Herod

(hero-like). This family though of Idumean origin and thus alien by race, was Jewish in faith. I. HEROD THE GREAT was the second son of Antipater, an Idumean, who was appointed procurator of Judea by Julius Caesar, B.C. 47. Immediately after his father’s elevation when only fifteen years old, he received the government of Galilee and shortly afterward that of Coele-Syria. Though Josephus says he was 15 years old at this time, it is generally conceded that there must be some mistake, as he lived to be 69 or 70 years old, and died B.C. 4; hence he must have been 25 years old at this time.—ED.) In B.C. 41 he was appointed by Antony tetrarch of Judea. Forced to abandon Judea the following year, he fled to Rome, and received the appointment of king of Judea. In the course of a few years, by the help of the Romans he took Jerusalem (B.C. 37), and completely established his authority throughout his dominions. The terrible acts of bloodshed which Herod perpetrated in his own family were accompanied by others among his subjects equally terrible, from the number who fell victims to them. According to the well-known story) he ordered the nobles whom he had called to him in his last moment to be executed immediately after his decease, that so at least his death might be attended by universal mourning. It was at the time of his fatal illness that he must have caused the slaughter of the infants at Bethlehem. (Matthew 2:16-18) He adorned Jerusalem with many splendid monuments of his taste and magnificence. The temple, which he built with scrupulous care, was the greatest of these works. The restoration was begun B.C. 20, and the temple itself was completed in a year and a half. But fresh additions were constantly made in succeeding years, so that it was said that the temple was “built in forty and six years,” (John 2:20) the work continued long after Herod’s death. (Herod died of a terrible disease at Jericho, in April, B.C. 4, at the age of 69, after a long reign of 37 years.—ED.) II. HEROD Antipas, Antipas was the son of Herod the Great by Malthake, a Samaritan. He first married a daughter of Aretas, “king of Arabia Petraea,” but afterward Herodias, the wife of his half-brother, Herod Philip. Aretas, indignant at the insult offered to his daughter, found a pretext for invading the territory of Herod, and defeated him with great loss. This defeat, according to the famous passage in Josephus, was attributed by many to the murder of John the Baptist, which had been committed by Antipas shortly before, under the influence of Herodias. (Matthew 14:4) ff.; Mark 6:17 ff.; Luke 3:19 At a later time the ambition of Herodias proved the cause of her husband’s ruin. She urged him to go to Rome to gain the title of king, cf. (Mark 6:14) but he was opposed at the court of Caligula by the emissaries of Agrippa, and condemned to perpetual banishment at Lugdunum, A.D. 39. Herodias voluntarily shared his punishment, and he died in exile. Pilate took occasion from our Lord’s residence in Galilee to bend him for examination, (Luke 23:6) ff., to Herod Antipas, who came up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. The city of Tiberias, which Antipas founded and named in honor of the emperor, was the most conspicuous monument of his long reign. III. HEROD PHILIP I. (Philip,) (Mark 6:17) was the son of Herod the Great and Mariamne. He married Herodias the sister of Agrippa I by whom he had a daughter, Salome. He was excluded from all share in his father’s possessions in consequence of his mother’s treachery, and lived afterward in a private station. IV. HEROD PHILIP II. was the son of Herod the Great and Cleopatra. He received as his own government Batanea Trachonitis, Auramtis (Gaulanitis), and some parts about Jamnia, with the title of tetrarch. Luke 3:1. He built a new city on the site of Paneas, near the sources of the Jordan, which be called Caesarea Philippi, (Matthew 16:13; Mark 8:27) and raised Bethsaida to the rank of a city under the title of Julias and died there A.D. 34. He married Salome, the daughter of Herod Philip I. and Herodias. V. HEROD AGRIPPA I. was the son of Aristobulus and Berenice, and grandson of Herod the Great. He was brought up at Rome, and was thrown into prison by Tiberius, where he remained till the accession of Caligula, who made him king, first of the tetrarchy of Philip and Lysanias; afterward the dominions of Antipas were added, and finally Judea and Samaria. Unlike his predessors, Agrippa was a strict observer of the law, and he sought with success the favor of the Jews. It is probable that it was with this view he put to death James the son of Zebedee, and further imprisoned Peter. (Acts 12:1) ff. But his sudden death interrupted his ambitious projects. (Acts 12:21,23) VI. HEROD AGRIPPA II—was the son of Herod Agrippa I. In A.D. 62 the emperor gave him the tetrarches formerly held by Philip and Lysanias, with the title of king. (Acts 25:13) The relation in which he stood to his sister Berenice, (Acts 25:13)

HER'OD. Herod the Great, king of Judaea, b.c. 40- b.c. 4. In his reign Christ was born. Matt 2:1-18. He was a man of unusual executive ability, of iron will, of consummate shrewdness and cunning, but of violent Bronze Coin of Herod the Great. passions, and cruel and unscrupulous in the choice of means to accomplish his designs. He was by descent an Idumaean and the son of Antipater, who had been appointed by Julius Caesar procurator of Judaea, b.c. 47. At the age of 25, Herod was made governor of Galilee, subsequently appointed tetrarch of Judaea by Antony, b.c. 40, and afterward, by the Roman senate, king of Judaea. He was obliged to fight for his kingdom, and with the aid of the Romans wrested it out of the hands of his enemies. Antigonus, the high priest, and the last representative of the Asmonaean family in that office, was taken and executed, a.d. 37, Herod's reign was in one sense a most brilliant one. Following the example of the Roman emperor Augustus, he lavished vast sums of money on public works. He founded and built a beautiful city on the coast, which he named, after his royal master, Caesarea. He also rebuilt the city of Samaria, which had been completely destroyed, b.c. 109, and gave it the new appellation Sebaste. In Jerusalem and its vicinity he erected a theatre and an amphitheatre, and on the borders of his kingdom built some strong fortresses, as Herodeion. His magnificence, however, did not confine itself to his own kingdom, but overleaping its boundaries founded temples in various parts of the Roman empire. But the most important building to which Herod gave his money was the temple at Jerusalem. Out of deference to the prejudices of the Jewish people he engaged 1000 priests to work upon the temple itself, while hundreds of other workmen were employed upon the other parts. The work was begun b.c. 20, and continued long after his death. John 2:20. While, by a shrewd respect for the prejudices of his subjects, Herod flattered them into periodical displays of contentment, he was not a popular sovereign. He was, after all, a foreigner, and the Hebrew people could not become reconciled to his dominion and that of Caesar. In many ways he offended them, as by the introduction of the theatre and of games after the model of the Grecian games. In his family life Herod displayed the most cruel and barbarous nature. He had ten wives and several sons; and in reference to his conduct toward them Augustus made the remark, "I would rather be his swine than his son." He committed the most revolting murders amongst his nearest kin. Among the victims of his rage and suspicion were the brother, grandfather (Hyrcanus, b.c. 30), and mother of Mariamne, his wife, Mariamne herself, b.c. 29, his two sons by her, Aristobulus and Alexander, b.c. 7, and his son by Doris, Antipater, only a few days before his death. To this frightful list must be added the innocent children of Bethlehem, whom he had murdered in the hope to thus do away with Jesus, Matt 2:16. When he was dying he ordered that the chief men of all the cities of Judaea should be killed, in order that there might be some mourning at his death. After a long reign of 37 years, Herod died a miserable death in Jericho. His feet swelled, and his bowels became the victim of ulcers which gave him intense pain. He removed to Callirhoe, on the other side of the Jordan, hoping to get relief in the baths. All was of no avail, and he died, nearly 70 years of age, and unregretted by his family, much less by his subjects. The wise men of the East had an audience with Herod on their arrival in Jerusalem, and, alarmed by their interest in One "born King of the Jews," he took the precautions which cunning could suggest, and cruelty execute to do away with his rival. Matt 2:8, Heb 2:16. Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea, Luke 3:1, b.c. 4-a.d. 39. He was the second son of Herod by his fourth wife, Malthace. Like his father, he was ambitious and fond of ostentation. Our Lord refers to his cunning when he terms him "that fox," Luke 13:32. He also lavished large sums of money on public works, and built Tiberias, so called after the Roman emperor Tiberius. Induced thereto by his wife, Herodias, he went to Rome to secure the title of king. Charged, however, with crimes, he was deposed from his office by Caligula, and banished to Lyons. Herod Antipas is mentioned at least five times in the N.T. He is brought the most prominently forward in the history of John the Baptist. The prophet denounced the adulterous relation in which he was living with Herodias, the legal wife of Herod Philip (not the tetrarch Philip, who married Salome), his brother. Herod listened with pleasure to John, but, instigated by his wife, he put him in prison, and in obedience to a rash oath to Salome, although with hesitating will, had him beheaded, Mark 6:16-28. Herod was also one of the judges before whom our Lord appeared at his trial. He happened to be at Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, and Pilate sent Christ to him, as he was a Galilean. Herod was very desirous to see Jesus, having heard of him before, Mark 6:14, and asked many questions, none of which, however, were answered, Luke 23:7-12. This incident is again referred to Acts 4:27. From the Gospels we get his character as a votary of pleasure and debauchery, Mark 6:22; superstitious, Mark 6:16; and cunning, Luke 13:32. Archelaus, b.c. 4- a.d. 6, ethnarch of Judaea, Samaria, and Idumaea. He was the son of Herod by Malthace, and elder brother of Antipas. Herod the Great, his father, left the "kingdom" to him, but Augustus refused to ratify the will, and put him off with the inferior title ethnarch. He was tyrannical toward his subjects and regardless of their prejudices, marrying his stepbrother's wife, Glaphyra, in violation of the Mosaic Law. He was accused, and, cited to appear at Rome, was deposed from his office and banished to Vienne in Gaul. There is only one mention of Archelaus in the N.T., Matt 2:22. Philip, tetrarch of Gaulonitis, Auranitis, etc., b.c. 4-a.d. 34. He was the son of Herod the Great by his fifth wife, Cleopatra, but unlike the rest of his family was distinguished for justice and moderation. He married his niece Salome, the daughter of Herodias and his brother Herod (Philip), who was the young woman that danced before Herod Antipas. Philip is referred to once in the N.T., Luke 3:1. Herod Philip was the son of Herod the Great and Mariamne, the daughter of Simon the high priest. He was the first husband of Herodias, and is called Philip in Mark 6:17. He seems to have occupied a private station. Herod Agrippa I., king, a.d. 37-44, first of the tetrarchy of Philip and Lysanias, Coin of Herod Agrippa I. and finally of a dominion equal in extent to that of Herod the Great. He was the grandson of Herod the Great, and son of Aristobulus (murdered b.c. 7). Educated at Rome and thrown into prison by Tiberius, he gained the favor of the emperor Caligula, who made him king. He observed the ceremonial of the Pharisees and affected piety. As the representative of the Jewish spirit, he persecuted the apostles, beheaded James, and sought to execute Peter, Acts 12:1-19. Herod Agrippa II., a.d. 50-100, king of the tetrarchies formerly under Philip and Lysanias. He was the brother of Bernice and Drusilla. Paul appeared before him and narrated the history of his conversion. His words in answer to Paul's question have become proverbial: "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian," Acts 26:28.

son of a hero