Bernice

the daughter of Agrippa, surnamed the Great, king of the Jews, and sister to young Agrippa, also king of the Jews. This lady was first betrothed to Mark, the son of Alexander Lysimachus, albarach of Alexandria; afterward she married Herod, king of Chalcis, her own uncle by the father’s side. After the death of Herod, which happened A.D. 48, she was married to Polemon, king of Pontus, but did not long continue with him. She returned to her brother Agrippa, and with him heard the discourse which Paul delivered before Festus, Acts 25.

Berni´ce, eldest daughter of Herod Agrippa I, and sister of the younger Agrippa (Act 25:13; Act 25:23; Act 26:30). She was married to her uncle Herod, king of Chalcis; and after his death, in order to avoid the merited suspicion of incest with her brother Agrippa, she became the wife of Polemon, king of Cilicia. This connection being soon dissolved, she returned to her brother, and afterwards became the mistress of Vespasian and Titus.

Berni’ce. (bringing victory). The eldest daughter of Herod Agrippa I. Act 12:1; etc. She was first married to her uncle Herod, king of Chaleis, and after his death, (A.D. 48), she lived under circumstances of great suspicion with her own brother, Agrippa II, in connection with whom she is mentioned, Act 25:13; Act 25:23; Act 26:30, as having visited Festus on his appointment as procurator of Judea.

BERENICE or BERNICE. (See BERENICE.)

(Βερνίκη in Acts, also in Josephus; Berenice= Φερενίκη, see Sturz, Dial. Maced. p. 31; the form Beronice is also found, comp. Eustath. ad ]1. 10, 192; Valckenaer, ad Herod. p. 477; Niebuhr, Kl. Schr. 1, 237), the name of several Egyptian princesses (see Smith’s Dict. of Class. Biog. s.v. Berenice), and also of several Jewish females of royal connection named in Josephus, and one of them in the New Testament.

1. The daughter of Costabarus and Salome, and niece of Herod the Great. She was married to Aristobulus, the son of Herod, who, proud of his descent from the Maccabees through his mother Mariamne, is said to have taunted her with her comparatively low origin; and her consequent complaints to her mother served to increase the feud, which resulted in the death of Aristobulus (Josephus, Ant. 18, 5, 4; 16:1, 2; 4, 1; 7, 3; War, 1, 23, 1; 24, 3). SEE ARISTOBULUS. After his execution, B.C. 6, Bernice became the wife of Theudion, maternal uncle to Antipater, the eldest son of Herod-Antipater having brought about the marriage, with the view of conciliating Salome and disarming her suspicions toward himself (Joseph. Ant. 17, 1, 1; War, 1, 28, 1). Josephus does not mention the death of Theudion, but it is probable that he suffered for his share in Antipater’s plot against she life of Herod (Ant. 17:4, 2; War, 1, 30, 5). SEE ANTIPATER.

Bernice certainly appears to have been again a widow when she accompanied her mother to Rome with Archelaus, who went thither at the commencement of his reign to obtain from Augustus the ratification of his father’s will (Joseph. Ant. 17, 9, 3; War, 2, 2, 1). SEE ARCHELAUS. She seems to have continued at Rome the rest of her life, enjoying the favor of Augustus and the friendship of Antonia (q.v.), the wife of the elder Drusus. The affection of Antonia for Bernice, indeed, exhibited itself even after the latter’s death, and during the reign of Tiberius, in offices of substantial kindness to her son Agrippa I (q.v.), whom she furnished with the means of discharging his debt to the imperial treasury (Strabo, 16:765; Josephus, Ant. 18, 6, 1-6).

2. The eldest daughter of Agrippa I (q.v.) by his wife Cypros: she was espoused at a very early age to Marcus, son of Alexander the Alabarch; but he died before the consummation of the marriage, and she then became the wife of her uncle Herod, king of Chalcis, by whom she had two sons (Josephus, Ant. 18, 5, 4; 19:5, 1; 9,1; 20:5, 2; 7, 3; War, 2, 11, 6). After the death of this Herod, A.D. 48, Bernice, then but 20 years old, lived for a considerable time with her own brother, Agrippa II (q.v.), and not without just suspicion of an incestuous commerce with him, to avoid the scandal of which she induced Polemon, king of Cilicia, to marry her; but she soon deserted him and returned again to her brother (Joseph. Ant. 20, 7, 3; Juvenal, 6, 156), in connection with whom she is mentioned Act 25:13; Act 25:23; Act 26:30, as having visited Festus at Caesarea on his appointment as procurator of Judaea, when Paul defended himself before them all, A.D. 55. About A.D. 65 we hear of her being at Jerusalem (whither she had gone in pursuance of a vow), and interceding for the Jews with the procurator Florus, at the risk of her life, during his cruel massacre of them (Joseph. War, 2, 15, 1). Together with her brother she endeavored to divert her countrymen from the purpose of rebellion (Joseph. War, 2, 16, 5); and, having joined the Romans with him at the outbreak of the final war, she gained the favor of Vespasian by her munificent presents, and the love of Titus by her beauty. Her connection with the latter continued at Rome, whither she went after the capture of Jerusalem, and it is even said that he wished to make her his wife; but the fear of offending the Romans by such a step compelled him to dismiss her, and, though she afterward returned th Rome, he still avoided a renewal of their intimacy (Tacitus, Hist. 2, 2, 81; Sueton. Tit. 7; Dio Cass. 66:15, 18). Quintilian (Inst. Orat. 4, 1) speaks of having pleaded her cause on some occasion not otherwise alluded to, on which she herself sat as judge. See Nolde, Hist. Idum. p. 403 sq.

3. The daughter of Archelaus son of Chelcias, and Mariamne daughter of Herod Agrippa I (Josephus, Ant. 20, 7, 1).

Bero’dach-bal’adan (Heb. Berodak’ Baladan’, בְּראֹדִךְ בִּלְאֲדָן; Sept. Βαρωδὰχ [v. r. Μαρωδὰχ] Βαλαδάν; Vulg. Berodach Baladan), the king of Babylon who sent the friendly deputation to Hezekiah (2Ki 20:12), called in the parallel passage (Isa 39:1), apparently more correctly, MERODACH-BALADAN SEE MERODACH-BALADAN (q.v.).

Bernice (ber-nî’se). The eldest daughter of Herod Agrippa I., and sister to Herod Agrippa II., Act 25:13; Act 23:26-30, married first to her uncle Herod, king of Chalcis, after whose death she lived under suspicious circumstances with her brother. She then became the wife of Polemo, king of Cilicia. This marriage was soon dissolved; and she returned to Agrippa, and was subsequently the mistress first of Vespasian, then of Titus.

[Berni’ce]

Daughter of Agrippa I, and wife of Herod of Chalcis. She visited Caesarea with her brother Agrippa II., and heard Paul’s defence. Act 25:13; Act 25:23; Act 26:30. She afterwards married Polemon II. king of Pontus or Cilicia; but eventually became mistress of both Vespasian and Titus: in all this keeping up the dissolute character of the Herods. Often called BERENICE by historians.

BERNICE or BERENICE.—Sister of Agrippa II. (Act 25:13; Act 25:23; Act 26:30), married to her uncle Herod, king of Chalcis.

bẽr-nı̄´sē (Βερνίκη, Bernı́kē “victorious”): One of the shameless women of the Bible, mentioned in Act 25:13, Act 25:23; Act 26:30. She was the eldest daughter of Herod Agrippa I (Act 12:1, Act 12:6, Act 12:11, Act 12:21) who ruled from 38-45 ad. Her whole life from the Jewish standpoint was incestuous. Its story is told by Josephus (Ant XIX, v, 1; XX, vii, 1-3), also by Juvenal (6, 156). Her first husband was her own uncle, Herod of Calchis. After his death she consorted with her own brother Agrippa II, with whom she listened to the impassioned defense of Paul at Caesarea before Felix. For a while she was married to King Ptolemy or Polemo of Sicily, who for her sake embraced Judaism, by the rite of circumcision. But she left him soon to return to Agrippa. Later on she figures shamefully in the lives of Vespasian and Titus, father and son. If heredity stands for anything, its lessons are forcibly taught in the history of the Herodian family.

- see Herod Family

Act 25:13, Act 25:23; Act 26:30 (c) This woman is surely a type of some pet sin which is nourished and protected in the life in order to keep a person from accepting JESUS CHRIST as his Lord and Saviour. Her name means "I give victory." It occurs just these three times with no explanation. She was the blood sister of her husband, Agrippa. They had the same father and mother. Wherever Agrippa went, she went. When he came to hear Paul preach, she was there, and she went out with him to see that he did not choose CHRIST, but rather remain with her. She is a type of any besetting sin in the life which demands the love of the heart, and time, and affection which should be given to CHRIST. Many individuals have a "Bernice" in their lives which keeps them from trusting the Saviour.

King Agrippa’s sister, the oldest

daughter of Herod Agrippa I.