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tetrarch


Tet´rahrk

Originally the title for “a ruler of a fourth” or “one of four rulers.” In Hellenistic and Roman times, however, it is applied somewhat loosely to petty rulers of dependent states; a tetrarch is lower in status than an ethnarch, who, in turn, is lower than a king. The term occurs seven times in the NT, with three of these occurrences in (Luke 3:1), where Philip, Herod Antipas, and Lysanias are all mentioned. The other four occurrences all refer to Herod Antipas (Matt 14:1; Luke 3:19; Luke 9:7; Acts 13:1).