Acts 25:13

Certain days. Clearly a brief period of time (see on ch. 9:19).

King Agrippa. That is, Herod Agrippa II, son of Herod Agrippa I (whose death is described in ch. 12:20-23), and thus great-grandson of Herod the Great (see Vol. V, pp. 39, 69, 234). Like his sister Drusilla (see on ch. 24:24), this monarch was a Jew by virtue of descent from Herod the Great’s wife Mariamne. Agrippa II was considered too young to take the kingship of Palestine when his father died (A.D. 44; Josephus Antiquities xix. 9. 2), but upon the death of an uncle soon afterward, he was consoled with the rulership of Chalcis (ibid. xx. 5. 2). Later Agrippa received the provinces to the north, formerly under Philip and Lysanias (ibid. 7. 1), with the title of king. Still later Nero gave him certain other cities. In the Jewish war of A.D. 68-73 Agrippa sided with the Romans against the Jews, whom he tried to dissuade from rebellion (Josephus War ii. 16. 4 [345-401]). He retired to Rome, where he died in A.D. 100. Festus would naturally turn to Agrippa II for counsel concerning the handling of Paul’s case. Agrippa had custody of the Temple treasure and the privilege of appointing the high priest. He was therefore in a sense a religious colleague of the Roman governor, and in a position to give sound advice with respect to the case.

Bernice. Or, Berenice; the eldest daughter of Agrippa I, and a sister of Agrippa II and of Drusilla, wife of Felix. She had first been married to her uncle, Herod, king of Chalcis (see Vol. V, p. 40), whom Agrippa II had succeeded (see Vol. V, p. 234). Both Jewish and Roman writers speak of her relations with her brother Agrippa II as sinful. Later she married Polemo, king of Cilicia, but soon left him and went to Rome to be with her brother. She became the mistress of the emperor Titus, who grieved greatly when the Senate compelled him to dismiss her (Suetonius Titus vii. 2; Tacitus History ii. 81; Josephus Antiquities xx. 7. 3).

To salute Festus. This was the first courtesy visit of Agrippa II to the new procurator, for the purpose of welcoming him. Agrippa II was, of course, a vassal king of Rome.