Bible Dictionary
Lysanias
Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene during the ministry of John the Baptist. His identification with an earlier ruler of the same name has been addressed by historical and inscriptional evidence.
Definition
Lysanias was the tetrarch of Abilene during the ministry of John the Baptist. Abilene was the district around Abila, situated near Damascus on the eastern slope of Anti-Lebanon.
Biblical Usage
Luke names Lysanias in a chronological passage that places him alongside other rulers during the period when John the Baptist preached. His office and territory help establish the historical setting of John’s ministry.
Historical Background
Luke’s Lysanias has been distinguished from an earlier ruler of the same name mentioned by Josephus, who was killed about 36 B.C. Inscriptions support the possibility that Luke’s ruler was a descendant of that earlier Lysanias. The date is placed about A.D. 26–28.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Tetrarch of Abilene (Luke 3:1), on the eastern slope of Anti-Lebanon, near the city of Damascus.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(that drives away sorrow), mentioned by St. Luke in one of his chronological passages, ch. (Luke 3:1) as being tetrarch. of Abilene (i.e. the district round Abila) in the thirteenth year of Tiberius (A.D. 26), at the time when Herod Antipas was tetrarch of Galilee and Herod Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>li-sa'-ni-as (Lusanias): Mentioned in Lu 3:1 as tetrarch of Abilene in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, and thus fixing the date of the preaching of John the Baptist in the wilderness at about 26 or 28 AD. A Lysanias is mentioned by Josephus as having ruled over Chalcis and Abilene, and as having been slain by Mark Antony at the instigation of Cleopatra. As this happened about 36 BC, Luke has been charged with inaccuracy. Inscriptions, however, corroborate the view that the Lysanias of Luke was probably a descendant of the Lysanias mentioned by Josephus (compare Schurer, H J the Priestly Code (P), div I, volume II, App. 1, p. 338).</p><p>C. M. Kerr</p>