8. Herod³ (Antipater² the Idumean, Antipas¹ ) was born circa 70 B.C.E.. Herod died 26 January 1 B.C.E. Jericho in Judea, at 68 years of age.⁽⁶⁵⁾ 1 When Christ was born, according to the prophecies, in Bethlehem of Judea, at the time indicated, Herod was not a little disturbed by the enquiry of the magi who came from the east, asking where he who was born King of the Jews was to be found,--for they had seen his star, and this was their reason for taking so long a journey; for they earnestly desired to worship the infant as God,-- for he imagined that his kingdom might be endangered; and he enquired therefore of the doctors of the law, who belonged to the Jewish nation, where they expected Christ to be born. When he learned that the prophecy of Micah announced that Bethlehem was to be his birthplace he commanded, in a single edict, all the male infants in Bethlehem, and all its borders, that were two years of age or less, according to the time which he had accurately ascertained from the magi, to be slain, supposing that Jesus, as was indeed likely, would share the same fate as the others of his own age. 2 But the child anticipated the snare, being carried into Egypt by his parents, who had learned from an angel that appeared unto them what was about to happen, These things are recorded by the Holy Scriptures in the Gospel. 3 It is worth while, in addition to this, to observe the reward which Herod received for his daring crime against Christ and those of the same age. For immediately, without the least delay, the divine vengeance overtook him while he was still alive, and gave him a foretaste of what he was to receive after death. 4 It is not possible to relate here how he tarnished the supposed felicity of his reign by successive calamities in his family, by the murder of wife and children, and others of his nearest relatives and dearest friends. The account, which casts every other tragic drama into the shade, is detailed at length in the histories of Josephus. 5 How, immediately after his crime against our Saviour and the other infants, the punishment sent by God drove him on to his death, we can best learn from the words of that historian who, in the seventeenth book of his Antiquities of the Jews, writes as follows concerning his end:" 6 But the disease of Herod grew more severe, God inflicting punishment for his crimes. For a slow fire burned in him which was not so apparent to those who touched him, but augmented his internal distress; for he had a terrible desire for food which it was not possible to resist. He was affected also with ulceration of the intestines, and with especially severe pains in the colon, while a watery and transparent humor settled about his feet. 7 He suffered also from a similar trouble in his abdomen. Nay more, his privy member was putrefied and produced worms. He found also excessive difficulty in breathing, and it was particularly disagreeable because of the offensiveness of the odor and the rapidity of respiration. 8 He had convulsions also in every limb, which gave him uncontrollable strength. It was said, indeed, by those who possessed the power of divination and wisdom to explain such events, that God had inflicted this punishment upon the King on account of his great impiety." 9 The writer mentioned above recounts these things in the work referred to. And in the second book of his History he gives a similar account of the same Herod, which runs as follows: "The disease then seized upon his whole body and distracted it by various torments. For he had a slow fever, and the itching of the skin of his whole body was insupportable. He suffered also from continuous pains in his colon, and there were swellings on his feet like those of a person suffering from dropsy, while his abdomen was inflamed and his privy member so putrefied as to produce worms. Besides this he could breathe only in an upright posture, and then only with difficulty, and he had convulsions in all his limbs, so that the diviners said that his diseases were a punishment.⁽⁰⁾ 10 But he, although wrestling with such sufferings, nevertheless clung to life and hoped for safety, and devised methods of cure. For instance, crossing over Jordan he used the warm baths at Callirhoë, which flow into the Lake Asphaltites, but are themselves sweet enough to drink. 11 His physicians here thought that they could warm his whole body again by means of heated oil. But when they had let him down into a tub filled with oil, his eyes became weak and turned up like the eyes of a dead person. But when his attendants raised an outcry, he recovered at the noise; but finally, despairing of a cure, he commanded about fifty drachms to be distributed among the soldiers, and great sums to be given to his generals 12 and friends. 12 Then returning he came to Jericho, where, being seized with melancholy, he planned to commit an impious deed, as if challenging death itself. For, collecting from every town the most illustrious men of all Judea, he commanded that they be shut up in the so-called hippodrome. 13 And having summoned Salome, his sister, and her husband, Alexander, he said: 'I know that the Jews will rejoice at my death. But I may be lamented by others and have a splendid funeral if you are willing to perform my commands. When I shall expire surround these men, who are now under guard, as quickly as possible with soldiers, and slay them, in order that all Judea and every house may weep for me even against their will.''' And after a little Josephus says, 14 "And again he was so tortured by want of food and by a convulsive cough that, overcome by his pains, he planned to anticipate his fate. Taking an apple he asked also for a knife, for he was accustomed to cut apples and eat them. Then looking round to see that there was no one to hinder, he raised his right hand as if to stab himself." 15 In addition to these things the same writer records that he slew another of his own sons before his death, the third one slain by his command, and that immediately afterward he breathed his last, not without excessive pain. 16 Such was the end of Herod, who suffered a just punishment for his slaughter of the children of Bethlehem, which was the result of his plots against our Saviour. 17 After this an angel appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and commanded him to go to Judea with the child and its mother, revealing to him that those who had sought the life of the child were dead. To this the evangelist adds, "But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in the room of his father Herod he was afraid to go thither; notwithstanding being warned of God in a dream he turned aside into the parts of Galilee."⁽⁶⁶⁾ THE DATE OF HEROD'S DEATH The dates for the events in this genealogy depend on the dates in the life of Herod; the dates on his life depend upon the date of his death. The dates of his life always seem to be calculated from when it is presumed he died, and it is calculated from his death, as Josephus refers to the year of his reign in dating events, and the one certainty always seemed to be the knowledge as to when he died. To begin with, Rome was presumed to have been founded on 21 April 753 B.C.E., and from date the Roman calendar is calculated. Oxford Companion to the Bible, p. 119. The year 1 C.E. was calculated to be 754 A.U.C. "Ab urbe condita" Many reference books and chronologies incorrectly give the date of Herod's death as 4 B.C.E., based on statements that he died before Passover and after a lunar eclipse (the only one mentioned by Josephus in his works). In Ant.:17.6.4 it records that there was an eclipse of the moon Ant.17.167 on the night that Joazar was high priest. Joazar, the brother of Matthias' wife, was high priest for one day, after Herod deprived Matthias of the high priesthood. There was a partial eclipse of the moon on March 12/13th, 4 B.C.E., Julian period 4710, on the Jewish calender Ader 14-15. This, however, is not the eclipse mentioned in The Antiquities, and Herod did not die in 4 B.C.E. He died in 1 B.C.E. Passover, in 4 B.C.E., took place 29 after the eclipse. The given date for Herod's death, if it took place then, would be April 1st. Even if you allow the full 29 days, to April 11th, it is hard to see how you can fit everything that Josephus records as happening after the eclipse into this time span. There were no eclipses in 2 or 3 B.C.E., and two in 5 B.C.E. Of those two, the time span between the eclipse and Passover was 12� weeks (too long) and the other was also too short. There was also an eclipse on Jan. 9th/10th, 1 B.C.E. It was a total eclipse that occured on JD 1721066.5 and in the Jewish calender Tebeth 14-15. F. Reiss, in Das Geburtsjahr Christi (1880) and especially William Filmer in "The Chronology of the Reign of Herod the Great" in Oxford's Journal of Theological Studies, October 1966, supports this date. A first Century C.E. Jewish work titled Megillat Ta'anit gave the date of Herod's death as 2 Shebat. Shebat occurs in January/February. In 1 B.C.E. it occured on Jan. 26th, according to calculations done by Murrell Seldon. The one argument opposed to this date is found at Ant. 18.4.106, where it records the death of Philip the techrarch, son of Herod, as occuring in the 20th year of Tiberius, which was 34 C.E. It notes that he had reigned for 37 years. It lends itself to a date of 4 B.C.E. for his accession. The answer to this is that David Beyer reported in 1995 that he visited the British Museum and examined all surviving copies of Josephus' works. Of the two dozen oldest copies, dated 1544 or earlier, none read '20th year'. Nor do the copies in the Library of Congress. Most of them read '22nd year.' The 22nd year of Tiberius was 36 B.C.E., and lends itself to a date of 1 B.C.E. for Philip's accession. Because Herod's death is often given as 4 B.C.E., the Nativity of Christ is often given as 6 B.C.E. There are two possible dates for the Crucifixion, both of which fit the known facts of the life of Jesus and the accounts of the Gospels. These dates were 30 C.E. or 33 C.E. The date 30 C.E. is often preferred due to the fact that John the Baptizer began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius (Luke 3:1), which was 27 C.E. and the statement in Luke 3:23 that Jesus was about 30 years of age when he began his ministry. With a birthdate in 6 B.C.E. Jesus would have been 39 in 33 C.E. If Herod died in 1 B.C.E., Jesus might very well have been born in 3 B.C.E., which is a date which agrees with nine early Christian historians, who wrote between 180 C.E. and 325 C.E., and who dated the Nativity to either 2 or 3 B.C.E. Bo Reicke of the Universität Basel in Switzerland argued the case for 33 C.E. in an article that appeared in The Oxford Companion to the Bible c) 1993, pages 119-120. With a birth in 2 or 3 B.C.E., the date 33 C.E. becomes more likely than it would with the earlier birth year. See also the web-sites authored by Paul Hill titled 'Josephus on Herod's Death and other matters' at <http://serendipity.magnet.ch/hermetic/cal_stud/ph01.htm> and Murrell Seldon's 'The Date of Herod's Death' at <http://home.talkcity.com/WallSt/pmc-jesusman/herod.htm.> His body was interred in The Palace and Fortress at Herodium, eight miles southeast of Jerusalem and eight furlongs from Jericho, Judea.⁽⁶⁷⁾ The body was carried on a golden bier, embroidered with precious stones of great variety, and both the body and bier was covered in purple. A diadem and a gold crown was on his head, a scepter in his right hand. The bier was escorted by his sons and relations to the internment, about eight furlongs distant. Following the corpse was a military contingent of all the various nationalities.⁽⁶⁸⁾

He married four times. He married Doris before 37 B.C.E.⁽⁶⁹⁾ Doris was divorced from Herod the Great circa 34 B.C.E. He married Mariamne Hasaemonean at in Samaria, in the Spring 34 B.C.E., at 36 years of age.⁽⁷⁰⁾ Three years after he was proclaimed king in Rome, during the seige of Jersusalem, he left the great work of the seige to his most efficent lieutenants and left for Samaria. He there and then took Mariamne to wife, as is related in Josephus: Now as winter was going off, Herod marched to Jerusalem, and brought his army to the wall of it; this was the third year since he had been made king at Rome... and left the most laborious of his acquaintance at the works. But he went himself to Samaria, to take the daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, to wife, who had been betrothed to him before, as we have already said; and thus he accomplished this by the by, during the siege of the city, for he had his enemies in great contempt already.

Mariamne was born circa 55 B.C.E.⁽⁷¹⁾ Mariamne was the daughter of Alexander and Alexandra. She became engaged to Herod the Great Jerusalem, Judea, 39 B.C. E.⁽⁷²⁾ For political reasons, after winning in battle, Herold became betothed to the heiress of the Hasoamodian dynasty, who was then abut 13 years old. He was beloved in Jerusalem, and he took advantage of it. He would legitimize his claim to the throne by marrying the daughter of the king he conquered, heiress of the old royal family. As Josephus relates: When Herod had fought against these in the avenues of Judea, he was conqueror in the battle, and drove away Antigonus, and returned to Jerusalem, beloved by every body for the glorious action he had done; for those who did not before favor him did join themselves to him now, because of his marriage into the family of Hyrcanus; for as he had formerly married a wife out of his own country of no ignoble blood, who was called Doris, of whom he begat Antipater; so did he now marry Mariamne, the daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, and the granddaughter of Hyrcanus, and was become thereby a relation of the king.⁽⁷³⁾

She was famed for her beauty. She is reputed to be among the most beautiful of all the women in history; certainly she is among the most famed. Herod fall in love with her--or with her beauty--and their life was tragic.

He married Mariamne II Jerusalem, Judea, 25 B.C.E.⁽⁷⁴⁾ Whiston and Grant both suggest that this marriage could have been polygamous. Whiston believes that most of Herod's marriages were polygamous. Grant simply states that there is no evidence that Herod divorced Malthace; that although frowned upon, there was no religious or legal objection to polygamy.⁽⁷⁵⁾ Mariamne was the daughter of Simon the High Priest. She was considered to be the most beautiful woman of her time. Herod was very taken with her, desired her, and thought of using his power to abuse her. The people of Jerusalem spoke much in her commendation, and because Herod did not want to be stigmitized by violence and tyranny in relation to her, he married her.⁽⁷⁶⁾

He married Malthace probably in Sebeste, now known as Sebastiya, and formelly known as Samaria, the ancient capital of Israel, in Palestine., Palestine, circa 24 B.C.E.⁽⁷⁷⁾ Malthace was born in Samaria. Malthace died of a distemper 2 B.C.E.⁽⁷⁸⁾

We do not know what Herod looked like.⁽⁷⁹⁾ The Second Commandment forbad the erection of statues in Judea, and those erected outside Judea have not survived. It is said that he dyed his hair in his later years. Probably upon an account by Nicholas of Damascus, Josephus tells us that he had 'every possible bodily and mental advantage'

Herod the Great was appointed at 25 years of age Governor of Galilee by Antipater the Idumean II in 45 B.C.E.⁽⁸⁰⁾ Josephus tells us that Herod was fifteen years of age; but in this case Josephus was wrong, and from his own writings. He later tells us that Herod was seventy years old when he died, and he became king eight years after he became a governor. His brother Phasaelus became governor of Jerusalem at the same time.

Herod executed Ezekias and his band of robbers 45 B.C.E., in Syria.⁽⁸¹⁾ He had to prove himself, since he was both young and inexperienced, but of a great mind. He saw how he could show his courage and gain popularity. Ezekias was a bandit, the captain of a group of robbers who were overrunning the neighboring parts of Syria. He seized him and his cohorts, and killed them. The action was very popular with the people of Syria, now delivered from lawlessness. As Josephus records: They sung songs in his commendation in their villages and cities, as having procured them peace and the secure enjoyment of their possessions.⁽⁸²⁾

He was tried before the criminal court of the Sanhedrin, meeting near the Court of Israel in the Temple at Jerusalem, Judea, for the murder of Ezekias, circa. 45 B.C.E. Hyrcanus II was the presiding officer.⁽⁸³⁾ Josephus is not clear as to what happened. Members of the Sanhedrin demanded the trial, partly because Antipater was disliked by them on account of his Ideumean blood and certain of his policies. Also the executions were very illegal, the Sanhedrin being the only body authorized to sentence anybody to death, and they had not done so. They were obviously angry at the usurpation of their prerogative. We do not know if he was acquitted or if the trial never happened.⁽⁸⁴⁾

He became engaged to Mariamne Hasaemonean Jerusalem, Judea, 39 B.C. E.⁽⁸⁵⁾ For political reasons, after winning in battle, Herold became betothed to the heiress of the Hasoamodian dynasty, who was then abut 13 years old. He was beloved in Jerusalem, and he took advantage of it. He would legitimize his claim to the throne by marrying the daughter of the king he conquered, heiress of the old royal family. As Josephus relates: When Herod had fought against these in the avenues of Judea, he was conqueror in the battle, and drove away Antigonus, and returned to Jerusalem, beloved by every body for the glorious action he had done; for those who did not before favor him did join themselves to him now, because of his marriage into the family of Hyrcanus; for as he had formerly married a wife out of his own country of no ignoble blood, who was called Doris, of whom he begat Antipater; so did he now marry Mariamne, the daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, and the granddaughter of Hyrcanus, and was become thereby a relation of the king.⁽⁸⁶⁾

He recognized Aristobulus III when Aristobulus was honored Jerusalem, Judea, 36 B.C.E. Herod was divorced from Doris circa 34 B.C.E. Herod the Great began to build the the city, probably in Sebeste, now known as Sebastiya, and formelly known as Samaria, the ancient capital of Israel, in Palestine., Palestine, in 24 B.C.E.⁽⁸⁷⁾ He thought he should make Samaria a strong fortress for himself. He renamed it Sebeste, supposing that it could be a stronghold against the country. He built the city up out of a desire to make it more eminent than it had been, as a monument to his magnificence, and for his own security. The wall surrounding it was of great strength; and he built the city to a such a degree that it was ranked as one of the great cities, being twenty furlongs in circumference. Within the city was built a temple, which was said to both large and beautiful. The city was decorated throughout, and the choicest of lands were given to the citizens, in order to make life as pleasant as possible.

He began to build the Temple, in Jerusalem, Judea, in 17 B.C.E. at 53 years of age. He commanded the military during the Massacre of the Innocents, which he ordered, between 3 B.C.E. and 1 B.C.E. around Bethlehem, Judea, Israel. There is some question if this event ever occurred. Josephus never mentioned it. The only reference to it is contained in the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, which says: 2:3 But Herod the king having heard [of it], was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 2:4 and, assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born. 2:5 And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judaea; for thus it is written through the prophet: 2:6 And *thou* Bethlehem, land of Juda, art in no wise the least among the governors of Juda; for out of thee shall go forth a leader who shall shepherd my people Israel. 2:7 Then Herod, having secretly called the magi, inquired of them accurately the time of the star that was appearing; 2:8 and having sent them to Bethlehem, said, Go, search out accurately concerning the child, and when ye shall have found [him] bring me back word, so that *I* also may come and do him homage. 2:9 And they having heard the king went their way; and lo, the star, which they had seen in the east, went before them until it came and stood over the place where the little child was. 2:10 And when they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 2:11 And having come into the house they saw the little child with Mary his mother, and falling down did him homage. And having opened their treasures, they offered to him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 2:12 And being divinely instructed in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. 2:13 Now, they having departed, behold, an angel of [the] Lord appears in a dream to Joseph, saying, Arise, take to [thee] the little child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be there until I shall tell thee; for Herod will seek the little child to destroy it. 2:14 And, having arisen, he took to [him] the little child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt. 2:15 And he was there until the death of Herod, that that might be fulfilled which was spoken by [the] Lord through the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. 2:16 Then Herod, seeing that he had been mocked by the magi, was greatly enraged; and sent and slew all the boys which [were] in Bethlehem, and in all its borders, from two years and under, according to the time which he had accurately inquired from the magi. 2:17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremias the prophet, saying, 2:18 A voice has been heard in Rama, weeping, and great lamentation: Rachel weeping [for] her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. It was believed that this happened, not simply because it was and is in the Bible, but because it was in character for Herod the Great. If it didn't happen, it could nevertheless be believed without contradiction because of what Herod unquestionably did during his lifetime. It is also possible that the Massacre occured, and Josephus didn't record it, possibly because he didn't hear of it. The main problem with that is he records so much else that is not flattering to Herod, that disparages him, why wouldn't he include this? That he didn't know of it, when he knew so much else?

Herod was ill with kidney disease followed by gangrene.⁽⁸⁸⁾ So it is thought, that this might have killed him. It would have been very painful and unpleasant. Philip Mackowialk, director of the Historical Clinicopathological Conference at the University of Maryland Medical School, announced the results of the conference to the media.

Herod the Great and Doris had the following child:

13 i. Antipater⁴. Antipater died by execution, 21 January 1 B.C.E. in prison.⁽⁹⁰⁾ His body was interred at Hyrcania.⁽⁹¹⁾

Herod the Great and Malthace had the following child:

14 ii. Olympias. She married Joseph.⁽⁹²⁾ Joseph was born.⁽⁹³⁾ Joseph was the son of Joseph.

Herod the Great and Mariamne Hasaemonean had the following children:

15 iii. Salampsio. She married Phasaelus.⁽⁹⁴⁾ The marriage was made by Herod; he wanted his daughter married to his nephew. Phasaelus was the son of Phasaelus. (See Phasaelus for the continuation of this line.)

16 iv. Cypros. She married Antipater.⁽⁹⁵⁾ Antipater was the son of Salome.

+ 17 v. Aristobulus.

+ 18 vi. Alexander.

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