360
IIKRoD
HF.KOD
fonJ of pence, and knew too well wliat was tlie jiower of Home ; if lie hud nny object beyond that of inereasin}; his own mn-iniliconce, it wna probably the extension of Jewish inllucncc amonj; tlieni.
Of his death, which happunod in A.D. 4-), after tlie beginning of the mouth Nisan (see CHRON- OLOGY, vol. 1. p. 416), we have two independent accounts. Accordiiigto>Iosephus(.(4n^ XIX. viii. 2), during the third j"ear of his reign over all Jud:ea he came to Cassarea, Tliere he presided at games in honour of Caesar, surrounded by all the leading men of the province. On the second day he put on a robe of silver of wonderful make. When the lirst rays of the sun struck it, it produced a wonderful eireet. Immediately tliere were cries addres.'iiiig him as a god, ' lie propitious ; if up to now we feared thee as a man, lienceforth we con- fess that thou art more than mortal.' The king did not rebuke them. Shortly afterwards, looking up, he saw an owl sitting over his head on a cord. lie knew that the bird, which had formerly been a messenger of good, was now a messenger of evil, &Yyt\6i' Tf toOtov iO&Oi ivljy}7iv KaKuiv eJvtu, rbv «rai Tr(n€ tC>v iyaBHv yefificfoi'. He was immediately seized with severe pains, and died after five days. The allusion to the owl is to an omen which had portended his good fortune when he was a prisoner in Rome {Ant. xviii. vi. 7).
According to tlie Acts, Herod, after the release of i'eter, i.e. after tlie Passover, went down to Ca;sarea. He was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and a deputation from them came before him asking for peace. Herod, on a day arranged, put on his royal robe, and sitting on his throne made an address to them. The people cried. It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immedi- ately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he gave not God the glory ; and he was eaten of worms, and died.
It is quite clear that there is a substantial agreement between these passages as to tlie main incident, but a dill'erence which is quite incompat- ible with any literary obligation on the part of the author of the Acts.
Agrippa had married Cypros, daughter of Pliasael, who was son of Phasael, Herod's brother. Her mother was Salampsio, daughter of Herod by Mariamne, granddaughter of Hyrcanus. He had two sons, Aciui'l'A (see below) and Drusus, who died young, and three daughters, Bernice, Mariamne, and Drusilla.
(6) Agrippa ii., or, as he describes himself on coins, Marcus Julius Agrippa, was the son of Agrippa I. and Cyjiros. He was only 17 j-ears old at the death of his father in 44, and Claudius was persuaded not to give him his father's kingdom owing to his youth. Agrippa tlien arrived at Rome, and used his influence on behalf of the Jews {Ant. XX. vi. 3). On the death of his uncle, Herod of Chalcis, he received the tetrarcliy of the latter and the oversight of the temple {Ant. XX. v. 2; BJ II. .xii.). In the year 53 he gave up Chalcis and received the tetrarchies of Philip and Lysanias. Later, Nero added various cities in GalUee and Pertea (^n<. XX. vii. 1, viii. 4). Of liif. relations to his sister Bernice the worst re- ports were current. Like all the Herods, he tried to combine Judaism and Hellenism. He improved his capital city, Cresarea Philippi, and called it Neronias ; fie adorned Berytus with many statues and buildings ; his coins bore effigies of the emperors. But Rabbinical tradition records liis interest in Jewish questions ; he attempted to extend Judaism among the surrounding kings, and under him the temple was finished {Avt. XX. ix. 6). In Ac 25. 26 we liave an account of the speech of St. Paul before Agrippa, Bernice, and Festus. St. Paul's com dinient, that Agrippa was ' expert in
all customs and questions which are among the Jews,' was well deserved, and the somewhat enigmatic ' Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian ' may be interpreted according to oui conception of Agrippa's character.
Agrippa did what he could to check the growing storm {a J U. xv. 1), and during all the war was on the side of the Romans. He took part in the festivities which succeeded the victory (By VII. ii. l), and received a considerable increase of territory. Of his later life we only know that Joseplins corre- sponded with liira and received from him informa- tion for his history (Jos. Vita, 65). He died about the year 100 A.D., tlie last of the Herods.
vil. WOMKN OF THE FAMILY.— (1) HERODIAS (HpuSids, WH 'Hpvoias) was daughter of Aiis- tobulus, son of Herod by Mariamne, daughter of Hyrcjinus. Her mother was Bernice, daughter of Salome, Herod's sister. She was thus sister of Herod of Chalcis, of Agrippa I., and of the younger Aristobulus {Ant. xvill. v. 4). According to Josephus, she married first of all Herod, son of Herod the Great by Mariamne, daughter of Simon the high priest, and by him liad a dau'-htcr of the name of Salome. According to Ac 6", and prob- ably Mt 14', her first husband's name was Philip (wh. see). Prompted apparently by ambition, she left him and married his brother Antipa.s. It was tills marriage that drew upon them the rebuke of John the Baptist, and caused the tragedy that followed (Mt U"-", Mk 6"-'») ; and it was Herudias' ambition which caused Antipas his final ruin. ' She said life was unbearable for them if Agrippa, who came to her husband in such extreme poverty, now returned a king, while he himself, the son of a king, was contented with a private life' {Ant. XVIII. vii. 1). Her pride made her faithful to her husband in misfortune. Josephus represents her as saying to Cains, wlien he told her that it wn.s only her brother who prevented her from sharing the calamity of her Inisband, ' You indeed, O em- peror ! say this in a magnificent manner, and as becomes you ; but the love which I have for ray husband hinders me from partaking of tlie favour of your gilt ; for it is not right that I, who have been a partner in his prosperity, should forsake him in his misfortunes.'