Individual Details
Herod "The Great", King of Judea
(73 BC - 4 BC)
Herod the Great (born 73 or 74 BCE, died 4 BCE in Jericho, was an Edomite (a Semitic group from the region between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba[7]) client king of the Roman provinces of Judea, Galilee and Samaria (near present-day [Nablus]). Important details of his biography are gleaned from the works of the 1st century CE Roman-Jewish historian Josephus Flavius.
He was described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." He is also known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (sometimes referred to as Herod's Temple).
Herod the Great appears in the Gospel according to Matthew (Ch. 2), which describes an event known as the Massacre of the Innocents.
According to this account, shortly after the birth of Jesus, Magi from the East visited Herod to inquire the whereabouts of "the one having been born king of the Jews", because they had seen his star in the east and therefore wanted to pay him homage. Herod, as King of the Jews, was alarmed at the prospect of a usurper. Herod assembled the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the "Anointed One" (the Messiah, Greek: Ο Χριστός (ho christos)) was to be born. They answered, in Bethlehem, citing Micah 5:2.
Herod therefore sent the Magi to Bethlehem, instructing them to search for the child and, after they had found him, to "report to me, so that I too may go and worship him". However, after they had found Jesus, the Magi were warned in a dream not to report back to Herod.
Similarly, Joseph was warned in a dream that Herod intended to kill Jesus, so he and his family fled to Egypt. When Herod realized he had been outwitted by the Magi, he gave orders to kill all boys of the age of two and under in Bethlehem and its vicinity. Joseph and his family stayed in Egypt until Herod's death, then moved to Nazareth in Galilee in order to avoid living under Herod's son Archelaus.
Regarding the Massacre of the Innocents, although Herod was certainly guilty of many brutal acts, including the killing of his wife and two of his sons, no other known source from the period makes any reference to such a massacre. Since Bethlehem was a small village, the number of male children under the age of 2, would probably not exceed 20. This may be the reason for the lack of other sources for this history, although Herod's order in Matthew 2:16 includes those children in Bethlehem's vicinity making the massacre larger numerically and geographically.
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Herodes (Ἡρῴδης; Hērṓidēs). H. I.; Herod the Great. Born in c. 73 BC, son of Antipater [4] and the Arabian woman Cyprus. In 47 appointed strategos of Galilaea, he came into conflict with the Sanhedrin of Jerusalem because of the execution on his own authority of persons involved in a revolt. The Roman governor of Syria Sex. Iulius [I 11] Caesar made him the strategos of Coilesyria and Samaria. ...http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/mariamme-e723620 Source: Brill’s New Pauly
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He was described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." He is also known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (sometimes referred to as Herod's Temple).
Herod the Great appears in the Gospel according to Matthew (Ch. 2), which describes an event known as the Massacre of the Innocents.
According to this account, shortly after the birth of Jesus, Magi from the East visited Herod to inquire the whereabouts of "the one having been born king of the Jews", because they had seen his star in the east and therefore wanted to pay him homage. Herod, as King of the Jews, was alarmed at the prospect of a usurper. Herod assembled the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the "Anointed One" (the Messiah, Greek: Ο Χριστός (ho christos)) was to be born. They answered, in Bethlehem, citing Micah 5:2.
Herod therefore sent the Magi to Bethlehem, instructing them to search for the child and, after they had found him, to "report to me, so that I too may go and worship him". However, after they had found Jesus, the Magi were warned in a dream not to report back to Herod.
Similarly, Joseph was warned in a dream that Herod intended to kill Jesus, so he and his family fled to Egypt. When Herod realized he had been outwitted by the Magi, he gave orders to kill all boys of the age of two and under in Bethlehem and its vicinity. Joseph and his family stayed in Egypt until Herod's death, then moved to Nazareth in Galilee in order to avoid living under Herod's son Archelaus.
Regarding the Massacre of the Innocents, although Herod was certainly guilty of many brutal acts, including the killing of his wife and two of his sons, no other known source from the period makes any reference to such a massacre. Since Bethlehem was a small village, the number of male children under the age of 2, would probably not exceed 20. This may be the reason for the lack of other sources for this history, although Herod's order in Matthew 2:16 includes those children in Bethlehem's vicinity making the massacre larger numerically and geographically.
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Herodes (Ἡρῴδης; Hērṓidēs). H. I.; Herod the Great. Born in c. 73 BC, son of Antipater [4] and the Arabian woman Cyprus. In 47 appointed strategos of Galilaea, he came into conflict with the Sanhedrin of Jerusalem because of the execution on his own authority of persons involved in a revolt. The Roman governor of Syria Sex. Iulius [I 11] Caesar made him the strategos of Coilesyria and Samaria. ...http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/mariamme-e723620 Source: Brill’s New Pauly
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Events
| Birth | 73 BC | Edom | |||
| Death | 4 BC | Jerico |
Families
| Spouse | Mariamne I princess of Judaea ( - -29) |
| Child | Alexandra Prince of Judaea ( - ) |
| Father | Antipater II 'the Idumaean' Procurator of Judaea (-113 - ) |
| Mother | Cypros - Kypros - Kufra of Nabatea Arabia (-100 - -43) |