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Field Notes: Herod Agrippa II

Herod Agrippa II was the son of Herod Agrippa I and the great-grandson of Herod the Great. Unlike his father, he never ruled the full kingdom of his grandfather, but instead governed smaller territories in the northern regions under Roman authority. He ruled as a King as his father had, though over smaller territories than those ruled by his father.

Agrippa II appears in the Book of Acts during the trial of the apostle Paul (think of him as “the Paul hearing guy”, not the “eaten by worms guy”). When the Roman governor Festus was unsure how to handle the charges against Paul, King Agrippa II and his sister Bernice visited Caesarea and agreed to hear Paul speak. During his hearing, Paul delivered a defense of his ministry and appealed directly to King Agrippa II’s knowledge of Jewish beliefs and the prophets (Acts 25-26).

After listening to Paul, King Agrippa II concluded that Paul had done nothing deserving death or imprisonment and remarked that Paul could have been set free if he had not already appealed his case to Caesar.