| |
Easton's Bible Dictionary
lame.
(1) The fourth Roman emperor. He succeeded Caligula (A.D. 41). Though in general
he treated the Jews, especially those in Asia and Egypt, with great indulgence,
yet about the middle of his reign (A.D. 49) he banished them all from Rome ( Acts
18:2 ). In this edict the Christians were included, as being, as was supposed,
a sect of Jews. The Jews, however soon again returned to Rome. During the reign
of this emperor, several persecutions of the Christians by the Jews took place
in the dominions of Herod Agrippa, in one of which the apostle James was "killed"
( Acts
12:2 ). He died A.D. 54.
(2) Claudius Lysias, a Greek who, having obtained by purchase the privilege of
Roman citizenship, took the name of Claudius ( Acts
21:31 - 40
; 22:28
; 23:26
).
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
(no entry)
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(lame) Fourth Roman emperor, reigned from 41 to 54 A.D.
He was nominated to the supreme power mainly through the influence of Herod Agrippa
the First. In the reign of Claudius there were several famines, arising from unfavorable
harvests, and one such occurred in Palestine and Syria. ( Acts
11:28 - 30
) Claudius was induced by a tumult of the Jews in Rome to expel them from the
city. cf. ( Acts
18:2 ) The date of this event is uncertain. After a weak and foolish reign
he was poisoned by his fourth wife, Agrippina, the mother of Nero, October 13,
A.D. 54.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
klo'-di-us (Klaudios):
Fourth Roman emperor. He reigned for over 13 years (41-54 AD), having succeeded
Caius (Caligula) who had seriously altered the conciliatory policy of his predecessors
regarding the Jews and, considering himself a real and corporeal god, had deeply
offended the Jews by ordering a statue of himself to be placed in the temple of
Jerusalem, as Antiochus Epiphanes had done with the statue of Zeus in the days
of the Maccabees (2
Macc 6:2). Claudius reverted to the policy of Augustus and Tiberius and
marked the opening year of his reign by issuing edicts in favor of the Jews (Ant.,
XIX, 5), who were permitted in all parts of the empire to observe their laws and
customs in a free and peaceable manner, special consideration being given to the
Jews of Alexandria who were to enjoy without molestation all their ancient rights
and privileges. The Jews of Rome, however, who had become very numerous, were
not allowed to hold assemblages there (Dio LX, vi, 6), an enactment in full correspondence
with the general policy of Augustus regarding Judaism in the West. The edicts
mentioned were largely due to the intimacy of Claudius with Herod Agrippa, grandson
of Herod the Great, who had been living in Rome and had been in some measure instrumental
in securing the succession for Claudius. As a reward for this service, the Holy
Land had a king once more. Judea was added to the tetrarchies of Philip and Antipas;
and Herod Agrippa I was made ruler over the wide territory which had been governed
by his grandfather. The Jews' own troubles during the reign of Caligula had given
"rest" (the American Standard Revised Version "peace") to the churches "throughout
all Judea and Galilee and Samaria" (Acts
9:31). But after the settlement of these troubles, "Herod the king put forth
his hands to afflict certain of the church" (Acts
12:1). He slew one apostle and "when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded
to seize" another (Acts
12:3). His miserable death is recorded in Acts
12:20 - 23,
and in Ant, XIX, 8. This event which took place in the year 44 AD is held to have
been coincident with one of the visits of Paul to Jerusalem. It has proved one
of the chronological pivots of the apostolic history.
Whatever concessions to the Jews Claudius may have been induced out of
friendship for Herod Agrippa to make at the beginning of his reign, Suetonius
records (Claud. chapter 25) "Judaeos impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantes Roma
expulit," an event assigned by some to the year 50 AD, though others suppose it
to have taken place somewhat later. Among the Jews thus banished from Rome were
Aquila and Priscilla with whom Paul became associated at Corinth (Acts 18:2).
With the reign of Claudius is also associated the famine which was foretold by
Agabus (Acts
11:28). Classical writers also report that the reign of Claudius was, from
bad harvest or other causes, a period of general distress and scarcity over the
whole world (Dio LX, 11; Suet. Claud. xviii; Tac. Ann. xi. 4; xiii.43; see Mommsen,
Provinces of the Roman Empire, chapter ix; and Conybeare and Howson, Life and
Epistles of Paul, I).
J. Hutchison
Tags:
bible commentary, bible reference, bible study, claudius, define, history of, fourth roman emperor, klaudios, poisoned by wife (agrippina)
Comments:
|
 |
|
