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Bible Encyclopedias
Bernice
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
or (Βερνίκη in Acts, also in Josephus; Berenice= Φερενίκη, see Sturz, Dial. Maced. p. 31; the form Beronice is also found, comp. Eustath. ad ]1. 10, 192; Valckenaer, ad Herod. p. 477; Niebuhr, Kl. Schr. 1, 237), the name of several Egyptian princesses (see Smith's Dict. of Class. Biog. s.v. Berenice), and also of several Jewish females of royal connection named in Josephus, and one of them in the New Testament.
1. The daughter of Costabarus and Salome, and niece of Herod the Great. She was married to Aristobulus, the son of Herod, who, proud of his descent from the Maccabees through his mother Mariamne, is said to have taunted her with her comparatively low origin; and her consequent complaints to her mother served to increase the feud, which resulted in the death of Aristobulus (Josephus, Ant. 18, 5, 4; 16:1, 2; 4, 1; 7, 3; War, 1, 23, 1; 24, 3). (See ARISTOBULUS). After his execution, B.C. 6, Bernice became the wife of Theudion, maternal uncle to Antipater, the eldest son of Herod-Antipater having brought about the marriage, with the view of conciliating Salome and disarming her suspicions toward himself (Joseph. Ant. 17, 1, 1; War, 1, 28, 1). Josephus does not mention the death of Theudion, but it is probable that he suffered for his share in Antipater's plot against she life of Herod (Ant. 17:4, 2; War, 1, 30, 5). (See ANTIPATER).
Bernice certainly appears to have been again a widow when she accompanied her mother to Rome with Archelaus, who went thither at the commencement of his reign to obtain from Augustus the ratification of his father's will (Joseph. Ant. 17, 9, 3; War, 2, 2, 1). (See ARCHELAUS). She seems to have continued at Rome the rest of her life, enjoying the favor of Augustus and the friendship of Antonia (q.v.), the wife of the elder Drusus. The affection of Antonia for Bernice, indeed, exhibited itself even after the latter's death, and during the reign of Tiberius, in offices of substantial kindness to her son Agrippa I (q.v.), whom she furnished with the means of discharging his debt to the imperial treasury (Strabo, 16:765; Josephus, Ant. 18, 6, 1-6).
2. The eldest daughter of Agrippa I (q.v.) by his wife Cypros: she was espoused at a very early age to Marcus, son of Alexander the Alabarch; but he died before the consummation of the marriage, and she then became the wife of her uncle Herod, king of Chalcis, by whom she had two sons (Josephus, Ant. 18, 5, 4; 19:5, 1; 9,1; 20:5, 2; 7, 3; War, 2, 11, 6). After the death of this Herod, A.D. 48, Bernice, then but 20 years old, lived for a considerable time with her own brother, Agrippa II (q.v.), and not without just suspicion of an incestuous commerce with him, to avoid the scandal of which she induced Polemon, king of Cilicia, to marry her; but she soon deserted him and returned again to her brother (Joseph. Ant. 20, 7, 3; Juvenal, 6, 156), in connection with whom she is mentioned Acts 25:13; Acts 25:23; Acts 26:30, as having visited Festus at Caesarea on his appointment as procurator of Judaea, when Paul defended himself before them all, A.D. 55. About A.D. 65 we hear of her being at Jerusalem (whither she had gone in pursuance of a vow), and interceding for the Jews with the procurator Florus, at the risk of her life, during his cruel massacre of them (Joseph. War, 2, 15, 1). Together with her brother she endeavored to divert her countrymen from the purpose of rebellion (Joseph. War, 2, 16, 5); and, having joined the Romans with him at the outbreak of the final war, she gained the favor of Vespasian by her munificent presents, and the love of Titus by her beauty. Her connection with the latter continued at Rome, whither she went after the capture of Jerusalem, and it is even said that he wished to make her his wife; but the fear of offending the Romans by such a step compelled him to dismiss her, and, though she afterward returned th Rome, he still avoided a renewal of their intimacy (Tacitus, Hist. 2, 2, 81; Sueton. Tit. 7; Dio Cass. 66:15, 18). Quintilian (Inst. Orat. 4, 1) speaks of having pleaded her cause on some occasion not otherwise alluded to, on which she herself sat as judge. See Nolde, Hist. Idum. p. 403 sq.
3. The daughter of Archelaus son of Chelcias, and Mariamne daughter of Herod Agrippa I (Josephus, Ant. 20, 7, 1).
Bero'dach-bal'adan (Heb. Berodak' Baladan', בְּראֹדִךְ בִּלְאֲדָן; Sept. Βαρωδὰχ [v. r. Μαρωδὰχ ] Βαλαδάν; Vulg. Berodach Baladan), the king of Babylon who sent the friendly deputation to Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:12), called in the parallel passage (Isaiah 39:1), apparently more correctly, MERODACH-BALADAN (See MERODACH-BALADAN) (q.v.).
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McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Bernice'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/b/bernice.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.
