MATTHEW 1181
When Herod beheaded
the last Hasmonean king,
Jewish independence was
brought to an end after 126
years (163–37 BC). Thus,
Herod’s rule was contin-
ued through force of arms
rather than by the will of
the people.
Herod’s ambitious build-
ing programs were more
popular. He was a mas-
ter builder, and his proj-
ects became renowned
Aerial view of Herod’s palace at Caesarea
throughout the Roman
Bill Schlegel/www.BiblePlaces.com
empire. He built magnifi-
cent palaces at Jericho
and Masada and transformed Caesarea into a Hellenistic port, complete with theater, am-
phitheater, and agora. 3 Herod constructed a temple overlooking the harbor, in honor of the
goddess Roma and Caesar Augustus. In Jerusalem, Herod made marvelous architectural
contributions, the greatest of which was a complete renovation of the temple. However,
after he completed the temple renovation, he deeply offended the Jews of Jerusalem by
placing an eagle—the emblem of Roman rule—on the temple, and one of his last acts in
life was to oversee the execution of the Pharisee Jews who tore it down.
After his death, Herod’s kingdom was divided between his sons and brothers, including
Herod Antipas, Herod Archelaus, Herod Philip, and Herod Agrippa, all of whom play sig-
nificant roles in the biblical story.
STORYLINE
Herod’s only appearance in the Bible is in Matthew 2, an account emphasizing his cruelty.
Warned by the wise men from the east that a new “king of the Jews” had been born in Beth-
lehem, he ordered the slaughter of all baby boys in Bethlehem and the surrounding area
who were less than two years of age (Matthew 2:16). As a usurper of the Jewish throne and
a wicked ruler, Herod had reason to be afraid, for the One who had been born (see article
“The Birth of Jesus,” p. 1285) would one day reign “with justice and with righteousness”
over an everlasting kingdom (see article, p. 1313) that included “all nations, and peoples
of every language” (Isaiah 9:7; Daniel 7:14). Though Herod reigned over Jerusalem for a
short time, this newborn King would reign forever.
FOR FURTHER STUDY
Ehud Netzer, The Architecture of Herod, the Great Builder (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008);
Anson F. Rainey and R. Steven Notley, The Sacred Bridge: Carta’s Atlas of the Biblical World
(Jerusalem: Carta, 2006); Nikos Kokkinos, ed., The World of the Herods (Stuttgart: Franz
Steiner Verlag, 2007); Stewart Perowne, The Life and Times of Herod the Great (New York:
Abingdon, 1959); Michael Grant, Herod the Great (New York: American Heritage, 1971).
1. Antipater was an Idumean (i.e., Edomite) who had been appointed by the last of the Hasmonean kings to help
administer Judea. The Hasmonean rulers had given the Edomites the option either to accept circumcision (see
article, p. 1438) and convert to Judaism or to leave Palestine under pain of death. In this way, the Edomites
were integrated into Judaism, but they always remained a distinct ethnic group.
2. See Ezekiel 25:12–14; Obadiah 1; Malachi 1:2–5.
3. An open place of assembly in ancient Greek city-states.