Who is…
Antipas

This is the name of 2 biblical men—one a murderous king, the other a Christian martyr.

  1. Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great by his Samaritan wife Malthace

    He was tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea during the whole period of our Lord’s life on Earth (Luke 23:7). He was a frivolous and vain man, and was guilty of many infamous crimes (Mark 8:15; Luke 3:19; 13:31-32).

    He beheaded John the Baptist (Matthew 14:1-12) at the instigation of Herodias, the wife of his half-brother Herod Philip I, whom he had married. Pilate sent Christ to him when he was at Jerusalem at the Passover (Luke 23:7). He asked him some idle questions, and after having him mocked, sent him back again to Pilate.

    The wife of Chuza, his house-steward, was one of our Lord’s disciples (Luke 8:3).

  2. Antipas was also the name of a “faithful martyr” (Rev. 2:13), of whom nothing more is known for certain.

Article Version: April 30, 2018

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