Verse 1 Herod the tetrarch; son of Herod the Great, the old king who reigned at the time of our Savior's birth. Upon his death, his kingdom was divided among his sons. Herod Antipas, here referred to, ruled over Galilee. Matthew 14:3,4. Herod had enticed away his brother Phillip's wife, and married her, while her lawful husband was still living. He was not of so cruel and bloodthirsty a disposition as his father, but it required great moral courage in John, to reprove any member of the Herod family for such a crime.