New Testament Political Figures Confirmed” in the September/October 2017 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Purdue University scholar Lawrence Mykytiuk examines the political figures in the New Testament who can be identified in the archaeological record and by extra-Biblical writings. Below, see a visualization of the Herodian family tree and key events in the New Testament related to members of the Herodian family.
Selected Members of the Herodian Family and Roman Governors Who Are Significant in New Testament Events
The family tree above includes only the Herodian family members in the New Testament plus most of the Roman governors it mentions. It is not a complete family tree. Boldface in the narrative statements below signifies the person is referred to in the New Testament.
Earlier Outcomes: Attempt to kill the infant Jesus, execution of John the Baptist, and the trial of Jesus
1. Herod the Great, founder of the dynasty, tried to kill the infant Jesus by the “slaughter of the innocents” at Bethlehem.[1]Darrell Bock stated, “Herod the Great rebuilt much of the city of Jerusalem and started the restoration of the great temple. Education and economic vitality came to the region, intermixed with … Continue reading
2. Herod Philip, uncle and first husband of Herodias, was not a ruler.[2]Why does Philip not rule? Philip was Herod II. He was the fourth son (of Herod and Mariamne II, the daughter of Simon Boethus the High Priest), namesake & briefly heir apparent of Herod the … Continue reading
3. Herodias left Herod Philip to marry his half-brother Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee & Perea.[3]This new spouse of Herodias is Herod Antipas (called Herod the Tetrach here in Luke 3), who was a 1st-century ruler (from 4 BCE to CE 39) of Galilee and Perea, and who bore the title of Tetrarch … Continue reading
4. John the Baptist rebuked Antipas for marrying Herodias, his brother’s wife, while his brother was still alive—against the law of Moses.
5. Salome danced for Herod Antipas and, at Herodias’s direction, requested the beheading of John the Baptist. Later she married her great-uncle Philip the Tetrarch.[4]Salome was the daughter of Herodias (her mother) and Philip. Salome danced before Herod Antipas, (her step-father and grandniece by marriage) culminating in the death of John the Baptist (Matt. … Continue reading
6. Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee &: Perea (r. 4 B.C.E.–39 C.E.), was Herodias’ uncle and second husband. After Salome’s dance and his rash promise, he executed John the Baptist. Much later he held part of Jesus’ trial.
7. Herod Archelaus, Ethnarch of Judea, Samaria and Idumea (r. 4 B.C.E.–6 C.E.), was replaced by a series of Roman governors, including Pontius Pilate (r. 26–36 C.E.).[5]Herod Archelaus should have been the tetrarch of this territory in the time of Jesus, but he was stripped of his title by Rome in 6 CE. He was removed from power because of his unpopularity with the … Continue reading
8. Philip the Tetrarch of northern territories (r. 4 B.C.E.–34 C.E.) later married Herodias’s daughter Salome, his grandniece.
Later Outcomes: Execution of James the son of Zebedee, imprisonment of Peter to execute him, and the trial of Paul
9. King Herod Agrippa I (r. 37–44 C.E.) executed James the son of Zebedee and imprisoned Peter before his miraculous escape.[6]Herod Agrippa (11 BCE-44 CE) was a grandson of Herod the Great. His father, Aristobulus IV, was strangled to death on orders from his grandfather in 7 BCE when Agrippa was a young child. Apparently, … Continue reading
10. Berenice, twice widowed, left her third husband to be with brother Agrippa II (rumored lover) and was with him at Festus’s trial of Paul.
11. King Herod Agrippa II (r. 50–c. 93 C.E.) was appointed by Festus to hear Paul’s defense.[7]King Agrippa’s son, Agrippa Ⅱ, was allowed by the Emperor Claudius to succeed to only a small part of his father’s dominions. He is mentioned in Acts 25:13. He was the last of the Herods.
12. Antonius Felix, Roman procurator of Judea (r. 52–c. 59 C.E.), Paul’s first judge, left him in prison for two years until new procurator Porcius Festus (r. c. 60–62 C.E.) became the second judge, and Paul appealed to Caesar.
13. Drusilla left her first husband to marry Roman governor Felix.
References
| ↑1 | Darrell Bock stated, “Herod the Great rebuilt much of the city of Jerusalem and started the restoration of the great temple. Education and economic vitality came to the region, intermixed with bouts of internal unrest. But with his death in 4 B.C., his kingdom was split among his three sons: Archelaus, the eldest, received Judea and Samaria until his banishment in A.D. 6 (he died in A.D. 18). Herod Antipas inherited Galilee and Perea, and their benevolent half-brother Philip received the northern Transjordan area. Technically, they were all tetrarchs or, in effect, regional rulers. With Archelaus’s banishment, the governing of the region became the domain of a succession of Roman prefects, but wise policy required that the prefect cooperate with his Herodian neighbors and be sensitive to his predominantly Jewish subjects. John’s ministry stepped into this complex political situation (Schürer 1973–87: 1.336–98; Reicke 1968: 84–137). The major ancient source for this period is Josephus, who discusses each of the key figures: Pontius Pilate, Herod Antipas, and Philip. Philo also discusses Pilate (Embassy to Gaius 38 §299). In addition, an inscription referring directly to Pilate as prefect is evidence that he was popularly regarded as holding this position. Darrell L. Bock, Luke 1:1-9:50, Baker Academic, 1994, p. 736-737 electronic version, emphasis added. |
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| ↑2 | Why does Philip not rule? Philip was Herod II. He was the fourth son (of Herod and Mariamne II, the daughter of Simon Boethus the High Priest), namesake & briefly heir apparent of Herod the Great. After Herod I executed his Hasmonean sons, Alexander & Aristobulus IV (7 BCE), he betrothed the latter’s orphaned daughter (Herodias) — who was still a minor — to her half-uncle, Herod junior, known as “Philip” in Matthew and Mark and known in history as Herod II. This arranged marriage was more than temporary child custody. For Herodias was descended directly from the dynasty of priest-kings that had ruled Jerusalem for more than a century before Herod, as she was a Hasmonean. Since this liaison bolstered the young Herod’s right of succession to the throne of Judea, the king’s oldest son (Antipater III) objected to the arrangement. So, Herod confirmed the latter as his heir & relegated the young Herod to next in line.
When Antipater was executed for planning to poison his father (4 BCE), the younger Herod became his father’s oldest surviving son. But, since the elder Herod had discovered that the younger’s mother (Mariamne II) had known of the plot against him & done nothing to prevent it, he dropped her son from his will just days before he died. Although Herod II survived his father’s deathbed purges, he was left a private citizen while his remaining half-brothers divided his father’s realm. This eventually cost him his marriage. Although he did marry Herodias and had a child by her, she left him for his younger half-brother, Antipas. After that the younger Herod slipped into anonymity. See: Herod II Boethus, Virtual Religion. Accessed 12.15.22. Other references: Josephus, Antiquities 17.14-19, 53, 78; 18.109-110, 136-137. War 1.557, 562, 573, 588, 599-600. See also: Mark 6:17-18 and Matt 14:3-4. |
| ↑3 | This new spouse of Herodias is Herod Antipas (called Herod the Tetrach here in Luke 3), who was a 1st-century ruler (from 4 BCE to CE 39) of Galilee and Perea, and who bore the title of Tetrarch (“ruler of a quarter”). Herod Antipas is referred to as both “Herod the Tetrarch” and “King Herod” in the New Testament, although he never held the title of king (he did campaign for this title, but Rome never officially granted it. This title was used by others to flatter him, however) See: R.T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, Eerdmans, 2007, p. 510. |
| ↑4 | Salome was the daughter of Herodias (her mother) and Philip. Salome danced before Herod Antipas, (her step-father and grandniece by marriage) culminating in the death of John the Baptist (Matt. 14:3–11; Mark 6:17–28). Her name is not mentioned in scripture but is given in Josephus, Antiquities, 18.5.4. |
| ↑5 | Herod Archelaus should have been the tetrarch of this territory in the time of Jesus, but he was stripped of his title by Rome in 6 CE. He was removed from power because of his unpopularity with the Jewish people. Named in his father’s will as ruler of the largest part of the Judaean kingdom—Judaea proper, Idumaea, and Samaria—Archelaus went to Rome (4 BC) to defend his title against the claims of his brothers Philip and Antipas before the emperor Augustus. Augustus confirmed him in possession of the largest portion but did not recognize him as king, giving him instead the lesser title of ethnarch to emphasize his dependence on Rome. Archelaus was half Idumaean and half Samaritan and, like his father, was considered an alien oppressor by his Jewish subjects. Their repeated complaints against him caused Augustus to order him to Rome again in AD 6. After a trial in which he was unsuccessfully defended by the future emperor Tiberius, he was deprived of his throne and exiled to Gaul. In the account of the Gospel According to Matthew (2:22), it was fear of Archelaus’ tyranny that led Jesus’ family to settle outside his domain at Nazareth in Galilee. Britannica, Herod Archelaus. |
| ↑6 | Herod Agrippa (11 BCE-44 CE) was a grandson of Herod the Great. His father, Aristobulus IV, was strangled to death on orders from his grandfather in 7 BCE when Agrippa was a young child. Apparently, even though Herod the Great killed Agrippa’s father, he still had affection for his grandson, and Agrippa would later be given territorial rule in 37 CE of Iturea, Trachonitis, Batanea, Gaulanitis, Auranitis and Paneas. In 41 CE, when Claudius becomes emperor, Agrippa I received Judea and Samaria, thus becoming the ruler of the entire territory governed by his grandfather Herod the Great. Herod Agrippa I lived in Jerusalem and was anxious to be regarded as an orthodox Jew. He began a persecution of the Church and put James to death, Peter escaping by a miracle (Acts 12:1–23). His death is described in Acts 12:20–23. See: LDS Bible Dictionary, Herod. |
| ↑7 | King Agrippa’s son, Agrippa Ⅱ, was allowed by the Emperor Claudius to succeed to only a small part of his father’s dominions. He is mentioned in Acts 25:13. He was the last of the Herods. |