(40 - 4 BC) King Herod - Death of Herod

Herod the Great, Servant of Rome

It would have been interesting to see how different the modern Jew would be if Herod the Great had been a different sort of man. Herod didn't understand the Jews enough nor did he feel for them. He was in a position to help the Jews and the Romans to understand each other a little better but he was only interested in his own power and the result was catastrophe for the Jews.

For 40 years, Jewish history was dominated by Herod the Great. He was born in about 73 BC, the son of the Idumean Antipater, and became a Roman citizen in 47. His father appointed him military governor of Galilee, with the task of clearing the region of terrorists. In 41, Antony made Herod and his brother tetrarchs, but Herod was not secure and in 40 fled to Rome. There Antony bestowed on him the kingship of Judea, which he secured with a Roman army in 37. Octavian (the future emperor Augustus) defeated Antony and Cleopatra at the naval battle of Actium in 3I, but confirmed Herod in power.

Herod worked devotedly for Rome and kept Augustus's favor. His court was Hellenized and cultured. He founded the Greek cities of Sebaste (Samaria) and Caesarea, with its fine port. He built fortresses and palaces, including Masada, and a magnificent new temple. He also presided at the Olympic Games.

His family life, however, was unhappy. He ruled as an autocrat, supported by police, and, despite his rebuilding of the Temple, to the Jews he remained a detested foreigner. He died in 4 BC at the age of 69.

Herod's Dictatorship

1. The Marriage to Mariamne

- He therefore married Mariamne, the granddaughter of both Hyrcan and Aristobulus. (Legitimate throne)

- But Herod was known to have really loved her but he did not mind hurting her when his personal welfare was at stake.

2. How Herod Made Himself Safe

- One of Herod's first acts was the execution of 40 prominent Sadducees. 2 reasons (enemies, money)

- He hired Jews from other lands as his army. Herod did not trust Jews from his own land.

- He was jealous of other members of his family.

- Aristobulus, Herod's own brother-in-law, was found drowned in a pool of one of the royal palaces.

- Hyrcan, returned from Parthia at Herod's invitation, was accused of plotting treason and executed.

- Herod's favorite wife, Mariamne, gave way to the intrigues of Herod's sister and was executed despite Herod's undoubted love for her.

- Later he killed his own two sons by Mariamne on suspicion that they were plotting against him.

- At his dying breath he ordered the execution of still another son.

3. Depriving the Sanhedrin

- He deprived the Sanhedrin of every vestige of political power.

- Neither the Pharisees nor the Sadducees any longer exercised political influence.

- Only their names continued for the purpose of describing two groups which differed on religious matters.

- Herod ruled, and through him Rome.

4. The Secret Opposition

- Dissatisfaction expressed itself in secret criticism.

- The young people became restless and joined secret organizations for the cause of Jewish independence.

- These organizations, years later, united to form the dreaded revolutionary party, the Zealots.

- Herod was an efficient ruler and knew how to maintain peace by ruthlessness.

- Numberless spies & torture. Everyone was under suspicion, and everyone lived in fear.

Herod and the Non-Jews

5. Fortifying His External Position

- The death of Antony confronted Herod with a serious danger. He realized that Augustus would now look upon him as an enemy.

- Herod, like his father under similar circumstances, hurried to meet the new ruler of the world.

- Removing his royal insignia, he appeared before Augustus and, without denying his friendship for Antony and his regret at Antony's defeat, frankly offered Augustus the same friendship and loyalty which he had given the defeated Antony.

- This attitude appealed to Augustus. He probably saw in Herod, a realist in politics, one who could be relied upon to serve Rome and Rome's master.

- Not only did Augustus accept Herod's offer of friendship, but, leaving him as king of Judea, Idumea, Samaria, and Galilee, he even increased Herod's territory by adding to his kingdom some lands across the Jordan and some of the pagan cities along the Mediterranean coast.

- The friendship between Augustus and Herod remained firm for the rest of their lives.

6. Herod and His Pagan Subjects

- He filled his court with Greek hangers-on, mostly parasites who lived by their flattery.

- His most trusted adviser was an able Greek by the name of Nicolas of Damascus

- Herod's ideas about government were the same as the Roman empire.

- It was government for the sake of the wealthy and powerful. The common people had only one duty-to obey their masters.

7. Herod - The Builder

- He constructed pagan temples and amphitheaters in various Greek cities within and outside his domain.

- Athens, Sparta and Rhodes benefited from his liberality.

- He made large contributions of money to the Olympic games.

- Samaria again rose from its ruins and was renamed Sebaste (Royal City) in honor of Augustus.

- The same was done to an old, well-situated town on the coast, which now received the name Caesarea, again in honor of the Caesar. (Some after Herod) never after a Hasmonean or a former Jewish king.

- Augustus Caesar and Herod's friend Agrippa "Herod's realm was far too small for his liberality."

- Herod's Gentile subjects were happy that he liked to please them. To them Herod was "Herod the Great."

Herod and His Jewish Subjects

8. Hopes for Hellenization

- Herod knew better than to force Hellenization upon his Jewish subjects.

- Gradually introducing them to those Greek habits of life which he himself admired.

- Jerusalem also benefited from his building activity. He erected a theater and a hippodrome within the city.

- Foreign visitors to his capital would feel more at home and would not look down upon him as an insignificant king of a "barbarian" people.

9. Herod's Temple

- But, above all, he tried to prove that Greek temples were not his only concern by undertaking to rebuild and beautify the Temple in Jerusalem.

- Almost five hundred years had elapsed since the Second Temple had been built by those who returned from the Babylonian Exile.

-After that the Temple had no doubt been repaired and enlarged, but it remained essentially the old building, inferior in beauty and grandeur to some of the pagan temples which were around.

- Not only was it contrary to Herod's love of architecture to permit the Temple of his own God to remain so modest, but he thought to show his piety to the Jews by making their Temple grander than the rest.

- the leading scribes at first opposed his plan (suspicious). They actually believed that once he pulled the old building down he would never replace it.

- Herod had to promise that he would not touch the old building until he had built the new one around it.

- Under no circumstances were the services to be interrupted.

- Herod hired workmen by the thousands.

- Among them were many priests to build those portions not accessible to ordinary Jews.

- The work was started by leveling larger portions of the Temple Mount, so that the new building might be erected on a broader base.

- It was also made much taller, so that the white stone gleamed in the bright Palestinian sun and could be seen from miles away.

- On the northern and southern sides of the building were the enclosed halls or rooms where the priests prepared for the service, and where the Sanhedrin met.

- The large open court on the east, facing the Temple proper, was divided into several parts.

- Closest to the Temple was the portion set aside for the altar and the officiating priests.

- Next to it was the court for the Israelites who came to watch the service.

- By the side of that was the gallery for the women, and behind it was the court of the Gentiles.

- The whole area was surrounded by a wall. This is the wall, part of which remains to this day, known as "The Wailing Wall," to which Jews have gone on pilgrimage during the recent centuries of exile.

10. Herod's Blunder

- The Jews prided in Herod's accomplishment until Herod placed a huge Roman eagle over the most important gate of the new Temple.

- Before long there was a conspiracy to pull the eagle down.

- When rumor circulated that Herod was dying, a group of young men gathered before the gate on which the golden eagle was set and began to pull it down.

- The soldiers interfered and arrested about forty of them. Herod was so enraged at this sign of insubordination and insult to Rome, that he had the "rebels" burned alive.

11. Herod in History

- He maintained external peace in his land.

- He beautified his own and neighboring countries.

- He admired not on1y by the Roman empire, but also of the Jews outside Judea whose standards of value had changed through contact with Greek civilization. It is not difficult to understand why many people called Herod "the Great."

- Yet the majority of Jews of his own kingdom disliked him, and Jews of later generations called him "the Wicked."

- He pleased the pagans in the land and the cities prospered but the common Jew sank into poverty.

- When Herod died, the pagans among them mourned while the Jews rejoiced.

12. Comments

- He murdered members of his own family- yet scrupulously observed Mosaic dietary laws and would eat no pork.

- This provoked his Roman master Augustus into jesting: "I would rather be Herod's pig than Herod's son."

13. Death of Herod

- The historian, Josephus, describes the death of Herod at great length. When Herod's health began to fail him rapidly, he was moved to his winter capital in Jericho. From there he was carried by stretcher to the hot springs on the shores of the Dead Sea. The springs did no good; Herod returned home. Racked by despondency, Herod attempted suicide. Rumors of the attempt caused loud wailing throughout the palace. Herod's son, imprisoned by his paranoid father, mistook the cries to mean his father was dead. Immediately, he tried to bribe his jailers, who reported the bribery attempt to Herod. The sick king ordered his son executed on the spot. Now Herod plunged deeper into depression. He was only days away from his own death- and he knew it. What pained him most was the knowledge that his death would be met with joy in Judea. To forestall this, he devised an incredible plan.

Having assembled the most distinguished men from every village from one end of Judea to the other, he ordered them to be locked in the hippodrome at Jericho. Jewish Wars FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS

Herod then gave the order to execute them at the very moment he, himself, died. His sick mind reasoned that their death would dispel any joy in Judea over his own death. The order was never carried out.

After Herod's death, his body was carried in procession from Jericho to the Herodium outside Bethlehem for burial. Herod's body was adorned in purple, a crown of gold rested on his head, and a scepter of gold was placed in his hand. The bier bearing his body was made of gold and studded with jewels that sparkled as it was carried along under the desert sun. Following the bier was Herod's household and hundreds of slaves, swinging censers. Slowly, the procession inched its way up the mountainside to the Herodium, where it was laid to rest.

Today, the excavated ruins of the Herodium stand out grandly against the clear blue sky- reminding Bethlehem-bound tourists of the king who sought to kill the child whom they have come so far to honor.

Herodium

Looking like a volcano, the Herodium is one of several fortress-palaces built by Herod the Great. It was artificially shaped, with everything placed inside its protected craterlike top.

Josephus wrote of the Herodium:

Two hundred steps of purest white marble led up to it. Its top was crowned with circular towers; its courtyard contained splendid structures.

In the 1960s archaeologists unearthed the courtyard, fortification towers, and palace. No trace of Herod's remains were found.

Herod's Successors - (See section on Herod )