JESUS   THE   MESSIAH

His Life and Times

No.  9

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The Government of  Herod

     We start this text knowing that the people despised Herod because of his cruelty and plotting against them.  They never felt safe because they knew that he had spies everywhere and if they came against him, he would trump up charges against them and they would most likely die.  This was an extremely bloody time in history.  

     In name, Herod became a Jew.  He conformed to the Law of Judaism in a sense, and even built them the magnificent Temple, which was more beautiful than they had ever had before.  He fought for the cause of Judaism in other lands, and seemed anxious to stay reconciled with them.  

     Herod never went into the Holy Place or interfered with any of the functions of the priests; in fact, they were the only ones that he entrusted to do any work at all on the Temple.  None of his coins bear devices which could have shocked popular feeling of the day, nor did any of the buildings he erected in Jerusalem exhibit any forbidden emblems.  

     The Sanhedrin did exist during his reign, but it probably did not have very much power.  Their main function was probably just to make sure the religious rites were carried out  rightly at the Temple.  Now that Herod was dead, they probably hoped that they could get back to a state of rule where they could be independent of outside laws, like they had been before, and get back to their own Rabbinic Rule.

     It was also under the government of Herod that Hillel and Shammai lived and taught in Jerusalem.  Tradition designates them as 'the fathers of old'.  Both of their teachings were said to be 'like a voice from heaven', but Hillel turned out to have much more authority in his teaching.  The people thought that he was immensely interesting.

     He had come from Babylon to learn in the Academies of Jerusalem.  He would support his family on a third of his scanty wages as a day laborer, so that he could pay for entrance into the schools.  No one really noticed anything that set him apart from the others until he couldn't pay for his entrance into the schools anymore because of poverty.  He wanted to learn so badly that he would climb up into the window sill so that he could hear what was being said.  He craved knowledge so badly that tradition says that he became Chief of the Sanhedrin in 30 B. C. and held that office for several years.  Tradition also says that he was a descendant of David, possessing every great quality of body, mind, and heart.  In his extreme old age he may have presided over that meeting of Sanhedrin which, in answer to Herod's inquiry, pointed to Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Messiah.  He was also the grandfather of Gamaliel, at whose feet Saul of Tarsus sat.  

     So at this time in history there were two worlds in Jerusalem, living side by side.  One world was Grecianism with its theatre and amphitheatre; foreigners filling the Court, and crowding the city; foreign tendencies and ways from the foreign King downwards.  On the other hand, was the old Jewish world, that was set in the ways of Hillel and Shammai, and overshadowed by Temple and Synagogue.  Each was pursuing its course, by the side of the other.  

Herod had his spies.

Jewish law provided its two police magistrates in Jerusalem, the only judges who received remuneration.

Herod judged cruelly and despotically.

The Sanhedrin weighed most deliberately, with the balance always inclining to mercy. 

     Greek was the language of the court and camp, with the language being understood and spoken by most of the people of the land by this time.  The language of the Jews, though, spoken also by Christ and His Apostles, was a dialect of the ancient Hebrew, Aramaic.  It is a strange thing that a Jewish Messiah would urge His claim upon Israel in Greek.  The language of the Temple and the Synagogue was Hebrew, and the people were forbidden to speak Greek in and around the Temple.  The Rabbis actually forbid the people to learn Greek, but they had to know it to live in their cities, because it was the language of the day.  Even though it was forbidden by the Rabbis, Jesus argued with the Scribes and Pharisees in that tongue, so even if they had forbid it, they must have known it also.  The language was well saturated into the lives of the Jewish life.  

     There was a definite mixture of the two different worlds, not just Greek and Jew, but of piety and frivolity also.  There were fortunes lavished on Jewish learning and the advancement of the national cause.  The thousands of votive offerings and the costly gifts in the Temple bore evidence of this.  Rich men would bring extra sacrifices to the Temple so that a poor man who couldn't afford anything would be able to sacrifice also.  Charity was not only openhanded, but most delicate, and one who had been in good circumstances would actually be enabled to live according to his former station.  Thus Hillel was said to have hired a horse for a decayed rich man.  

     The townspeople were very polished, witty, and pleasant.  They were very tactful and considerate in their social dealings with people.  Even their language was different.  It was found to be quicker, shorter, and lighter and their hospitality was unlimited, especially at festive seasons.  No one considered his house his own in these times of festivals, but opened it up to complete strangers for rooming.  

    There was a tremendous amount to be seen and heard in those luxuriously furnished houses and they could take part in sumptuous entertainment.  In the women's apartments, friends from the country would see every novelty in dress, adornment, and jewelry, and have the benefit of examining themselves in looking glasses.  They were not supposed to carry looking glasses on the Sabbath.   It would have broken a law if they had looked in the glass and pulled out a gray hair with the pincers attached to the end of the glass.  It was OK, though, if they just looked at themselves in a glass fixed in the lid of a basket, or one that hung on a wall, as long as they didn't actually perform any work on the Sabbath. 

     The lady-visitor also might get anything in Jerusalem; from a false tooth to an Arabian veil, a Persian shawl, or an Indian dress.  

     While the women learned manners in the inner apartments, the men would talk about the news of the day, or debate politics.  The people in Jerusalem had friends and correspondents in the most distant parts of the world.  They sent letters all over by special messengers in a kind of post-bag.  It seems that there was some kind of receiving offices in towns, and even something resembling our parcel-post.  There were even newspapers, or broadsheets as they were called, that were circulated to give people the news of the day.  These were none allowed on the Sabbath, though.  

     The Talmud also talks about manners and modes of attraction practiced by a certain class of the female population of Jerusalem at the time.  There were recorded covert lascivious expressions used by the men, and notices of the indecent dress worn by women and even corrupt High-Priestly youths.  This gives a terrible picture of the state of morals of many in the city.  

     The Jerusalemites lavished a huge amount of wealth on their marriages.  The ceremony insisted on repeated invitations to the guests to a banquet, and men who were inferior in rank would not be welcome to come.  The invitations also specified the dress in which they were to come to the banquet.  The Talmud also talks about the manner in which the dishes were served, the wine in white crystal vases, and the punishment of the cook who had failed in his duty.  If these things were not handled properly, then the dignity of the person was shattered and people would make fun of him and his family.  

     This was a picture of the great world of Jerusalem, and yet the city was known as the "City of God".  The true believers in God were crying out and asking "when the Messiah would finally come"?  In their desperation they were only too ready to listen to the voice of any person who pretended to be the Messiah.  This is the world that John the Baptist came into when he started his ministry.  

     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 is taken from the book The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah written by Alfred Edersheim.  This material is used by permission.