Governor of Abilene, the area west of Damascus, who ruled when John the Baptist began his ministry.
About Lysanias
The tetrarch (Roman governor) of Abilene (the area west of Damascus) from AD 27 to 28. The Gospel of Luke mentions Lysanias as ruling at the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry (Luke 3:1). This is the only reference to him in the New Testament.
Josephus mentions a Lysanias who succeeded his father, Ptolemaeus, as the king of Chalcis. However, he was killed by Mark Antony in 36 BC. There is no other reference to any Lysanias in ancient writings. Also, this second Lysanias could not have lived during John the Baptist's time. So, some biblical scholars assume Luke was wrong in his timeline of events. In defense of Luke, some scholars say Josephus mentions "Abila of Lysanius." This was an area given to Agrippa II by Claudius in AD 53. But that reference may be to the Lysanias who ruled Chalcis 90 years earlier.
Key References
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
All Scripture References (1)
Luke (1)
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,