Acts 12:20

"He was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon" The phrase very angry indicates that he was angry enough to go to war with them. We are not told what the cause of this anger was. Tyre and Sidon were cities in the Roman province of Syria, and therefore were not in Herod's jurisdiction. But the situation was very serious, for ambassadors from both cities came to Herod. "Having won over Blastus the king's chamberlain" "Blastus" is. Roman name, and. chamberlain was an officer in charge of the king's bed chamber and thus one of his confidential aides. They won him over possibly through means of bribery. Eventually Blastus convinced Herod to give them an audience and then they arrived they pleaded for terms of peace. "Because their country was fed by the king's country" "Tyre and Sidon had large populations, and there was not enough farm land nearby to raise food for all the people. Therefore the cities were dependent on Galilee for their food supply. Now Galilee was part of Herod's kingdom" (Reese p. 442). Many people in Tyre and Sidon would starve to death if Herod decided to act upon his anger.