Difference between revisions of "Drusilla"

<p> [[Drusilla]] (''Dru-Sĭl'Lah'' ). &nbsp;Acts 24:24 The young daughter of Herod Agrippa I., and sister of Agrippa II. She was first betrothed to Antiochus Epiphanes, prince of Commagene; but, as he refused to become a Jew, she was married to Azizus, prince of Emesa. Soon after, Felix, the Roman procurator, persuaded her, by means of the Cyprian sorcerer Simon, to leave her husband and marry him. &nbsp;Acts 24:24. She bore him a son, Agrippa, who perished in the eruption of Vesuvius in the reign of Titus. </p>

<p> (Δρούσιλλα ), youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I by his wife Cypros, and sister of Herod Agrippa II, was only six years old when her father died in AD 44 (Josephus, [[Ant]] . 19:9, 1; 20:7, 1 and 2). Being celebrated for her beauty, she had already been promised in marriage to Epiphanies, son of Antiochus, king of Comagene, but the match was broken off in consequence of Epiphanes refusing to perform his promise of conforming to the Jewish religion. Hereupon Azizus, king of Edessa, obtained Drusilla as his wife, and performed the condition of becoming a Jew (Josephus, Ant. 10:7, 1). [[Afterwards]] Felix, the procurator of Judaea, fell in love with her, and induced her to leave Azizus, a course to which she was prompted not only by the fair promise of Felix, but by a desire to escape the annoyance to which she was subjected by the envy of her sister Berenice, who though ten years older, vied with her in beauty (ib. 2). She though, perhaps, that Felix, whom as accepted as a second husband, would be better able to protect her then Azizus, whom she divorced. In the Acts (24:24) she is mentioned in such a manner that she may naturally be supposed to have been present when Paul preached before Felix, in A.D. 55. Felix and Drusilla had a son, Agrippa, who perished in an eruption of Vesuvius (Josephus, Ant. 19:7; 20:5). Tacitus (Hist. 5:9) says that Felix married Drusilla, a granddaugther of [[Cleopatra]] and Anthony. The Drusilla he refers to, if any such person every existed, must have been a daughter of [[Juba]] and Cleopatra Selene, for the names </p> <p> and fate of all the other descendants of Cleopatra and [[Anthony]] are known from other sources. But the account given by Josephus of the parentage of Drusilla is more consistent than that of Tacitus with the notice in the Acts, by which it appears that she was a Jewess. Some have supposed that Felix married in succession two Drusillae; and countenance is lent to this otherwise improbable conjecture by an expression of Suetonius (Claud. 28) who calls Felix "the husband of three queens." (See Noldii Hist. Idum. page 464 sq.; Walch, De Felice, Jen. 1747, page 63 sq.), (See Felix). </p>

<p> '''''droo''''' -'''''sil´a''''' ( Δρούσιλλα , <i> '''''Droúsilla''''' </i> , or Δρουσίλλα , <i> '''''Drousı́lla''''' </i> ): Wife of Felix, a Jewess, who along with her husband "heard (Paul) concerning the faith in Christ Jesus" during Paul's detention in [[Caesarea]] (&nbsp;Acts 24:24 ). Beta text gives the rendering "Drusilla the wife of Felix, a Jewess, asked to see Paul and to hear the word." The fact that Drusilla was a [[Jewess]] explains her curiosity, but Paul, who was probably acquainted with the past history of her and Felix, refused to satisfy their request in the way they desired, and preached to them instead concerning righteousness and self-restraint and the final judgment. At this "Felix was terrified" (&nbsp;Acts 24:25 ). Beta text states that Paul's being left in bonds on the retirement of Felix was due to the desire of the latter to please Drusilla (compare &nbsp;Acts 24:27 ). Probably this explanation, besides that of the accepted text, was true also, as Drusilla, who was a member of the ruling house, saw in Paul an enemy of its power, and hated him for his condemnation of her own private sins. </p> <p> The chief other source of information regarding Drusilla is Josephus Drusilla was the youngest of the three daughters of Agrippa I, her sisters being [[Bernice]] and Mariamne. She was born about 36 ad and was married when 14 years old to Azizus, king of Emeza. [[Shortly]] afterward she was induced to desert her husband by Felix, who employed a Cyprian sorcerer, Simon by name, to carry out his purpose. She was also influenced to take this step by the cruelty of Azizus and the hatred of Bernice who was jealous of her beauty. Her marriage with Felix took place about 54 ad and by him she had one son, Agrippa, who perished under Titus in an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. The mention by Josephus of "the woman" who perished along with Agrippa ( <i> Ant. </i> , XX, vii, 2) refers probably not to his mother Drusilla but to his wife. </p>