This Herod is Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great. He was tetrarch (ruler of a fourth part
—a quarter of his father’s territory) over Galilee and Perea, from 4 BC to AD 39. He founded Tiberias, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, as the capital of his tetrarchy.
Identifying Antipas by the name Herod in Matthew 14:1 links him to the man shown in Matthew 2:1–23 as the man responsible for the slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem. The first Herod, who had sought to kill the child, had died (Matthew 2:19), but Jesus must face a new Herod. Like his father, his deeds show his enmity to God’s messengers, for he had the prophet of the Messiah beheaded.
This Herod is Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great from his fourth marriage. He ruled as tetrarch (literally ruler of a fourth part,
a kind of governor over a small region) over Galilee and Perea, from 4 BC to AD 39. He founded the city of Tiberias—named after Emperor Tiberius—on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, making it the capital of his tetrarchy (quarter-region
). He ruled over a quarter of the region his father did, as the land was divided into four parts following the death of Herod the Great.1
By identifying Antipas by the name Herod in Matthew 14:1, the evangelist draws a pointed connection to the man discussed in Matthew 2:1–23: the man who was responsible for the slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem. The first Herod—the one who sought to kill the child—had now died (Matthew 2:19). Yet now Jesus must confront a new Herod. His name reveals him as his father’s son, and his deeds prove the resemblance, as this Herod, too, strikes against God’s messengers, for he had the prophet of the Messiah beheaded.2
1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus,