JESUS   THE   MESSIAH

His Life and Times

No. 7

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The Personal History Of Herod The Great Of The Bible

     This period of history was an intensely painful one for the Jews.  Alexander the Great had conquered much of the then civilized world two and a half centuries earlier.  During this time Palestine fell to his successors.  Then for nearly a century and a half it fell prey continuously to the battlefields of the Egyptian and Syrian kings.  This continued on until it eventually was a corrupt High-Priesthood that betrayed Israel's trust.  

     Simon the Just was a very noble figure in Jewish history, but his great grandson managed to buy the office of High Priest and adopted the heathen name Jason.  He sought to teach the people the Greek ways and fell from the Jewish way of doing things.  Then his brother took over and introduced even more of the heathen ways, making the office of High Priest even lower and more abominable to God.  After this, there was a brief period of terrible persecutions by Antiochus Epiphanes.  Judaism was all but exterminated in Palestine because the persecutions were so bad.  

     Judas the Maccabee got tired of all the persecution and raised up a band of soldiers that was far inferior in number to the Syrians.  They defeated the best of Syrian soldiery led by its ablest generals.  Judas then set up again the great altar of burnt-offering and it appeared that maybe Israel would be able to get back on track.  But the Maccabees were not the Messiah nor yet the Kingdom, which their sword would have restored.  It just was not the time for the Messiah to come yet who would bring blessings and salvation to the world.  

     The favor and purity of the Maccabee movement ceased almost at the height of its success.  Even though they were not being persecuted anymore, this period was not a time of peacefulness and rest for Israel.  No one really knows why he made the decision he did - maybe he was acting under pressure, or was just deceived, but Judas sought an alliance with the Romans to help them out.  Maybe he thought this would give the country peace and rest that it had not had before.  From the very first day they took over, Israel began to decline rapidly and was pretty soon just infused into the Roman way of doing things, with the Israelites having to obey the Roman  laws instead of having their own.  

     At first the Romans pretty much let them do as they pleased, but as they became High Priests and Kings, there was party-strife and worldliness, ambition and corruption, and much conflict between the Greek and Palestinian values.  It was contention for the throne with all its power among the Maccabees that led to the interference from Rome and ultimately led to Rome placing her own leaders over the people.  The whole country of Palestine was now under Roman rule and was subject to the Governor of Syria.  Shortly after this happened, one of the Roman Governors divided the land into five districts that were independent of each other and each had their own ruler.

     But already a person had appeared who was to give the Jews their last decisive turn about fifty years before the Romans took over.  There was a small area of land that the Edomites had occupied since the Babylonian Exile years before.  It was not under Jewish rule and the people had not been taught in the Jewish ways.  It was part of Southern Palestine right at the end of the land.  At this time, it had been conquered by King Hyrcanus I, and its inhabitants were forced to adopt Judaism.  After it became Judean, its administration was entrusted to a governor, one Antipater who was a man of cunning and determination.  He successfully interfered in the unhappy dispute for the crown, which at last went to Pompey.  Antipater was very cunning and he and his brother Aristobulus soon overtook the king Hyrcanus I.  They were not rulers in name, but wielded the power behind the throne.  Soon Hyrcanus II became king, but he was only a puppet in their hands.  

    Up until this time only about a century had elapsed, which had been one of intense fighting and bloodshed.  In only 24 more years, the last of the Maccabees had given place to the son of Antipater:  Herod the Great.  

     The settlement of Pompey could not stand up to Antipater and Aristobulus.  They were still alive, and their sons were even more energetic and zealous for power than they were.  They instituted all kinds of uprisings and made this period in history one of confusion, turmoil, and constant warfare in Palestine.  When Pompey was finally taken over by Caesar, their prospects seemed dark for keeping their power.  They decided to quickly change sides, and the two of them gave help to Caesar that was very timely: as a result of their conniving this brought Antipater into more power as the title of Procurator of Judea, while Hyrcanus the previous king was only given to be one of the High Priests and only in charge of a nominal amount of people.

     The two sons of Antipater were now made governors over provinces: the elder, Phasaelus, of Jerusalem; the younger, Herod, only twenty five years old, of Galilee.  Here Herod displayed much determination to wipe out every one else who might be a threat to him.  He wiped out the group with its leader that was causing him problems.  When news of this got out, he had to appear before the Sanhedrin for having thought that he had the power of life and death over people.  He came in boldness arrayed in purple finery, and surrounded by a bodyguard.  He also had a letter telling them from a higher power that he was to be acquitted.  He was finally persuaded to withdraw from the city, though, before the Sanhedrin could get together a defense against him.  He returned later as the head of an army, and his father had much difficulty in persuading him to spare Jerusalem.  In the meantime, Caesar had named him to the position of Governor of Coalesyria.  He was becoming just like his father had been.

     When Caesar was murdered, and Syria was taken over by Cassius, Antipater and Herod again changed sides.  They connived their way in and rendered such substantial services to Cassius and they secured favor with him.  Herod was able to continue on in his position as Governor.  Antipater was poisoned by a rival, but his sons Herod and Phasaelus extinguished all the people that had killed him, as well as anybody that was opposed to them.  

     When the battle of Philippi placed the Roman world in the hands of Antony and Octavius, once more Herod and his brother gained the favor of the new ruler, and they were both named Tetrarchs of Judea.  Later things took a turn for the worse, though, and the Parthians entered the land.  They were led by Antigonus, who was the son of Aristobulus, which was Antipater's brother.  This made Herod and Antigonus cousins.  Herod's brother was made captive and sent to prison, where he destroyed himself by dashing out his brains against the prison wall.  Hyrcanus, who was one of the High Priest's and the former king, had his ears cut off so he could no longer be in the High Priest position.  So, for a short time, Herod's cousin had the power because Herod had left his family at the inaccessible fortress of Masada and had himself fled into Arabia.  Then he finally made his way to Rome.  There he succeeded in conniving and winning over Antony and Octavius and was proclaimed by the Senate as King of Judea.  There was a huge banquet given by Antony which was given in celebration of this grand event for Herod.  

     In the next text, we will learn how Herod went about conquering his kingdom and gaining control over the people there.  

     For more information from this book, go to the archives page at my site  www.cathydeaton.com   There are other articles of interest there also.

     This text was taken from the book Life and Time of Jesus the Messiah and was written by Alfred Edersheim.  This book is used by permission.