Illustration created for this project.
Herod the Great
The Rome-appointed king of Judea who rebuilt the Temple and, fearing a rival, ordered the massacre of the infants of Bethlehem.
What we know — and how we know it
Bible — stated in scripture (with verse) · 1
Archaeology — physical evidence · 1
Ancient writers — non-biblical testimony · 1
Life, role & deeds
BibleThe Rome-appointed king of Judea who rebuilt the Temple and, fearing a rival, ordered the massacre at Bethlehem.
Matthew 2:1, 16
Asaf T. — Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
ArchaeologyHis vast building works survive — the Temple Mount platform, the fortress-palaces of Masada and the Herodium (where his tomb was found in 2007), and the harbour city of Caesarea.
Herodium mausoleum (Herod's tomb) discovered 2007 by Ehud Netzer, Hebrew University; Masada palace-fortress excavated by Yigael Yadin (1963–65); Caesarea Maritima and its Sebastos harbour; the Temple Mount platform. Synthesis: Ehud Netzer, 'The Architecture of Herod, the Great Builder' (Mohr Siebeck, 2006).
Scan by NYPL — Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
Ancient writersJosephus, drawing on Herod's own court historian Nicolaus of Damascus, chronicles his reign, his great building works and his cruelty in vivid detail.
Josephus, Antiquities 15–17 and Jewish War 1, drawing on the lost Universal History of Nicolaus of Damascus, Herod's court historian.
Where in scripture
MatthewWhen King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Matthew 2:3 — Troubled by the Magi
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent out, and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under, according to the exact time which he had learned from the wise men.
Matthew 2:16 — The massacre of the innocents
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, a public-domain translation.
Family
In their own words — 1 recorded saying
“And he sent them to Beth-lehem and said, Go and make certain where the young child is; and when you have seen him, let me have news of it, so that I may come and give him worship.” — Matthew 2:8
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).
Events
In art
