What was herod king of

The title tetrarch originally meant ruler of a fourth part of a region but came to be used of any minor ruler. Eventually, Antipas got his wish to see Jesus when Pilate sent Jesus to stand before him at his trial Luke —12 ; cf. Acts He died without an heir, and his territory became part of the Roman province of Syria.

Only two other members of the Herodian dynasty appear in the New Testament, both in Acts. He executed James, the brother of John, and arrested Peter Acts Herod Agrippa II was the son of Agrippa. Another sister, Drusilla, was married to the Roman governor Felix Acts Go deeper into the Bible with Bible Gateway online courses taught by leading Bible scholars.

Tagged as birth of Jesus , Christmas , herod , herod the great , Jesus. This message is only visible to admins. Problem displaying Facebook posts. Backup cache in use. Click to show error. Bible Gateway. When was the last time you truly felt carefree? The question is almost unfair. Although much of the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in A.

Other famous sites Herod constructed include Masada , a clifftop palace-fortress decorated with beautiful mosaics; and the Herodium, a complex located 7. Herod also helped save the ancient Olympic Games. He donated "a large sum of money for the financial support of the quadrennial Olympic games, the survival of which was threatened by lack of funds. And because of Herod's financial assistance, "the organizers of the ancient games elected Herod perpetual Olympic president and recorded it in inscriptions.

Historians generally believe that Herod died in 4 B. The Gospel of Matthew claims that he tried to kill baby Jesus and succeeded in killing all the other babies in Bethlehem in an event that is sometimes called the "massacre of the innocents. Another story that mentions Herod, told in the Gospel of Luke, claims that Mary and Joseph the parents of Jesus had to be registered in a census at the time Jesus was born.

This is also believed by modern-day historians to be untrue, as there's no evidence of a census occuring during Herod's reign. As a friend of Rome, a rex socius or allied king, he was exempt from such interference," Vermes wrote, noting that no census occurred in Judea until A. The fact that the Bible claims that Jesus was born before Herod died creates a problem that scholars have long been debating.

Was Jesus actually born in 4 B. C, before Herod died? Or, did Herod live longer than the historical records suggest, and not die until closer to 1 B. Or, is the Bible's claim that Jesus was born before Herod died not true? The answers to these questions have been debated by scholars for well over a century. To strengthen his hold on power he divorced his first wife Doris and married the beautiful Mariamme, a princess of the Hasmonean royal family.

Herod may or may not have been deeply in love with Mariamme , though the Jewish historian Josephus says he was. Herod supported his patron Mark Antony until he lost the Battle of Actium, when he adroitly switched sides and became an ally and friend of the victor of this battle, Octavian, who became the Emperor Augustus. As well as being a clever politician, Herod the Great was one of the most prolific builders of the ancient world.

Among other things, he built. His most grandiose achievement was the Temple in Jerusalem, which he completely rebuilt. The platform for this construction is the Temple Mount. Reconstruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, begun by Herod the Great and completed after his death. So numbers alone may be the reason why Josephus does not mention the murders. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.

Many historians think that Herod's downfall began with his possessive love for his wife Mariamme. On a political expedition he visited the Roman ruler Octavian in Rhodes and feared for his life he had previously sided with the defeated Marc Antony.

He demanded that Mariamme be killed if he doesn't return alive, unable to bear the thought of another man with her. Later, Herod became convinced by his sister that Mariamme was scheming against him. He had her put on trial and executed. Despite being responsible for her death, Herod's torment was intolerable. He saw visions of Mariamme. Perhaps in a futile attempt to replace his love for Mariamme, Herod became polygamous.