Table of Contents
The Different Philips in the Bible
There are four different characters named Philip mentioned in the Bible:
1-Son of Herod the Great
This was Herod Antipas’ half-brother, a son of Herod the Great and Mariamne (II)— not Herod Philip the Tetrarch, a son of Herod the Great and Cleopatra. Salome was the daughter of this Herod and Herodias. He had been disinherited by his father Herod the Great and lived a private life, first in Jerusalem and later in Rome.
2-Herod Philip
He was called Herod Philip, son of Herod the Great and probably the most fair and judicious of all of the sons of Herod the Great (Josephus Antiquities xvii. 4. 6). He married Salome, the daughter of Herodias and Herod Philip I, not long after the incident recorded in Mark 6:22–25 (Josephus Antiquities xvii. 5. 4).
3-The Apostle
Philip the Apostle was one of the Twelve disciples of Jesus. He was a native of Bethsaida (John 1:44), near the northern end of the Lake of Galilee. He also was among those surrounding John the Baptist when the latter first pointed out Jesus as the Lamb of God (John 1:43). Most of what we know about Philip before Christ’s ascension comes to us through the record of the Gospel of John (chs. 1:43–48; 6:5–7; 12:21, 22; 14:8, 9).
4. The Evangelist
Philip the Evangelist was one of the original seven deacons (Acts 6:5). Bible students assume that this Philip was one of the seventy-two men whom Jesus sent out in Luke 10:1. His work was described as that of the “evangelist” (Acts 8:5–13, 26–40). Philip’s labors as an evangelist took him far beyond the limits of Caesarea, where he was last seen (Acts 8:40). Paul and Luke came from Caesarea and visited with him and stayed at his house (Acts 21:8). The gift of prophecy was also given to Philip’s family members for he had four unmarried daughters at that time, all of whom had the gift of prophecy (Acts 13:1; 1 Corinthians 14:1, 3, 4).
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