Lexicon
Héródés: Herod
Original Word: Ἡρῴδης
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: Héródés
Pronunciation: hay-ROH-days
Phonetic Spelling: (hay-ro'-dace)
Definition: Herod
Meaning: Herod; four persons are called by this name: Herod the Great, Herod Antipas, Herod Agrippa, and Herod Agrippa the younger.
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Herod.
Compound of heros (a "hero") and eidos; heroic; Herod, the name of four Jewish kings -- Herod.
see GREEK eidos
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originperhaps from hérós (hero) and a patronymic suff.
Definitionperhaps "son of a hero," Herod, the name of several kings of the Jews
NASB TranslationHerod (39), Herod's (4).
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 2264: ἩρῴδηςἩρῴδης,
Ἡρῴδου,
ὁ (equivalent to
ἡρωιδης, sprung from a hero: hence, the
Etym. Magn., pp. 165, 43; 437, 56 directs it to be written
Ἡρῴδης (so
WH), as it is found also in certain inscriptions (cf.
Lipsius, Gram. Unters., p. 9;
WH. Introductory § 410;
Tdf. Proleg. 109;
Pape, Eigennamen, under the word)),
Herod, the name of a royal family that flourished among the Jews in the time of Jesus and the apostles. In the N. T. are mentioned,
1. the one who gave the family its name, Herod surnamed the Great, a son of Antipater of Idumaea. Appointed king of Judaea in by the Roman senate at the suggestion of Antony and with the consent of Octavian, he at length overcame the great opposition which the country made to him and took possession of the kingdom in ; and, after the battle of Actium, he was confirmed in it by Octavian, whose favor he ever after enjoyed. He was brave and skilled in war, learned and sagacious; but also extremely suspicious and cruel. Hence, he destroyed the entire royal family of the Hasmonaeans, put to death many of the Jews that opposed his government, and proceeded to kill even his dearly beloved wife Mariamne of the Hasmonaean line and the two sons she had borne him. By these acts of bloodshed, and especially by his love and imitation of Roman customs and institutions and by the burdensome taxes imposed upon his subjects, he so alienated the Jews that he was unable to regain their favor by his splendid restoration of the temple and other acts of munificence. He died in the 70th year of his age, the 37th of his reign, the 4th before the Dionysian era. Cf. Josephus, Antiquities 14, 14, 4; 15, 6, 7; 7, 4; 8, 1; 16, 5, 4; 11, 6, etc. In his closing years John the Baptist and Christ were born, Matthew 2:1; Luke 1:5; Matthew narrates in chapter 2 (cf. Macrobius, sat. 2, 4) that he commanded the male children in Bethlehem from two years old and under to be slain. Cf. especially Keim in Schenkel 3:27ff; Schürer, Neutest. Zeitgesch. § 15, and the books there mentioned. 2. Herod surnamed Antipas, son of Herod the Great and Malthace, a Samaritan woman. After the death of his father he was appointed by the Romans tetrach of Galilee and Peraea. His first wife was a daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia; but he subsequently repudiated her and took to himself Herodias, the wife of his brother Herod (see Φίλιππος, 1); and in consequence Aretas, his father-in-law, made war against him and conquered him. He cast John the Baptist into prison because John had rebuked him for this unlawful connection; and afterward, at the instigation of Herodias, he ordered him to be beheaded. Induced by her, too, he went to Rome to obtain from the emperor the title of king. But in consequence of accusations brought against him by Herod Agrippa I., Caligula banished him (A.D. 39) to Lugdunum in Gaul, where he seems to have died. (On the statement of Josephus (b. j. 2, 9, 6) that he died in Spain see the conjecture in B. D. under the word .) He was light-minded, sensual, vicious (Josephus, Antiquities 17, 1, 3; 8, 1; 11, 4; 18, 5, 1; 7, 1f; b. j. 2, 9, 6). In the N. T. he is mentioned by the simple name of Herod in Matthew 14:1, 3, 6; Mark 6:16-18, 20-22; Mark 8:15; Luke 3:1, 19; Luke 8:3; Luke 9:7, 9; Luke 13:31; Luke 23:7f, 11f, 15; Acts 4:27; Acts 13:1; once, Mark 6:14, he is called βασιλεύς, either improperly, or in the sense of royal lineage (see βασιλεύς). Cf. Keim, the passage cited, p. 42ff; Schürer, the passage cited, p. 232ff 3. Herod Agrippa I (who is called by Luke simply Herod, by Josephus everywhere Agrippa), son of Aristobulus and Berenice, and grandson of Herod the Great. After various changes of fortune, he gained the favor of the emperors Caligula and Claudius to such a degree that he gradually obtained the government of all Palestine, with the title of king. He died at Caesarea, A.D. 44, at the age of 54, in the seventh (or 4th, reckoning from the extension of his dominions by Claudius) year of his reign (Josephus, Antiquities 17, 1, 2; 18, 6; 19, 4, 5; 6, 1; 7, 3; b. j. 2, 11, 6), just after having ordered James the apostle, son of Zebedee, to be slain, and Peter to be cast into prison: Acts 12:1, 6, 11, 19-21. Cf. Keim, the passage cited, p. 49ff; Schürer, the passage cited, p. 290ff; (Farrar, St. Paul, vol. ii. Excurs. vi.). 4. (Herod) Agrippa II, son of the preceding. When his father died he was a youth of seventeen. In A.D. 48 he received from Claudius Caesar the government of Chalcis, with the right of appointing the Jewish high priests, together with the care and oversight of the temple at Jerusalem. Four years later Claudius took from him Chalcis and gave him instead a larger dominion, viz. Batanaea, Trachonitis, and Gaulanitis, with the title of king. To these regions Nero, in A.D. 53, added Tiberias and Tarichaeae and the Peraean Julias, with fourteen neighboring villages. Cf. Josephus, Antiquities 19, 9, 1f; 20, 1, 3; 5, 2; 7, 1; 8, 4; b. j. 2, 12, 1 and 8. In the N. T. he is mentioned in Acts 25:13, 22-26; Acts 26:1f,(),. In the Jewish war, although, he strove in vain to restrain the fury of the seditious and bellicose populace, he did not desert the Roman side. After the fall of Jerusalem, he was vested with praetorian rank and kept the kingdom entire until his death, which took place in the third year of the emperor Trajan (the 73rd of his life, and 52nd of his reign). He was the last representative of the Herodian dynasty. Cf. Keim, the passage cited, p. 56ff; Schürer, the passage cited, p. 315ff (Less complete accounts of the family may he found in BB. DD.; Sieffert in Herzog edition 2 under the word; an extended narrative in Hausrath, Neutest. Zeitgesch. vol. i. Abschn. v. Cf. also Edersheim, Jesus the Messiah, book ii., chapter ii. and Appendix iv.)
Topical Lexicon
Word Origin: Derived from the Greek word ἥρως (hērōs), meaning "hero" or "warrior."Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: There are no direct Hebrew equivalents for the Greek name Ἡρῴδης, as it is a Hellenistic name specific to the Herodian dynasty. However, the historical context of the Herodian rulers is intertwined with the broader narrative of Jewish history and Roman occupation during the Second Temple period.
Usage: The name Herod is used in the New Testament to refer to different members of the Herodian dynasty, including Herod the Great, Herod Antipas, Herod Agrippa I, and Herod Agrippa II. These rulers played significant roles in the political and religious landscape of the time.
Context: The Herodian dynasty was a prominent ruling family in Judea and surrounding regions during the late Second Temple period. The most notable members mentioned in the New Testament include:
• Herod the Great: Known for his extensive building projects, including the expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. He is infamously remembered for the "Massacre of the Innocents" in Bethlehem, as recorded in Matthew 2:16-18, where he ordered the killing of all male infants in an attempt to eliminate the newborn "King of the Jews."
• Herod Antipas: A son of Herod the Great, he ruled as tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. He is most known for his role in the execution of John the Baptist, as described in Mark 6:14-29. Herod Antipas also appears in the trial of Jesus, where he questions Jesus but ultimately sends Him back to Pilate (Luke 23:7-12).
• Herod Agrippa I: A grandson of Herod the Great, he is noted for his persecution of the early church, including the execution of James, the brother of John, and the imprisonment of Peter (Acts 12:1-4). His death is recorded in Acts 12:20-23, where he is struck down by an angel of the Lord for not giving glory to God.
• Herod Agrippa II: The son of Herod Agrippa I, he is known for his encounter with the Apostle Paul, as recorded in Acts 25:13-26:32. Paul presents his defense before Agrippa II, who famously remarks, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to become a Christian?" (Acts 26:28, BSB).
The Herodian rulers were known for their complex relationship with the Roman Empire, balancing their Jewish heritage with Roman political interests. Their reigns were marked by political intrigue, architectural achievements, and significant interactions with key figures in the New Testament narrative.
Forms and Transliterations
Ηρωδη Ἡρῴδῃ Ηρωδην Ἡρῴδην Ηρωδης Ἡρῴδης Ηρωδου Ἡρῴδου erode Ērōdē eroden Ērōdēn erodes Ērōdēs erodou Ērōdou Herode Hērōdē Heroden Hērōdēn Herodes Hērōdēs Herodou Hērōdou Herṓidei Hērṓidēi Herṓiden Hērṓidēn Herṓides Hērṓidēs Herṓidou HērṓidouLinks
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