Note 1 at Lk. 3:1: Tiberius was the stepson of Augustus Caesar and succeeded him in the throne. He was the third emperor of the Roman Empire and reigned from A.D. 14 to A.D. 37. Herod Antipas (who beheaded John), renamed the Sea of Galilee after Tiberius (Lake of Tiberius), and built a city on the west side of that sea which he also named in honor of this emperor (see note 1 at Lk. 2:1, p. 18).

Note 2 at Lk. 3:1: Pilate was the Roman Governor of Judaea from A.D. 26 to A.D. 36. He also had command of the Roman forces in Judaea and used them in the slaughter of the Galileans (see note 1 at Lk. 13:1, p. 274). He tried Jesus and eventually sentenced Him to be crucified (Lk. 23:1-26). Pilate was deposed by Tiberius Caesar in A.D. 36 and banished to Gaul, where he died in A.D. 41.

Note 3 at Lk. 3:1: This Herod was known as Herod Antipas, was the son of Herod the Great (see note 1 at Lk. 1:5, p. 6), and ruled over Galilee. His brother, Herod Archelaus, ruled Judaea and Samaria (Mt. 2:22). Another brother, Philip, who is mentioned in this verse, had a wife named Herodias (v.19), who was the daughter of yet another son of Herod the Great, Aristobulus, who is not mentioned in the New Testament. This Herodias left her husband (and uncle), Philip, and married Herod Antipas for this they were rebuked by John the Baptist (Mk. 6:17-20). Herodias finally prevailed over Antipas' objections and had John the Baptist beheaded. Herod Antipas' son, Herod Agrippa I, is mentioned in Acts 12 as being smitten by the angel of the Lord and eaten with worms. The grandson of Herod Antipas was Herod Agrippa II and was almost persuaded by Paul to become a Christian (Acts 26:28).