Philip the Tetrarch was one of the three sons of Herod “the Great” who received territory when he died in 4 BC. Directly mentioned in the New Testament only in Luke 3:1, he ruled over Ituraea and Trachonitis. These almost exclusively Gentile regions were located to the northeast of the Sea of Galilee. It was in Caesarea Philippi (literally Philip’s Caesarea) that Peter’s famous confession of Christ took place. He was married to Salome, the daughter of Herodias and Herod Philip (see next week) whose dance before Herod Antipas led to the immediate execution of John the Baptist.
