Manaen
MANAEN (măn'a-ĕn, Gr. manaēn, the Gr. form of the Heb. menahem, comforter). A leader in the church of Antioch (Acts.13.1). He is designated as the foster-brother of Herod the Tetrarch (Herod Antipas).
MANAEN măn’ ĭ ən (Μαναήν, G3441, Gr. form of the Heb. name “Menahan,” comforter, consoler). Named fourth among the five “prophets and teachers” in the Antiochene church when Barnabas and Saul were “set apart” for missionary work (Acts 13:1). His position indicates a man of spiritual power and influence. Of him nothing further is known beyond Luke’s designation of him as “a member of the court [σύντροφος, G5343] of Herod the tetrarch [Antipas].” The relation to Antipas has been interpreted as “foster-brother” (ASV), “childhood companion” (Berkeley), or “courtier” (cf. RSV). Whatever the precise meaning, it was a relationship of honor and distinction. But it points to a striking contrast between the lives of the two men. He may have been related to an earlier Manaen, an Essene, who was a friend of Herod the Great (Jos. Antiq. XV. 10. 5).
Bibliography
W. M. Furneaux, Acts of the Apostles (1912), 192; F. F. Bruce, Acts of the Apostles (1953), 253; J. Moulton and J. Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament (1952), 615.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)
Manaen is mentioned, with Barnabas, Saul and others, in Ac 13:1, as one of the "prophets and teachers" in the recently rounded Gentile church at Antioch, at the time when Barnabas and Saul were "separated" by Divine call for their missionary service. He is further described as "the foster-brother (suntrophos) of Herod the tetrarch" (i.e. Herod Antipas (see Herod)). He was probably brought up and educated with this Herod and his brother Archelaus. An earlier glimpse of Christian influence in Herod’s court is afforded by Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuzas, among the holy women who ministered to Jesus (Lu 8:3). Manaen may have been related to the older Manaen, the Essene, who, Josephus tells us, foretold the greatness of Herod the Great, and was afterward treated by Herod as his friend (Ant., XV, x, 5). His position in the church at Antioch was evidently an influential one, whether he himself ranked among the "prophets," or perhaps only among the "teachers."