TOPICS FROM PRACTICE: The Herods

A few questions came up at the Monroe practices that we didn't have time to completely cover.  I thought the Trumbull team might also find this one interesting.

ALL THE HERODS:

A few weeks back, we discussed the difference between Herod the Great in Matthew 2, and Herod the Tetrarch in Matthew 14.  The question then came up about Archeleus in Matthew 2:22, who was said to be "ruling in place of his father Herod."  I promised to do some research into the line of Herod for us all.  Here we go:

1. Herod the Great ruled from about 37 B.C. to about 1 B.C.*  Before he died, he split up his kingdom with his 4 sons (tetrarch means "ruler of one fourth").  When he died, his sons took over the last pieces he had ruled.
2. Archeleus ruled Judea (one fourth of Herod the Great's kingdom) from about 4 B.C. to about 6 A.D.  He's only mentioned once in scripture.
3. Herod the Tetrarch (a.k.a. Herod Antipas) ruled Galilee (including Nazareth) and Perea from about 4 B.C. to about 40 A.D.  He is both the man who killed John the Baptist and the one who Jesus comes before during his trial (Luke 23:6-12).
4. Philip ruled 4 B.C. to about 34 A.D. over Ituraea.  He's only mentioned in scripture as the husband of Herodias (Luke 14:3)
5. Herod Agrippa I took over Herod the Tetrarch's kingdom and ruled from 41 A.D. to 44 A.D.  He is the one who arrested James and Peter in Acts 12:1-3.
6. Herod Agrippa II (known as "King Agrippa") was the son of Herod Agrippa I and ruled from 50 A.D. to 93 A.D.  He was the one that Paul was brought before in Acts 25 & Acts 26.

*This, of course, raises the obvious question:  "How could Herod the Great die in 1 B.C., if B.C. means 'Before Christ'?"  It's because the exact B.C./A.D. split was set down a long time ago, when the exact dating of Christ's birth was uncertain.  We now believe Jesus was born around 5 B.C., although even now it is impossible to be certain, because the gospel writers did not write down an exact date.