Acts 26 – Paul gives testimony to Agrippa II.
Herod the Great was the father of Aristobulus IV.
Aristobulus IV was the father of King Agrippa (I).
Agrippa I met with area kings arousing the suspicion of Syria/Rome/Claudius.
After Passover in 44 CE, Agrippa had games performed in honor of Claudius. At least one person proclaimed Agrippa had the voice of a god or was god.
The Jewish Encyclopedia speculated that Agrippa’s “sudden death at the games in Cæsarea, 44, must be considered as a stroke of Roman politics.”
From Josephus, Antiquities 19.8.2 343-361: “Now when Agrippa had reigned three years over all Judea he came to the city Caesarea, which was formerly called Strato’s Tower; and there he exhibited spectacles in honor of Caesar, for whose well-being he’d been informed that a certain festival was being celebrated. At this festival a great number were gathered together of the principal persons of dignity of his province. On the second day of the spectacles he put on a garment made wholly of silver, of a truly wonderful texture, and came into the theater early in the morning. There the silver of his garment, being illuminated by the fresh reflection of the sun’s rays, shone out in a wonderful manner, and was so resplendent as to spread awe over those that looked intently upon him. Presently his flatterers cried out, one from one place, and another from another, (though not for his good) that he was a god; and they added, “Be thou merciful to us; for although we have hitherto reverenced thee only as a man, yet shall we henceforth own thee as superior to mortal nature.” Upon this the king neither rebuked them nor rejected their impious flattery. But he shortly afterward looked up and saw an owl sitting on a certain rope over his head, and immediately understood that this bird was the messenger of ill tidings, just as it had once been the messenger of good tidings to him; and fell into the deepest sorrow. A severe pain arose in his belly, striking with a most violent intensity. He therefore looked upon his friends, and said, “I, whom you call a god, am commanded presently to depart this life; while Providence thus reproves the lying words you just now said to me; and I, who was by you called immortal, am immediately to be hurried away by death. But I am bound to accept what Providence allots, as it pleases God; for we have by no means lived ill, but in a splendid and happy manner.” When he had said this, his pain became violent. Accordingly he was carried into the palace, and the rumor went abroad everywhere that he would certainly die soon. The multitude sat in sackcloth, men, women and children, after the law of their country, and besought God for the king’s recovery. All places were also full of mourning and lamentation. Now the king rested in a high chamber, and as he saw them below lying prostrate on the ground he could not keep himself from weeping. And when he had been quite worn out by the pain in his belly for five days, he departed this life, being in the fifty-fourth year of his age and in the seventh year of his reign. He ruled four years under Caius Caesar, three of them were over Philip’s tetrarchy only, and on the fourth that of Herod was added to it; and he reigned, besides those, three years under Claudius Caesar, during which time he had Judea added to his lands, as well as Samaria and Cesarea. The revenues that he received out of them were very great, no less than twelve millions of drachmae. But he borrowed great sums from others, for he was so very liberal that his expenses exceeded his incomes, and his generosity was boundless.”
Jesus in the gospels was silent when accused of being divine. Agrippa I was silent when accused of being divine. Why in the world would he wear a garment so awe-inspiring? Did he suspect he would be poisoned for meeting with area kings without the advance approval from the governor of Syria?
Robert Graves, in Claudius the God, may have suggested that after the discovered gathering of kings, Claudius wrote to Agrippa I asking him about the prophesied messiah. Agrippa I had told his friend Claudius to trust no one and therefore must have concluded Claudius no longer trusted him, meaning Rome would kill him for his messianic aspirations.
For this thread, the JSTOR article “Who Claimed Herod Was ‘The Christ’?” by James Hamilton Charlesworth / Princeton Theological Seminary /article appeared in Israel Exploration Society in 2015
The Apostle Paul would have known the aspirations of Herod the Great.
He would also have known the history of Agrippa I, how he had the approval of many; how he appeared at the games in honor of Claudius in 44 CE, how people reacted to that appearance and the speech he gave.
Agrippa II was born 28
Agrippa I died 44 when Agrippa II was approximately 16.
Paul before Agrippa II with Festus present – 59 C.E.
James Hamilton Charlesworth / Princeton Theological Seminary
Seven literary traditions preserve the claim that one of the men in the Herodian dynasty was the Messiah (“the Christ”).
Epiphanius must have found the claim that Herod was “the Christ” in his sources. Obviously, we must ponder to what extent this tradition may ultimately be traceable to the complex Jewish world of Palestine before the destruction of 70 C.E.
Jerome twice reported that the Herodians believed Herod the Great was the Christ. The Herodians accepted King Herod as if he were “the Christ.”
It is wise to listen carefully to the reports of Jerome. We have been amazed recently how oral traditions in the same setting keep alive arresting thoughts and beliefs in a reliable way for centuries.
Theophylactus suggested that soldiers of Herod the Great contended Herod the Great was the Christ.
Cod. Reg. 930 reports that the Herodians are those who thought “Herod,” apparently Herod Antipas as “the Christ.”
According to Philastrius (Filastrius Brixiensis), Agrippa I was hailed by the Herodians as the Messiah.
A passage in Slavonic Josephus indicates that some people thought Herod was the one “who would be reigning over the whole world.” … The priests were arguing that Herod cannot be the Messiah or Christ. That argument reveals that most liekly some people were claiming that Herod is or was the Christ. … No Jewish prophecy about the Messiah clearly claims that he will be a healer, that was the function Jewish lore usually gave to Solomon.
James Hamilton Charlesworth / Princeton Theological Seminary
Wolf Wirgin contends that the “entourage” of Agrippa I considered him “a potential Messiah.”
Agrippa began building the third north wall of Jerusalem which would have mde the city “impregnable.” His early death interrupted its completion. Building such a wall, especially shortly after Caligula intended to desecrate the Temple with his statue probably prompted many to consider Agrippa a savior and a messiah. Agrippa’s silver garment worn at Caesarea and his silence when many proclaimed him a god would be stimuli that the masses would have seen as messianic.
Steve Campbell, author of Historical Accuracy
Evoking an angelic appearance.
James Hamilton Charlesworth / Princeton Theological Seminary
The concepts of “god,” “king,” and ‘messiah” tend to coalesce in such settings.
Wirgin perceived that “Agrippa’s messianism” was not “a matter of the Messiah expected” by those at Qumran and in the Psalm of Solomon. It was rather “the belief of those who expected a Savior, a victorious leader and ruler.
The fulfillment of Essene prophecy: Herod the Great would be “King of the Jews” because he had received God’s favor. Some Jews could imagine Herod was a messiah.
Argumentation Specialist
So, a king and angelic figure is put to death by Rome. Sure, Jesus existed–as Agrippa I, about the same time it was being written that Son of Man – Enoch was putting on his angelic garment.
Herod the Great was the King of the Jews, not just Jews in Judea but in the Diaspora. He expanded the Temple to bring them to Jerusalem. The gospels tell us Rome insisted Jesus was King of the Jews is an insistence that Jesus Christ was Herod the Great, perhaps Grandfather and Grandson.
James Hamilton Charlesworth / Princeton Theological Seminary (Concluding)
Herod the Great exuded an elephantine ego and attracted adoration that was excessive. We have abundant evidence that many Jews along with Gentiles considered him not only “king” but also superhuman.
The claim that Herod was a messiah may be preserved in his coins. He put a helmet and a star on his largest and first coin. The star might be interpreted in terms of the messianic reading of Numbers 24: 17. The Seleucid Dioscuri who portrayed themselves as saviors would re-perceive Herod the Great doing the same, in light of Jewish messianism. Wirgin can conlude: “It is inconceivable to us that Herod would have adopted the type of the savior gods, the Dioscuri, without implying a messianic meaning adapted to the nomenclature of the Jews.”
Argumentation Specialist
Dioscuri, also called (in French) Castor and Polydeuces and (in Latin) Castor and Pollux, (Dioscuri from Greek Dioskouroi, “Sons of Zeus”), in Greek and Roman mythology, twin deities who succoured shipwrecked sailors and received sacrifices for favourable winds.
As the gospels reflect Julius Caesar, if the gospels were also to reflect Herod the Great and Agrippa I, Galilee would have to be referenced because Herod the Great, first was a governor of Galilee then king over Galilee, and Agrippa I was king over Galilee (and King Agrippa II was a ruler over Galilee).
Robert Graves, author of I, Claudius and Claudius the God
Some reviewers of I, Claudius, the prefatory volume to Claudius the God, suggested that in writing it I had merely consulted Tacitus’s Annals and Suetonius’s Twelve Caesars, run them together, and expanded the result with my own “vigorous fancy.” This was not so; nor is it the case here [with Claudius the God].
Among the Classical writers who have been borrowed from in the composition of Claudius the God are:
Tacitus
Dio Cassius
Suetonius
Pliny
Varro
Valerius Maximus
Orosius
Frontinus
Strabo
Caesar
Columella
Plutarch
Josephus
Diodorus Siculus
Photius
Xiphilnus
Zonara
Seneca
Petronius
Juvenal
Philo
Celsus
the authors of the Acts of the Apostles
and of the pseudo-gospels of Nicodemus and St. James, and
Claudius himself in his surviving letters and speeches.
… I must acknowledge my indebtedness to Signor Arnaldo Momigliano’s monograph on Claudius recently published n translation by the Oxford University Press.
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Steefen
This is why Robert Graves’ two books are more historical novel than historical fiction. This is why it is highly likely that Agrippa I probably did call area kings to a meeting without first getting approval or first informing Gaius Vibius Marsus the Roman governor of Syria.
Suetonius
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Suetonius, another Roman historian, lived A.D. 75-160. It has been noted that Suetonius considered Christ (Chrestus) to be a Roman rebel active in the days of Claudius, who reigned A.D. 41-54:
“Judaeos, impulsore Chresto, assidue tumultuantes (Claudius) Roma expulit”.
“Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus expelled them from Rome” (Clau., xxv).
Steefen said
Suetonius** you do not have permission to see this link **
Suetonius, another Roman historian, lived A.D. 75-160. It has been noted that Suetonius considered Christ (Chrestus) to be a Roman rebel active in the days of Claudius, who reigned A.D. 41-54:
“Judaeos, impulsore Chresto, assidue tumultuantes (Claudius) Roma expulit”.
“Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus expelled them from Rome” (Clau., xxv).
McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia
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Chrestus (perhaps a Hellenist who excited political disturbances), a person named by Suetonius (Claud. 25) as having incited a sedition among the Jews at Rome, which led to their expulsion from the city (comp. ** you do not have permission to see this link **).
** you do not have permission to see this link **
Argumentation Specialist
Apostle Paul,
Some people were calling Agrippa I god/messiah
after the resurrection of Jesus which was used to elevate Jesus
to Isis, Osiris, Serapis resurrection divinity status.
Second, in Rome, there was a man named Chrestus who excited people to political disturbances
resulting in the expulsion of Jews from Rome by Emperor Claudius ( ** you do not have permission to see this link ** )
Third, chrestians (who were actually followers of Chrestus?) were not sympathetic to great fires in Rome during the reign of the next emperor.
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No, the revelatory Jesus Christ was not the only man in the first half of the first century to stoke the imagination that there was Jewish divinity walking among the living: there was Agrippa I.
Alright, let’s address Professor Charlesworth.
The Herodians (Herodiani) were a sect of Hellenistic Jews mentioned in the New Testament on two occasions — first in Galilee, and later in Jerusalem — being hostile to Jesus (Mark 3:6, 12:13; Matthew 22:16; cf. … Like the Pharisees, the Herodians wanted political independence for the Jewish people.
** you do not have permission to see this link **
The Herodians (Herodiani) were a sect of Hellenistic Jews mentioned in the New Testament on two occasions — first in Galilee, and later in Jerusalem — being hostile to Jesus (Mark 3:6, 12:13; Matthew 22:16; cf. also Mark 8:15, Luke 13:31–32, Acts 4:27). In each of these cases their name is coupled with that of the Pharisees.[1]
According to many interpreters, the courtiers or soldiers of Herod Antipas (“Milites Herodis,” Jerome) were intended; others argue that the Herodians were probably a public political party, who distinguished themselves from the two great historical parties of post-exilic Judaism (the Pharisees and Sadducees) by the fact that they were and had been sincerely friendly to Herod the Great, the King of the Jews, and to his dynasty. The Herodians are often mentioned in the gospels at the same time as the Pharisees. Like the Pharisees, the Herodians wanted political independence for the Jewish people.[2] Unlike the Pharisees, who sought to restore the kingdom of David, the Herodians wished to restore a member of the Herodian dynasty to the throne in Judea.
Anglican bishop Charles Ellicott notes a consistency in format with other designations such as “Mariani’ (supporters of Gaius Marius), Pompeiani (relating to Pompey the Great), and, we may add, Christiani”.[3]
It is possible that, to gain adherents, the Herodian party may have been in the habit of representing that the establishment of a Herodian Dynasty would be favourable to the realization of the theocracy; and this in turn may account for Pseudo-Tertullian’s (Adversis Omnes Haereses [1,1)) allegation that the Herodians regarded Herod himself as the Messiah. The sect was called by the Rabbis Boethusians as being friendly to the family of Boethus, whose daughter Mariamne was one of Herod the Great’s wives.
Steve Campbell, author of Historical Accuracy
The Pharisees conspired with the Herodians to have Jesus killed.
Well, of course, why should Jesus be the Messiah when Herod the Great or Agrippa I could be the Messiah?
Wikipedia (continued)
Robert Eisenman of California State University, Long Beach argues that Paul the Apostle was a member of the family of Herod the Great.[4] Eisenman makes a connection between Paul and an individual identified by Josephus as “Saulus,” a “kinsman of Agrippa.”[5] Another oft-cited element of the case for Paul as a member of Herod’s family is found in Romans 16:11 where Paul had written, “Greet Herodion, my kinsman.”
Argumentation Specialist
Did Paul make his revelatory Jesus a Herodian? Was Paul’s revelatory Jesus a Herodian? Was he Herod the Great or Agrippa I?
Did the gospel writers ironically make him an Herodian or Essene-like, giving the following?
Some people[who?] think that the Herodians was another name for the Essenes who probably wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls.
“Nothing is known of them beyond what the Gospels state.”[6]
“… their precise relation to the other sects or schools among the Jews are consequently matters of conjecture.”[7]
Josephus Antiquities of the Jews Book 15 Chapter 10.5[8] states “5. Now there was one of these Essenes, whose name was Manahem, who had this testimony, that he not only conducted his life after an excellent manner, but had the foreknowledge of future events given him by God also. This man once saw Herod when he was a child, and going to school, and saluted him as king of the Jews; but he, thinking that either he did not know him, or that he was in jest, put him in mind that he was but a private man; but Manahem smiled to himself, and clapped him on his backside with his hand, and said,” However that be, thou wilt be king, and wilt begin thy reign happily, for God finds thee worthy of it. And do thou remember the blows that Manahem hath given thee, as being a signal of the change of thy fortune. And truly this will be the best reasoning for thee, that thou love justice [towards men], and piety towards God, and clemency towards thy citizens; yet do I know how thy whole conduct will be, that thou wilt not be such a one, for thou wilt excel all men in happiness, and obtain an everlasting reputation, but wilt forget piety and righteousness; and these crimes will not be concealed from God, at the conclusion of thy life, when thou wilt find that he will be mindful of them, and punish time for them.”
Now at that time Herod did not at all attend to what Manahem said, as having no hopes of such advancement; but a little afterward, when he was so fortunate as to be advanced to the dignity of king, and was in the height of his dominion, he sent for Manahem, and asked him how long he should reign. Manahem did not tell him the full length of his reign; wherefore, upon that silence of his, he asked him further, whether he should reign ten years or not? He replied, “Yes, twenty, nay, thirty years;” but did not assign the just determinate limit of his reign. Herod was satisfied with these replies, and gave Manahem his hand, and dismissed him; and from that time he continued to honor all the Essenes. We have thought it proper to relate these facts to our readers, how strange soever they be, and to declare what hath happened among us, because many of these Essenes have, by their excellent virtue, been thought worthy of this knowledge of Divine revelations.”
Josephus said Herod “continued to honor all the Essenes.”
The people could have thought that the Essenes were Herod’s pet and called them the Herodians.
Robert said
Steefen said
Some people[who?] think that the Herodians was another name for the Essenes who probably wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls.
See p 36 n 9 of the Charlesworth article you referenced in your first post. An interesting but unlikely conjecture that is not widely accepted.
C. Daniel claimed the Herodians were Essenes. See Daniel, “Les Herodiens du Nouveau Testament sont-ils des Esseniens? … The hypothesis has been rightly rejected: see W. J. Bennett, “The Herodians of Mark’s Gospel.” … “Were the New Testament Herodians Essenes? …
Steefen
Worthwhile to look at this Note #9 because I found a book that fulfills a possible need: Herod Antipas by Harold Hoehner.
“Originally published by Cambridge University Press in the Monograph Series of the Society for New Testament Studies, Dr. Hoehner’s work has been widely acclaimed for its scholarly reconstruction of Herod Antipas’ political career.”
Who knows why this did not come up when I was searching for books on Herod Antipas.
Also see A Marginal Jew Volume 3, pages 560-561
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Does Volume 2 of a marginal Jew have any arguments that definitively prove Jesus performed wonders?
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