Herod Agrippa II, ruler before whom Paul defended himself; name of Greek/Roman origin
Agrippas in the NT refers to Herod Agrippa II (Marcus Julius Agrippa), son of Herod Agrippa I (who had James killed and Peter imprisoned, Acts 12). Agrippa II was king of territories in northern Palestine and remained loyal to Rome during the Jewish War (66–70 AD). Paul appeared before Agrippa II and his sister Bernice in Caesarea, where he gave one of his most eloquent defenses of the gospel (Acts 25–26). Agrippa's famous near-response — 'Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?' (Acts 26:28) — is one of Scripture's most poignant moments.
Acts 26 presents Paul before one of the most powerful men in the region, and he transforms the interrogation into a proclamation of the resurrection. Paul's address to Agrippa is a model of bold, contextually sensitive evangelism: he appeals to the king's knowledge of Jewish scripture, tells his own story, and drives to the central claim — that Christ rose from the dead. Agrippa's near-conversion is a reminder that proximity to the gospel is not the same as submission to it. Yet Paul's response ('I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains,' 26:29) models how to hold truth with compassion.