According to the Bible, Blastus was the
chamberlain
Chamberlain may refer to:
Profession
*Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure
People
*Chamberlain (surname)
**Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...
of
Herod Agrippa
Herod Agrippa (Roman name Marcus Julius Agrippa; born around 11–10 BC – in Caesarea), also known as Herod II or Agrippa I (), was a grandson of Herod the Great and King of Judea from AD 41 to 44. He was the father of Herod Agrippa II, the ...
(Acts 12:20), a mediator for the
Sidon
Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...
ians and
Tyrian Tyrian may refer to the following:
* Tyrian, an adjective for Tyre, a city in the South Governorate of Lebanon
* ''Tyrian'' (video game), an arcade-style shooter video game by Epic MegaGames
* Tyrian purple, a colour
* Tyrian, a person who worsh ...
s, and was believed to be involved in the events that led to Herod's death.
Biblical account
According to
Acts
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
12:20, Herod was displeased with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and forbade the export of food to them. As they were dependent on delivery of food from
Judea
Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous L ...
, and Judea was affected by famine, the Sidonians and Tyrians made Blastus "their friend" (possibly through bribery ). Blastus helped them obtain an audience with Herod.
Acts 12:23 states that Herod was struck dead by God when the people of Sidon and Tyre offered him worship.
Other contemporary accounts
The story of Herod's death is somewhat corroborated by the contemporary historian
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
.
However, Josephus does not mention any involvement of Blastus.
See also
*
1st century in Lebanon
This article lists historical events that occurred between 1–100 in modern-day Lebanon or regarding Lebanese people, its people.
Administration Kingdom at the Beqaa
in AD 39, the district of Iturea was given by Caligula to a certain Soemu ...
*
List of Biblical names starting with B
This page includes a list of biblical proper names that start with ''B'' in English transcription. Some of the names are given with a proposed etymological meaning. For further information on the names included on the list, the reader may consult ...
*
Virgilius Maro Grammaticus
Virgilius Maro Grammaticus (french: Virgile de Toulouse, fl. c. 7th century), known in English as Virgil the Grammarian or Virgil of Toulouse, is the author of two early medieval grammatical texts known as the ''Epitomae'' and the ''Epistolae''.
...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blastus
Servants
People in Acts of the Apostles