Herod The Great

Quency E. Wallace
October 25, 2018
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Table Of Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………………….……2

Chapter 1: The Young Herod………………………………………………………....…4

Chapter 2: Herod The King 37-25 B.C………………………………………..………10

Chapter 3: Herod The King 24-14 B.C……………..…………………………………15

Chapter 4: Herod The King 14-4 B.C…………………………………………………17

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….19

Bibliography……………………………………………………….……………………20
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Introduction

When we speak of the name of King Herod in the bible, to most Christians the word tyrant,

monster, killer of infants, the king that attempted the assassination of the Savior of the world

comes instantly to mind. Early Church Father Eusebuis writes:

Now when Christ was born, according to prophecy, at Bethlehem of Judea

at the time already noted, magi from the East asked Herod where they could
find the one born king of the Jews. They had seen his star, which had
occasioned their long journey in their eagerness to worship the infant as God.
The request greatly disturbed him (Herod)-he thought his sovereignty was in
danger-and therefore he inquired among the teachers of the Law where they
expected Christ to be born. When he learned of Micah’s prophecy that it
would be Bethlehem, he issued a single edict for the massacre of all infants
two years old and under in Bethlehem and it's vicinity….Without any delay
the justice of God overtook him while he was still alive as a prelude to what
awaited him in the next world.1

And yet another biblical commentator on the massacre of the infants, (Matthew 2:16-23) R.V.G.

Tasker, has the following commentary:

When the astrologers failed to return to Herod with information which

would enable him to take direct action against the child who might prove to
be a menace to the Herodian dynasty, he felt that he had been tricked by these
“wise acres” from the East and fell into one of his more extreme fits of
passion. But though enraged he was not non plussed, for he had already
conceived an effective plan for getting rid of this so-called King of the Jews.
He would put to death all the male children in Bethlehem and the surrounding
country who had been born since the time the astrologers had first seen the
star-a vital piece of information which he had been far-sighted enough to
discover before they left him. The massacre of these infants, martyrs in deed
if not in intent, was on the surface, one of those meaningless tragedies that
lead observers to ask…what purpose is this waste?.....This becomes evident
when we view the quotation from Jeremiah 31:15, which he says was
fulfilled in this terrible incident, in the light of the context in which it was
originally found.2

1
Paul L Maier, Eusebius, The Church History. (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic),38.
2
R.V.G. Tasker, The Gospel According To St. Matthew. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans),43.
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When we are dealing with the subject of Herod and the slaughter of the innocents it is necessary

to present Herod from the scripture from the viewpoint of Christian scholars, both ancient and

modern, historical and scriptural. Throughout history Herod has been loathed by Christians,

bitterly. And for apparent good reason. He killed all of the young males in a small village and it's

vicinity, believing one of them to be a future usurper to his throne, even if he would have never

seen the young lad grow up, and as he knew he was dying, gave the order to have all of the

young males murdered. He was in his last throes of personal madness. Some modern physicians

have said that the wasting disease that Herod had in the last years of his life had made his

madness worse since it first started to develop when he ordered to have Mariamne I executed, It

may probably have affected his mad decision to slaughter a village of innocent boys, even

though Herod masterfully tried to hide his condition from his subjects for many years. Yes,

Herod had many faults. But Why was he called “The Great?” There must be some reason? Noted

historian of the Jewish people Paul Johnson had this to say about Herod’s place in history:

Herod was both Jew and anti-Jew; an upholder and benefactor of Graeco-
Roman civilization, and an oriental barbarian capable of unspeakable
cruelties. He was a brilliant politician and in some ways a wise and far-
seeing statesman, generous, constructive and highly efficient; but also naïve,
superstitious, grotesquely self-indulgent and hovering on the brink of
insanity-sometimes over it. He combines in one person the tragedy of Saul
and the successful materialism of Solomon, who was clearly his idol; and it is
a thousand pities there was no one close to him to record his career with the
same brilliance as the author of the First Book of Kings.3

Herod’s place in history has long had an overcasting shadow over it. It is the intent of this paper

to show that this ruler of the Jews should be re-examined by Christians and others as one, who

was an Idumean by birth, Jewish by forced adoptive religion among his people, saved the entire

3
Paul Johnson, A History Of The Jews. (New York: Harper and Row),110.
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Jewish population in Palestine with his own personal inherited family fortune from starvation

during a famine, saved the Jews from taxation by reducing it during his lifetime, even as he was

building the temple and a fortress, as opposed to other Jewish kings who made themselves rich,

and in doing so, split the Jewish kingdom in half historically.

Chapter 1: The Young Herod

Herod’s first experiences with civil strife came at the very tender age of ten, when his father

Antipater, a crafty Idumean in the Jewish court was backing Hyrcanus who was making rightful

claims to the Jewish throne after the death of Queen Alexandria in 67 B.C. The country was in a

state of civil war, and Antipater was backing Hyrcanus banner. The civil war dragged on. Author

Stewart Perowne had this to say:

On young Herod, now a boy of ten, the whole crisis had a

profound effect. As soon as the civil war broke out, Antipater had sent
the children with their mother back to her country. They were
confided we are told, to the protection of King Harith himself. Herod
was brought up to be more of an Arab than ever. But not only the
Arabs of the desert, he came in contact also with the wealthy courtiers
of the Nabatean capital, and with the merchants of all races and
countries who flocked thither, Greeks, Persians, Indians, Africans,
Romans. He learned their ways and the language of at least some of
them. He was thus early habituated to the minds and methods of all
sorts and conditions of men.4

Here we can see that even as a young boy, that Herod had much exposure to different cultures,

different methodologies and approaches to dealing with people, perhaps even honing his people

skills while still very young. In addition, his father, being a skilled aristocrat, surely taught his

young son in the ways of the Jewish and Idumean courts, so as to conduct himself as the son of

4
Stewart Perowne, The Life And Times Of Herod The Great. (Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing),35.
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an aristocrat in public and private at all times. He was most assuredly skilled in the martial arts

of his times, shooting arrows from horseback, the Roman close quarter short blade and also the

Roman pike, in throwing and short quarter combat. In addition, as an Idumean, he would have

been skillful with the short knife. His mettle in battle, and intelligence was proven at the tender

age of fifteen by the following excerpt by noted historian Simon Montefiore:

Herod, aged just fifteen, immediately showed his mettle when he

hunted down and killed a band of fanatical religious Jews. In
Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin were incensed by young Herod’s
unauthorized killings and summoned him for trial. However, the
Romans appreciated that Antipater and his sons were the sort of allies
required to govern this turbulent people. The Roman governor of Syria
ordered Herod’s acquittal and awarded him greater powers. Herod was
exceptional. Named a hero, he was sophisticated enough to charm and
impress the pre-eminent Romans of the era. He had taste in
architecture, was highly educated in Greek, Latin, and Jewish culture
and when not busy with politics and pleasure, he enjoyed debates on
history and philosophy.5

Herod became a governor of Galilee around the age of 25 years old. He was, like his father,

intelligent, crafty, and very wise. Again a group of brigands lead by a man named Ezekias, was

terrorizing the countryside in the hills of Upper Galilee. Herod rounded up his entire gang, and

slaughtered them. This time both Jews and Syrians, both whom his gang had terrorized, hailed

Herod a hero. The Sanhedrin this time dare not oppose the people or the Romans , and kept

quiet, even as they weakly made a charge against Herod. Even as the dead widows of the bandits

bewailed their dead husbands in front of the temple, Herod decided to give the Sanhedrin a visit

to make sure they would not give him any future trouble. He appeared with a retinue of his

impressive soldiers, and the chamber trembled. Charges were dropped, and that was the last time

he was charged with a crime before the Sanhedrin court. Herod made friends with Mark Antony

5
Simon Sebag Montefiore, Jerusalem. (New York: Random House),79.
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while he was with Cleopatra in Cilicia where she met him and he fell in love with her there.

While Herod was there visiting, a hundred Jews came to accuse Herod, and Mark Antony

decided to hear both sides at Daphne. Here is what Josephus had to say about the matter:

When Antony heard both sides at Daphne, he asked Hyrcanus who

they were that governed the nation best? He replied Herod and his
friends. Hereupon Antony, by reason of the hospitable friendship he
had made with his father (Antipater), at that time when he was with
Gabinius, he made both Herod and Phasaelus tetrarchs, and committed
the public affairs of the Jews to them, and wrote letters to that purpose.
He also bound fifteen of his adversaries, and was going to kill them, but
that Herod gained their pardon. Yet did not these men continue quiet
when they came back, but a thousand Jews came to Tyre to meet him
there, whether the report was that he would come. But Antony was
corrupted by the money which Herod and his brother had given him;
and he gave the order to the governor of the place to punish the Jewish
ambassadors, who were making innovations…But they did not
acquiesce: whereupon the Romans ran upon them with their daggers,
and slew some, and wounded more of them, and the rest fled away and
went home. 6

It was here that Herod was beginning to feel that the Jewish throne was just one step from his

grasp. He had the friendship of Antony and Rome. But trouble was waiting for the young prince

and his fellow ruling brother prince, Phasael. The Parthians had been following the Roman civil

war with keen interest, looking to take advantage of it. King Orodes of Parthia had been king for

fifteen years, and it was before him that the head of Roman general Crassus had been displayed,

after his crushing defeat against the Parthians fifteen years earlier. He disliked the new Roman

rulers with a passion, and at his court had a Pompeian, Quintin Labienus, a son of Julius Ceasar’s

famous lieutenant. He had been sent by Brutus and Cassius to make a treaty of alliance with

Orodes, and, when those who despatched him were defeated at Philippi, he felt it would be

imprudent to return within Roman territory. He went further, and formed the plan of launching

6
William Whiston, Josephus Complete Works. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson),464.
 8

the Parthian army into the realm so ill-guarded by Antony. He was to command the expedition

jointly with Pacorus, the Parthian Crown Prince. Antigonus, the Hasmonean pretender to the

High Priesthood and throne, was easily seduced into working with the Parthians. In return for the

throne of Judea, he promised Pacorus 1,000 talents of silver and 500 women from high ranking

families.

The Parthians wasted no time coming to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, with a large well

trained army and calvary, which easily defeated the Jewish forces that Hyrcanus sent to oppose

them, and pressed on to Jerusalem. Once again the Holy city was in civil war, for the Parthian

plan was to let Antigonus and Herod fight it out, and to intervene only if it was necessary to

assure a victory for Antigonus. Herod and Phasael held the palace and the wall, and after several

days fighting, repelled the invaders to the confines of the temple. Herod and Phasael put up a

stiff fight but Herod, understanding the odds as a military commander, saw the sheer

hopelessness of their situation, and started evacuation. He evacuated his family to Idumaea,

including his sister Salome, his youngest brother Pheroras , Alexandria, daughter of Hyrcanus,

and her daughter Mariamme, his bride to be. He had already sent his treasure in advance. His

brother and Hyrcanus did not heed his advice, and were captured by the Parthians, and placed in

chains. Phasael committed suicide rather than be a prisoner of the enemy. Hyrcanus was maimed

by Antigonus so that he could never serve as a priest again while he was imprisoned. Author

Emil Shurer says the following: “Phasael and Hyrcanus were now placed at the disposal of

Antigonus. The ears of Hyrcanus were cut off, so that he might no longer be eligible for the

office of high priest. Phasael, on the contrary, escaped the hands of his enemies by dashing his

head upon a rock after he had received the joyful tidings of the fortunate flight of his brother.

Afterwards the Parthians carried away Hyrcanus with them as a prisoner, and set up Antigonus
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as king.”7 Herod knew what he had to do next to save himself, and his family. He had to go to

Rome to see Mark Antony and get help against the Parthians, and the unlawful installation of

Antigonus as a puppet ruler of the Parthians over the Jews in Palestine. He went to Egypt to set

sail for Italy, but was hindered there for a short while by Cleopatra, who tried to use him for her

own purposes. Herod resisted and set sail for Italy. He had heard of his brothers death while in

Egypt, and now felt utterly alone. He had no friends to rally to his aid back home, and his loyal

brother was now gone. He could always depend on his brother. Herod was confident that Rome

would help him. It was his only hope. It was a fantastic dream, that this discredited Arab, chased

out of Palestine by the Parthians, harassed by the Jewish people, and spurned even by his own

kinsmen, could succeed in achieving anything at all in the imperial capital of the known world

even if he were able to make it. Even so, Herod was confident. In 40 B.C., he landed safely in

Brundisium and set off to Rome. He went straight to Antony and poured out his story to him in

great detail. Josephus gives his account before Antony and Octavian (who became Augustus

Caesar):

And when he had come thence to Rome, he first related to Antony

what had befallen him in Judea, an how Phasaelus his brother was
seized on by the Parthians, and put to death by them; and how
Hyrcanus was detained captive by them, and how they had made
Antigonus king, who had promised them a sum of money, no less than
a thousand talents, with five hundred women, who were to be of
principal families, and of Jewish stock, and that he had carried off the
women by night; and that, by undergoing a great many hardships, he
had escaped the hands of his enemies; as also that his own relations
were in danger of being besieged and taken, and that he had sailed
through a storm, and condemned all these terrible dangers, in order to
come, as soon as possible, to him who was his hope and only succor at
this time.8

7
Emil Shurer, A History Of The Jewish People In The Time Of Christ, Vol 1. (Peabody: Hendrickson),390.
8
Whiston,pg.468
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Herod’s appeal to his friend Antony worked, much to Herod’s relief. But Herod received far

more help than he expected. Antony conferred with Octavian, who was very much impressed

with Herod, and liked him immediately. He befriended him while he was in Rome, and the bond

lasted the entire lifetime of Herod, with him eventually giving him unlimited power and

authority in the realm of Palestine, with both Roman and Jewish authority over the entire region.

This included Roman troops, Galation Guards as a gift from Rome, and mercenary troops from

Greece, Thrace, Egypt, Syria, Persia, Africa, and Spain. Herod made sure he had troop divisions

that were non-Jewish, approved by Rome, completely loyal to him, ready at a moments notice,

veterans from foreign wars in the Roman and foreign armies. He also maintained a loyal standing

Jewish army, headed by veterans who had served with him when he was in his teens. After

Antony and Octavian conferred with one another about Herod’s situation, they came upon a

solution that surprised Herod. Herod was only seeking military assistance to oust the Parthians

from Palestine and put a rightful High Priest in the place of the puppet ruler Antigonus. Antony

and Octavian shocked Herod by telling him that it was their opinion that he should be the ruler of

the Jews, instead of Antigonus. Of course, Antony, being the businessman that he was, told

Herod there would be a bribe to be paid of course. This information he did not tell Octavian.

Herod agreed to pay the bribe from his family fortune. Again, Josephus says this about this

affair:

And this is the principal instance of Antony’s affection for Herod,

that he not only procured him a kingdom which he did not expect (for
he did not come with the intention to ask the kingdom for himself,
which he did not suppose the Romans would grant him, who used it to
bestow it to some royal family, but intended to desire it for his wife’s
brother, who was the grandson by his father to Aristobulus and to
Hyrcanus by his mother) but that he procured it for him so suddenly,
that he obtained what he did not expect…Antony and Caesar went out
of the senate house, with Herod between them, and with the consuls
and other magistrates before them, in order to offer sacrifices and to lay
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up decrees in the capitol. Antony also feasted Herod the first day of his
reign, And thus did this man receive the kingdom, having obtained it on
the hundred and eighty-fourth Olympiad, when Caius Domithis
Calvinus was consul the second time, and Caius Asinius Pollio(the
first time).9

Herod was not a man easily shocked. But in just seven days of coming to Rome for military

assistance, his fortunes had changed. By the greatest power over the known world, he had been

named ruler of the Jews by official decree of the Roman senate, backed by all of the power and

might of Rome to eventually make that happen. It was now 40 B.C. It would take three years, 11

Roman legions, a mercenary army and a siege of Jerusalem to make it happen.

Chapter 2: Herod The King 37-25 B.C.

In 37 B.C. Antigonus was declared an enemy of Rome by the senate and the official siege

of Jerusalem took place by general Sossius, sent by Rome via Mark Antony with 11 legions, and

6 thousand horsemen, and Herod’s seasoned army of 30 thousand men. The Romans, noted for

effective siege engines, began immediately setting up bulwarks and ramps for their devices.

Slowly, systematically, everything was put into place for the assault. The Jews were petrified.

They had never seen an army with such machine like precision, except those who could

remember the brief skirmish by Pompey in 63 B.C. But this was different. This army was much

larger, with more siege engines, more troops, bigger weaponry. Plus it was being lead by

someone who had an intimate knowledge of Jews, Jewish arms, and Jewish combat techniques.

Those Jews who were within the confines of the walls were clearly at a disadvantage. Those

behind the wall initially fought with great zeal, believing that God would deliver them from

9
Whiston, pg469.
 12

Herod and the Romans. Herod, of course, knew better. Sossius’s centurions took the first wall in

40 days, the second in 15 more, and finally, the temple was taken. The priests asked Herod if

they could continue to sacrifice, and he granted them permission, even as intense fighting was

raging around the temple and the city. The Roman troops and Herod’s troops spared none of the

enemy, wherever they found them, young or old, if they had a weapon, they hacked them to

death without mercy, regardless if they were in uniform or not. It was a bloodbath on a horrific

scale. No pity was shown for Herod’s adversaries, revenge was taken on entire families. As

Josephus puts the slaughter:

And now all parts were full of those that were slain, by the rage of
the Romans at the long duration of the siege, and by the zeal of the
Jews that were on Herod’s side, who were not willing to leave one of
their adversaries alive; so they were murdered continually in the narrow
streets and in the houses by crowds, and as they were flying in the
temple for shelter, and there was no pity taken of either infants or the
aged, nor did they spare so much as the weaker sex; nay although the
king sent about, and besought them to spare the people, yet nobody
restrained their hand from laughter, but as if they were a company of
madmen, they fell upon persons of all ages, without distinction; and
when Antigonus, without regard to either his past or present
circumstances, came down from the citadel and fell at the feet of
Sossius, who took no pity of him, in change of his fortune, but insulted
him beyond measure, and called him Antigone (i.e., a woman, not a
man): yet he did not treat him as if he were a woman, by letting him go
at liberty, but put him into bonds, and kept him in close custody. 10

Herod did his best to control his rampaging troops and the Romans, but after being taunted by

the Jews from the walls, and the emotional buildup from the weeks before the siege, the men

wanted nothing but murderous revenge, and nothing was going to stop them from it, not even

Herod’s commands to stop killing innocent people. It was a terrible price Herod paid to be king.

And the people never let him forget it, especially his wife Mariamne, and her mother,

10
Whiston,pg.476.
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Alexandria, both Hasmoneans. It was during this period of his reign, that Herod started having

serious issues with his plotting wife and mother-in-law. His wife had a brother, Aristobulus, that

was tall and handsome, with Hasmonean heritage, that made him eligible for the high priesthood.

Herod, ever the shrewd ruler, after the civil war had ended in 37 B.C. and he had a little

breathing room, made sure that he would have no pretenders to the throne, and had an obscure

priest that did not have Hasmonean pedigree to the high priesthood so that he would not have

any future threats from the Hasmoneans to his throne. Alexandria, Herod’s mother-in-law,

delirious to see her son have the high priesthood sent a letter to Cleopatra of her designs.

Cleopatra, ever the keen deceiver, who hated Herod, told her to send pictures of her son and

daughter to Mark Antony, and with it a request that he be made high priest because of his

Hasmonean background, and have other letters sent from the Sanhedrin notables and Pharisees to

back up her request. Cleopatra said that she would talk to Antony himself and ask him to look

into the matter. Alexandria was delighted. Letters were sent, and as expected a request from

Mark Antony to Herod was sent for the young man Aristobulus to come to see him immediately.

Herod began to tremble. What was Alexandria up to? Was she after the throne? Anthony gave no

details as to his request. Why would he make such an official request for a prince ? pestered

knew there was no way that he could send him to Antony. If Antony was taken with the young

man, it might be curtains for him with Cleopatra’s influence. What could he do? shrewd mind

immediately went into overdrive. He would make the naive youth high priest, and remove the

present one. It would solve three problem’s: one, he could give Antony a legitimate reason why

the young man could not comply with his request, second, he would be able to please the people

with a high priest of Hasmonean birth, third, he could protect his throne by dealing with the

young man in his own way later. And he did so after the young man enjoyed the high priesthood
 14

for a little while, by having him drowned. Of course, Herod mourned the young man, and there

was a huge state funeral. But his wife and mother-in-law knew Herod had murdered the young

man. Alexandria wrote to Cleopatra about the whole affair. Cleopatra pestered Antony until

Antony called for an official inquiry into the death of the high priest and called for Herod to

come to Lattaquia to give an account. Herod, fearing that he might be executed or imprisoned,

gave orders to Joseph, a trusted confidant that his wife be executed if he did not return. He did

this because of jealousy, and did not want another man to have his wife. Orders also were given

concerning his mother-in-law. All of Palestine held their collective breath while deliberations

were being held in Lattaquia. Many Jews hoped for his execution by Antony, and his many

supporters knew they could do nothing but hope and pray for his return. Finally Herod returned.

However, when he returned, he found his wife to be cold and distant. One day she taunted him

with the information that she was to be executed had he not returned from his tribunal with

Antony. Herod became enraged. Overcome with jealousy and anger, Herod was convinced that

his wife was having an affair with Joseph, who told her of his instructions he had given him. This

was a suspicion that he had all along, which had been sown in him by his sister Salome, who

hated the Hasmoneans. Herod thought of immediately executing his wife Mariamme, but his

passion saved her this time. Unfortunately time was running out for his beautiful young wife. It

had run out for Joseph. Herod ordered Joseph to be executed immediately, and in addition his

mother-in-law Alexandria was to be kept under strict guard, and in chains. As time went along

Herod’s wife became meaner and meaner. Herod, fanatical in his love for her, put up with it as a

doting husband. They had children together, but Herod was starting to grow tired of her constant

tirades of her families self importance being Hasmoneans and the lesser worth of others of

Herod’s staff and family. She was ice cold to him, berating him constantly, about the death of her
 15

brother and father, the imprisonment of her mother, and the death threat of the past when he had

to visit Antony. At long last, his sister Salome, ever observant of her brothers condition, came

up with a solution for his troubles, or so she thought. She knew that after her brothers death, she

was the only remaining family member that he trusted implicitly. So she plotted against

Mariamme’s life. Josephus tells the story:

For as the king one day about noon lying down on his bed to rest
called for Mariamne, out of the great affection he had always for her.
She came in accordingly, but would not lie down by him; and when he
was very desirous of her company she would show contempt of him;
and added by way of her reproach, that he had caused her father and her
brother to be slain; and when he took this injury very unkindly, and was
ready to do violence to her…Salome, observing that he was more than
ordinarily disturbed, sent in to the king his cupbearer who had been
prepared long beforehand for such a design and bade him tell the king
how Mariamne had persuaded him to give his assistance in preparing a
love potion…When Herod heard what he had said, and was in an ill
disposition before, his indignation grew more violent…So he gave the
order that Sohemus should be seized upon and slain immediately; but
he allowed his wife to take her trial…they passed the sentence of death
upon her. 11

So now we have the end of Herod’s second wife. He would marry many times more. But this

wife, Marimme, nearly drove him to total madness after her execution. For days after her

execution he refused to eat, or participate in any sort of recreation. He would call out her name

during the day as if she were still alive. He would have bouts of bursting into tears at anyone

mentioning her name in his presence. He would stay in bed all day, and have others tend to the

business of the kingdom. His sister, Salome, watched him 24 hours a day, never leaving his side,

placing a couch next to his royal bed so that she could make sure that he would be clean shaven

for royal guests, and sometimes would make sure he ate proper food so that he would keep up his

11
Whiston,pg.494
 16

strength. After some months of mourning, the old Herod started slowly to come back. He had a

few more issues to face, but the next portion of his reign would prove to be his most productive.

Chapter 3: Herod The King 24-14 B.C.

Some of the biggest benefactors of Herod’s largesse during this period were the Jews of the

diaspora. Herod, ever mindful of all Jews everywhere, wanted to make an impression beyond the

borders of Palestine. He realized that in order to raise his influence within the entire Jewish

community, he had to think internationally. Paul Johnson had this to say about Herod’s effect on

diaspora Jews:

Herod also wanted to show the world that Jews included many
gifted and civilized people, capable of making an important
contribution to the new expansive spirit of Mediterranean world
civilization. To do this he looked beyond Jerusalem, with its mobs and
fanatics, to the Jews of the diaspora. Herod was a close friend of
Agustus leading general Agrippa, and this friendship spread the special
protection of Rome over the large, scattered and sometimes threatened
Jewish communities in the Roman orbit. The diaspora Jews saw Herod
as their best friend. He was also the most generous of patrons. He
provided funds for synagogues, libraries, baths and charitable agencies,
and encouraged others to do the same, so that it was in Herod’s day that
the Jews first became famous for the miniature welfare states they set
up among their communities in Alexandria, Rome, Antioch, Babylon
and elsewhere, providing for the sick and the poor, for windows and
orphans, for visiting the imprisoned and for burying the dead.12

Herod had made tremendous contributions to diaspora Jews, making a profound effect on the

Jews for many centuries to come. His building program, however, during this period of his reign,

is probably his largest contribution to history and are still visible to the naked eye in ruins,

several thousand years later in Palestine. He constructed a hippodrome, an amphitheatre, and a

12
Johnson,pgs 112-113.
 17

theatre, all for chariot races, gladiatorial contests, and athletic contests. But right in the middle

of his building program, tragedy struck. A great famine spread all across Palestine, all the way

through Syria. Everywhere people were starving. It was a catastrophe. The treasury was empty.

Herod was in the middle of his great building program. And now no one could pay any taxes.

Herod went into his personal family fortune in Idumea, sold everything, stripped the palace of all

of the gold and silver, melted it down to bullion and sent his fortune and the bullion to Egypt to

his good friend Petronius, the perfect of Egypt, who was a Roman friend. As it was for the Jews

in the days of Jacob, help came from Egypt. Author Stewart Perowne tells the story:

Herod opened government food centers, from which his subjects

could draw either corn, or, if they were too poor or ill to grind it and
make their own bread, loaves were already baked. There was also a
distribution of clothing. In this way, their immediate necessities were
relieved, and the famine overcome. But Herod realized that to restore
normal life, it was necessary to restore the ruined agriculture of the
region. This could only be done by replanting the devastated areas. He
started in Syria, because it is more fertile than Palestine. He provided
farmers with seed; and then when it came to the harvest, he sent a land
army of 50,000 workers, for whom he found rations, into the country to
reap it. From the new stock he replenished the granaries of the farmers
of Syria and Palestine alike; and distributed corn for current needs to
the inhabitants of both countries 150,000 bushels abroad and 1,200,000
to his own people. It was a princely recompense…Herod was able to do
it partly because he was so energetic and far-seeing, and through his
flair for organization.13

Herod had saved two kingdoms from total starvation, using his personal fortune, along with all

of the wealth he had accumulated being a head of state. This is a story seldom heard of in

history, least of all told among the annals of Jewish Kings. And surprisingly enough, just a few

years later, work on the temple started, The famous Antonia Fortress, which he named after his

old friend Mark Antony, became his chief palace. He restored and re-equipped the fortresses,

13
Perowne,pg111.
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Alexandrium, Hyrcania, Machaerus, and Masada. He also built a massive fortress-palace called

the Herodium.

His greatest engineering feat with the exception of the temple was Caesarea, the greatest of his

achievements. It took twelve years to build, It had a circular, man made harbor made out of

enormous blocks of limestone, some 50 feet by 10 by 9, some even larger, were lowered into 20

fathoms of water. It was 200 feet wide, with towers, the tallest of which was called Drusus, after

Augustus’ stepson. It was truly an engineering marvel. These and other works Herod built and

continued to build after this period, but this period was most assuredly his heyday. After this

period, Herod enters into a period of decline, and then, into the ages.

Chapter 4: Herod The King 14-4 B.C.

At this stage in Herod’s life his health is starting to deteriorate, even though he surprises his

foes and leads a few battles in his early sixties, and still has the ability to climb mountain passes

in search of Nabatean and Jewish rebels. He discontinues these types of excursions as his health

begins to deteriorate further. Sensing their father’s illness is worsening, his two sons, Alexander

and Aristobulus began to craftily prepare to take the throne. The eldest son, Antipater, who was

not of royal blood, stayed in the shadows out of any royal ambition or intrigue. It was the

beginning of the end for the peak of the Herodian bloodline, as Alexander and Aristobulus had

been given the best education in Rome, were seasoned young men in the affairs of the world, had

rubbed shoulders with aristocrats, philosophers, merchants, artisans and others, had been taught

martial skills by the best in the Roman army, and were skilled politicians, ready to rule. The only

problem they had was a scheming aunt that did not want them to rule called Salome. Once again,

Herod’s sister got rid of “those in the family she did not like.” This time her target was

Alexander and Aristobulus. After she had set them up, there was a sham trial, where they were
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not allowed to defend themselves. After they were declared guilty of treason, and given the

penalty of death, Author Stewart Perowne says the following:

Alexander and Aristobulus were taken to Sebaste, the city in which

Herod had married their mother. There was no danger of any popular
outcry there: Herod had rebuilt it as a predominantly Greek colony, in
which Jewish national sentiment had no place. There the poor young
men were strangled, and their bodies sent down by night to the
Alexandrium, to be buried beside their maternal grandfather, and many
of their ancestors…It was Salome, once again, who had caused their u
doing. It was around Salome that the envy, hatred, malice and all
uncharitableness of the court collected and revolved. It was she who
knew most of her brother’s state of mind and body. The disease which
he was suffering was a form of arterio-sclerosis…Which may express
itself in uncontrolled outbursts of violence. Salome, with her vile skill,
exploited her brother’s weakness, for the ruin of her rivals and of Herod
himself. 14

Perhaps no truer words were ever spoken about family dynamics and family relationships. Herod

wanted to believe in his family without question. His brother who he trusted and lost, and his

scheming sister who helped him lose the wife he adored, and two sons who he loved. Only

history knows what else what happened in the Herodian household. But as King, Herod must be

held accountable for all his actions, even when swayed by family. Duty before family. Honor

before family. History judges us all. Herod died in 4 B.C.

14
Perowne,pgs165-166.
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Conclusion

Herod is a difficult man to pin down and understand if you are a Christian, looking at him

with a 21st century worldview. If you look at him purely from a biblical standpoint, all you see is

a monster, a lowlife, a man without moral compass, a schemer, someone who would kill another

person at the drop of a hat. Herod could be cruel, especially to those who would endanger his

family or the Jewish or Idumean people. In addition, particularly as he got older, and was more

afflicted with distemper from his disease, those whom he thought would endanger his throne, his

sons, and a messiah predicted by prophecy in Bethlehem. Yes he could be ruthless. But in his

glory days or his “heyday” as I like to call them, he could be most generous, almost to a fault. He

used his personal fortune to save all of Palestine and Syria from utter starvation, which could

have meant almost half or three quarters of the population of Palestine and Syria dying of

starvation. It would have been remembered in history on the level of the Black Plague in

England. Herod prevented that from happening. In addition, It was his largesse that created the

first diaspora welfare programs that were imitated by the Jews for self-preservation for centuries

to come. I coculd go on and on about Herod’s largesse to the Jews, lowering taxes, etc, but the

proof is all there for those who read the record in antiquity. Herod did not need someone to

record all that he did for the Jewish people, it is in the record. When you compare him to other

kings of antiquity, and their practices, rulers during his milieu, he compares very favorably.

While I do not agree with the practices of ancient rulers, I am not from that milieu. I refuse to
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judge people who regularly in the Roman world killed their newborn if it was a girl and not a

boy, and they did not want it, and merely threw the body in the trash heap and had breakfast if

you were a Roman citizen, which was a common daily occurrence throughout the Roman world.

One has to see the big picture. Herod, for all of his faults, was one of the “Great” kings of the

Jews.

Bibliography

Johnson, Paul. A History Of The Jews. New York: Harper and Row, 1987.
Maier, Paul. Eusebuis, The Church History. Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2007
Montefiore, Simon Sebag. Jerusalem. New York: Random House, 2011.
Perowne, Stewart. The Life And Times Of Herod The Great. Gloucestershire: Sutton, 2003.
Schurer, Emil. A History Of The Jewish People In The Time Of Christ. Vol 1. Peabody:
Hendrickson, 2018.
Tasker, R.V.G. The Gospel According To St. Matthew. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978.
Whiston, William. Josephus The Complete Works. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1998.
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