Aretas

2 Corinthians 11:32  •  1 min. read  •  grade level: 11
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The common appellation (like Pharaoh for Egyptian kings) of the Arabian kings of the northern part of Arabia. The deputy of Aretas in Damascus sought to arrest Paul (2 Cor. 11:3232In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me: (2 Corinthians 11:32)). This king, who was father-in-law to Herod Antipas, made war against him for divorcing his daughter, and defeated him. Vitellius, governor of Syria, was ordered to take Aretas dead or alive; but Tiberius died before this was accomplished. Caligula, who succeeded to the empire, banished Antipas. He made certain changes in the East, and it is supposed that Damascus was detached from the province of Syria and given to Aretas.