Manaen

consoler, a Christian teacher at Antioch. Nothing else is known of him beyond what is stated in Acts 13:1 , where he is spoken of as having been brought up with (Gr. syntrophos; rendered in RSV "foster brother" of) Herod, i.e., Herod Antipas, the tetrach, who, with his brother Archelaus, was educated at Rome.

a comforter; a leader

(comforter ) is mentioned in ( Acts 13:1 ) as one of the teachers and prophets in the church at Antioch at the time of the appointment of Saul and Barnabas as missionaries to the heathen. He is said to have been brought up with Herod Antipas. He was probably his foster-brother.

MANAEN

man'-a-en (Manaen, Greek form of Hebrew name "Menahem," meaning "consoler"):

Manaen is mentioned, with Barnabas, Saul and others, in Acts 13:1, as one of the "prophets and teachers" in the recently rounded Gentile church at Antioch, at the time when Barnabas and Saul were "separated" by Divine call for their missionary service. He is further described as "the foster-brother (suntrophos) of Herod the tetrarch" (i.e. Herod Antipas (see HEROD)). He was probably brought up and educated with this Herod and his brother Archelaus. An earlier glimpse of Christian influence in Herod's court is afforded by Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuzas, among the holy women who ministered to Jesus (Luke 8:3). Manaen may have been related to the older Manaen, the Essene, who, Josephus tells us, foretold the greatness of Herod the Great, and was afterward treated by Herod as his friend (Ant., XV, x, 5). His position in the church at Antioch was evidently an influential one, whether he himself ranked among the "prophets," or perhaps only among the "teachers."

James Orr