Note 1 at Ac 25:13: The Agrippa spoken of here was commonly called King Agrippa II to distinguish him from his father, King Agrippa I (see note 3 at Ac 12:22). This was the last of the five Herods mentioned in the Bible (see note 3 at Lu 3:1).

King Agrippa II was only seventeen years old when his father died, and the Roman Caesar, Claudius (see note 3 at Ac 11:28), did not think it prudent to place such a young man in authority. Therefore, the territory that Herod Agrippa I ruled over (approximately the same size as that governed by Herod the Great) was divided into provinces (see note 1 at Ac 25:1). Agrippa II still retained the title of king, but his territory was administered by governors, or procurators.

Claudius Caesar gave Agrippa II the power to appoint the Jewish high priest, and Josephus wrote that he did (The Antiquities of the Jews, Book 20, Chapter 1, Section 3 and Chapter 5, Section 2). He was also the custodian of the temple treasury. Agrippa II was loyal to the Roman government throughout his lifetime, and he did everything within his power to stop the Jews from revolting. When all his efforts failed, he joined his armies with those of Titus and participated in the destruction of Jerusalem in August of A.D. 70 (see note 4 at Lu 19:43).

Herod Agrippa II was Felix's brother-in-law, one of the governors of his realm (see note 2 at Ac 23:24), through his sister Drusilla (Ac 24:24). His other sister Bernice (see note 2 at this verse) was widowed after her second husband, Herod of Chalcis (who was also her uncle), died. She came to live with her brother, Agrippa II, and it was commonly reported that they had an incestuous relationship.

Herod Agrippa II had a long family history of acquaintance with the Jewish people and especially Jesus the Messiah. It was Herod Agrippa's great-grandfather, Herod the Great (see note 1 at Lu 1:5), who murdered all the children in the vicinity of Bethlehem (Mt 2:16). His granduncle, Herod Antipas, or Herod the tetrarch (see note 2 at Mt 14:1), was the man who beheaded John the Baptist (Mr 6:16) and whom Jesus appeared before during his trial (Lu 23:8-11). His father, Agrippa I (see note 3 at Ac 12:22), killed the Apostle James and tried to kill Peter. Agrippa I was later smitten by the Lord and eaten of worms because of his receiving the praise of people as a god (Ac 12:23).

Thus was the background of Herod Agrippa II. He knew exactly who Jesus claimed to be, and he was well aware of the atrocities that his father had done to the followers of Jesus.

Herod Agrippa II died in Rome at the age of seventy, sometime between A.D. 93 and 100. He was the last of the Herodian dynasty.

Note 2 at Ac 25:13: Bernice (or Berenice) was the eldest daughter of Herod Agrippa I (see note 3 at Ac 12:22). She was at odds with her younger sister Drusilla (see note 2 at Ac 24:24), apparently over Drusilla's beauty and her lack of it.

Bernice was married twice before this mention of her. Her second marriage was to her uncle, Herod of Chalcis, who was not mentioned in Scripture. After his death, she came to live with her brother, Herod Agrippa II (see note 1 at this verse). Josephus reported that there were rumors that she had an incestuous relationship with Agrippa. In an effort to squelch these rumors, she married Polemon II, the king of Cilicia, but she soon left him and returned to her brother (The Antiquities of the Jews, Book 20, Chapter 7, Section 3). There is no record of Bernice and Agrippa II having any children.

While Titus (see note 1 at this verse) was conducting his campaigns in Palestine, Bernice was his mistress. In A.D. 75, Bernice and Agrippa II went to Rome, and the relationship between Titus and Bernice resumed. But the Romans saw her as an intruder, so Titus was forced to send her away. When Titus became emperor, Bernice once again returned to Rome, but Titus ignored her in order to win favor with the people.

This was the Bernice who sat and listened to Paul share his faith in Jesus.