SEV Biblia, Chapter 3:1
¶ Y en el ao quince del imperio de Tiberio Csar, siendo gobernador de Judea Poncio Pilato, y Herodes tetrarca de Galilea, y su hermano Felipe tetrarca de Iturea y de la provincia de Traconite, y Lisanias tetrarca de Abilinia,
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Luke 3:1
Verse 1. Fifteenth year] This was the fifteenth of his principality and thirteenth of his monarchy: for he was two years joint emperor, previously to the death of Augustus. Tiberius Caesar] This emperor succeeded Augustus, in whose reign Christ was born. He began his reign August 19, A.D. 14, reigned twenty-three years, and died March 16, A.D. 37, aged seventy eight years.
He was a most infamous character. During the latter part of his reign especially, he did all the mischief he possibly could; and that his tyranny might not end with his life, he chose Caius Caligula for his successor, merely on account of his bad qualities; and of whom he was accustomed to say, This young prince will be a SERPENT to the Roman people, and a PHAETHON to the rest of mankind.
Herod] This was Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great who murdered the innocents. It was the same Herod who beheaded John Baptist, and to whom our Lord was sent by Pilate. See the account of the Herod family in the notes on Matt. ii. 1.
Iturea and Trachonitis] Two provinces of Syria, on the confines of Judea.
Abilene] Another province of Syria, which had its name from Abila, its chief city.
These estates were left to Herod Antipas and his brother Philip by the will of their father, Herod the Great; and were confirmed to them by the decree of Augustus.
That Philip was tetrarch of Trachonitis, in the fifteenth year of Tiberius, we are assured by Josephus, who says that Philip the brother of Herod died in the twentieth year of Tiberius, after he had governed Trachonitis, Batanea, and Gaulonitis thirty-seven years. Antiq. b. xviii. c. 5, s. 6. And Herod continued tetrarch of Galilee till he was removed by Caligula, the successor of Tiberius. Antiq. b. xviii. c. 8, s. 2.
That Lysanius was tetrarch of Abilene is also evident from Josephus. He continued in this government till the Emperor Claudius took it from him, A.D. 42, and made a present of it to Agrippa. See Antiq. b. xix. c. 5, s. 1.
Tetrarch signifies the ruler of the fourth part of a country. See the note on Matt. xiv. 1.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 1. Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar , etc.] Emperor of Rome, and the third of the Caesars; Julius was the first, and Augustus the second, in whose time Christ was born, and this Tiberius the third; he was the son of Livia, the wife of Augustus, but not by him; but was adopted by him, into the empire: his name was Claudius Tiberius Nero, and for his intemperance was called, Caldius Biberius Mero; the whole of his reign was upwards of twenty two years, for he died in the twenty third year of his reign f151 ; and in the fifteenth of it, John began to preach, Christ was baptized, and began to preach also; so that this year may be truly called, the acceptable year of the Lord. Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea ; under the Emperor Tiberius, in whose reign the Jewish chronologer places him, and the historian f153 also, and make mention of him as sent by him to Jerusalem: he was not the first governor of Judea for the Romans; there were before him Coponius, Marcus Ambivius, Annins Rufus, and Valerius Gratus: and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee ; this was Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the great, and brother of Archelaus; the above chronologer calls him also a tetrarch, and places him under Tiberius Caesar: he is sometimes called a king, and so he is by the Ethiopic version here called king of Galilee; and in the Arabic version, prince over the fourth part of Galilee; besides Galilee, he had also Peraea, or the country beyond Jordan, as Josephus says, and which seems here to be included in Galilee; (see Gill on Matthew 14:1). And his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea, and of the region of Trachonitis :
Pliny makes mention of the nation of the Itureans, as belonging to Coele Syria; perhaps Iturea is the same with Batanea, or Auranitis, or both; since these with Trachon, the same with Trachonitis here, are allotted to Philip by Josephus f157 : it seems to take its name from Jetur, one of the sons of Ishmael, ( Genesis 25:15) Trachonitis is mentioned by Pliny f158 , as near to Decapolis, and as a region and tetrarchy, as here: Ptolemy f159 speaks of the Trachonite Arabians, on the east of Batanea, or Bashan: the region of Trachona, or Trachonitis, with the Targumists f160 , answers to the country of Argob. This Philip, who as before by Josephus, so by Egesippus f161 , is said, in agreement with Luke, to be tetrarch of Trachonitis, was brother to Herod Antipas, by the father's, but not by the mother's side.
Philip was born of Cleopatra, of Jerusalem, and Herod of Malthace, a Samaritan f162 : he died in the twentieth year of Tiberius f163 , five years after this: and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene : mention is made of Abila by Pliny f164 , as in Coele Syria, from whence this tetrarchy might have its name; and by Ptolemy f165 , it is called Abila of Lysanius, from this, or some other governor of it, of that name; and the phrase, from Abilene to Jerusalem, is to be met with in the Talmud f166 , which doubtless designs this same place: who this Lysanias was, is not certain; he was not the son of Herod the great, as Eusebius suggests f167 , nor that Lysanias, the son of Ptolemy Minnaeus, whom Josephus speaks of, though very probably he might be a descendant of his: however, when Tiberius Caesar reigned at Rome, and Pontius Pilate governed in Judea, and Herod Antipas in Galilee, and Philip his brother in Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias in Abilene, John the Baptist began to preach and baptize; to fix the area of whose ministry and baptism, all this is said.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-14 - The scope and design of John's ministry were, to bring the people from their sins, and to their Saviour. He came preaching, not a sect, or party, but a profession; the sign or ceremony was washing with water By the words here used John preached the necessity of repentance, i order to the remission of sins, and that the baptism of water was a outward sign of that inward cleansing and renewal of heart, whic attend, or are the effects of true repentance, as well as a professio of it. Here is the fulfilling of the Scriptures, Isa 40:3, in the ministry of John. When way is made for the gospel into the heart, by taking down high thoughts, and bringing them into obedience to Christ by levelling the soul, and removing all that hinders us in the way of Christ and his grace, then preparation is made to welcome the salvatio of God. Here are general warnings and exhortations which John gave. The guilty, corrupted race of mankind is become a generation of vipers hateful to God, and hating one another. There is no way of fleeing from the wrath to come, but by repentance; and by the change of our way the change of our mind must be shown. If we are not really holy, both i heart and life, our profession of religion and relation to God and his church, will stand us in no stead at all; the sorer will ou destruction be, if we do not bring forth fruits meet for repentance John the Baptist gave instructions to several sorts of persons. Thos that profess and promise repentance, must show it by reformation according to their places and conditions. The gospel requires mercy not sacrifice; and its design is, to engage us to do all the good we can, and to be just to all men. And the same principle which leads me to forego unjust gain, leads to restore that which is gained by wrong John tells the soldiers their duty. Men should be cautioned against the temptations of their employments. These answers declared the presen duty of the inquirers, and at once formed a test of their sincerity. A none can or will accept Christ's salvation without true repentance, s the evidence and effects of this repentance are here marked out.
Greek Textus Receptus
εν 1722 PREP ετει 2094 N-DSN δε 1161 CONJ πεντεκαιδεκατω 4003 A-DSN της 3588 T-GSF ηγεμονιας 2231 N-GSF τιβεριου 5086 N-GSM καισαρος 2541 N-GSM ηγεμονευοντος 2230 5723 V-PAP-GSM ποντιου 4194 N-GSM πιλατου 4091 N-GSM της 3588 T-GSF ιουδαιας 2449 N-GSF και 2532 CONJ τετραρχουντος 5075 5723 V-PAP-GSM της 3588 T-GSF γαλιλαιας 1056 N-GSF ηρωδου 2264 N-GSM φιλιππου 5376 N-GSM δε 1161 CONJ του 3588 T-GSM αδελφου 80 N-GSM αυτου 846 P-GSM τετραρχουντος 5075 5723 V-PAP-GSM της 3588 T-GSF ιτουραιας 2484 A-GSF και 2532 CONJ τραχωνιτιδος 5139 N-GSF χωρας 5561 N-GSF και 2532 CONJ λυσανιου 3078 N-GSM της 3588 T-GSF αβιληνης 9 N-GSF τετραρχουντος 5075 5723 V-PAP-GSM
Vincent's NT Word Studies
1. Pontius Pilate. Wyc., Pilat of Pounce. Tetrarch. See on Matt. xiv. 1.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
3:1 {Now in the fifteenth year} (en etei de pentekaidekatwi). Tiberius Caesar was ruler in the provinces two years before Augustus Caesar died. Luke makes a six-fold attempt here to indicate the time when John the Baptist began his ministry. John revived the function of the prophet (Ecce Homo, p. #2) and it was a momentous event after centuries of prophetic silence. Luke begins with the Roman Emperor, qen mentions Pontius Pilate Procurator of Judea, Herod Antipas Tetrarch of Galilee (and Perea), Philip, Tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis, Lysanias, Tetrarch of Abilene (all with the genitive absolute construction) and concludes with the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas (son-in-law and successor of Annas). The ancients did not have our modern system of chronology, the names of rulers as here being the common way. Objection has been made to the mention of Lysanias here because Josephus (_Ant_. XXVII. I) tells of a Lysanias who was King of Abila up to B.C. 36 as the one referred to by Luke with the wrong date. But an inscription has been found on the site of Abilene with mention of "Lysanias the tetrarch" and at the time to which Luke refers (see my _Luke the Historian in the Light of Research_, pp. 167f.). So Luke is vindicated again by the rocks.
