ARETAS
The common appellation (like Pharaoh for the kings of Egypt) of the Arab kings of northern Arabia. It means, in Arabic, “smith.”
The governor of Aretas in Damascus attempted to arrest Paul (2 Cor. 11:32). This king, who was the father-in-law of Herod Antipas, made war on him for divorcing his daughter, and defeated him. Vitellius, governor of Syria, was ordered to take Aretas dead or alive, but Tiberius died before this could be carried out.
Caligula, who succeeded him in the empire, had Antipas banished. He made certain changes in the East, and it is supposed that Damascus was separated from the province of Syria, and given to Aretas.