Monsterlizard - Born Again

Ok, bear with me here. If you are not into history, you might want to stop reading now. However, I have found all this information incredibly interesting. Heather and I have been watching the HBO series Rome, and much of what I have been discovering when researching Herod links back to what we have been watching on Rome.

In chapter 2 of the Book of Matthew when Jesus is born, the King Herod that wanted the wise men to take him to baby Jesus was Herod the Great. This Herod was the son of Antipater who was an Idumæan.

Antipater
Idumæan had been known as Edom in the Old Testment see Genesis 36. Antipater became a client of Pompey Magnus when Pompey conquered Judea. He also was an aid Julius Caesar in Alexandrea and was eventually made procurator of Judea, with the right to collect taxes. The Idumæan were forcibly converted to Judiasm by the Hasmoneans, and before which were pagan. He was not a blood Jew, but a converted Jew of Arab decent whom had been Hellenized and colluded with Rome. When Ceasar is killed, Antipater sides with Cassius against Marc Antony. Antipater is finally poisoned and dies.

Herod the Great
Herod the Great was appointed governor of Galilee at age 25 by his father. In 40 BC he fled to Rome after Judea was invaded by Parthians. In Rome, he is elected King of the Jews by the Roman Senate. When he died (and Joseph was called back out of Egypt Matthew 2:19), his will was upheld by Octavian (by this time named Augustus). Israel was split up:
Herod Antipas was to rule Galilee and the east bank of the Jordan as a tetrarch; Philip was to be tetrarch of the Golan heights in the north-east; and Archelaus became the ethnarch of Samaria and Judaea.

Herod Antipas
This Herod is the ruler during the time of Jesus in Galilee. He like his brothers rule the various areas of Israel and surrounding locations. The also were all educated in Rome. These rulers were more Roman than they were Jewish. Herod Antipas like his father married and divorced many times. I believe this is what Jesus was refering to in Matthew 5:31-32. I plan to write an entire post about that later. This Herod is also the one Luke 23 whom Pilate first sent Jesus too because he was thought to be a Galilean.

During all this research, I am amazed to see just how involved Rome was during the time of Jesus. I don’t think we really think about this much. That the leaders of Israel were really Romans and not Jews. It wasn’t limited to Pilate. I have always found myself skimming past the parts of the Bible that explains lineage and location, but I think we really need to study this to put the words into context.

More reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_the_Great
http://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodians/herod_the_great01.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_Antipas
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/rome_timeline.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hyrcanus
http://www.preceptaustin.org/bible_maps_4.htm
http://www.historicjesus.com/maps/index.html
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/footsteps-of-jesus.htm
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07289c.htm
http://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodians/herod_antipas.html