ARETAS
(ah' ruh tuhs) GREEK: HARETAS
"virtuous" or "pleasing"
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This was the dynastic name of the kings of Arab Nabatea, the region south of Judea whose capital was at Petra. It was Aretas IV, who ruled from 9 B.C. to A.D. 40, to whome Paul referred in describing his escape from "the governor under King Aretas" in Damascus by being "let down in a basket through a window in the wall" (2 Cor. 11:32,33). Since Acts 9:25 places this event soon after Paul's conversion, but Paul's own chronology in Galatians 1:17-21 refers to other visits to Damascus, probable dates for the escape range from A.D. 35 to 39 or 40.
{E2 Dictionary of Biblical People}