Herod Agrippa II

Agrippa was in his seventeenth year and living at the court of Claudius in Rome when his father, Herod Agrippa I, died. Claudius judged him too young to succeed and sent a Roman governor to Judaea instead (Josephus, Antiquities 19.354–363). He was later given the former tetrarchy of Philip with neighbouring districts, and Nero added Tiberias and other towns (Josephus, Antiquities 20.138) (Josephus, Antiquities 20.159). Judaea itself stayed under Roman governors, but Josephus says that Claudius had entrusted Agrippa with the care of the temple, and he appointed and removed its high priests (Josephus, Antiquities 20.222–223).

Acts calls him King Agrippa. He came to Caesarea Maritima with Bernice, who was his sister (Josephus, Antiquities 19.354–363), to greet the new governor Festus, heard the defence of Paul, and said that the prisoner could have been freed if he had not appealed to Caesar (Acts 25:13–26:32). Paul addressed him as a man expert in Jewish customs and controversies (Acts 26:2–3).

When revolt threatened in AD 66 he urged the people of Jerusalem to submit and was driven from the city (Josephus, Jewish War 2.405–407). Tacitus lists him among the allied princes who accompanied the army of Titus against Jerusalem (Tacitus, Histories 5.1). Josephus later sent him his history of the war and quotes two of the king’s letters approving it (Josephus, Life 362–367).