Ethnarch of King Aretas? the legendary Damascus basket case

[Peter Kirby]

This could tie in with suggestions that Paul had some connection with a Herodian household. Agrippa (I), a grandson of Herod the Great, was sent to Rome at the tender age of six to be educated in Rome a few years after the execution of his father Aristobolus but just before the death of Herod the Great. His mother Bernice befriended Antonia, the widow of the elder Drusus, and members of an exceptionally well connected Roman family, and was raised with Tiberius' son also named Drusus.

Per Ant 18:145, after the death of his mother Bernice, ...

So, if one were to look for a place for Paul, it might be as a freedman of Agrippa I.

If Agrippa's bribe money had been fronted by the city's Nabataean community, ...

Aretas IV ruled the Nabataeans from his capitol in Petra until 40 CE. Thus Paul's "basket case" occurred between 32 and 40 CE, well within most traditional dating schemes for Paul's conversion or Jesus' death.

Not to deny the ingenuity of this scheme, but the last sentence (if it is meant as an argument) seems to ignore the circularity of the whole thing. Paul is found to be a Herodian because of a search of the text of Josephus for clues regarding what might be a context for Paul in the traditionally ascribed time period. Therefore, when searching for a scenario that comports with a traditional dating scheme for Paul, it's not unexpected that we find one when we do.