Agrippa II

Agrippa II (Marcus Julius Agrippa, also known as Herod Agrippa II) was the son of Agrippa I and was born in Rome in A.D. 27. He was the brother of Bernice and Drusilla — the latter having married the procurator Felix. Emperor Claudius did not give him his father's full kingdom on account of his youth, but he was given rule over territories in Syria and eventually the tetrarchy formerly held by Philip and Lysanias. The Romans also gave him authority over the temple treasury and the appointment of the high priests.

Agrippa II is best known in the New Testament for his hearing of Paul's case at Caesarea (Acts 25:13–26:32), where Paul delivered one of his most developed defenses of his faith and mission. Paul's appeal — King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? — elicited Agrippa's famous ambiguous reply. Agrippa's judgment, shared with Festus, was that Paul had done nothing deserving death or imprisonment and might have been freed had he not appealed to Caesar. Agrippa sided with Rome during the Jewish revolt of A.D. 66–70.