The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70
Manaen
fl. c. 46 (death unrecorded) · Teacher of Antioch · Foster-brother of Herod Antipas · Antioch
The Apostolic Age
Who Manaen was
Named among Antioch’s prophets and teachers as syntrophos of Herod the tetrarch — foster-brother or courtier companion, reared with the man who beheaded John the Baptist and mocked Jesus. The detail is Luke’s quiet irony: one child of that palace became a tetrarch and died in exile; the other taught in the church that launched the Gentile mission. He is plausibly a source for Luke’s inside knowledge of the Herodian court.
Acts 13:1 only; the foster-brother of Antipas appears in no later text within the horizon.
Common questions
When was Manaen active?
Manaen is dated fl. c. 46 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Manaen in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Manaen?
Manaen is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Luke. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Manaen from?
The archive associates Manaen with Antioch.
Who were Manaen’s contemporaries?
The archive links Manaen to 3 other figures, including Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene and Herod Antipas. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Scripture record
Primary-source mentions (1)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Acts 13:1
c. AD 85…and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.Luke · read ↗
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 30 · Crucifixion, Resurrection and Pentecost, AD 30–33
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
- AD 62 · James the Just stoned, AD 62
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Manaen.