Easton's Bible Dictionary

Herod Archelaus (Mat 2:22), the brother of Antipas (q.v.).

Herod Philip I (Mar 6:17), the son of Herod the Great by Mariamne, the daughter of Simon, the high priest. He is distinguished from another Philip called "the tetrarch." He lived at Rome as a private person with his wife Herodias and his daughter Salome.

Herod Philip II The son of Herod the Great and Cleopatra of Jerusalem. He was "tetrarch" of Batanea, Iturea, Trachonitis, and Auranitis. He rebuilt the city of Caesarea Philippi, calling it by his own name to distinguish it from the Caesarea on the sea-coast which was the seat of the Roman government. He married Salome, the daughter of Herodias (Mat 16:13; Mar 8:27; Luk 3:1).

Herod Agrippa I Son of Aristobulus and Bernice, and grandson of Herod the Great. He was made tetrarch of the provinces formerly held by Lysanias II., and ultimately possessed the entire kingdom of his grandfather, Herod the Great, with the title of king. He put the apostle James the elder to death, and cast Peter into prison (Luk 3:1; Acts 12:1-19). On the second day of a festival held in honour of the emperor Claudius, he appeared in the great theatre of Caesarea. "The king came in clothed in magnificent robes, of which silver was the costly brilliant material. It was early in the day, and the sun's rays fell on the king, so that the eyes of the beholders were dazzled with the brightness which surrounded him. Voices here and there from the crowd exclaimed that it was the apparition of something divine. And when he spoke and made an oration to them, they gave a shout, saying, 'It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.' But in the midst of this idolatrous ostentation an angel of God suddenly smote him. He was carried out of the theatre a dying man." He died (A.D. 44) of the same loathsome malady which slew his grandfather (Act 12:21), in the fifty-fourth year of his age, having reigned four years as tetrarch and three as king over the whole of Palestine. After his death his kingdom came under the control of the prefect of Syria, and Palestine was now fully incorporated with the empire.

Herod Agrippa II The son of Herod Agrippa I. and Cypros. the emperor Claudius made him tetrarch of the provinces of Philip and Lysanias, with the title of king (Act 25:13; Act 26:2, Act 26:7). He enlarged the city of Caesarea Philippi, and called it Neronias, in honour of Nero. It was before him and his sister that Paul made his defense at Caesarea (Acts 25:12-27). He died at Rome A.D. 100, in the third year of the emperor Trajan.

Herodians A Jewish political party who sympathized with (Mar 3:6; Mar 12:13; Mat 22:16; Luk 20:20) the Herodian rulers in their general policy of government, and in the social customs which they introduced from Rome. They were at one with the Sadducees in holding the duty of submission to Rome, and of supporting the Herods on the throne. (Compare Mar 8:15; Mat 16:6.)

Herodias (Mat 14:3; Mar 6:17; Luk 3:19), the daughter of Aristobulus and Bernice. While residing at Rome with her husband Herod Philip I. and her daughter, Herod Antipas fell in with her during one of his journeys to that city. She consented to leave her husband and become his wife. Some time after, Herod met John the Baptist, who boldly declared the marriage to be unlawful. For this he was "cast into prison," in the castle probably of Machaerus(q.v.), and was there subsequently beheaded.

Herodion A Christian at Rome whom Paul salutes and calls his "kinsman" (Rom 16:11).

Heron (Lev 11:19; Deu 14:18), ranked among the unclean birds. The Hebrew name is 'anaphah , and indicates that the bird so named is remarkable for its angry disposition. "The herons are wading-birds, peculiarly irritable, remarkable for their voracity, frequenting marshes and oozy rivers, and spread over the regions of the East." The Ardea russeta, or little golden egret, is the commonest species in Asia.

Heshbon Intelligence, a city ruled over by Sihon, king of the Amorites (Jos 3:10; Jos 13:17). It was taken by Moses (Num 21:23), and became afterwards a Levitical city (Jos 21:39) in the tribe of Reuben (Num 32:37). After the Exile it was taken possession of by the Moabites (Isa 15:4; Jer 48:2, Jer 48:34, Jer 48:45). The ruins of this town are still seen about 20 miles east of Jordan from the north end of the Dead Sea. There are reservoirs in this district, which are probably the "fishpools" referred to in Sol 7:4.