Posted on 02/02/2014 7:38:17 PM PST by ZULU
King Herod is remembered as the evil King who brutally massacred the children of Bethlehem, trying to kill the newborn Jesus and his name has been reviled ever since. But is the story true?
on wikipeadia and i recall this from some other source:
Herod later executed several members of his own family, including his wife Mariamne I.[23] a few babies is just another day in life of this guy.
also
Regarding the Massacre of the Innocents, although Herod was guilty of many brutal acts including the killing of his wife and two of his sons, no other source from the period refers to the massacre.[32] Since Bethlehem was a small village, the number of male children under the age of two might not exceed 20, and this may be the reason for the lack of other sources for this history.[33] Modern biographers of Herod tend to doubt the event took place.[34]
except there was no room at inn because everybody had to go back and get counted so there may have been more babies under two. still killing 20 babies is not a small thing. Whatever the channel was it can’t be called history. Socialists always rewrite it.
Politically correct translations of the Bible (NRSV) have rewritten the story so all the children are killed (boys and girls). Of course, this would have made no sense in context of the culture at the time.
Nor would it have made sense in the context of killing a 'King' of the Jews. NRSV was probably trying to make sure girls weren't excluded from the narrative, they had to make sure Herod was viewed as inclusive, not like them Christians.
If we could just resurrect Uriah the Hittite, I am certain he would agree about David's brutality...
Nope. They were from what is now Turkey, most likely from around what is now SanliUrfa province, only a few miles from Haran, where Abraham sojourned with his father Terah and brother Nahor, until Terah died. Abram then left, but Nahor and his progeny stayed in this region, fro whence came Rebekah, Leah, and Rachel.
This region is called Anatolia to this day, not because it was east of Canaan/Israel, but because it was easterly of Macedonia, and therefore called in Koine Greek The Anatolia, and translated in our language "The East". Thus, what was called "The East" in the Hellenized Near East was actually direct north to northwest of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Here are the phrases demonstrating what the Bible Greek says, from Matthew 2:1&2 --
ιδου μαγοι απο ανατολων
behold Magi from Antolias
(the two "Easts"--Anatolia proper between the Mediterranean Sea to the diagonal Taurus Mountains, and Southeastern Anatolia east of the Taurus range)
ειδομεν γαρ αυτου τον αστερα εν τη ανατολη
for we beheld the star of him in The Anatolia
======
The Magi did not come from Babylonia, IMHO. Think of the tableland of the Anatolias as the cradle of civilization proceeding from Noah and his sons. Think of the very, very ancient societies of Gobekli Tepe (click here), the observatory(?) of the astrologists in the area of Haran, from which Semitic/Aramaic religious tradition descend the Jews.
How about being the bearer of bad news (2 Sam. 1:1-16)? Or the husband of a woman of whom David took a particular fancy (Nabal/Abigail, 1 Sam. 25:1-42; Uriah/Bathsheba, 2 Sam. 11:1-24)
David repented when confronted by Nathan and God visited punishment on him for this act which he acknowledged as just.
Hardly the acts of a brutal, violent pagan king or a Herod.
I’ve always noted the small populations of the ancient world and intend to make a study of it when I retire (someday). Most of our “towns” today would qualify as cities in those times - we’re just missing the walls and other protective structures.
For example the population of Bethlehem you mention is only half the size of the small town of 800 I grew up in in the midwest... the type you miss if you blink when your driving through.
As for Abigail, God killed Nabal, David took haer as a wife after, not the same thing he did to Uriah.
He coveted Bathsheba, committed adultery and had Uriah hung out to dry in battle when he had been a faithful servant. Uriah wouldn't go home and sleep with his wife when his compatriots were engaged in a campaign. This meant David couldn't hide the sin from the people, so he had Uriah killed to get her.
Cruel, unjust, you bet. When confronted by Samuel, David repented and was forgiven. Not very pagan or brutal. Yet he was a king who waged war and warring without the use of stand-off weaponry is considerably more brutal than today even though the results may be similar.
Nathan.
I am well preserved for my age, but I must ask you, 'How do 'you positively know' that there weren't 300-400 people in Bethlehem?'
My figure comes from my Pastor's explanation as to why the massacre of the innocents only appears in the Bible. According to a Wiki article, a 16th century Ottoman census showed 287 adult male tax payers (ie: non-Muslims). Jerusalem was the capital and Bet Leḥem merely a small town. If you have a copy of Quirinius' census showing figures that are radically different, I'm sure historians would be interested in your presenting such information.
How fitting that the Promise came full circle—from Abraham’s departure at God’s behest and promise of a great nation, to the Magi traveling to visit Abraham’s progeny that was most certainly a fulfillment of a Promise. God writes and excellent story.
Matt 2:16 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. KJV
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