ANTIPAS, HEROD

ANTIPAS, HEROD (b. 20 b.c.e.), son of Herod by his Samaritan wife Malthace. Antipas was educated in Rome with his older brother *Archelaus. As the age difference between the two was not great, both were sent to Rome together to complete their education. Antipas was designated crown prince in place of Antipater, Herod's eldest son. Herod, however, changed his will shortly before his death and left to Antipas only Galilee and the Jewish portion of Transjordan. According to the final version of the will, Antipas was to have been subject to the authority of Archelaus, who received the kingship and dominion over all parts of the kingdom. After Herod's death, however, Antipas appealed to Augustus against the legality of this will and claimed the throne. Augustus confirmed Antipas as ruler over Galilee and Judean Transjordan and also confirmed the title, "*tetrarch," which had been given to him by Herod. Antipas rebuilt and fortified Sepphoris, which had been burnt in the war of Varus in 4 b.c.e., and made it his chief capital. In Transjordan he rebuilt Betharamphtha (biblical Beth-Haram, Bethramtha in the Talmud) which had also suffered seriously in the war, and named it Livias. After Augustus' death in 14 c.e. he renamed it Julias, in honor of the deceased emperor's wife Julia, who took this name as her husband had ordained in his will. He named his new capital, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, Tiberias, in honor of the emperor Tiberius. The city was splendidly built and the tetrarch paid no attention to the protests of his Jewish subjects, who regarded it as a place of defilement since it was built on the site of a cemetery. Tiberias was organized as a Hellenistic city with a city council. The exact date of the founding of Tiberias is unknown, although probably it was shortly after Tiberius' appointment as emperor (c. 14 c.e.), with a view to currying favor with him. Josephus states explicitly that there were close relations between Herod

Antipas and Tiberius which were maintained until his death. The forbidden marriage (Lev. 18:16) of Antipas to Herodias, the wife of his brother Herod, the son of Mariamne, the high priest's daughter, stirred the resentment of the people against him. When John the Baptist dared to denounce this marriage publicly, he was executed in Machaerus at the command of Antipas. According to Josephus, however, the principal reason for the execution was Antipas' fear of political disturbances in the wake of John's appearance. His marriage to Herodias also led to war with *Aretasiv, king of the Nabateans, in 36 c.e. Antipas had previously married a daughter of Aretas, who fled to her father when she heard of the impending marriage between her husband and Herodias. In this war Antipas was defeated, and when Tiberius heard the news, he ordered Vitellius, governor of Syria, to go to Antipas' aid. In the spring of 37 c.e. Vitellius set out with his army to fight the Nabateans at Petra; at the request of the Jews he avoided passing through Judea. After the dismissal of the procurator, Pontius Pilate, he and Antipas set out alone for Jerusalem to ascertain the state of events there. Tiberius died four days later, and Vitellius interrupted his preparations for war against the Nabateans. Antipas had been the mediator between Rome and the Parthians. When a peace treaty between Rome and Artaban iii, king of Parthia, was signed, Antipas informed Caesar before Vitellius, and thus aroused the wrath of the latter. With the accession of Caligula, the influence of Agrippa, Antipas' enemy, in Rome increased. Agrippa accused Antipas before the emperor of preparing for a war against Rome with Parthian assistance. Antipas came to Rome and tried in vain to prove to Caesar that this information was incorrect. He was exiled to Lugdunum and his property was confiscated. His domain was attached to Agrippa's kingdom.

bibliography:

Jos., Ant., 18:27–28, 36–38, 102–5, 109–26, 240–55; Jos., Wars, 1:646, 664; 2:94–95, 182–3; Matt. 14:1–12; Mark 6:14–28; Luke 9:7–9; 13:31–32; 23:7–12; Acts 13:1; Klausner, Bayit Sheni, index; Schuerer, Gesch, 1 (1904⁴), 431 ff.; F.W. Madden, Coins of the Jews (1881), 118 ff.

[Abraham Schalit]