Agrippa II
AGRIPPA II (a-grĭp'a). Known in history as King Herod Agrippa II and in the NT (where he is mentioned only in Acts.25.1-Acts.25.27 and Acts.26.1-Acts.26.32) as Agrippa. He was the son of Agrippa I. Only seventeen at the death of his father, he was thought too young to succeed to the throne. Six years later (a.d. 50), he was placed over the kingdom of Chalcis, which included the right to appoint the high priest of the temple in Jerusalem. In 53 he was transferred to the tetrarchies formerly held by Philip (Iturea and Trachonitis) and Lysanias (Abilene) and given the title of king. After the death of Claudius in 54 Nero added to Agrippa’s realm several cities of Galilee and Perea. When Festus became procurator of Judea, Agrippa, accompanied by his sister (and consort) Bernice, went to Caesarea to pay his respects. It was at this time that Paul appeared before him, as recorded in Acts.25.23-Acts.26.32. In the final revolt of the Jews against Rome, Agrippa sided with the Romans in the destruction of his nation in the same cynical spirit with which he met the impassioned appeal of the apostle. Following the fall of Jerusalem in 70, he retired with Bernice to Rome, where he died in 100.