Contents | Index
Smith's Bible Dictionary
Her’od
HEROD ANTIPAS was the son of Herod the Great by Malthake, a Samaritan. He
first married a daughter of Aretas, "king of Arabia Petraea," but afterward
Herodias, the wife of his half-brother, Herod Philip. Aretas, indignant at the insult
offered to his daughter, found a pretext for invading the territory of Herod,
and defeated him with great loss. This defeat, according to the famous passage
in Josephus, was attributed by many to the murder of John the Baptist, which had
been committed by Antipas shortly before, under the influence of Herodias.
(Matthew 14:4) ff.; Mark 6:17 ff.; Luke 3:19.
At a later time the ambition of Herodias proved the cause of her husband’s ruin. She urged him to go to Rome to gain the title of king, cf. (Mark 6:14)
but he was opposed at the court of Caligula by the emissaries of Agrippa, and
condemned to perpetual banishment at Lugdunum, A.D. 39. Herodias voluntarily
shared his punishment, and he died in exile. Pilate took occasion from our Lord’s residence in Galilee to bend him for examination, (Luke 23:6) ff., to Herod
Antipas, who came up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. The city of
Tiberias, which Antipas founded and named in honor of the emperor, was the most
conspicuous monument of his long reign.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography Information
Smith, William, Dr. "Entry for 'Her’od'". "Smith's Bible Dictionary". 1901.