Page 44 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies - Textbook w videos short

Two examples from the last weeks of his life emphasize Herod’s violent temper and constant paranoia.
In the first case, a golden eagle had been hung over the entrance to the Temple. Religious Jews
considered that to be a direct violation of the
teaching in the Bible. Two popular Jewish rabbis,
Judas and Matthias, incited their pupils to
remove the eagle. Herod had them all arrested
and then burned alive.

In the second case, during the last days of his life,
Herod executed his oldest son in a fit of rage and
suspicion. That son had spent years convincing
his father that two of his step-brothers were
plotting his murder, leading to their own
executions several years earlier. The older he
got, the more paranoid Herod became.

Therefore, when the magi visited Jerusalem on
their way to see the infant Jesus, the promised
“king” of Israel, it’s not surprising how Herod
reacted. When he realized he’d been deceived,
Herod gave the order to slaughter all the infant
boys “in Bethlehem and its vicinity” (Matthew
2:16). Herod apparently died shortly after Jesus
was born, about 4 BC.

One of Herod’s sons, Archelaus, lived through his
father’s madness and became the new ruler of
Jerusalem. Archelaus inherited the fury over his
father’s decision to burn Judas, Matthias and
their students. When a crowd threatened to riot Herod’s palace-fortress at Masada is one of the most
on the Temple Mount the next Passover, amazing structures the ancient world ever knew. Herod
Archelaus had Roman soldiers storm the area. built an entire city on top of an “island” of rock alongside
Three thousand people were killed, and the Dead Sea. It offered protection, luxury and water in the
Archelaus was soon removed from power by heart of the desert.
Rome.

Herod was buried in the Herodium, his palace-fortress not far from Bethlehem. Two more sons were
given areas to rule by the Romans. Antipas was assigned the Galilee region. He appears multiple times in
the Gospels, including on the last day of Jesus life. In that meeting, Jesus refused to speak to Antipas
(Luke 23:7-9). Herod’s son Philip was named Tetrarch of a region in the north, including the area known
today as the Golan Heights. Philip renamed a pagan city in the north “Caesarea Philippi” after both the
emperor and himself. Perhaps no more evil city existed in all of Israel while Jesus was alive, but it was
there that Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” (See Matthew 16:13-16.)

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