He’s one of the most reviled and hated men in history. He was the king of the Holy Land during the time of Jesus and is best known for ordering the massacre in Bethlehem of all male children under 2 years old. His name? Herod the Great.
But Herod’s cruel reputation has always hidden another side of one of the Bible’s greatest villains. He was a prolific builder. He was an architectural mastermind of breathtaking proportions. He built entire new cities, fortresses, palaces, harbours, aqueducts, theatres, and other public buildings.
His most grandiose creation was the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, which he wholly rebuilt. Herod built more and larger monuments than virtually anyone in ancient times, perhaps in all time. He is possibly the world’s greatest builder.
Herod the Great, also known as Herod 1, was the Roman-appointed Jewish king of Judea which was referred to at the time as the Herodian Kingdom. He reigned for 33 years between 37 to 4 BC.
Join me on a journey back through time as we follow the footsteps of Herod the Great and discover what made him tick, and what made him crazy; and in doing so we’ll discover one of the simplest and most successful ways to find lasting inner-peace and happiness.
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FAMILY CONNECTIONS
Herod’s story begins in Petra, located east of the Dead Sea in the mountains of Edom. The family were Idumeans. That is, they were descended from Abraham through Isaac and Esau.
Now, you’ll remember that Isaac had twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Jacob, the younger of the twins, deceived his father into giving him the birthright that rightfully belonged to Esau, the firstborn son.
Esau, in anger, took his family and eventually settled in the area, known as Edom or Idumea. Here they created one of the world’s most rare and beautiful sites, the fabulous ancient rock-carved city of Petra, known as the ‘rose-red city half as old as time.’
Over 100 years before the birth of Jesus, Judea was ruled by royal priests of the Hasmonean dynasty. One of these Jewish kings, John Hyrcanus, forced the people of Edom, or Idumea, to become Jews.
RISE TO POWER
Antipater, from a former wealthy noble family of Edom, then used his new Jewish pedigree and connections to create a path to the heights of Jewish politics for himself and his sons, including his second son, named Herod. After a vicious internal political struggle, Antipater became the governor of Judea.
When Herod was 25, his father put him in charge of Galilee. Herod was an ambitious and cunning ruler and he wasn’t satisfied with just Galilee. He wanted the entire country!
In 37 BC, after securing the support of Rome and Mark Antony, a Roman general under Julius Caesar, Herod marched on Jerusalem supported by Roman legions. He laid siege to the city, then broke through the walls and fought metre by metre until all of Jerusalem was under his control.
The Roman soldiers killed the Jewish defenders without mercy, and only by giving each soldier a rich reward did Herod save the city and the Temple from total destruction. Finally, Herod sat on the throne in Jerusalem, crowned king of the Jews.
Herod’s appointment caused a lot of resentment among the Jews – after all, Herod was not really a Jew. But Herod established his rulership by eradicating all those who threatened his throne. Now he was king and fully in control of all that happened in his kingdom.
GRAND PROJECTS
Herod embarked on great building projects, magnificent buildings, fortresses, palaces and aqueducts, in the areas of Roman Palestine, Judea and Samaria to win the hearts of the people.
But the area of Galilee did not benefit at all, instead they were ruthlessly taxed to finance much of the building activity in the other regions, which may explain the hatred of tax collectors in Jesus’ times.
In 43BC, Herod captured the great mountain-top fortress of Masada. It’s one of the most spectacular sites in the country, and the scene of one of the most dramatic episodes in Jewish history. Masada is a natural fortress standing some 240 m above the surrounding Judean desert, close to the shores of the Dead Sea.
Herod planned to use it as a last refuge if the Jews turned against him. He developed it into a self-contained, impregnable fortress. He built a casement wall around the summit, reinforced with 38 impressive defence towers, each 10m high.
Then he built administrative buildings, barracks, arsenals, public baths, a swimming pool and a luxurious palace. He designed an advanced water storage system to ensure that the mountain-top fortress could withstand a long siege.
On the northern end, Herod built his luxurious palace with views out over the Judean wilderness and the Dead Sea. It would have been a truly magnificent palace.
But Herod was paranoid that some army or individual would try to take his throne. He lived in constant fear. So he decided to build several additional great fortresses for protection.
THE HERODIUM
In 40BC, after the Parthian conquest of Syria, when Herod was fleeing to Masada he clashed with some Jews loyal to one of his enemies. Herod was victorious, and so built the Herodium fortress right here, with a beautiful palace on the site, in commemoration of his victory.
The Herodium was built 14 kms south of Jerusalem, on the edge of the desert on top of an artificial cone shaped hill near Bethlehem. It is considered one of the great architectural creations of Herod, and the most outstanding of his palace fortresses.
Here, Herod commissioned a lavish palace of snowy white stonework, to be built between 23 and 15 BCE on top of the fortress at Herodium.
The Herodium is the only one of Herod’s buildings that bears his name, and perhaps was the closest to his heart. It was here, at the end of his daring and bloodstained career, that he was laid to rest in a noble mausoleum.
A GREAT MYSTERY
Yet for all his notoriety and infamy, Herod’s final resting place was one of the great mysteries of Biblical archaeology. For years archaeologists had searched in vain for Herod’s tomb at the Herodium.
But the precise location of Herod’s tomb remained a mystery for nearly two millennia, until April 2007, when Ehud Netzer, and his colleagues from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem unearthed the sarcophagus on the upper slopes of the Herodium.
After three decades, Netzer and his excavation team found a grand staircase of white dressed stone leading up the mountainside from the Lower Herodium. When they followed the stairs, they found the site of the grave, mausoleum and the sarcophagus. But only smashed pieces of the fabulous sarcophagus remain. No mummified body, no bones, no gold or silver.
You see, after Herod’s death, the Jewish rebels took refuge at the Herodium. These rebels were known for their hatred of Herod and all that he stood for as a puppet ruler of Rome.
Hebrew archaeologists believe that the mausoleum was deliberately destroyed by the Jewish rebels during the First Jewish Revolt against the Romans from 66-72 AD.
Herod also built fortresses at Hyrcania, Cypros and Alexandrium. In addition to these fortresses, he built a massive structure over the traditional burial site of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Hebron, just 28 kms south of Jerusalem.
MAGNIFICENT CITIES
Herod also specialised in building magnificent cities, which were built in the Hellenistic style.
The most famous of these was the Mediterranean seaport city of Caesarea Maritima, named in honour of the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus. Herod set out to build the most advanced city imaginable at the time. It was built to rival Alexandria in Egypt as a trading port. Here, Herod built a fabulous palace overlooking the harbour and the Hippodrome, or chariot racing track.
The ancient harbor is notable for the remarkable engineering required to build two massive breakwaters that extended 500m out into the Mediterranean Sea. Hundreds of builders and divers worked for nearly a decade to build the city and the harbour.
The new city of Caesarea also enjoyed an advanced sewerage system and streets on a grid pattern, as well as a temple dedicated to Caesar, and a theatre and an amphitheatre.
Caesarea became the local Roman capital and administrative centre after Herods’ death. Pontius Pilate lived here as the Roman prefect for 10 years. An inscription bearing his name was discovered here in the ruins of the theatre.
Although the city was built on the Mediterranean coast, it had no local source of fresh water. So Herod had a 16km long aqueduct built to supply water from mountain springs. Today archaeologists are still uncovering the secrets of ancient Caesarea.
HEROD’S TEMPLE
Perhaps the project for which Herod is best remembered however, is the rebuilding of the sacred temple in Jerusalem. The first temple built in Jerusalem was constructed during the rule of King Solomon around 966 BC. It was a truly magnificent building and dedicated as ‘The House of the Lord’.
Sadly, in 586 BC the Babylonians under King Nebuchnezzar attacked Jerusalem, and destroyed the first glorious temple built by Solomon. Many of the local inhabitants were captured and marched over 1000 kms to Babylon. Then in 539 BC, the Babylonian empire fell to the Medo-Persian empire.
The Jews had been in exile for 70 years. Some of the Jews living in Babylon requested that they return to Babylon to rebuild their Temple. King Cyrus of the Medo-Persian empire, granted the Jews permission to take back the temple vessels that had been captured by the Babylonians, and to rebuild their temple.
The exiles sought to erect a replica of Solomon’s temple. However, due to their poverty, they were not able to adorn it with the splendour of the first temple. It’s recorded in the Bible in Ezra 3:12 that those who had seen the first temple wept at the dedication of this second temple, called Zerubbabel’s Temple.
ANCIENT WONDER
Hundreds of years later, when Herod saw the temple, he wanted to rebuild it and create one of the most magnificent buildings of his time. He also hoped that it would please his subjects, the Jews. So, in 37 BC construction began on the temple, and the building project lasted for 46 years.
Herod had the area of the Temple Mount doubled and it was surrounded by a retaining wall with gates. The temple was also faced with white stone.
Josephus, the first-century historian writes,
“To approaching strangers it appeared from a distance like a snow-clad mountain; for all that was not overlaid with gold was purest white.” (Jewish War 5.222-23)
It became known as Herod’s Temple and was one of the wonders of the ancient world.
Unfortunately, when General Titus and his Roman army besieged and attacked Jerusalem in AD 70, the Second Temple was totally destroyed. It was burnt to the ground and then the remaining stones were removed so that there wasn’t one stone left standing on another. The entire temple was razed to the ground.
The massive foundation stones of the outer wall of Temple Mount are all that remain of Herod’s Temple. They still stand today in the Old City of Jerusalem, where they are known as the Western Wall or the Wailing Wall. It is considered the most sacred place in all the world by the Jewish people.
CRUELTY AND PARANOIA
Despite all the fortresses and palaces he built, Herod was still insecure. He was paranoid that others close to him were after his power, and suspicious of anyone he thought might try to take the throne.
The outward grandeur and prosperity of Herod’s reign concealed the increasing turbulence of his private life. Like many rulers of his time, he had a large and fractious family – 10 wives and more than a dozen children, whose conspiracies brought out Herod’s cruelty and paranoia.
He killed 6 of his own family members, including his favourite wife, her family, and three of his sons, for alleged conspiracies to overthrow him.
So, we can better understand Herod’s response when the wise men, the Magi from the east, arrived looking for the newborn King of the Jews. It’s not surprising that when Herod heard the wise men ask,
“Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” “That he was disturbed and all of Jerusalem with him.” (Matthew 2:2-3)
PLOT FOILED
Herod then instructed the wise men to find Jesus so he could supposedly worship him. Of course, this was just a devious plot to kill Jesus, just as he had killed everyone else he thought might be a threat to his throne.
The wise men had a dream about Herod’s intentions and realised that he wanted to kill the baby Jesus, and so did not return to Herod’s court with any news, and went home by a different way. Well, when Herod discovered he had been tricked, he ordered the killing of all boys under the age of two, to protect himself from the new ‘king’ of the Jews.
Herod’s slaughter of the baby boys of Bethlehem to remove a possible threat to his throne was certainly in keeping with his character, and was one of his vilest deeds.
We read in the Bible that Joseph was warned of Herod’s intention to kill the baby Jesus, and so took his family and fled to the safety of Egypt, where they stayed until Herod had died.
APPROACHING DEATH
As Herod realised that his increasing illness would mean his death and the end of his reign, he devised one last terrible act. Knowing that there would be great rejoicing in the kingdom when the people would learn of his death, he ordered his army to imprison the leading Jews of the city in the stadium in Jericho.
He gave orders to have them killed as soon as his death was announced so that the entire kingdom would be plunged into mourning when he died.
However, his sister, Salome and her husband, Alexas, who were charged with carrying out his order, foiled his plan by releasing the unfortunate noblemen after Herod’s death, bringing great joy instead of sorrow to many Jewish homes.
Herod died unexpectedly in 4 BC in Jericho. Josephus described the tomb and the lavish funeral procession in his book, The Jewish Wars,
“The king’s body was covered in a purple shroud and carried on a bier of solid gold, studded with precious stones. On his head was a golden crown…and the sceptre was placed beside his right hand.”
After the death of King Herod, his sons discovered he had one last surprise in store for them. Repelled by the fighting within his family, Herod had decided to withhold the title of king from all of his sons.
Instead, he had instructed that Emperor Augustus divide his kingdom in four parts, one part for each of his three sons and one part for his sister. Judea, Idumea and Samaria would be ruled by Archelaus. The Golan region would be ruled by his son, Phillip and the coastal region around Ashdod was given to his sister, Salome.
Herod’s other son, Herod Antipas would receive the territory of Galilee as well as Perea. The Bible records that this was the area where John the Baptist lived and preached about the coming Messiah. But it also records a very tragic incident that took place there when a great feast was held to celebrate the birthday of Herod Antipas.
TRAGIC EVENT
Now Herod’s son Herod Antipas was married to the daughter of Aretas, king of Nabataea, the area around Petra. But Antipas decided to divorce her to marry a woman named Herodias, who was his brother Phillip’s wife. Around the same time, Herod Antipas decided to arrest John the Baptist, because he criticised his marriage to Herodias.
On his birthday Herod Antipas held a feast and Herodias’ daughter delighted her stepfather with her seductive dancing. The Bible says,
“Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. So, she, having been prompted by her mother, said, ‘Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter.’ So, he sent and had John beheaded in prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.” (Matthew 14:6-11)
Most of what we know about Herod comes from the writings of the Jewish historian, Josephus. We know that in ancient Judea, Herod built more than 20 world-class temples, palaces, fortresses and cities.
He built more and larger building complexes than virtually anyone in ancient times, and perhaps even in all time. He’s possibly the world’s greatest builder.
SOMETHING MISSING
And yet, he found no satisfaction or fulfillment in his achievements. There was something missing in his life – peace. He was paranoid of losing his kingdom, of losing his power. He lived a life crippled by insecurity and fear. He built 7 palace-fortresses where he could defend himself in case of attack.
His paranoia knew no bounds, leading him to kill the very people closest and dearest to him.
The irony of Herod’s story is that he pushed away the one thing he really desired: love. He was so paranoid and afraid of not being loved and accepted that he pushed away the people he wanted love and acceptance from: his community, his family, his wife, and most importantly, his God.
Herod felt threatened by the One who could provide what he really desired, what he really needed. Jesus was nearby. Bethlehem could be seen from the Herodium and was only 8km/5 miles from Jerusalem. Sadly, he rejected and chased away Jesus – the Prince of Peace. But, Herod’s not alone when it comes to struggling with fear. Fear is a universal problem. Fear is humanity’s most common problem.
UNIVERSAL PROBLEM
We all have our fears. We’re afraid of the future. We’re afraid of the present. But here’s the good news: You don’t have to be afraid. You have God on your side! God knows all about our fears and he has an answer for them. In Mark 5:36, Jesus says,
“Don’t be afraid. Just trust me.” (Mark 5:36 TLB).
We don’t have to stew in our fears. Over and over in the Bible, God reminds us not to be afraid. This is such a big message in the Bible that the phrase “fear not” appears 365 times. Now, isn’t that amazing? Isn’t that reassuring? There’s a ‘fear not’ for every day of the year. Trusting God is the number one stress reliever in your life.
So, you don’t have to live in fear. Yes, setbacks will come your way; you can’t avoid them. You may lose a job, a relationship, or your health. And when you do, you start to fear. But you don’t have to stay afraid. Here are two important steps you can take to break free from fear:
Firstly, remember how much God loves you. He will never stop loving you. He won’t love you any more or any less. His love is unconditional and eternal. The Bible says,
“God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them . . . There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:16, 18 NIV).
When you invite God into the front door of your life, fear goes out the back door. Love and fear cannot stay together. In real love, there is no fear. God is perfect love, and he drives out all fear. The more you get to know God, the less you’ll be afraid.
Secondly, remember that God’s plan is good. God doesn’t have bad plans for you. That doesn’t mean nothing bad will ever happen to you. But the Bible tells us in Romans 8:28,
“We know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans” (TLB)
The Bible says ‘all that happens’ fits into God’s good plan – not just the good stuff. He can and will bring good out of anything.
SPECIAL OFFER AND CLOSING PRAYER
If you’d like to know more about God’s answer to stress and fear, then I’d like to recommend the free gift we have for all our Incredible Journey viewers today.
It’s the booklet, Overcoming your Fears. This booklet is our gift to you and is absolutely free. I guarantee there are no costs or obligations whatsoever. So, make the most of this wonderful opportunity to receive your free gift today.
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Be sure to join us again next week, when we will share another of life’s journeys together. Until then, let’s pray to the God who casts out fear and gives us peace.
Dear Heavenly Father, we all struggle with fear in our lives. But we thank you for your unconditional love, that drives out fear. We place our trust in you and want to follow your plan that you have for our lives. Please continue to lead and guide us. And we ask for your blessing on us and our families. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
