Drusilla

Drusil´la, youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I. She was much celebrated for her beauty, and was betrothed, to Epiphanes, prince of Commagene; but was afterwards married to Azizas, king of Emesa, whom the procurator Felix induced her to abandon, in order to live with him. She is mentioned in Act 24:24.

The youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I, and sister of the younger Agrippa and Bernice, celebrated for her beauty and infamous for her licentiousness. She was first espoused to Epiphanes, son of Antiochus king of Comagena, on condition of his embracing the Jewish religion; but as he afterwards refused to be circumcised, Drusilla was given in marriage by her brother to Azizus king of Emessa. When Felix came as governor of Judea, he persuaded her to abandon her husband and her religion, and become his wife. Paul bore testimony before them to the truth of the Christian religion, Mal 24:24 . She and her son afterwards perished in an eruption of Vesuvius.\par

Drusil’la. (watered by the dew). Daughter of Herod Agrippa, Act 24:24, ff., and Cypros. Born A.D. 38. She was at first betrothed to Antiochus Epiphanes, prince of Commagene, but was married to Azizus, king of Emesa. Soon after, Felix, procurator of Judea, brought about her seduction by means of the Cyprian sorcerer, Simon, and took her as his wife. In Act 24:24, we find her in company with Felix at Caesarea. Felix who, together with his mother, perished in the eruption of Vesuvius under Titus.

The fair but loose daughter of Herod Agrippa I and Cypros (Acts 12); sister of Herod Agrippa II; married to Azizus, king of Emesa, on his becoming a Jew; seduced by Felix, procurator of Judea, through Simon the Cyprian sorcerer (Josephus, Ant. 20:7, section 2). Present at Paul’s hearing before Felix at Caesarea. By Felix she had a son, Agrippa, who perished with his mother in the Vesuvian eruption, under Titus.

(Δρούσιλλα), youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I by his wife Cypros, and sister of Herod Agrippa II, was only six years old when her father died in AD 44 (Josephus, Ant. 19:9, 1; 20:7, 1 and 2). Being celebrated for her beauty, she had already been promised in marriage to Epiphanies, son of Antiochus, king of Comagene, but the match was broken off in consequence of Epiphanes refusing to perform his promise of conforming to the Jewish religion. Hereupon Azizus, king of Edessa, obtained Drusilla as his wife, and performed the condition of becoming a Jew (Josephus, Ant. 10:7, 1). Afterwards Felix, the procurator of Judaea, fell in love with her, and induced her to leave Azizus, a course to which she was prompted not only by the fair promise of Felix, but by a desire to escape the annoyance to which she was subjected by the envy of her sister Berenice, who though ten years older, vied with her in beauty (ib. 2). She though, perhaps, that Felix, whom as accepted as a second husband, would be better able to protect her then Azizus, whom she divorced. In the Acts (24:24) she is mentioned in such a manner that she may naturally be supposed to have been present when Paul preached before Felix, in A.D. 55. Felix and Drusilla had a son, Agrippa, who perished in an eruption of Vesuvius (Josephus, Ant. 19:7; 20:5). Tacitus (Hist. 5:9) says that Felix married Drusilla, a granddaugther of Cleopatra and Anthony. The Drusilla he refers to, if any such person every existed, must have been a daughter of Juba and Cleopatra Selene, for the names

and fate of all the other descendants of Cleopatra and Anthony are known from other sources. But the account given by Josephus of the parentage of Drusilla is more consistent than that of Tacitus with the notice in the Acts, by which it appears that she was a Jewess. Some have supposed that Felix married in succession two Drusillae; and countenance is lent to this otherwise improbable conjecture by an expression of Suetonius (Claud. 28) who calls Felix "the husband of three queens." (See Noldii Hist. Idum. page 464 sq.; Walch, De Felice, Jen. 1747, page 63 sq.), SEE FELIX.

Drusilla (dru-sĭl’lah). Act 24:24 The young daughter of Herod Agrippa I., and sister of Agrippa II. She was first betrothed to Antiochus Epiphanes, prince of Commagene; but, as he refused to become a Jew, she was married to Azizus, prince of Emesa. Soon after, Felix, the Roman procurator, persuaded her, by means of the Cyprian sorcerer Simon, to leave her husband and marry him. Act 24:24. She bore him a son, Agrippa, who perished in the eruption of Vesuvius in the reign of Titus.

[Drusil’la]

Daughter of Herod Agrippa I: and Cypros, and sister of Agrippa II. She married Aziz king of Emesa on his becoming a Jew, but was subsequently seduced into leaving her husband and marrying Felix, procurator of Judaea. She was present when Paul was heard before Felix. Act 24:24. With her son Agrippa she perished at an eruption of Vesuvius.

By: Richard Gottheil, Samuel Krauss

Daughter of Agrippa I. and Cypros (Josephus, "Ant." xviii. 5, § 4; idem, "B. J." ii. 11, § 6); born in 38. She was only six years old at her father's death (44), and was subjected to the insult of having the portraits of herself and two sisters, Berenice and Mariamne, carried into the houses of ill-fame of Cæsarea by the Roman soldiers, who rejoiced over Agrippa's death ("Ant." xix. 9, § 1). The sisters did not enjoy a good reputation, the beautiful Drusilla being even worse than her elder sisters. Her father had betrothed her to Epiphanes, son of Antiochus of Commagene; but as Epiphanes refused after Agrippa's death to keep his promise to embrace Judaism, Drusilla was married by her brother Agrippa II. to Azizos, King of Emesa, who accepted the Abrahamic covenant ("Ant." xx. 7, § 1).

Drusilla dissolved her marriage with Azizos about the year 53, the newly appointed procurator of Judea, Felix, having fallen in love with her. With the help of a Cypriote magician, whose name is variously given as "Atomos" and, "Simon," he induced her to follow him, though a pagan, and to become his wife, contrary to the laws of her people (Acts xxiv. 24). Envy of her sister Berenice, who vied with her in beauty, aided in driving Drusilla to this step. Reference to Drusilla (ib.) is made in a manner to suggest that she was present when Paul preached before Felix.

By Felix, Drusilla had a son, Agrippa, who, together with his wife, perished during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 ("Ant." xx. 7, § 2).

Bibliography:

Basnage, Histoire des Juifs, i. 187;

Grätz, Gesch. 4th ed., iii. 354, 428, 438;

Gerlach, in Zeitschrift für Lutherische Theologie, 1869, pp. 68 et seq.;

Schürer, Gesch. 3d ed., i. 573. It is said in the Prosopographia Imperii Romani, ii. 95, that Tacitus, in his History (v. 9), confounds two wives of Felix of the name of Drusilla.

DRUSILLA.—The third wife of the procurator Felix (Act 24:24). She was the youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I., and is said to have been persuaded by one Simon (? Simon Magus) to desert her first husband, Azizus king of Emesa, for Felix. She cannot have been more than 16 years of age when she listened to St. Paul reasoning on ‘righteousness and temperance and the judgment to come’ (Act 24:25).

Daughter of Herod Agrippa I, and the first wife of Azizus, King of Emesa. After a short time she left Azizus to marry Claudius Felix, governor of Judea. It was before them that Saint Paul appeared to give testimony of the religion of Christ. Her unedifying career gives meaning to the words of Paul when he spoke with force on justice, chastity, and the last judgment (Acts 24).

Drusilla, daughter of Herod Agrippa I, was six years of age at the time of her father’s death at Caesarea, A.D. 44. She had already been betrothed to Epiphanes, the son of Antiochus, King of Commagene. Herod had stipulated that Epiphanes should embrace the Jewish religion. The prince finally refused to abide by his promise to do so, and the brother of Drusilla, Herod Agrippa II, gave her in marriage to Azizus, Kind of Emesa, who, in order to obtain her hand, consented to be circumcised. It was shortly after this marriage, it would appear, that Felix, the Roman procurator of Judea, met the beautiful young queen. This meeting very likely took place at the court of Herod Agrippa II, for we can gather from Josephus that Berenice, the elder sister, whose jealousy the Jewish historian mentions as an explanation of Drusilla’s conduct, lived with her brother at this time. Felix was struck by the great beauty of Drusilla, and determined to make her his wife. In order to persuade a Jewess, who had shown attachment to her religion, to be divorced from her husband and marry a pagan, the unscrupulous governor had recourse to the arts of a Jewish magician from Cyprus whose name, according to some manuscripts of Josephus, was Atomos, according to other, Simon. The ill-advised Drusilla was persuaded to accede to the solicitations of Felix. She was about twenty-two years of age when she appeared at the side of the latter, during St. Paul’s captivity at Caesarea (Acts 24:24-25). Like her husband, she must have listened with terror as the Apostle "treated of justice, and chastity and of the judgment to come". It is said that during the reign of Titus a son of Felix and Drusilla perished together with his wife in the eruption of Vesuvius. But there is no information about the life of Drusilla herself after the scene described in Acts.-----------------------------------Josephus, Antiq. Jud in Fl. Josephi Opera, ed. Niese (Berlin, 1887-1895), XIX, ix, 1-2; vii 1-2; Schurer, Gesch. des judichen Volkes (Leipzig, 1901), I, 555, 557, 564, 573, 577; Beurlier in Vig., Dict. de la Bible, s.v. Drusille.W.S. REILLY Transcribed by Marjorie P. Godfrey The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VCopyright © 1909 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, May 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, CensorImprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York

droo-sil´a (Δρούσιλλα, Droúsilla, or Δρουσίλλα, Drousı́lla): Wife of Felix, a Jewess, who along with her husband “heard (Paul) concerning the faith in Christ Jesus” during Paul’s detention in Caesarea (Act 24:24). Beta text gives the rendering “Drusilla the wife of Felix, a Jewess, asked to see Paul and to hear the word.” The fact that Drusilla was a Jewess explains her curiosity, but Paul, who was probably acquainted with the past history of her and Felix, refused to satisfy their request in the way they desired, and preached to them instead concerning righteousness and self-restraint and the final judgment. At this “Felix was terrified” (Act 24:25). Beta text states that Paul’s being left in bonds on the retirement of Felix was due to the desire of the latter to please Drusilla (compare Act 24:27). Probably this explanation, besides that of the accepted text, was true also, as Drusilla, who was a member of the ruling house, saw in Paul an enemy of its power, and hated him for his condemnation of her own private sins.

The chief other source of information regarding Drusilla is Josephus Drusilla was the youngest of the three daughters of Agrippa I, her sisters being Bernice and Mariamne. She was born about 36 ad and was married when 14 years old to Azizus, king of Emeza. Shortly afterward she was induced to desert her husband by Felix, who employed a Cyprian sorcerer, Simon by name, to carry out his purpose. She was also influenced to take this step by the cruelty of Azizus and the hatred of Bernice who was jealous of her beauty. Her marriage with Felix took place about 54 ad and by him she had one son, Agrippa, who perished under Titus in an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. The mention by Josephus of “the woman” who perished along with Agrippa (Ant., XX, vii, 2) refers probably not to his mother Drusilla but to his wife.

(Act_24:24)

The youngest of the three daughters of Herod Agrippa I. She was but six years old when her father died in a.d. 44 (Jos. Ant. XIX. ix. 1). He had betrothed her to Epiphanes, son of the king of Commagene. This marriage did not take place, as Epiphanes refused to undergo the rite of circumcision (Ant. XX. vii. 1). Drusilla was given by her brother Agrippa II. to Azizus, king of Emesa. The marriage took place seemingly in a.d. 53. Very shortly afterwards the procurator Felix, who had lately come to Judaea , met the young queen and was captivated by her charms (‘She did indeed exceed all other women in beauty’ [Ant. xx. vii. 2]). Employing as his emissary one Simon, a Cypriote, he persuaded her to leave her husband and to join him as his third wife-and third queen (‘trium reginarum maritum,’ writes Suetonius of Felix [Claud. xxviii.]). Of this union there was issue a son, who was given the name Agrippa, and of whom Josephus (Ant. xx. vii. 2) records incidentally that he and his wife perished in the eruption of Vesuvius in the reign of the Emperor Titus, i.e. in a.d. 79. Of Drusilla herself nothing is recorded later than the statement in Acts, which permits us to assume that she was present when St. Paul had audience of Felix, and used the opportunity to reason ‘of righteousness, and temperance, and the judgment to come.’

G. P. Gould.

- see Herod Family