Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.
Agrippa and Bernice
I know I've been doing this a lot lately, but there have been a lot of interestingly well-documented people showing up in Acts lately (also not a lot of difficult issues to deal with). Here's some back ground on Agrippa and Bernice:
"Agrippa II was the son of Agrippa I (the grandson of Herod the Great and the “King Herod” mentioned in Acts 12). He was in his early thirties. Rumors were rife about an incestuous relationship between Agrippa and Bernice, both of whom did not live exemplary private lives. Agrippa held the vestments of the Jewish high priest and had the right to appoint him.3 Paul acknowledged that Agrippa was “acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies” (26:3). Thus, “the Romans would consult him on religious matters.” [1]
My assumption in reading Acts was that that Agrippa and Bernice were married, but the truth of it was more unusual than that. Here's a little more on their weird relationship from Wikipedia:
"After her husband died in 48, she lived with her brother Agrippa for several years and then married Polemon II of Pontus, king of Cilicia, whom she subsequently deserted. According to Josephus, Berenice requested this marriage to dispel rumors that she and her brother were carrying on an incestuous relationship, with Polemon being persuaded to this union mostly on account of her wealth. However the marriage did not last and she soon returned to the court of her brother. Josephus was not the only ancient writer to suggest incestuous relations between Berenice and Agrippa. Juvenal, in his sixth satire, outright claims that they were lovers. Whether this was based on truth remains unknown. Berenice indeed spent much of her life at the court of Agrippa, and by all accounts shared almost equal power. Popular rumors may also have been fueled by the fact that Agrippa himself never married during his lifetime." [2]
Agrippa and Bernice
I know I've been doing this a lot lately, but there have been a lot of interestingly well-documented people showing up in Acts lately (also not a lot of difficult issues to deal with). Here's some back ground on Agrippa and Bernice:
"Agrippa II was the son of Agrippa I (the grandson of Herod the Great and the “King Herod” mentioned in Acts 12). He was in his early thirties. Rumors were rife about an incestuous relationship between Agrippa and Bernice, both of whom did not live exemplary private lives. Agrippa held the vestments of the Jewish high priest and had the right to appoint him.3 Paul acknowledged that Agrippa was “acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies” (26:3). Thus, “the Romans would consult him on religious matters.” [1]
My assumption in reading Acts was that that Agrippa and Bernice were married, but the truth of it was more unusual than that. Here's a little more on their weird relationship from Wikipedia:
"After her husband died in 48, she lived with her brother Agrippa for several years and then married Polemon II of Pontus, king of Cilicia, whom she subsequently deserted. According to Josephus, Berenice requested this marriage to dispel rumors that she and her brother were carrying on an incestuous relationship, with Polemon being persuaded to this union mostly on account of her wealth. However the marriage did not last and she soon returned to the court of her brother. Josephus was not the only ancient writer to suggest incestuous relations between Berenice and Agrippa. Juvenal, in his sixth satire, outright claims that they were lovers. Whether this was based on truth remains unknown. Berenice indeed spent much of her life at the court of Agrippa, and by all accounts shared almost equal power. Popular rumors may also have been fueled by the fact that Agrippa himself never married during his lifetime." [2]
[1] Ajith Fernando, Acts, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998), 593.
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berenice_%28daughter_of_Herod_Agrippa_I%29. Accessed 8-3-12.
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berenice_%28daughter_of_Herod_Agrippa_I%29. Accessed 8-3-12.
RSS Feed
