Introduction
The New Testament highlights the story of King Herod through the gospel of Matthew (Bromiley 1998, Vol. 2). In one remarkable event known as the Massacre of the Innocents, King Herod was placed in biblical history as the murderers of children. According to this story, Herod ordered the deaths of all the young males, aged two years old and below, in Bethlehem and nearby vicinities (Bromiley 1998, Vol. 2). This was after the Magi who inquired to King Herod about the Messiah or the Annointed One did not return to him. Herod was illustrated in this story as one threatened king. The rumor on the birth of a true Jewish King alarmed him because Jesus descended from the line of David (Bromiley 1998, Vol. 2). As for him, he was only given the title “King of Jews” by the Romans even when he was not truly a Jewish King. He wanted to bethroth this title to his sons and the birth of Jesus Christ threatened him.
According to Hubbard (2010), King Herod is one of the most important characters in the history of the Jews. He embodies significance in terms of contextualizing the period of Roman dominion over the Jewish people. Herod the Great was said to be highly ambitious, cruel and neurotic. He was described to have shaped the political, economic, and cultural environment during the time of Jesus Christ (Bible History Daily 2012, 1). This was realized because of his active influence, involving the Roman rule in Judea (1). He expanded Judea’s power, geography and wealth (1). He also combined the exclusive Jewish culture with the Gentile Greek culture. Herod was also responsible for appointing influential leaders who would later develop and/influence the early Christian church. Even when many people find him as absolutely repulsive, King Herod was a major figure in the Judean history (1).
This paper shall analyze the role and the contributions of Herod the Great during the time that he was an influential and a powerful leader in Judea. It shall review his achievements and the contexts by which he tried to achieve so much for Judea.
Personal Background
The family of Herod the Great were Idumeans (Lendering 2012, 1). They descended from the line of Abraham through Isaac and Esau. They considered themselves as Jewish even when their ancestors did not left for Egypt or returned with Moses (1). Herod Antipater, the father of Herod the Great, officially turned to the Jewish religious practices. He was a high ranking official under Ethnarch Hyrcanus II. His wife, Herod’s mother, was called Cypros. She has Arabian blood (1).
Herod was born in 73 BC in the south of Idumea. He was Antipater’s second son. He was a practicing Jew as his parents had been converted to Judaism by the Hasmoneans. Being an ardent supporter of Hyrcanus II and by his services to the Roman rulers, Antipater was able to appoint Herod to be the governor of Galilee (1). Thus, Herod started his political career at the age of 25. He was supported by the Romans but his cruelty was disdained by the Sanhedrin (1).
Antipater’s family was influenced by both Jewish and Roman cultures. They did not put their graven images on the coins they gave. They also did not eat pork as they subscribed to the Jewish dietary rules and they did not allow their women to marry uncircumcised men (1). In contrast, the family also followed Roman social norms. They often traveled to Rome and they modeled their buildings from the great Roman architecture.
Herod the Great sent his sons to live in the Roman house of Caesar Augustus as they formally studied in Rome (1). Just like the Romans, the family of Herod the Great sponsored sporting events just like the Greek Olympics, which was faulty to the Jews (Source). They also fixed marriages between uncles and nieces just like the Romans (1).
Herod the Great’s Reign
The governorship of Herod was not welcomed. The Jews resented him because he was not a pure Jew; his father was an Idumean, which was considered impure. His mother was Arabian. The Jews traditionally held that a Jew must descend from a Jewish mother (SOURCE).
After his father’s death, Herod the Great was threatened by the rise of Antigonus, Hyrcanus' nephew (McGonigle, et. al. 1988, 20). There was a war between the Romand and the Parthians and the Jewish comunity supported the Partians (21). This caused Herod to run to Rome to ask the Romans to reinstate his power. He succeeded and was elected "King of the Jews" by the Roman Senate (21). Herod went back to Judea to reclaim his kingdom from Antigonus. He also married the young niece of Antigonus named Mariamne in order to stabilize his reign and gain the sympathy of the Jews (22). Because of his political ambitions, Herod banished his wife Doris and their child who was also named Antipater (22).
After three years of his reign, Herod, with the help of the Romans, successfully captured Jerusalem. He executed Antigonus and then became the only ruler of Judea. Thus, he instituted his own dysnaty and ended the Hasmonean Dynasty. Josephus estimated it around at 36 BC. According to Josephus, Herod the Great reigned for 34 years after capturing Jerusalem (28). Herod's reign is commonly separated into three periods: 1.) The first period was from 37 to 25 BC. It saw Herod taking out all the threats to his kingship. 2.) The second period was from 25 to 13 BC. It was the height of his reign, when he began his collosal building projects and expansion to Judea. The third and final period was from 13 to 4 BC. It was defined by Herod's tragic fall and his death.
Herod’s mark on Judea throughout his reign was collosal. Aside from the long period of his reign, he was recognized for altering the political rule of Judea from the Levite Hasmoneans (the royal family who was from the line of the Maccabees) to the Idumean (SOURCE). He was a shrewd leader and he was also very charismatic.
Being the ruler of all of Judea, he initiated the changing of the kingdom. He instituted massive structural projects, especially the world famous Temple at Jerusalem or Herod’s temple (30). He also slowly introduced Greek culture into Judea. He changed the Jewish world into which Jesus Christ would get accustomed to.
Herod's leadership style wasmodled form his father’s. He grabbed every political opportunity and he was very ambitious. He was also said to be presumptuous (SOURCE). This style was already predominant in his governorship of Galilee. However, he was also marked by cruelty and by his defiance of the Jewish traditions.
For instance, Herod took the life of a bandit leader called Hezekiah. Thsi action won him the praises of the Romans but it made him very unpopular with the Jews (Spiro 2012, 1). This act ignored the current law that mandated trial before the Sanhedrin before any sentence. The Jewish officials disdained him. He was sent into trial by the Sanhedrin but because of his Roman conections, he got acquitted form this act (1).
Herod’s Greatest Contributions
Herod’s reign was defined by a period of unprecedented development and physical construction. This was due in part to the positive relationship which he shared with the Roman leaders and his obsession with great structural projects.
Herod amassed massive taxes from his subjects and he used this to fund his collosal buildings (1). He was considered one of the greatest builders in the history of early civilization. He endlessly built cities, forts and palaces, some of which are still found today. These included the fortresses at Masada, Antonia and Herodium, Caesarea Port City, the large edifice at the hilt of the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, the massive fortifications around Jerusalem and the three towers at the city’s entrance (Stern 1993, 33).
Herod magnificently built a huge place on top of a man made mountain. However, this project was destroyed during the Great Revolt in 70 CE (35). Another impressive project was the Masada fortress, which stood on top of a rock plateau surrounded by a desert. It had all the comfortable features and a very good water supply system that supported agricultural gardens. It also featured three interesting bathhouses (36). The Caesarean port city was also significant since it became a trade center and the Roman administrative center in Judea. It was also one of the largest ports of the Roman Empire, with a magnificent port, a handsome amphitheater, and a hippodrome for ancient chariot races (37).
The most spectacular of Herod’s grand projects was the re-building of the Temple of Solomon. He undertook this to gain the trust of his Jewish subjects. This temple took ten years of rebuilding only the retained walls around the Tempe Mount. It also took 10,000 men to build (39). He employed 1,000 priests as masons and carpenters in the rebuilding of this temple in order to comply with the law.
The temple’s western walls was just a part of the 500-meter-long retaining wall which was created to hold a very big man-made platform. This platform could hold twenty four football fields. This temple remained one of the largest man made platform in the world and the world’s biggest function area for religious activities (Cancik, et. al. 2005, 82). It is sometimes referred to as Herod’s Temple. Only four of the original walls stand today and it has become a tourist attraction (83).
The platform ontop of the said temple was really spectacular. It was even acknowledged by the Talmud as the most spectacular building that if one has not seen it, he/she has not seen a truly grand building (Spiro 2012, 1). It was covered in gold. The walls and columns of the other buildings consisted of white marble. The floors consisted of carrara marble, it has a blue tinge that makes an impression of cascading waters. The curtains of this temple were made of blue, white, violet, and red threads, which according to histroians depicted the whole view of heaven (1). Having prepared a very nice temple, Herod also appointed his own High Priest. To be able to do this, Herod had to assasinate forty-six members of the Sanhedrin court (1).
His desire to impress people and his big ego were the two main reasons why Herod was fond of collosal buildings. There were also political and practical resons for these huge structures. For instance, historians estimate that there were about 6 to 7 million Jews under the Roman Empire. Added to this was another 1 million Jews living inPersia. All of them would convene in Jerusalem for their three traditional pilgrimages and festivals: the Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot (Hubard 2010, 38).
Herod the Great, together with Cleopatra, monopolized the asphalt extraction from the Dead Sea. This asphalt was important in building ships. He leased copper mines on Cyprus from the Roman emperor. Herod also undertook great building projects in Palestine.
Even when the Jews frowned at his projects and initiatives, Herod only introduced Greek theater and began hosting Olympic-style games in Jerusalem. This was to honor the Roman ruler, Caesar. Herod also integrated Greek and Jewish culture in all possible aspects. He recruited Greek orators and philosophers as his advisors. Herod also replaced state officials with Greek officers. At one point, a historian described him as "boasting of being more likely related to the Greeks than to the Jews" (Spiro 2011, 1).
Herod's Hellenization was a political effort to deeply ingratiate himself with Augustus. He wanted show his devotion to the Roma emperor as far greater than his loyalty to his god. He was heavily criticized and secretly being protested. However, Herod suppressed them by increasing taxes, stopping any kind of public protests and instantly seizing any alleged critic.
The second period of Herod’s reign may be considered as the highest point of Herod's magnificence and Judea's power. However, it came to a tragic fruition. During Herod’s reign, mass homicidal atrocities were hidden by his big projects. These resurfaced during the new tragic incidences in the final period of his reign. After the death of Herod the Great, the Romans divided his kingdom between his sons, and none of them were called King of the Jews.
Conclusion
The Roman civil war was the central backdrop to the reign of Herod the Great in ancient time. It has changed the Roman Republic to an empire which was ruled by the Roman Caesars or emperors. Herod’s reign as the King of Judea from 37 BC until 4BC was characterized by a remarkable growth and development of Judea (Ferguson 2003, 36). He has steered the Jewish country into its development and stability. He was also instrumental in making Judea a favored province of Rome.
We can conclude that the success of Herod’s reign can be attributed to his influence and support from the Roman Empire. At his reign, the Romans took an easy hand in leading the Jews. The Romans generally tolerated them. Thus, the mix of cultures, as evidenced in their religious practices and rites, eventually unfolded. Even the Romans had been influenced by some of the ways of the Jewish people.
The links between Christinaity, Judaism and the Greek influences all proved to be useful and advantageous for both King Herod and the Jeiwsh people. Through the said alliances, the Jews were able to preseve a significant part of their cultures. These practices will find its ways in the development of the churches during the latter part of history. However, some inherent cultural aspects cannot be changed such as the worship of the idols which the Jews cannot accept. However, it was also advantageous for Rome to easily have the Jews comply with their system of taxation.
The implications of the life, projects and ruling style of Herod the Great center on the better grasp of the Bible, especially in contextualizing the Old and the News Testament according to the religious practices and ceremonies contained in these two separate books. It must be emphasized that the mixed cultures as illsutrated in the various events of the Life of Jesus Christ such as the Passover, the weddings and other rites, may not be authentic Christian practices.
This will have a direct effect in one’s study of the Bible, especially in reflecting the life and times of Jesus Christ and his apostles and how they have written about their rituals in relation to the strengthening of the Christian faith. These also have a serious implications in assessing the religious and cultural practices of the Roman Catholic Church.
Everett Fegruson’s Backgrounds of Early Christianity proved to be the most useful reference for this paper. The book explores all the Greek, Jewish and Roman philosophical, political, religious, and social contexts required in understanding the history of the New testament and the Early Christian churches. This author wishes to purchase this book for his own library.
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