Archelaus — person in the Bible

Archelaus

Ethnarch living at the time of the New Testament

Archelaus, son of Herod the Great, Ethnarch over Judea, causing Joseph to fear returning there with Mary and the child Jesus.

Archelaus was the son of Herod the Great, who ruled as king over Judea at the time of Jesus' birth. After Herod's death, his kingdom was divided among his sons, with Archelaus receiving the rule over Judea, Samaria, and Idumea. However, Archelaus' reign was marked by cruelty and tyranny, leading to his eventual banishment by the Roman emperor.

In the context of Jesus' early life, Archelaus is mentioned in Mat.2.22. After the visit of the magi and the family's flight to Egypt, Joseph was warned in a dream not to return to Judea because Archelaus was ruling there in place of his father Herod. Fearing for the child's safety, Joseph instead took Mary and Jesus to the region of Galilee, settling in Nazareth. This decision, guided by divine intervention, led to the fulfillment of the prophecy that the Messiah would be called a Nazarene.

Connections

Herod the Great and three sons

FamilyWidely accepted

The NT Herods belong to one family. After Herod the Great died, Archelaus ruled Judea, Antipas became tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, and Philip tetrarch of the northeast. Matthew and Luke name three of the four; Josephus supplies the genealogy.

HerodKing of Judah ArchelausSon of Herod HerodA Tetrarch PhilipA Tetrarch

Where the text shows it: Matthew 2:22 — Archelaus reigns in place of his father HerodLuke 3:1 — Herod and Philip tetrarchsMatthew 14:1 — Herod the tetrarch

Sources: Scripture · Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews

Joseph avoids Archelaus and settles in Nazareth

RoleStated in the text

Hearing that Archelaus reigned in Judea, Joseph feared to go back and was warned in a dream to withdraw to Galilee, settling in Nazareth. That put Jesus in the territory of Antipas instead.

ArchelausSon of Herod JosephMary's husband JesusSon of Joseph

Where the text shows it: Matthew 2:22-23 — Warned in a dream; settles in Nazareth

Sources: Scripture

Bible dictionary

Archelaus Easton Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)

Ruler of the people, son of Herod the Great, by Malthace, a Samaritan woman. He was educated along with his brother Antipas at Rome. He inherited from his father a third part of his kingdom viz., Idumea, Judea, and Samaria, and hence is called “king” (Matt. 2:22). It was for fear of him that Joseph and Mary turned aside on their way back from Egypt. Till a few days before his death Herod had named Antipas as his successor, but in his last moments he named Archelaus.

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Archelaus Smith Smith’s Bible Dictionary (1863)

(prince of the people), son of Herod the Great by a Samaritan woman, Malthake, and, with his brother Antipas brought up at Rome. At the death of Herod (B.C. 4) his kingdom was divided between his three sons, Herod Antipas, Archelaus and Philip. Archelaus never properly bore the title of king, (Matthew 2:22) but only that of ethnarch. In the tenth year of his reign, or the ninth according to Dion Cassius, i.e. A.D. 6, a complaint was preferred against him by his brothers and his subjects on the ground of his tyranny, in consequence of which he was banished to Vienne in Gaul, where he is generally said to have died.

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Archelaus Hitchcock Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary (1869)

the prince of the people

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Archelaus Hastings Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible (1898)

ARCHELA'US (prince of the people), a son of Herod the Great by a Samaritan woman. He with his brother, Antipas, was brought up in Rome. On the decease of his father, b. c. 4, the same year that Christ was born, he succeeded to the government of Idumea, Samaria, and Judaea, with the title of ethnarch. His character was cruel and revengeful. Joseph and Mary on their return from Egypt naturally, therefore, feared to live under his government. Matt 2:22. In the tenth year of his reign he was deposed by the emperor for cruelty, on charges preferred against him by his brothers and subjects, and banished to Yienne, in Gaul, where he died.

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Archelaus Schaff Schaff’s Dictionary of the Bible

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Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.

Where Archelaus appears

1 verse in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s G0745

Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.