Posted on 04/12/2013 7:26:15 AM PDT by marshmallow
Curators of a blockbuster exhibition have sought to sanitise his reputation
Herod has become a new Jewish super-hero in Jerusalem. This elevation, which has come about since the unearthing of his tomb in 2007, comes as a shock for most Christians. Most of us are horrified by Matthew’s account in the New Testament, which tells how this tyrannical king, fearful of a competitor after the birth of Jesus, ordered the Massacre of the Innocents. A large number of Jews have reviled him for other reasons – for collaborating with the Romans and the murder of his Jewish wife, Marianne, his two half-Jewish sons, plus a great many rabbis.
Resentment against him was also caused by this king’s ancestry. According to one synagogue-attending friend: “Herod was Arab by descent. His mother was a Nabatean from Petra, now part of Jordan. His father was from southern Palestine, an Edomite who converted to Judaism.”
But the new appreciation of Herod is clear to see. First, plans were announced last January for a monumental replica of his tomb at Herodium, the arid hilltop in the West Bank, where he had been buried in 4 BC. This proposed 75ft high construction, part of the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office of National Heritage Sites Project, would be as lofty as an eight-storey building and visible from Jerusalem. Objections are presently being assessed.
Second, the exhibition Herod the Great: The King’s Final Journey at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem is drawing such crowds that I had to queue on the two occasions I visited it. The quarter of an acre of fascinating exhibits includes finds from Jerusalem, Herodium and Jericho, including the masonry and sarcophagus thought to have contained the royal body. There are some 30 tons of material and 250 artefacts from Herodium alone, plus much from Jericho.....
(Excerpt) Read more at catholicherald.co.uk ...
The killing of innocent babies by Herod is considered a great accomplishment by today’s liberals.
He’s a fascinating despot, but he was a vile guy, and I don’t know of any Israelis who like him -— other than as a significant part of out history.
He was a fake convert.
He persecuted faithful Jews.
He was a puppet of Rome at times and then a stupid opposer at others.
He was a murderer.
In fact, on one point Jewish people and Christians of 2,000 years ago agreed was he was an animal for his murder of John, called “John the Baptist” by Christians, and was punished by this murder by the defeat of his armies.
Arise, shine; for Thy light has come. Isaiah 60:1
The “Herod” in Acts 12 is Herod Agrippa, the grandson of Herod the Great.
That would be Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee, son of King Herod the Great. There are several "Herods" mentioned in the NT, all from the same family, all bad guys.
Different Herod, but point well taken.
Sorry to pile on. Nevermind.
Ah, as you could guess, my knowledge of Christianity is exceedingly weak, except for I can spot American Baptist Tourists in wine country because they drink when touring alone/with their family and don’t drink when in packs.
As to the baby killing thing, I believe it is a kings right to decide what to do with his bodies. /sarcasm
....Yet he was called “great”. Go figure.
Bible Archaeology Review magazine has a nice treatment of Ehud Netzer’s discovery of Harod’s tomb at Herodium. Nov 14, 2011 issue:
http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/in-search-of-herod%E2%80%99s-tomb/
More BAR articles:
http://tinyurl.com/BAR-search-Harod-Tomb
Google Maps location of Herodium / Herodyon:
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=31.665692,35.241344&num=1&t=h&z=15
Better to be Herod’s pig than his subject, other than that he was a great guy.
Sounds like today's LIBERALS...
Today's Herrod is King Obamo the Marxist
Today's Massacre of Innocents is ABORTION... which killed more than Herrod did!!
Wrong! Relative to what we have Herod was great.
Franco Zeffirelli’s depiction of the Killing of the Innocents still brings tears to my eyes. The scene with the Palace Soldier chasing the mother carrying her baby son is horrifying.
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