Holy Bible - Obsidian Study Guide

Herod Antipas

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Herod Antipas

Overview

Biography

Herod Antipas was the son of Herod the Great and ruled as tetrarch over Galilee and Perea during the ministry of both John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. He divorced his first wife, a Nabataean princess, in order to marry Herodias, who had previously been the wife of his brother Philip. This unlawful union drew the public rebuke of John the Baptist, who declared plainly, “It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife” (Mark 6:18, KJV), and Antipas responded by having John imprisoned.

Though Antipas feared and respected John, recognizing him as a just and holy man, his resolve was broken at his birthday feast when the daughter of Herodias danced and pleased him so greatly that he swore an oath to give her whatsoever she asked. Prompted by her mother Herodias, she requested the head of John the Baptist on a charger. Antipas, unwilling to break his oath before his guests, sent an executioner to the prison and had John beheaded (Mark 6:17-29). The episode illustrates how personal weakness, political vanity, and the malice of Herodias combined to bring about the martyrdom of the forerunner of Christ.

During the Passion of Jesus Christ, Pilate, learning that Jesus was a Galilean and therefore under Antipas’s jurisdiction, sent him to Herod Antipas, who was in Jerusalem at the time. Antipas was greatly pleased, having long desired to see Jesus work a miracle, but Jesus answered him nothing. Antipas and his soldiers mocked Jesus, arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him back to Pilate. Luke records that Pilate and Herod Antipas became friends on that day, having previously been at enmity (Luke 23:7-12). Jesus himself had earlier characterized Antipas with pointed brevity: “Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected” (Luke 13:32, KJV).

Herod Antipas is also named in the apostolic prayer recorded in Acts 4:27 as one of those who gathered against the Lord’s anointed: “For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together.” He stands in the New Testament as a figure of worldly authority exercised without righteousness—a ruler who knew enough to fear a prophet yet lacked the moral courage to protect him.

Key Events

  • John the Baptist — imprisoned and beheaded at Herodias’s instigation during Antipas’s birthday feast (Mark 6:17-29)
  • Jesus Christ — mocked and returned to Pilate during the Passion trial (Luke 23:7-12)

Cross-References

  • John the Baptist — rebuked Antipas for his unlawful marriage; was beheaded by his order
  • Jesus Christ — mocked by Antipas and his soldiers during the Passion; called Antipas “that fox”
  • Herod the Great — father of Antipas; the king who slaughtered the innocents at Bethlehem
  • Pilate — Roman governor who sent Jesus to Antipas; both named in Acts 4:27 as gathered against Christ

Notes

  • Herod Antipas is distinguished from Herod the Great (his father) and from Herod Agrippa I (who executed the apostle James in Acts 12)
  • “Herod” in the Gospels during Jesus’s ministry almost always refers to Antipas, not Herod the Great
  • His downfall came later when Herodias persuaded him to seek the title of king from Rome; the emperor Caligula exiled him to Gaul, where he died

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