Chapter 6

Herod

King Herod Captures Jerusalem

Herod first looked to find military assistance in the neighboring Arab kingdom of Nabataea where his father had friends, but he was coldly turned away. He then traveled to Alexandria and met with Cleopatra where he was well received, but the queen was busy preparing her own military campaign. She offered Herod leadership of that expedition, but he declined her offer and sailed to Rome. There he was greeted warmly by both Mark Antony and Octavian Caesar who argued his case against Antigonus before the senate. The proceedings ended with Herod being declared King of the Jews. A banquet was thrown to celebrate the first day of his reign. Unlike the Maccabean kings, Herod would not hold the high priesthood, as his Idumean ancestry made him ineligible.¹

Map showing Herod’s homeland of Idumea to the south of Judah

That same year, the Roman armies managed to drive the Parthians out of much of Syria, but nonetheless could not spare the resources to help Herod remove the pretender Antigonus from power. To mount a siege of Jerusalem on his own now required Herod to sail along the coast of Judah to hurriedly assemble an army of supporters and mercenaries who made raids into inland Judah for money and supplies. He then marched into Idumea where he found many additional supporters who hated Antigonus and the Parthians for the havoc they had recently wrought in their homeland. With this army, Herod began his campaign by easily defeating the contingent of Antigonus’s forces who were laying siege to Herod’s family at the Masada fortress.²

Artist depiction of Mark Antony’s soldiers sent to help Herod take Jerusalem

Rather than a direct assault on the well-protected city of Jerusalem, Herod moved his forces to surround all approaches to the city, cutting it off from supplies. Mark Antony again came to Herod’s assistance, sending a large detachment of soldiers with which Herod subdued Galilee. He was forced, however, to continuously battle guerilla-style assaults from rebel bands living in highland caves in Galilee and elsewhere. These fighters were fanatical in their hatred for Herod and the Romans, and had to be rooted out and killed because none would even consider surrender. Many of these caves were high up on cliff faces and virtually inaccessible.³

Artist depiction of Herod’s forces rappelling to attack rebel families living in highland caves

To defeat them, Herod ordered some of his most capable fighters to rappel down from the mountain tops to reach the cave openings. Any who came out of the caves were slaughtered, while those who stayed inside were burned to death along with their families. Herod wanted some of these insurgents to be taken alive, but such a task proved impossible. One old man emerged from a lofty cave entrance and called to his wife and seven children inside. He ordered them to come out one by one so he could kill them himself rather than let them fall into the hands of their hated enemies. Herod implored the man to stop, but the man only shouted insults at the king and threw his family to their deaths in the ravine below one by one before joining them himself.⁴

Artist depiction of a man coming across the body of Joseph

Herod, now hearing of a Roman military operation underway in northern Syria, rushed to offer his aid, and in doing so, again won the admiration of Mark Antony. Once that region was quieted, Antony supplied Herod with cavalry and another contingent of soldiers to help him retake Jerusalem. Meanwhile, a brother of Herod named Joseph had been given command over a small force. He disobeyed Herod’s orders and brought his men to seize the corn harvest at Jericho, but en route his men were ambushed by Antigonus’s soldiers and defeated. In a fit of rage, Antigonus had Joseph’s body brought before him and had his head cut off.⁵

More determined than ever, Herod now brought his large army south to Jericho to avenge his brother. Antigonus, knowing better than to engage the Roman soldiers head-on, sent an assault force to attack Herod’s men with rocks and other thrown weapons from a safe distance. In the fracas, Herod himself was wounded in his side by a dart but made a quick recovery.⁶

Artist depiction of Herod marrying into the Maccabean dynasty in view of his enemies holding Jerusalem

Three years after his appointment as king by the Romans, Herod now finally marched on Jerusalem. He ordered his men to surround the entire city with earthworks and construct three towers along them. Herod then had his family brought to him, and staged his marriage ceremony to his fiancée, the Maccabean princess Miriam, in full view of the city, displaying himself as the future of the royal Maccabean bloodline.⁷

Artist depiction of Herod’s siege battle to take Jerusalem

His attack on the city took the same approach used by Pompey, and Herod was forced to breach the city walls that his own father had rebuilt. As the Romans and other forces poured into the city and indiscriminately slaughtered young and old, Antigonus and his defenders fell back to the protection of the Temple complex. But it too was eventually breached, and those inside were ruthlessly butchered. Herod managed to prevent his army from looting the treasury, and Antigonus was captured alive.⁸

Artist depiction of the beheading of Antigonus

The defeated would-be king was brought to Mark Antony who wished to keep him captive to be put on display in a triumphal parade in Rome, but this was deemed too risky. The majority of the Jews were far more enthused about this Maccabean grandson of Aristobulus restoring an independent Jewish monarchy and clearly hated Herod. To quiet such hopes, Antigonus was beheaded.⁹

Herod’s Early Reign

Artist depiction of King Herod and Queen Miriam early in Herod’s reign

Once settled in Jerusalem as king, Herod divorced his first wife Doris of Idumea and banished from Judah their child Antipater II . His second wife, the Maccabean Queen Miriam would give birth to five children. The queen’s grandfather and former high priest, Hyrcanus—whose ears were mutilated by his nephew—had been captured by the Parthians. He was treated well and was living comfortably in his old age among the large Jewish community in Babylon. But Herod sent the Parthians many gifts and requested Hyrcanus be sent home to assist in his rule. Though he could no longer act as high priest, Hyrcanus was warmly welcomed back, and given the seat of honor at feasts and public meetings.¹⁰

To fill the position of high priest, Herod steered clear of the Maccabee family and the more traditional line of Zadokites, instead choosing an unknown priest named Ananelus from among the Jewish priests in Babylon. Hyrcanus’s daughter Alexandra—Queen Miriam’s mother and the widow of Alexander Maccabee—was one of many Jews who found this choice completely unacceptable. She believed that only her son Aristobulus III was qualified for the position. Though only 16 years old, this young Aristobulus was already admired for his beauty. Seeking Roman backing for her son, she sent a request to Mark Antony along with a portrait of her son. Antony then requested a meeting with him. But Herod, aware of Antony’s sexual proclivities, refused to send the boy, saying that if Aristobulus were to leave Judah the people would rebel.¹¹

Artist depiction of crowds cheering for the young high priest

But Queen Miriam too would continually rebuke Herod over his unpopular and illegitimate choice of high priest. Deciding it might be better to keep the charismatic young man under his watchful eye in Jerusalem rather than plotting a coup elsewhere, Herod acceded to the wishes of his wife and the people, and had Ananelus removed from office. The young Aristobulus made his debut as high priest during a festival at the Temple where a huge crowd of Jews burst into tears at the sight of the boy in the sacred garments, moved that a pure and proper Maccabean was their religious leader again.¹²

Attempting to control the queen mother Alexandra’s further actions, Herod forced her to move into the royal palace where bodyguards kept constant watch over her, eliminating her privacy. Desperate, she wrote to Cleopatra who urged her to take her son Aristobulus and come to Egypt. To escape undetected, Alexandra had two coffins made to carry them to the coast where they would board a ship to Alexandria. But a palace slave discovered the plan, and revealed it to Herod who prevented their escape. Knowing that he could not punish them harshly without upsetting Cleopatra, he made a show of magnanimity toward them, but at the same time devised his own secret plan.¹³

Artist depiction of King Herod watching as his slaves drown the high priest Aristobulus, his 17-year-old nephew

Now age 17, Aristobulus continued his duties as high priest and the people openly adored him, aggravating Herod. Some time later, Herod threw a feast at his palace in Jericho with Alexandra and Aristobulus present. Joined by some slaves, Herod and the young man walked to a secluded area nearby and played like children under the hot sun. When his slaves began to cool off in an adjacent pond, Herod suggested Aristobulus join them. The slaves too began to play silly games with the unsuspecting high priest, holding his head underwater for increasing amounts of time until Herod gave them a signal and they forced him to stay underwater until he drowned to death. The king presented his death as accidental and tragic, and threw the boy a lavish funeral, making a show of his grief. He then reinstalled the former high priest Ananelus in his place.¹⁴

Artist depiction of Cleopatra and Mark Antony in Alexandria

The queen mother Alexandra again wrote to Cleopatra who in turn complained to Antony that Herod must be removed. So Antony summoned Herod to Egypt to answer for himself. Before leaving, the king put his uncle Joseph in charge with this explicit instruction that if Antony were to have Herod executed, he was to immediately kill Queen Miriam. Antony had shown great attraction to Miriam, and Herod wished to deny him the opportunity to take her as a wife. While the king was away, Joseph spent much time around Miriam, and, thinking it would reflect well on Herod’s love of her, told Miriam of Herod’s orders. But she was aghast and despaired. While the king was away, reports circulated that Antony had had Herod tortured and murdered, but eventually letters arrived from the king proving the rumors false. In fact, Herod wrote that he had given Antony many generous gifts, swaying him to override Cleopatra’s opinions on the matter. Herod then joined Antony on another expedition against the Parthians.¹⁵

When the king returned to Jerusalem, his sister Salome, who hated Queen Miriam, accused her of having sex with his uncle Joseph while Herod was away. Miriam denied this and after much arguing, he believed her. She then told him of Joseph having revealed his order to kill her if Antony executed him. In a rage, Herod now became convinced Miriam must have seduced Joseph to pry that information out of him, and he nearly killed her but found some restraint. His uncle Joseph, on the other hand, was immediately executed.¹⁶

Artist depiction of the palm grove in Jericho which Antony gifted to Cleopatra,

Antony remained deeply in love with Cleopatra, and had made a habit of pleasing her by gifting many large swaths of land throughout his realm to her. This included lands in Judah such as a valuable palm and balsa wood grove near Jericho which Herod then had to rent back from her. Cleopatra is reputed to have become smitten by the King of the Jews during a visit to his realm at this time, and attempted to seduce him. Sensing a trap, Herod rebuffed her and even consulted with his trusted advisors about having her killed, imagining it would be a boon both to himself and Antony. His advisers, however, convinced him that killing the most revered woman in the world was too dangerous, and that Antony would avenge her murder mercilessly.¹⁷

Octavian Prevails, the Queen Is Killed

Artist depiction of Persian mounted archers able to fire directly behind them

In the seventh year of Herod’s reign, without any assistance or approval from Octavian Caesar or the senate in Rome, Mark Antony amassed 200,000 soldiers in Syria with Cleopatra’s help. It was the largest army the Romans had ever fielded in the East. Herod offered to lead a Jewish contingent to join him in his massive invasion of Parthia, but was instead ordered to attack the Parthian-allied Arab kingdom of Nabataea to the south. So in 34 BCE, Antony took an army twice as large as that gathered by Cassius Longinus years before, and marched eastward into foreign territory. It went poorly. After having their supply chain attacked and destroyed deep into Parthian territory, a failed siege of a regional capital was followed by a costly retreat. Antony’s only success in the campaign was conquering the nation of Armenia to the northeast of Syria, along the border with Parthia.¹⁸

Artist depiction of the Roman Triumph staged by Antony in Alexandria

Meanwhile in Rome, Octavian Caesar was laying the groundwork for a bid for sole power over the republic, publicly sullying Antony’s reputation, accusing him of low morality for having left his previous Roman noblewoman wife for an Egyptian harlot. Worse, he was accused of having “gone native” in Egypt—a notion repellant to Roman sensibilities. When Antony finished his conquest of Armenia, he returned to Alexandria in Egypt where he had a triumphal procession staged in Roman style. At the finale, Antony, with Cleopatra at his side, publicly announced the end of his alliance with Octavian.¹⁹

Not wishing to give the appearance of starting another bloody civil war, Octavian ignored Antony himself and declared war on Cleopatra in 31 BCE. The pivotal battle was fought at sea off the coast of western Greece and involved more than 900 ships. Antony and Cleopatra’s numerically superior and physically larger naval force had difficulty engaging with the smaller, more agile ships commanded by Octavian’s general Marcus Agrippa. Their defeat was decisive and disastrous, and Antony and Cleopatra retreated to Egypt. When Octavian pursued them and landed with an army at Alexandria, the couple chose to commit suicide rather than face the humiliation of being displayed as captives in a triumphal parade in Rome.²⁰

Artist depiction of the decisive between Octavian and Mark Antony and Cleopatra at Actium

Territories of Herod’s newly united kingdom after Octavian gifted him Samaria and the southwestern coast

It was now time for King Herod to attempt another perilous pivot of his loyalties from Antony to Octavian, and this he did by sailing to meet with the recent Roman victor on the prosperous Greek island of Rhodes. Meanwhile in Judah, the queen mother Alexandra, still hoping to restore the kingdom to Maccabean rule, convinced the aged former high priest Hyrcanus to declare himself king in Herod’s absence. While Hyrcanus had no desire to be king, he did wish to return to the high priesthood, so he wrote a letter to the Nabataeans seeking temporary shelter until Octavian should reject Herod’s friendship and punish him instead. At Rhodes, Herod appeared before the soon-to-be-emperor humbly without a crown. Rather than play down or renounce his longstanding loyalty and assistance to Antony, he spoke candidly and proudly of it, eloquently offering to Octavian that same level of unflagging dedication. Suitably moved, Herod’s crown was placed back on his head, and Octavian not only offered his friendship to the Jewish monarch, but expanded his realm to contain Samaria and regions along the coast.²¹

Artist depiction of Hyrcanus having received his death sentence by the Sanhedrin

On his return, a slave of Hyrcanus sought to win Herod’s favor by showing him Hyrcanus’s letter to the Nabateans. Though he denied the letter was his, Herod brought it before the Sanhedrin, and the 80-year-old Hyrcanus—who had first become high priest when appointed to the position by his mother, Queen Salome Alexandra, at the start of her reign, and held the position for 40 years—now finally met his end, sentenced to death. His daughter Alexandra, the queen mother, was banished.²²

Artist depiction of Octavian warmly receiving King Herod at Alexandria

Herod traveled again to meet the soon-to-be-named emperor Octavian at Alexandria in Egypt, offering him extravagant gifts. Returning these gestures of generosity, the Jewish king was gifted Cleopatra’s personal guard of 200 Galatian soldiers from Asia Minor, and had the lands in Judah returned to him that Antony had given Cleopatra. Herod accompanied Octavian to Syria and then returned home.²³

Artist depiction of Miriam whom Herod accused of plotting to poison him

Queen Miriam had never gotten over what Herod had done to her grandfather Hyrcanus, nor the murder of her brother the young high priest Aristobulus. She refused to sleep with him, and would often scream abuses at him. Herod’s mother and his sister Salome hated Miriam and slandered her reputation at every turn. They told the king of a plot Miriam was hatching to poison him by giving him a “love potion”. Enraged, Herod had one of Miriam’s slaves tortured for information. The slave knew little, saying only that the queen had had several meetings with Herod’s cupbearer Sohemus. Because Sohemus had always been a very faithful slave, Herod became convinced he must now be having an affair with Miriam. In fit of rage he had Sohemus executed, and had his wife Miriam put on trial. Despite a lack of evidence, she was found guilty. At the urging of Herod’s mother and his sister she was not put in prison, but put to death immediately.²⁴

Herod the Builder

Modern model depicting the Temple of Jerusalem as lavishly rebuilt by King Herod

With his hold on power secured by Rome and the Maccabean threats to his kingdom subdued, Herod now embarked on a long series of magnificent building projects throughout his kingdom. The most grandiose of these was a complete rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem and its surroundings. Work began in 20 BCE when, with massive efforts and costs, the foundation walls and platform of the Temple mount were doubled in size, allowing the reconstructed Temple to have huge colonnaded outer courtyards.²⁵

The expansive Court of the Gentiles surrounds the progressively more exclusive inner Court of the Women, Court of Israel, and Court of the Priests

The fortress that stood within the Temple grounds was rebuilt to resemble a palace, and Herod named it Antonia after his one-time friend and patron, and he named one of the Temple’s gates after Octavian’s victorious general Agrippa. All of the construction was carried out so as to allow uninterrupted daily animal sacrifices and other sacred rituals. It would take decades before the rebuilding of the Temple complex was fully completed. In its beauty and scale, it was considered to be on par with the famous wonders of the ancient world, and it attracted many tourists in addition to the throngs of Jews who would come as pilgrims at the major festivals.²⁶

Artist depiction of Herod’s Temple of Julius Caesar in Caesarea

Herod himself, though raised Jewish, was not particularly devout. He was a great admirer of Greek and Roman culture, and wished his realm to rival the majesty of any other in the empire. His greatest undertaking after the Temple was the construction of a city on the coast which he named Caesarea. The region where it was founded was badly in need of a port city, and, in a feat of ancient engineering, Herod had a massive underwater sea wall built to allow construction of a calm harbor for massive trade ships in an area known for its rough seas. Huge statues lined the harbor, leading into a lavish Roman-style city built in marble and featuring palaces, towers, a grand marketplace, a large amphitheater (still in use), and a Temple of Julius Caesar including a giant statue of the now-deified leader in the style of Zeus. On completion, Herod decreed that olympic-style competitions would be held in the city every five years called Caesar’s Games.²⁷

Some of Herod’s other grand building projects included a new city in Samaria that he named after Octavian, a tower in Jerusalem he named after his brother Phasael, and another city north of Jerusalem he named after his father Antipater. At Jericho he constructed an opulent winter palace for himself. He rebuilt Masada in the style of a palace—in addition to being a virtually-impenetrable fortress. And he constructed a royal complex built of marble on a hill south of Jerusalem and a fortress on the Arabian border, naming each of these Herodium in his own honor.²⁸

Artist reconstruction of the palace fortress of Masada

Artist depiction of a discus thrower at Greek games hosted by King Herod

On a visit to Rome, Herod learned that the ancient Greek Olympic Games were in peril from lack of funds, and he made sufficient contributions to create an endowment to secure their future and took a leadership role in their planning. He furthered his reputation for generosity by providing many cities around the eastern Mediterranean with improvements like temples, baths, marbled boulevards, aqueducts, halls, porticoes, theaters, fountains, colonnaded courtyards, and marketplaces.²⁹

Herod the Tyrant

Artist depiction of a Roman style theater built by Herod with Roman style statues

Despite the massive expenditures on the Temple of Jerusalem, Herod remained deeply unpopular among the Jews over whom he ruled. In Jerusalem he built a giant amphitheater which hosted events such as chariot races, Greek-style wrestling bouts with competitors in the nude, and even gladiatorial combat featuring wild exotic animals. While these were all upsetting to a great many Jews, the most religiously unacceptable feature were the statues of human figures that decorated the structure—something considered strictly forbidden anywhere in the holy city.³⁰

Artist depiction of a man being tortured on the rack, Herod’s preferred interrogation method

Reacting to this, a group of ten Jewish men plotted to seek out Herod while he was at the amphitheater, and assassinate him using daggers hidden under their cloaks. But one of Herod’s spies learned of this plan, and the men were arrested and dragged before Herod at his palace. They made no attempt to deny their plot, and boldly proclaimed that the defense of their religion was a holy act for which they were all prepared to face death. The men were taken away to be tortured and then killed. Soon afterward, Herod’s same spy was captured by the people, pulled apart limb from limb, and his body fed to dogs. In retaliation, Herod had the ten men’s families killed. None of this made Herod more popular.³¹

Artist depiction of King Herod and his latest wife, also named Miriam

Herod removed the high priest Ananelus from office a second time, replacing him with a man named Jesus (Greek for “Joshua” which means “salvation”). Not long after his appointment, however, Herod fell in love with another woman also named Miriam who was the daughter of Simon, a member of the priesthood. He decided to marry her, and to elevate the status of her family, he removed the high priest Jesus from office, replacing him with her father Simon. Herod’s capricious treatment of the office of the high priesthood was yet another source of resentment among the people, for it was against the Jewish law for any man to remove another from the position of high priest.³²

Artist depiction of King Herod disguising himself as a commoner

Resorting to extreme lengths to prevent his subjects from conspiring against him, Herod made it illegal for people to congregate, forbidding them from even walking or eating together. He expanded his network of spies until they were seemingly everywhere. The king himself would even go out at night disguised as a commoner just to hear what people were saying about him. Those who aroused suspicion were carted off to a fortress named after Hyrcanus and were forced to make an oath of loyalty to Herod. Those who refused were killed.³³

Artist depiction of the stoning of the supporters of Alexander and Aristobulus

Herod’s executed wife Queen Miriam had bore him two sons who were named after her ancestors Alexander and Aristobulus. They had been sent off to Rome for their education, but now returned home. In the meantime, Herod’s eldest son Antipater had been invited back to the palace, and now had won his father’s favor. This Antipater slandered his half-brothers relentlessly, and his accusations were not without merit—indeed it turned out that Alexander and Aristobulus had hatched a plot to secretly assassinate their father the king while on a hunting expedition, similar to how Herod had secretly murdered the young high priest Aristobulus III. Their plot was discovered, though, from the tortured confessions of a great number of slaves and several of the two sons’ closest friends, many of whom died on the rack.³⁴

Herod wrote to Octavian for his advice about what to do with his sons who had turned against him, and was told to have them tried before a Roman court at Beirut. At the conclusion of the trial, Herod gathered about 300 people he deemed guilty of being connected to his son’s plot and had them all clubbed and then stoned to death. His two sons were brought to the city he’d named after Octavian, and there they were executed by strangulation.³⁵

Religious Sects in the Time of Herod

Artist depiction of Pheroras and his wife

Herod had a brother named Pheroras who governed the eastern part of his kingdom. To the king’s dismay, he had fallen in love with a slave woman from his palace. When Herod attempted to arrange for him to marry a noblewoman instead, he acquiesced, but soon went back on his word and ran off and married the slave woman.³⁶

At the time when Herod was demanding oaths of loyalty from the Jewish people, a group of thousands of Pharisees refused to comply. Rather than face the consequences of attempting to slaughter them all, Herod forced them each to pay a fine. The former slave woman who was now Pheroras’s wife then made a gesture of support by paying all the fines levied on the Pharisees. This infuriated Herod who demanded his brother choose between him and his wife. Pheroras sent reply that he would sooner die than forsake his wife.³⁷

These Pharisees claimed to have seen a vision of the future in which Herod’s reign would end and the kingdom would be in the hands of Pheroras and his wife. Herod’s sister Salome heard of this and told Herod. The king was furious and had killed anyone who spoke of this prophecy, even members of his own family. He could not quite bring himself to kill Pheroras, but had him and his wife banished from the kingdom.³⁸

The Zadokites seem to have lost their political influence with the fall of the Maccabean dynasty, but retained control of much of the lower priesthood. Their offshoot communities of fundamentalist Jews known as the Essenes continued to make up a significant portion of the population across Judah. It is likely that many of those who were living in caves and willing to die standing up to Herod or the Romans were Zadokite or Essene rebels motivated by their fanatical beliefs.³⁹

One of the inaccessible caves in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered

The Dead Sea Scrolls—generally held to have been written by the Essenes—whose first writings were composed at the start of the Maccabean dynasty when their ancient Zadokite high priest line was terminated, show a major resurgence around the time of Herod replacing the Maccabean high priests with a string of his own cronies.⁴⁰ Writings in this latter period continue the themes seen earlier—an emphasis on those doctrines imported from Zoroastrianism—including the approaching End Times, the arrival of a Messiah to lead the forces of light against the forces of darkness, angels and demons, evil spirits, Satan, strict aniconism, the resurrection of the dead, Judgment Day, and Heaven and Hell—except now with a perceptible increase in urgency and more immediate expectation of a messiah.⁴¹

Artist depiction of a group of Sadducees having a discussion

It seems to be the case that the reign of Herod is when the Jewish sect known as the Sadducees first came to prominence. They consisted of aristocratic families, government magistrates, wealthy merchants, as well as the high priests chosen by Herod. They were open to the influence of Greek and Roman culture and attempted to placate and remain on good terms with their foreign overlords. Religiously they rejected the Oral Law of the Pharisees and all the Zoroastrian-influenced doctrines of the Zadokites and Essenes. They were not awaiting a messiah or resurrection, and did not think they were living in the End Times. Like the ancient Judahite worshippers of Yahweh before the Persian Period began, they did not believe there was any reward or punishment after death, just a dreary eternal existence for all in Sheol.⁴²

The End of Herod’s Reign

The aging Herod’s eldest son Antipater was now the heir apparent, though Herod had married a total of nine wives from whom he had four other living sons. Over time, the king began to feel pity for his grandsons who had become orphans when he had had Alexander and Aristobulus executed, and this made Antipater nervous about his future as these boys now began to come of age. But for the moment, Herod’s will indicated Antipater as his sole successor.⁴³

Artist depiction of Pheroras’s wife throwing herself from the roof of Herod’s palace

Meanwhile, Herod’s banished brother Pheroras knew that only the death of the king would allow him to return to his former position, and he began meeting in secret with his nephew Antipater. Together they concocted an elaborate plot to have the king poisoned while they were both out of the country. But Pheroras soon fell ill and he died before the plan could be carried out. Suspicious that his brother might have been poisoned, Herod had many palace slave women tortured for information and, in this way, learned of the ill will Antipater held toward him. More paranoid than ever, Herod now had innocent people tortured at the slightest provocation. Learning that Pheroras’s wife was in possession of the poison that Antipater had imported from Egypt, Herod summoned her to him and confronted her. Sensing her death was imminent, rather than face torture, she ran from the king’s presence and threw herself from the roof of the palace, perishing.⁴⁴

Artist depiction of King Herod forcing Antipater’s accused co-conspirator to drink suspected poison intended for Herod

Then one of Antipater’s servants produced a second vial containing the venom of asps, and showed it to the king. When Antipater returned from Rome he was completely unaware that his plot had been discovered. At a trial held the next day, he maintained his innocence even when another of the accused was forced to drink from the vial and immediately fell dead. In the following days it was further discovered that Antipas had also conspired against Herod’s sister Salome by forging a series of letters while in Rome. While many involved in this conspiracy were executed immediately, the king threw his eldest son in prison to await his fate while a report of the proceedings was sent to Octavian in Rome for review.⁴⁵

At this time there were two very popular religious teachers who had studied the Jewish scriptures all their lives—Judas of Sepphoris (a city in Galilee adjacent to modern day Nazareth) and Matthias of Margalus—who were attracting great crowds of disciples every day. Even though Herod’s erecting of statues in the Jerusalem theater had outraged many and caused an assassination attempt against him, the king never deviated from this policy. In what was by far the most galling of all such offenses, Herod had recently had a large golden eagle erected over the great gate of the Temple of Yahweh.⁴⁶

Artist depiction of the golden eagle being pulled off the temple gate

While Antipater was still in prison at Jericho, the 70-year-old king now contracted a debilitating, painful, and incurable disease. When news of this got out, the two popular teachers in Jerusalem encouraged their followers to immediately start a rebellion by tearing down all of Herod’s images of living creatures in Jerusalem, starting with the golden eagle. They taught their followers that even if they were killed in the attempt, there was great glory in dying in the act of protecting God’s laws. So the two most intrepid among their disciples lowered themselves from the top of the Temple with ropes, and then hacked at the golden eagle with axes until it fell to the ground where the rest of the frenzied crowd hacked it to pieces.⁴⁷

Artist depiction of a teacher being burned alive

The captain of the Temple guard rushed to the scene with a regiment of soldiers. Though many disciples scattered, forty of the students stood where they were, showing no fear. When asked who had ordered this destruction, they replied “The law of our fathers”. Asked why they looked happy when they would surely be executed, they said, “Because we will enjoy greater happiness when we are dead.” A group representing the citizens of Jerusalem, fearing a widespread massacre in retaliation, begged Herod to only punish the ringleaders of this incident. Reluctantly the ailing king agreed. The two men who had cut the eagle down were burned alive together with the two teachers, while the rest of the 40 who did not flee were handed over to executioners. Herod also deposed yet another high priest, replacing him with a man named Joazar.⁴⁸

Artist depiction of nobles from across Judah arriving at the hippodrome in Jericho

The king’s health was rapidly declining and he was in great pain. Many believed his condition to be a punishment from God for his treatment of the two popular teachers—not to mention his entire long career of tyranny. Giving up any hope of recovery, Herod made plans for his impending death. Aware that his subjects would celebrate his death rather than mourn for him in a manner befitting a king, he devised a final horrible scheme. All the most distinguished and beloved men from throughout Judah were summoned to his palace in Jericho. He had them ushered into the city’s hippodrome, and then barricaded all the doors, trapping them inside. He gave his most trusted soldiers orders that, at the moment of his death, they were to massacre everyone inside the hippodrome so that every family in the kingdom would mourn at his passing whether they wanted to or not.⁴⁹

Artist depiction of King Herod near death at age 70

Soon the king was in so much pain, he asked a slave for an apple and a knife, and then attempted to stab himself, but was stopped at the last moment by a cousin who was staying with him. The cries of the onlookers of this incident could be heard from Antipater’s nearby prison chamber. The king’s son’s spirits suddenly raised, thinking that with his father dead, he might now go free. So he made offers of huge amounts of money and honors to his jailer if he would only let him go. But instead the jailer reported this conversation to Herod who was furious and immediately had his eldest son executed. He then changed his will to indicate his heir would be another of his sons named Archelaus.⁵⁰

Five days later Herod died in 4 BCE. He had been declared King of the Jews by the Roman senate 37 years before. His sister Salome knew of his death before his soldiers, so she and her husband rushed to the Hippodrome and told the soldiers outside that the king had changed his mind and wanted all the people inside to return to their homes, and so they were set free. Upon receiving the news of Herod’s death, the people celebrated.⁵¹

Continue Reading:

Chapter 7: Awaiting a Savior

Footnotes

1
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
2
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
3
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
4
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
5
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
6
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
7
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
8
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
9
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
10
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
11
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
12
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
13
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
14
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
15
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
16
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
17
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
18
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
19
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
20
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
21
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
22
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
23
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
24
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
25
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
26
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
27
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
28
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
29
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
30
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
31
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
32
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
33
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
34
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
35
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
36
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
37
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
38
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
39
Eisenman, R. (2013). Maccabees, Zadokites, Christians, and Qumran. Grave Distractions Publications.
40
Eisenman, R. (2013). Maccabees, Zadokites, Christians, and Qumran. Grave Distractions Publications.
41
Boccaccini, G. (1998). Beyond the Essene Hypothesis: The Parting of the Ways between Qumran and Enochic Judaism
42
Eisenman, R. (1998). James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Penguin.
43
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
44
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
45
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
46
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
47
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
48
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
49
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
50
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
51
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.