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[109] Meanwhile there was a quarrel between Aretas the king of Arabia Petrea and Herod, for this reason: Herod the tetrarch had married the daughter of Aretas and had been with her a long time. Once, however, when he was in Rome he lodged with his half-brother Herod, who was not by the same mother, for this Herod was son of the daughter of Simon the high priest. 110 He was in love with Herodias, this latter Herod's wife, who was the daughter of their other brother Aristobulus and a sister of Agrippa the Great, and proposed marriage to her. She accepted and agreed to move in with him as soon as he returned from Rome, and part of the agreement was that Aretas's daughter [his first wife] be sent away.
[111] Having agreed this he sailed to Rome, but when he finished his business in Rome and came home, his wife learned of his agreement with Herodias and before he was aware that she knew of it, she asked him to send her to Machaerus, on the border between the realms of Aretas and Herod, without telling him her intentions. [112] Herod sent her there, thinking the poor woman had noticed nothing. But she had sent advance notice to Machaerus, which was subject to her father and so everything necessary for her journey was made ready for her by the general of Aretas's army, and so she soon reached Arabia, passed on from one chieftain to the next, and soon came to her father and told him of Herod's plans.
[113] This was the start of their enmity and there was also their border dispute about Gamalitis, so both sides prepared for war, though they sent their generals to fight instead of themselves.
[114] In the ensuing battle, all Herod's army was destroyed by the treachery of some fugitives, who joined with Aretas's army though they came from the tetrarchy of Philip. [115] Herod wrote about these matters to Tiberius, who was [?] at what Aretas had done, and wrote to Vitellius to make war on him and either capture him alive and bring him to him in chains, or if he was killed to send him his head. These were the orders of Tiberius to the governor of Syria.
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[109] Meanwhile there was a quarrel between Aretas the king of Arabia Petrea and Herod, for this reason: Herod the tetrarch had married the daughter of Aretas and had been with her a long time. Once, however, when he was in Rome he lodged with his half-brother Herod, who was not by the same mother, for this Herod was son of the daughter of Simon the high priest. 110 He was in love with Herodias, this latter Herod's wife, who was the daughter of their other brother Aristobulus and a sister of Agrippa the Great, and proposed marriage to her. She accepted and agreed to move in with him as soon as he returned from Rome, and part of the agreement was that Aretas's daughter [his first wife] be sent away.
[111] Having agreed this he sailed to Rome, but when he finished his business in Rome and came home, his wife learned of his agreement with Herodias and before he was aware that she knew of it, she asked him to send her to Machaerus, on the border between the realms of Aretas and Herod, without telling him her intentions. [112] Herod sent her there, thinking the poor woman had noticed nothing. But she had sent advance notice to Machaerus, which was subject to her father and so everything necessary for her journey was made ready for her by the general of Aretas's army, and so she soon reached Arabia, passed on from one chieftain to the next, and soon came to her father and told him of Herod's plans.
[113] This was the start of their enmity and there was also their border dispute about Gamalitis, so both sides prepared for war, though they sent their generals to fight instead of themselves.
[114] In the ensuing battle, all Herod's army was destroyed by the treachery of some fugitives, who joined with Aretas's army though they came from the tetrarchy of Philip. [115] Herod wrote about these matters to Tiberius, who was [?] at what Aretas had done, and wrote to Vitellius to make war on him and either capture him alive and bring him to him in chains, or if he was killed to send him his head. These were the orders of Tiberius to the governor of Syria.
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https://www.biblical.ie/page.php?fl=jos ... ies/AJGk18
Josephus Antiquities 18.116-19:
| . [116] Some of the Jews thought that that Herod's army was destroyed as a just punishment from God, for what he did to John, who was called the Baptist. [117] For Herod killed this good man who was telling the Jews to practice virtue, and behave righteously towards each other and devoutly towards God and so to come to baptism. This would make the washing acceptable to Him, if it were used not for the putting away of some sins, but for the purification of the body, since the soul was already purified by righteousness. [118] When others crowded round him, for they were greatly moved by hearing his words, Herod feared that his great influence over the people might lead to some revolt, as they seemed ready to do everything he advised, so he thought it better to put him to death before he could start a rebellion than to wait and later have to repent of it after the revolution had begun. [119] So due to Herod's suspicions he was sent a prisoner to Machaerus, the castle mentioned earlier, and put to death there. The Jews suspected that the loss of Herod's army was sent as a punishment and a mark of God's displeasure with him. . | . [116] Τισὶ δὲ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐδόκει ὀλωλέναι τὸν Ἡρώδου στρατὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ μάλα δικαίως τινυμένου κατὰ ποινὴν Ἰωάννου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου βαπτιστοῦ. [117] κτείνει γὰρ δὴ τοῦτον Ἡρώδης ἀγαθὸν ἄνδρα καὶ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις κελεύοντα ἀρετὴν ἐπασκοῦσιν καὶ τὰ πρὸς ἀλλήλους δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν εὐσεβείᾳ χρωμένοις βαπτισμῷ συνιέναι: οὕτω γὰρ δὴ καὶ τὴν βάπτισιν ἀποδεκτὴν αὐτῷ φανεῖσθαι μὴ ἐπί τινων ἁμαρτάδων παραιτήσει χρωμένων, ἀλλ' ἐφ' ἁγνείᾳ τοῦ σώματος, ἅτε δὴ καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς δικαιοσύνῃ προεκκεκαθαρμένης. [118] καὶ τῶν ἄλλων συστρεφομένων, καὶ γὰρ ἥσθησαν ἐπὶ πλεῖστον τῇ ἀκροάσει τῶν λόγων, δείσας Ἡρώδης τὸ ἐπὶ τοσόνδε πιθανὸν αὐτοῦ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις μὴ ἐπὶ ἀποστάσει τινὶ φέροι, πάντα γὰρ ἐῴκεσαν συμβουλῇ τῇ ἐκείνου πράξοντες, πολὺ κρεῖττον ἡγεῖται πρίν τι νεώτερον ἐξ αὐτοῦ γενέσθαι προλαβὼν ἀνελεῖν τοῦ μεταβολῆς γενομένης [μὴ] εἰς πράγματα ἐμπεσὼν μετανοεῖν. [119] καὶ ὁ μὲν ὑποψίᾳ τῇ Ἡρώδου δέσμιος εἰς τὸν Μαχαιροῦντα πεμφθεὶς τὸ προειρημένον φρούριον ταύτῃ κτίννυται. τοῖς δὲ Ἰουδαίοις δόξαν ἐπὶ τιμωρίᾳ τῇ ἐκείνου τὸν ὄλεθρον ἐπὶ τῷ στρατεύματι γενέσθαι τοῦ θεοῦ κακῶσαι Ἡρώδην θέλοντος. |
Now, here's some things.
1. Discrepancies with Matthew 14:-1-12:
1 At ''that time' Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2 and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,a 4 for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.b
6 On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much 7 that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted 10 and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. 12 John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
a. Antiquities 18.109-10 has Herodias as Herod the tetrarch's half-brother's* wife, aka Herod ("the son of Herod the Great by Mariamne, the daughter of Simon the High Priest; Ant. 18.136); ie. not Philip (Herodias's daughter's first husband was a Philip, who the author of Matthew may or may not have considered to be Philip, the son of Herod the tetrarch; see (c) here).
b. Antiquities 18.118-9 has Herod kill John because he was concerned that John might make the people revolt; he didn't seem to be afraid the people considered him a prophet.
c. According to Ant. 18.136, Herodias's daughter, unnamed in Matt. 14, was named Salome, "after whose birth Herodias set about overturning the laws of our country," and, "who married to Philip, Herod's son and tetrarch of Trachonitis, and, as he died childless, Aristobulus, Herod's son and Agrippa's brother, married her. They had three sons, Herod, Agrippa and Aristobulus" (Ant 18.137) [All very incestuous].
2. re " Ἰωάννου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου* βαπτιστοῦ "
* epikaloumenou; from ἐπικαλέω - epikaleó - https://biblehub.com/greek/1941.htm
Definition: to call upon
Usage:
- I call (name) by a supplementary (additional, alternative) name,
- mid: I call upon, appeal to, address.
Mostly used in Acts, eg.,
Acts 12:12
'Ἰωάννου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Μάρκου οὗ"
John who was called Mark
John who was called Mark
Acts 11:13 has "Σίμωνα τὸν ἐπικαλούμενον Πέτρον" (Simon called Peter)
Acts 7:59 has "Στέφανον ἐπικαλούμενον," as in:
- 'As they were stoning Stephen, he was calling out and saying, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit'.'
fwiw, the rest of the history of Herod the tetrarch and Herodias, including their interactions with Gaius; the fate of Agrippa; and mention of Philo of Alexandria (and some Josephean theology)
[120] Vitellius went to war against Aretas with two fully-armed legions and all the light-armed infantry and cavalry attached to them...came to Ptolemais on his way toward Petra. [121] But on the march as he was leading his army through Judea, some prominent men met him to ask him not to go through their land, since their ancestral laws did not let them ignore the images they carried into it, many of which were on their ensigns. [122] Persuaded by this he changed his plans and ordered the army to march along the great plain, while he himself, with Herod the tetrarch and his friends, went up to Jerusalem to offer sacrifice to God during an ancient Jewish festival which was coming up. [123] On his arrival he was well received by the Jewish populace, and stayed there for three days, during which time he deposed Jonathan from his priestly office and gave it to his brother Theophilus ...
[... Tiberius dies ... Vitellius stood down his army and retired to Antioch ...]
[127] I now wish to describe how things went for Herod and his family, partly as it is relevant to this history and partly because it offers proof of divine intervention, how mere numbers are fruitless, or any other worldly advantage, without piety towards God. [128] The fact is that, within a hundred years, the numerous descendants of Herod had all disappeared, apart from a few. One may well apply this for the guidance of mankind and learn from their misfortune. [129] It is worth recalling the story of Agrippa, an admirable person who beyond all the expectation of his friends rose from being a private citizen to great power and authority. I have said something of this before, but will now speak of it in detail ...
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[[143-6] Agrippa makes friends with the Antonia (the wife of Tiberius's son, Drusus) who highly esteemed Agrippa's mother Berenice. After Berernice died, Agrippa spent too lavishly and was reduced to poverty. Tiberius banished him.]
[147] ... he left Rome and sailed to Judea in dire circumstances, depressed by the loss of his former wealth and without the money to pay his many creditors, and seeing no way to escape them. Not knowing what to do, and ashamed of his present condition, he retired to a tower at Malatha in Idumaea, and thought of killing himself. 148 But his wife Cypros knew his mind and tried all sorts of ways to divert him from such a course. She wrote a letter to his sister Herodias, who was now the wife of Herod the tetrarch, to tell her of Agrippa's state and the need that drove him to it. 149 She asked for her help as his relative, and to get her husband to do the same, seeing how she had helped her husband all she could, though without any wealth like theirs. They sent for him and gave him Tiberias as his dwelling, with money to maintain him and honouring him as mayor of Tiberias. 150 But Herod did not continue long in his resolve to support him, though even that was insufficient for him. Once they were drinking at a feast in Tyre and insults were exchanged, Agrippa found it unbearable when Herod reproached him with his poverty and with owing his very food to him. So he went to Flaccus, who had been consul and had formerly been a great friend to him in Rome and was now ruler of Syria ...
240 But Herodias, Agrippa's sister, who now lived as wife to the Herod who was tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, envied this authority of her brother, particularly when she saw him given higher rank than her husband, since he had fled because he was unable to pay his debts and now he was back, with all dignity and affluence. 241 She was annoyed at such a change in his affairs, especially when she saw him making his entrance among the crowds in all his regalia, and could not conceal her bitter envy at him, but stirred up her husband to sail to Rome, to seek equal status to his. 242 She said she could no longer bear to live if Agrippa, the son of the Aristobulus who was executed by his father, a man who had come to her husband in such extreme poverty that he had to be supplied with the essentials of everyday life, and had fled overseas to escape his creditors, now returned as king, while her husband, himself the son of a king and whose royal blood called on him to hold a similar dignity, sat idle and must be content to live as a commoner. 243 "But Herod, even if formerly you were not bothered at being in a lower rank than your father once had, now you must go after the same rank your kinsman has reached. Do not endure the indignity of letting a man who used to court your wealth now be in higher station than yourself, seeing his poverty was able to buy more esteem than our abundance. Do not think it less than shameful to be inferior to one who so recently lived off your charity. 244 But let us go to Rome and spare no effort or expense of silver or gold, since they cannot be kept for any better use than for the winning of a kingdom."
245 He [Herod] opposed her request for a time, from his love of leisure and having an inkling of the trouble he might have in Rome, so he tried to bring her around. But the more she saw him draw back, the more she pressed him to...seek to be king at any cost. 246 ... So he prepared everything, sparing no expense, and set off for Rome, taking Herodias with him. 247 But Agrippa learned of their intentions and preparations, and also prepared to go there. As soon as he heard they had set sail, he sent Fortunatus, one of his freedmen, to Rome, bringing gifts to the emperor and letters against Herod and to tell Gaius about them as soon as opportunity arose. 248 This man followed so soon after Herod and had such a good voyage that he arrived in Rome almost at the same time, so that when Herod reached Gaius, this man had already come and delivered his letters. They both sailed to Dicaearchia and found Gaius at Baii. 249 This is a little city of Campania, about five furlongs from Dicearchia, and in it are royal palaces, with rich apartments, as each emperor tried to outdo his predecessor's magnificence. It has warm springs coming naturally from the ground, which are of therapeutic value along with being an amenity for good living.
250 Now Gaius greeted Herod, meeting him the first time, and then looked at the letters Agrippa had sent him, written in order to accuse Herod, and where he accused him of plotting with Sejanus against Tiberius and of now plotting with Artabanus, the king of Parthia, against the rule of Gaius. 251 In proof, he alleged that he had ready in his armoury enough weapons for seventy thousand men. Roused by this, he asked Herod if what was said about the armour was true.
252 Since he could not deny it, as it was too well known, he [Herod] said the weapons were there, and Gaius took it as proof of the accusation that he meant to revolt. So he took away his tetrarchy from him and added it Agrippa's kingdom. He also gave Herod's money to Agrippa, and as a punishment, assigned him to perpetual banishment in Lyons, a city of Gaul.
253 When he learned that Herodias was Agrippa's sister, he made her a gift of money in her own right and told her she was spared from the same plight as her husband, on account of her brother. 254 But she replied: "Emperor, what you offer me is magnificent and worthy of you, but my love for my husband prevents me from accepting the favour of your gift, for it is not right that I, who have shared in his prosperity, should forsake him in his troubles."
255 Gaius was angry with her for this and sent her into banishment with Herod and gave her estate to Agrippa. So did God punish the envy of Herodias towards her brother, and Herod too, for giving ear to the woman's vain words.
256 Now during the first and second year of his reign Gaius managed public affairs very ably and acted with such moderation that he gained the goodwill of the Romans themselves and the subject peoples. But in the course of time, he went beyond the humane limits in his self-conceit and because of the vastness of his dominions made himself a god and took upon himself to act in all things in disregard of the honour of God.
257 Meanwhile there was disorder in Alexandria, between the Jewish inhabitants and the Greeks, and three envoys were chosen from each of the rival parties to come to Gaius. One of the envoys from Alexandria was Apion, who heaped many insults on the Jews, among other things, that they neglected the honours due to Caesar. 258 All others who were subject to the Roman empire built altars and temples to Gaius and received him in every way as they received the gods, while they alone thought it unworthy of them to honour human statues and to swear by his name. 259 Many such harsh things were said by Apion, hoping to provoke Gaius to anger, as seemed likely. Then Philo, the head of the Jewish delegation, a most eminent man, the brother of Alexander the alabarch and one not unskilled in philosophy, was about to make his defense against those accusations, when Gaius stopped him and ordered him away. 260 He was in such a rage, that it seemed clear he was about to do them some great harm. So Philo, much insulted, went out and told the Jews around him to take heart, since Gaius's words showed him angry at them, but in truth he had already drawn on himself the wrath of God.