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Yet Herod saw threats in every comer and was cruel in suppressing any resistance, real or imagined, among his Jewish subjects and even within his own family. The slaughter of the babies of Bethlehem, so central to the Bible story, was so small in comparison with his other crimes that it is not even mentioned by Josephus, who left a detailed record of Herod's life, exalting his triumphs and not hiding his failures.
Hated by some of his subjects and loved by others, Herod was one of the greatest visionaries Israel had ever known. Christian travelers to modern-day Israel soon discover that though they may have come to Israel to find the Messiah, there is significantly more physical evidence of Herod than of Jesus. That can be disturbing. Yet there are profound lessons in seeing Herod and Jesus on the same stage of history. Herod may have left the greater physical record, but what he stood for and believed in lies in ruins, whereas the King who was born in a Bethlehem manger lives on, and His kingdom has no end.
More than 300 years before Jesus and Herod, Alexander and his Greek army swept away the remnants of the Persian empire, which had kept the Jews under loose control since the time of Ezra. Alexander's dream was to bring the culture of the Greeks, called Hellenism, to the known world, leaving a legacy that would not soon be forgotten. In almost every way, he succeeded. Hellenism became the philosophy of most of the secular world. Its emphasis on the importance of the human being as the center of reality, its glorification of human accomplishment, its fascination with the human form in the gymnasium and stadium, and its delight in the erotic and bawdy in the theater made it seductive if not remarkably modern. Hellenism was the antithesis of the God-centered, self-denying religion of the Jews, who took their Bible seriously and refused pagan gods, images, and public nudity and sexuality, focusing instead on a lifetime of obedience. The two world views would surely clash, as they have since Satan tempted Adam and Eve to put themselves ahead of the word of God. The most that can be said is that the spread of the Greek language became the tool used in God's plan to simplify and enhance the spread of the gospel. Thanks to the pagan Hellenists, nearly everyone spoke Greek. But Alexander did not live to see his dream become reality. He died when it had just begun.
His generals divided his empire among themselves. The territory along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean became the Hellenistic kingdoms of Egypt and Syria. The land of the Jews, located on the trade route between the two, became a prize both kingdoms desired, leaving the Jews in the middle as they had always been. For more than 100 years, the Egyptians controlled Judea, as it was now called, ruled by a dynasty of kings called Ptolemies (after the general who received this part of Alexander's empire). They were benevolent kings who allowed much freedom to the Jews, especially in matters of religion. Apparently, they believed that the attractiveness of Hellenism would serve as its own marketing.
About two centuries before Jesus' birth, the Syrian kingdom, under the rule of the Seleucids (named after another of Alexander's generals), defeated the Ptolemies, and the Jews saw another side to the struggle between Hellenism and biblical faith. Antiochus, a Seleucid king, was determined to forcibly Hellenize his subjects, which for the Jews meant outlawing the Torah. (God's Word is always dangerous to those who would make human beings the center of the universe.) Antiochus also forbade me Sabbath observance, circumcision, and other important practices in Jewish faith. Revolt was inevitable for a people who believed that obeying God takes priority over all other matters in life.
The Jewish revolt was led by an old priest from the Hasmonaean family and his five sons. The strongest, Judah, nicknamed Maccabee, led a miraculously successful revolt and gave his people freedom, commemorated in the feast called Hanukkah. After Maccabee's death, his brothers, and then their descendants, ruled as kings over the Jews. The faithful followers of Torah, called Hasidim, prevailed over the humanism of the Greeks.
The Hasidim ruled effectively for more than 100 years. The tiny Judean state grew in size and strength to include Samaria, Galilee, Peraea (east of the Jordan), and even areas east of the Sea of Galilee (today called the Golan Heights). In the region known as the Negev (in the south), the Idumaeans were conquered and forced to convert to the Jewish faith. This was to have a dramatic effect on the Jewish people in the days ahead.
But all was not well for God's people under their own rule. The priestly Hasmonaean family became as fascinated by Hellenism as the Greeks had been. They brought its practices, architecture, and moral values into official status. A gymnasium, a combination school and athletic club for nude athletic events, was built near the holy temple. And worse, these now-Hellenized priests took for themselves the highest religious office, that of high priest.
The country grew fragmented, and new movements began. The Hasidim, fervent followers of Torah, spawned the Pharisees, who believed that obedience to God was the greatest value; the Zealots, who violently resisted anything that violated their view of Torah; the Sadducees, who were generally Hellenistic and concerned with the temple practices; and the Essenes, who were so enraged that they separated from the world to wait for the Messiah to come to obliterate the heretics in the temple. The country had a series of Hasmonaeans trying to make alliances with whatever group seemed to be in power, and assassination became the means of selecting rulers.
Two brothers, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, rivals for the throne, sought the support of the rapidly growing Roman Empire. Hyrcanus built an alliance with the Idumaean ruler, Antipater, and his son Herod. After near civil war, through the support of Julius Caesar (who was grateful for the support of Hyrcanus and Antipater in his war with Pompey), Hyrcanus prevailed and Antipater became procurator of Judea. Antipater's son Herod, barely 20 years old, was made governor of Galilee, and his brother Phasael was given Jerusalem.
Galilee was home to a fiercely independent people known for taking the law into their own hands. In a campaign that set the tone for his reign, Herod showed no mercy in stamping out the opposition. He caught one of the rebel leaders (Ezekias) and many of his supporters and brutally executed all of them, creating a climate for religious rebellion that would still be fierce when Jesus ministered here (note Ezekias's son is mentioned in the Bible?Acts 5:37). For this, Herod was summoned to Jerusalem to be tried by the Jewish religious council, the Sanhedrin. The elders could have sentenced Herod to death, but apparently they were frightened by his growing power. Fearful of a plot against him, Herod fled the country and appealed to his friend Julius Caesar for help. Unfortunately, he lost his patron when Caesar was murdered and Rome fell into turmoil. His father's rivals, sensing that Hyrcanus and Antipater were weakened by this loss of support, rebelled and murdered Herod's father. Hyrcanus, the Hasmonaean on the throne, sought Herod's support against his rival Antigonus (also a Hasmonaean). To convince Herod to support him, Hyrcanus offered him his granddaughter, the beautiful Miriamne (Miriam), as his wife. Herod divorced the wife he had and expelled her and their son from the country.
The Roman power was taken by Mark Antony, who, desperate for support, appointed Hyrcanus ruler of the Jews and continued Herod and Phasael as governors. Herod's paranoid nature led him to fear Antony's lover, Cleopatra from Egypt, on Herod's border. Some of his huge fortresses probably provided Herod the security of an escape route should Antony give in to Cleopatra's wish for Herod's territory.
Meanwhile, Hyrcanus's rival Antigonus invaded Jerusalem with an army from Parthia (the land to the east of Palestine, from India to Mesopotamia). Hyrcanus was arrested and had his ears cut off so he could never be high priest again (Lev. 21:16-23). Phasael, knowing he would be tortured, committed suicide, reportedly by bashing his head against his cell wall. Herod, as he always seemed to do, escaped and went to Rome with a huge sum of money to beg for Antony's support. Antony saw Herod as a defense against the Parthian threat and a fiercely loyal king whose brutal tactics could keep the peace in Judea.
With renewed Roman support, Herod sailed home. He landed at Acre in the north and proceeded to Galilee. He burned Sepphoris and broke the resistance of the rebels near the Sea of Galilee. The remaining rebels and their families hid in caves in the cliffs along Mount Arbel, overlooking the sea. Herod was so determined to destroy any opposition that he commanded his troops to make platforms to be let down with ropes to the openings of the caves, and there they lit fires. Refugees who came out for air were pulled out with long poles with hooks on them and dropped down the sheer cliff. One old man killed his seven children and his wife before leaping to his own death. Herod's reign began in blood.
Antony now gave Herod two additional legions who marched south and laid siege to Jerusalem. For weeks the Jews held out until the city wall was breached. Many retreated to the temple, a walled enclosure, and held out longer. Herod recognized the importance of the temple to the Jewish people and begged the Romans to spare it, but it was too late. The temple and Upper City were breached. The slaughter was beyond description. Women were raped and slaughtered, children were brutally killed, and soldiers were tortured and chopped to pieces. The Hasmonaean dynasty ended; in 37 BC Herod took his throne.
Now he would have to keep it. The battle for Jerusalem made it impossible to ever win the support of many of the God-fearing Jewish people he would rule. Herod would need the might of Rome, the support of the Temple authorities, and the favor of the Hellenistic Jews of the land to stay in power. Any threat would be ruthlessly destroyed, as parents in Bethlehem were to discover (Matt. 2:16).
Herod now embarked on a campaign to make his throne secure and assure his place as the greatest of kings. To accomplish the former, he executed 45 of the 70 Sanhedrin members who had resisted him. Their property enriched his family's fortune considerably. He promised the Pharisees that they could have their religious freedom if they would stay out of the political matters of the nation. They regularly denounced him as a foreigner (Deut. 17:15) but commanded their followers to obey his rule.
Pressured by the Jews in Jerusalem, Herod appointed one of the Hasmonaean family (his beloved Miriamne's brother) high priest. Though only 17, Aristobulus soon became popular because of his link to the Hasmonaean family line. Herod quickly became frightened of a potential rival, so he invited Aristobulus to the palace in Jericho. After filling him with much imported wine, Herod suggested a swim in the palace pool. Herod's friends, apparently following his plan, drowned the unfortunate young priest and claimed it was an accident. Though the family reported the matter, Rome did nothing because of their need for Herod's skills to keep the peace in his part of the world. Herod also executed his brother-in-law for a supposed affair with Miriamne, with whom he was passionately in love.
The civil war continued in Rome. Herod's master, Antony, committed suicide with his Egyptian lover. Octavian, soon to be Caesar Augustus, became the ruler of the Roman world. Herod, fearing a plot, executed his old friend Hyrcanus, who had given him his start. Then he journeyed to Rome to plead with Augustus, leaving orders that his beloved Miriamne should be killed if he was executed, as Herod could not bear the thought of her marrying another.
Herod returned to his throne with even greater support from Rome. However, his mother convinced him that Miriamne had been unfaithful, so he had Miriamne executed. Miriamne's mother plotted revenge, so Herod had her killed as well. Hundreds of friends and family members, along with supporters of these last of the Hasmonaeans, were slaughtered on the slightest of accusations.
Herod had two sons from Miriamne whom he favored greatly?Alexander and Aristobulus. He sent them to Rome to get the best Hellenistic education available. Apparently, they were being prepared to be Herod's successors. Herod's sister began to plot against them and spread vicious rumors about their desires to take Herod's throne before he died. Herod recalled his divorced wife, Doris, and their son, Antipater, whom he had exiled years earlier and presented Antipater as his successor.
Even by Herod's cruel standards, his life descended into madness. He took nine wives, apparently hoping he would find happiness and an heir he could trust. Each marriage added to the plotting and hatred found in his palace. Over the next years, countless members of his family and court were tortured. Under the pain of being torn apart, they accused guilty and innocent alike. Finally, after years of accusation, Herod's two sons were accused for the last time. Their accusers were tortured and beaten to death in a public display, along with more than 200 soldiers who expressed support for the brothers. Then Alexander and Aristobulus were strangled and buried with honor?marking the end of Herod's love for Miriamne.
Antipater appeared to be the chosen heir to Herod's throne. But a new wave of intrigue swept the palaces Herod had built. He appointed a series of high priests and then quickly deposed them because he feared their popularity. He weakened the office to "chief priest." Accusations and torture continued as a regular part of life. Antipater was imprisoned and appeared doomed. Herod determined to give his throne to another son, Antipas.
Then Herod became ill. Some believe he had a sexually transmitted disease; others believe it was a disease of the digestive system. Josephus' description is unclear. Herod was in great pain with gangrene, rotting of his sexual organs, and convulsions. Sensing his weakness, two important Pharisees, disregarding their nonpolitical status, encouraged their students to chop down the hated Roman eagle Herod had placed over the temple gate years before, because it violated the commandment against graven images (Ex. 20:4). Forty students were captured. The teachers who instigated the plot and the students who had actually cut the eagle down were burned alive; the others were executed more humanely.
To compound matters, the Pharisees spread the belief that Herod was king of the Jews only by Roman decree and that he was not of the house of David. Therefore, he and his family were unfit for the throne. Messianic "prophets" predicted a bizarre list of upcoming events that would occur as the kingdom was taken from Herod and given to God's anointed. This stirred even more paranoia in Herod, and many more lost their lives as a result.
Into this web of hatred and suspicion, "Magi from the east came... and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?'... When King Herod heard this he was disturbed" (Matt. 2:1?3). His deception of the wise men and his subsequent order to kill the infant boys of Bethlehem were only small additions to the bloody list of Herod's accomplishments.
There was another side to Herod. His visionary building programs, his ingenious development of trade with the rest of the world, and his advancement of the interests of his nation are legendary. Many of his building projects were designed to strengthen the loyalty of his subjects, a goal he never achieved. Most seem to have been built to strengthen his relationship with Rome and to establish himself as the greatest king the Jews had ever had. Herod built on a magnificent and grandiose scale. His building projects included:
Jerusalem: The temple was rebuilt in a splendid setting unsurpassed in the ancient world. Some of the limestone blocks of the supporting platform weigh more than 500 tons. The temple, made of marble and gold, was taller than a 15-story building. On the Western Hill of the city, Herod built a spectacular palace complex that contained reception halls, royal apartments, a fortress for his personal guard, fountains, gardens, and baths. The Antonia, a huge fortress as luxurious as Herod's own palace, defended the city. Some scholars believe it was the site of Jesus' trial. A Greek theater and hippodrome provided the Hellenistic emphasis Herod appreciated. Streets were paved, sewers were built, and water carriers were constructed to make Jerusalem one of the great cities of the world.
Masada: Part of a line of fortresses that included the Alexandrion, the Herodion, and Machaerus, Masada was one of the wonders of the ancient world. Perched atop a plateau in the Judea Wilderness with a spectacular view of the Dead Sea nearly 2,000 feet below, it was a luxurious fortress?palace combining all the essential elements of a Herod project. A three-tiered palace hung precariously from one end of the plateau, almost defying gravity. The western portion contained hot and cold baths, mosaic floors, and plastered walls. Masada also boasted swimming pools, barracks for soldiers, huge storehouses with supplies for outlasting years of siege, and cisterns holding millions of gallons of water.
The Herodion: This mountain fortress overlooked the town of Bethlehem. Standing on a high hill, the upper fortress was round and more than 200 feet in diameter. Originally, it was seven stories high, with an eastern tower that stood more than 40 feet higher. Packed dirt covered the first four stories, giving the upper fortress a cone shape. Inside were a peristyle garden, reception hall, Roman baths, and countless apartments. The lower palace included an enormous pool, a colonnaded garden, a 600-foot-long terrace, and a building more than 400 feet long. The Herodion was the third-largest palace in the ancient world.
Jericho: This palace was built on both sides of a deep wadi (dry streambed), with a bridge across the bed. One wing contained a huge, marble-floored hall where Herod received guests. Next to it were peristyle gardens, dining halls, and a complete Roman bath. Across the wadi, Herod built another monumental building with baths, a swimming pool, and gardens.
Caesarea: Herod needed contact with the Roman world for its military support and its market for the spice trade and other goods his people controlled. Thus he built Caesarea, on the Mediterranean coast, into one of the most spectacular seaports of the ancient world. Founded in 22 BC, the city housed a large theater, an amphitheater, a hippodrome, and a massive temple to Augustus. Caesarea was almost completely covered with imported marble. It had an elaborate sewer system designed to be cleansed by the sea.
The glory of Caesarea was its man-made harbor spanning more than 40 acres. An enormous lighthouse stood near the narrow entrance, able to be seen from great distances at sea. This harbor welcomed the Roman legions, the marble and granite for Herod's projects, and the Hellenistic culture so dear to him. From it, ships carried spices, olive oil, grain, and, most important, the gospel to the far reaches of the world.
The visitor cannot help being impressed with Herod's vision and ingenuity. However, all that remain are spectacular ruins, because Herod lived for Herod. By contrast, another builder, a humble carpenter born in Bethlehem, used a different material than did Herod (Matt. 16:18; 1 Peter 2:4-8). Jesus' buildings continue to grow because He built for the glory of God. Like David (1 Sam. 17:46), Elijah (1 Kings 18:36), and Hezekiah (Isa. 37:20), He lived so that the world may know that Yahweh, the God of Israel, is truly God. His construction projects will last forever because He built for the glory of God the Father.
Herod went to Jericho to die in agony, hated even by his family. Truly mad and fearing that no one would mourn his death, he commanded his troops to arrest important people from across the land, lock them in the hippodrome, and execute them after he died?if people would not mourn him, at least they would mourn. At the last moment, Herod ordered the execution of his son Antipater and changed his will, dividing his kingdom between three other sons: Archelaus, Philip, and Antipas. Finally, the bloody, brilliant reign of this king of the Jews came to an end. Although the King of the world was born during his reign, Herod never knew Him.
Why was Herod never accepted by his own people? Was it his cruelty? That is possible. Was it his commitment to the pagan values of Hellenism? That is probable. But there is another important factor to understand. Herod was a Gentile, an Idumaean (called Edomite in the Old Testament). And God's Word made clear that no Gentile could ever be king over his people (Deut. 17:15). Regardless of Herod's power or greatness, his reign violated God's rules. Consequently, God-fearing people could not accept him.
In addition, God's Word frequently predicted that the descendants of twin brothers Jacob and Esau would be in conflict. Ultimately, a ruler would emerge from Jacob who would overpower Esau and be God's Messiah (Gen. 25:23; Num. 24:17?19; Obad. 17-18; Amos 9:12). The Messiah must be from Jacob (Israel) and must rule over Esau (Edom, or Idumaea). To the follower of God's Word, Herod could not be Messiah, or God's king.
But could Jesus be Messiah? How could He be Messiah if He (Jacob's descendant) was in a manger while Herod (Esau's descendant) sat in power in a fortress? This dilemma helps us understand why it was so difficult for people to accept Jesus as Messiah, for every appearance said otherwise. Esau was in control. Rabbis referred to Herod's city of Caesarea as the "daughter of Edom" (probably a reference both to Herod's Idumaean origins and to Rome's symbolic identification as Edom, the nation rejected by God). How could Jesus be the star of Jacob if Herod was in power? Second, this dilemma helps us understand the tremendous faith the Christmas story demanded of the Jewish people and of us today. They were (and we are) asked to accept by faith the fact that, contrary to appearance, it was not Herod who was in control but the boy in the stable. If someone had (or has) the faith to believe in Jesus as Messiah, he or she has recognized God's reality.
Today it may sometimes appear as if Jesus is not at the right hand of God, Lord of heaven and earth (Eph. 1:18?22). Look around you and it may seem as if the evil descendants of Herod (the followers of the devil) are the dominant power. In times like these, just as in Jesus' day, God asks us to commit to and live by the reality that Jesus is Lord. Be encouraged. Evil may appear strong, but God is in control. Herod appeared all-powerful, but God was in the manger.
