Herod the Great #90

Herod the Great was the king of Judea when Jesus was born, and the ruler who, according to Matthew, tried to kill the infant Messiah. He was a client king who governed under Roman authority, appointed by the Roman Senate around 40 BC. Luke places the birth of John the Baptist “in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea” (Luke 1:5). Matthew mentions him in his account of the Magi and the flight to Egypt (Matthew 2:1-23).

Biblical Significance

Matthew says wise men from the east came to Jerusalem asking where the child born king of the Jews might be found. Herod was troubled, consulted the chief priests and scribes, and learned that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, citing Micah 5:2. He asked the Magi to report back so that he might also “worship” the child, but they were warned in a dream and left another way (Matthew 2:1-12). Joseph, warned in his own dream, took Mary and Jesus to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15). Herod, furious at being tricked, ordered the killing of all boys in Bethlehem and the surrounding region who were two years old or under, and Matthew sees in this the fulfilment of Jeremiah 31:15 (Matthew 2:16-18). After Herod died, the family returned but avoided Judea because his son Archelaus was ruling there (Matthew 2:19-23).

The Bethlehem massacre is not recorded in Josephus or other surviving sources. Some historians therefore doubt it, while others point out that a small village might have had only a few victims, that Josephus does describe Herod’s paranoid cruelty, including the murder of his wife Mariamne and several of his sons, and that absence from a source does not disprove an event. Neutral readers can note that the account fits what is known of his character.

Legacy

Herod is best known outside the Bible for his massive building projects. He rebuilt the Jerusalem temple on a grand scale, a work so long-running that the crowd in John 2:20 says it had already taken forty-six years. He also built the port city of Caesarea Maritima, the fortress of Masada, and the Herodium, and archaeology has uncovered much of this work.

Most scholars date his death to 4 BC, which is why Jesus’ birth is usually placed a few years before the traditional year 1. His kingdom was divided among his sons: Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip. Antipas is the Herod who later executed John the Baptist and appears at Jesus’ trial (Luke 23:6-12). Herod the Great remains the Bible’s picture of a ruler more afraid of losing his throne than of the God who had promised a king.