Herodias Divorces Her Husband
109–110
Around this time, Aretas, king of Petra, and Herod [the Tetrarch] had a quarrel regarding the following: Herod the Tetrarch had married Aretas’ daughter and had lived with her for a long time, but one time when he was in Rome, he stayed with his half brother Herod [Philip], who had a different mother (this Herod was the son of the high priest Simon’s daughter). He [Herod the Tetrarch], however, fell in love with Herodias, his half brother’s wife, the daughter of their brother Aristobulus and sister of Agrippa the Great. He went so far as to broach with her the subject of marriage between them, and when she agreed, they arranged an agreement whereby she would relocate her residence and join him as soon as he returned from Rome. In addition, it was agreed that he would divorce Aretas’ daughter. [ . . . ]
136–137
Their sister Herodias was married to Herod [Philip], the son of Herod the Great, who was born to Mariamme the daughter of Simon the high priest. They had a daughter, Salome, after whose birth Herodias took it upon herself to defy the laws of our fathers and divorced herself from a living husband and married Herod [Antipas], her husband’s brother on the father’s side, who was tetrarch of the Galilee.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.
