100 Reasons to Believe New Testament History
87. Lysanius Inscription
According to Luke, John the Baptist began his public ministry when Lysanius was Tetrarch of Abilene (Luke 3:1). Many felt that Luke had erred here because the only Lysanius known to have ruled in Abilene was executed by Antonius in 34 B.C.
However, an inscription describing a temple dedication which reads “for the salvation of the Lord’s imperial and their whole household, by Nymphaeus, a freedman of Lysanius the Tetrarch”, seems to have proven Luke correct. The term “the Lord’s Imperial” speaks of the joint rulership of Tiberius and his mother Livia, which lasted from the death of Augustus in A.D. 14, until Livia’s death in A.D. 29. Luke is therefore quite accurate in placing the beginning of John’s ministry while Lysanius was Tetrarch A.
87. Lysanius Inscription - Notes and References
A. J.A. Thompson, “The Bible and Archaeology”, Eerdmans Publishing, 1962, pp. 377-378