BLASTUS

blas'-tus (Blastos, "shoot"): The chamberlain of Herod Agrippa I, whose services as an intermediary between them and the king were gained by the people of Tyre and Sidon. These cities were dependent on Palestine for corn and other provisions, and when Herod, on the occasion of some commercial dispute, forbade the export of foodstuffs to Tyre and Sidon, they were at his mercy and were compelled to ask for peace. "Having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend," probably by means of a bribe, the Phoenician embassy was given an opportunity of setting their case before Herod (Acts 12:20 ff).

S. F. Hunter

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.