Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
HER'OD. c. c. 4. In his reign Christ was born. Matt 2:1-18. He was a man of unusual executive ability, of iron will, of consummate shrewdness and cunning, but of violent Bronze Coin of Herod the Great. passions, and cruel and unscrupulous in the choice of means to accomplish his designs. c. 47. c. 40, and afterward, by the Roman senate, king of Judaea. He was obliged to fight for his kingdom, and with the aid of the Romans wrested it out of the hands of his enemies. d. 37, Herod's reign was in one sense a most brilliant one.
Following the example of the Roman emperor Augustus, he lavished vast sums of money on public works. He founded and built a beautiful city on the coast, which he named, after his royal master, Caesarea. c. 109, and gave it the new appellation Sebaste. In Jerusalem and its vicinity he erected a theatre and an amphitheatre, and on the borders of his kingdom built some strong fortresses, as Herodeion. His magnificence, however, did not confine itself to his own kingdom, but overleaping its boundaries founded temples in various parts of the Roman empire.
But the most important building to which Herod gave his money was the temple at Jerusalem. Out of deference to the prejudices of the Jewish people he engaged 1000 priests to work upon the temple itself, while hundreds of other workmen were employed upon the other parts. c. 20, and continued long after his death. John 2:20. While, by a shrewd respect for the prejudices of his subjects, Herod flattered them into periodical displays of contentment, he was not a popular sovereign. He was, after all, a foreigner, and the Hebrew people could not become reconciled to his dominion and that of Caesar.
In many ways he offended them, as by the introduction of the theatre and of games after the model of the Grecian games. In his family life Herod displayed the most cruel and barbarous nature. " He committed the most revolting murders amongst his nearest kin. c. c. c. 7, and his son by Doris, Antipater, only a few days before his death. To this frightful list must be added the innocent children of Bethlehem, whom he had murdered in the hope to thus do away with Jesus, Matt 2:16.
When he was dying he ordered that the chief men of all the cities of Judaea should be killed, in order that there might be some mourning at his death. After a long reign of 37 years, Herod died a miserable death in Jericho. His feet swelled, and his bowels became the victim of ulcers which gave him intense pain. He removed to Callirhoe, on the other side of the Jordan, hoping to get relief in the baths. All was of no avail, and he died, nearly 70 years of age, and unregretted by his family, much less by his subjects.
The wise men of the East had an audience with Herod on their arrival in Jerusalem, and, alarmed by their interest in One "born King of the Jews," he took the precautions which cunning could suggest, and cruelty execute to do away with his rival. Matt 2:8, Heb 2:16. c. d. 39. He was the second son of Herod by his fourth wife, Malthace. Like his father, he was ambitious and fond of ostentation. Our Lord refers to his cunning when he terms him "that fox," Luke 13:32. He also lavished large sums of money on public works, and built Tiberias, so called after the Roman emperor Tiberius.
Induced thereto by his wife, Herodias, he went to Rome to secure the title of king. Charged, however, with crimes, he was deposed from his office by Caligula, and banished to Lyons. T. He is brought the most prominently forward in the history of John the Baptist. The prophet denounced the adulterous relation in which he was living with Herodias, the legal wife of Herod Philip (not the tetrarch Philip, who married Salome), his brother.
Herod listened with pleasure to John, but, instigated by his wife, he put him in prison, and in obedience to a rash oath to Salome, although with hesitating will, had him beheaded, Mark 6:16-28. Herod was also one of the judges before whom our Lord appeared at his trial. He happened to be at Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, and Pilate sent Christ to him, as he was a Galilean. Herod was very desirous to see Jesus, having heard of him before, Mark 6:14, and asked many questions, none of which, however, were answered, Luke 23:7-12. This incident is again referred to Acts 4:27.
From the Gospels we get his character as a votary of pleasure and debauchery, Mark 6:22; superstitious, Mark 6:16; and cunning, Luke 13:32. c. d. 6, ethnarch of Judaea, Samaria, and Idumaea. He was the son of Herod by Malthace, and elder brother of Antipas. Herod the Great, his father, left the "kingdom" to him, but Augustus refused to ratify the will, and put him off with the inferior title ethnarch. He was tyrannical toward his subjects and regardless of their prejudices, marrying his stepbrother's wife, Glaphyra, in violation of the Mosaic Law.
He was accused, and, cited to appear at Rome, was deposed from his office and banished to Vienne in Gaul. , Matt 2:22. c. d. 34. He was the son of Herod the Great by his fifth wife, Cleopatra, but unlike the rest of his family was distinguished for justice and moderation. He married his niece Salome, the daughter of Herodias and his brother Herod (Philip), who was the young woman that danced before Herod Antipas. , Luke 3:1. Herod Philip was the son of Herod the Great and Mariamne, the daughter of Simon the high priest. He was the first husband of Herodias, and is called Philip in Mark 6:17.
He seems to have occupied a private station. d. 37-44, first of the tetrarchy of Philip and Lysanias, Coin of Herod Agrippa I. and finally of a dominion equal in extent to that of Herod the Great. c. 7). Educated at Rome and thrown into prison by Tiberius, he gained the favor of the emperor Caligula, who made him king. He observed the ceremonial of the Pharisees and affected piety. As the representative of the Jewish spirit, he persecuted the apostles, beheaded James, and sought to execute Peter, Acts 12:1-19. d. 50-100, king of the tetrarchies formerly under Philip and Lysanias.
He was the brother of Bernice and Drusilla. Paul appeared before him and narrated the history of his conversion. His words in answer to Paul's question have become proverbial: "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian," Acts 26:28.