What Should Christians Know about Herod?

Among Herod’s many accomplishments were the construction (in the style of Roman architecture, of course) of massive fortresses at Jericho, Masada, on the Temple Mount, and at Herodium; miles of aqueducts, a new harbor, theaters, and amphitheaters. He also embellished existing towns and cities, including Beirut, Damascus, Antioch, and Rhodes. These he did to appease the pagan faction of the population.

To appease the Jewish faction and to keep in the good graces of the Pharisees, who regarded Herod as a pagan-loving foreigner, Herod rebuilt the Second Temple and doubled the size of the platform upon which it sat. Ironically, he had placed on the gates of the Temple an imperial eagle, a nod of allegiance to Rome. 

This Temple was eventually destroyed in 70 AD. However, the western-most wall that supports this platform remains today. It is known as the Western (or Wailing) Wall, located in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem. Every day, hundreds of pious Jews visit the wall to recite their prayers,  and thousands of people of all faiths, from all over the world, make pilgrimages to it every year.

Herod’s Most Significant Friendship

The founder of the Roman Empire, Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus, was counted among Herod’s most valued political and personal friendships, as Herod acted as Caesar’s “client king” over Judea. 

It was this same Caesar Augustus who “issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.” Little did he know that this decree would initiate the chain of events that would lead to Jesus’ birth taking place in Bethlehem, Herod’s own insidious decree of genocide, and the tiny holy family’s flight to Egypt (Luke 2:1-3; Matthew 2:13-15).

There existed within Herod a dark demon, which grew darker and more dangerous as he aged. He feared mostly being deposed from his throne and his power. So, to make sure there were no threats upon his life or coups to take over by his in-laws, Herod had all male claimants systematically executed. Mariamne’s brother, Aristobulus III, mysteriously drowned at a party.

Furthermore, Herod was prone to fits of jealousy where Mariamne was concerned. When he suspected her of being unfaithful, he put her on trial and then had her executed in 29 BC when the court found her guilty. He also had his mother-in-law, Alexandra, executed this same year. 

He put the two sons he had with Mariamne, Alexandros, and Aristobulus IV, on trial for treason. They were found guilty and subsequently executed. Three years later, his oldest son, Antipater, was found guilty of conspiracy to murder Herod and was also summarily killed. 

So vicious and brutal was Herod that Caesar Augustus said of Herod, “Better to be Herod’s pig than his son.”

Yet not all of his sons were dispatched. Three of them were appointed by Caesar Augustus to rule as tetrarchs of the region after their father’s death: Herod Archelaus became ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea; Philip became tetrarch of the territories north and east of the Jordan River; and Herod Antipas became tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea. It was this latter son who was responsible for the beheading of John the Baptist.

Photo Credit: Unsplash/Ben Sweet 

For Christians worldwide, Herod the Great is notoriously linked with the genocide of the Hebrew boys in Bethlehem. In the year 6 BC (or thereabouts), Herod had been visited by some Magi—whether they were kings, priests, magicians, astrologers, or members of a Median tribe is uncertain. Regardless, these men (and the number of their group is not given) had traveled many miles “from the east” (likely from Persia) in search of the “king of the Jews” who, by the indication of a special star, had been born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-2). 

At this point in his life—Herod was likely around 66 years of age—Herod was at the apex of his mental derangement. When he heard the Magi’s’ pronouncement, he “was disturbed.” He then quizzed the “chief priests and the teachers of the law” about the appearance of this special star, so as to calculate the time of this new king’s arrival. But when they couldn’t give him a satisfactory answer, he sent for the Magi for a “secret” consultation. Feigning interest, he told the Magi, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him” (Matthew 2:8).

Herod’s real reason for wanting to know the whereabouts of the Christ child, however, was much more sinister than wanting to worship Him. His jealousy had kicked in one hundredfold. In his paranoia, he reasoned that even a newborn babe could be a possible usurper of his power and reign. 

However, the Magi were warned not to return to Herod to reveal the babe’s whereabouts. Instead, they departed for the east. “When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi” (Matthew 2:16-17).

Thus began the genocide of the boy babies and toddlers in and around the City of David—reminiscent of the Egyptian Pharoah who slaughtered all the Hebrew baby boys in Exodus 1:1-22. Scholars estimate that, given the population of the area at that time was around 1,000, no more than 20 babies and toddlers were killed in that slaughter. 

To honor those babes who met their untimely deaths, some Western churches observe the Feast of the Holy Innocents on December 28; Eastern churches observe it on December 29. The early church actually regarded these slain boys as the first martyrs of the Christian faith.

We know, though, that at least one baby boy was spared: Jesus. Joseph was warned in a divine dream about Herod’s plan, and he whisked his wife and stepson away to safety in Egypt. (NOTE: Did this flight occur immediately after Jesus’ birth, circumcision, and presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem, or after Joseph and Mary returned to Nazareth, as reported in Luke 2. The chronology of when their flight happened is unclear.]

It is believed, though, that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus remained in Egypt for two years, until Joseph was informed in another dream that Herod was dead. This return fulfills Hosea’s prophecy that “Out of Egypt I called my son” (11:1). In this way, Jesus is a typological new Moses.

According to ancient history books’ diagnosis of Herod’s death, Herod died of chronic kidney disease, as well as a “gangrene of genitalia that engendered worms.” Jan Hirschmann, a physician at the Veterans Affairs Puget Sounds Health Care System in Washington state and led the medical investigation into Herod’s death, concluded that the king suffered from “intense itching, painful intestinal problems, breathlessness, convulsions in every limb and gangrene of the genitals.” It is likely, too, that his mental incapacities contributed to his demise.

As with dating his rise to power, the year of Herod’s death is also in question. Again, scholars and historians differ. While some place it in the year 4 BC, as does Josephus the Historian, since it coincided with a partial eclipse in that year on March 13. Others place Herod’s death on January 10 in 1 BC, when there was a total eclipse. 

Depending on the year—whether 4 BC or 1 BC—Herod would have been in his late sixties at the time of his death. 

Conclusion

The discrepancy in dates and ages of Herod’s rise to power, the timing of his murderous decree, and his demise (all approximations at best) is of relative insignificance, even when trying to determine Jesus’ immaculate birth and subsequent return to Nazareth in terms of Christological chronology. It is sufficient to know that Jesus’ birth occurred sometime between 6 BC and 4 BC. 

While interesting to ponder, the debate of dates is not a “hill on which to die.” The dates do not affect one’s salvation. We leave to God the timing of all historical events. It is sufficient to know only that Jesus was providentially saved in order to sacrificially save us! 

Photo Credit: Unsplash/Annie Spratt