Herod Antipas (20 BC - after 39 AD) - ruler of Galilee and Perea (region on the east bank of the Jordan) from 4 BC to 39 AD, second son King Herod the Great and one of his wives, the Samaritan woman Maltaki (Malfaki). He was brought up in Rome with his older brother Archelaus, half-brother Philip (they had a common father, Herod the Great, but different mothers) and Manail, later a prophet and teacher in Christ. community of Antioch (Acts 13:1).

According to the will of Herod the Great, after his death, Judea was divided between his three sons: Archelaus, Philip and Antipas. At the same time, Archelaus was supposed to inherit the royal title, which Antipas also claimed. However, the Roman emperor Octavian Augustus, who approved the appointment, “granted Archelaus half of the kingdom with the title of ethnarch and the promise to raise him to the rank of king as soon as he shows himself worthy of it. He divided the other half into two tetrarchies, which he gave to the other two sons of Herod” (Josephus Flavius, “Jewish War” II, ch. 1-6, also “Jewish Antiquities” XVII, ch. 8-11). Thus, Antipas received only the lower title of tetrarch.

In the New Testament (Matthew 14:1; Luke 3:1) Herod Antipas appears as Herod the tetrarch (tetrarch); he is also called a king (i.e. ruler) in the meaning of the word accepted at that time (Matt. 14:9; Mk. 6:14, 22-27).

In 14 AD the Roman emperor Octavian Augustus died at the age of 75 and was succeeded by Tiberius (42 BC - 37 AD). It was during his reign that Jesus Christ was crucified (Luke 3:1). Herod Antipas managed to establish friendly relations with the emperor Tiberius and even named his new capital in his honor - Tiberias, built on the shores of Lake Gennesaret, in the best and most beautiful part of Galilee. Herod Antipas made Tiberias his residence, for which he built a magnificent palace, a temple, an amphitheater and surrounded the city with a wall. For the next 50 years, Tiberias was the undisputed capital of the Galilee and, with the exception of Caesarea, the most beautiful city in Palestine.

In the house of his half-brother Philip (not to be confused with the tetrarch Philip, who came to power at the same time as him), Herod Antipas met his sister-in-law and niece Herodias and fell passionately in love with her. According to Josephus Flavius, Herodias was the granddaughter of Herod the Great by his son Aristobulus. Herodias was married to her uncle Herod Philip I and had a daughter, Salome, by him. For the sake of Herod Antipas, she left her husband, Herod Philip. In order to marry Herodias, Herod Antipas banished his first wife, the daughter of the Arab king Aretas IV. Such betrayal, coupled with adultery, caused general indignation. The offended Arete opposed Herod Antipas and inflicted a heavy defeat on him in the border war.

John the Baptist publicly accused him of a grave violation of the Law (Lev. 18:16; Lev. 20:21). After that, Herod Antipas ordered to seize John and imprison him in the fortress of Macheron, located east of the Dead Sea, but did not dare to kill the prophet. Antipas was against the execution of John, "knowing that he is a righteous and holy man" (Mark 6:20).

Herodias, who could not forgive the prophet of denunciations, used the favorable moment to deal with him. During the feast of Herod Antipas, admiring the dance of Salome, the daughter of Herodias from her first marriage, he promised to give her whatever she asked. On the advice of Herodias, Salome asked that the head of John the Baptist be brought to her on a platter. The king had no choice but to fulfill this request. However, having kept his promise, Herod Antipas lost his peace. When Herod Antipas was told about the miracles that Jesus worked, he was frightened and decided that this was the resurrected John the Baptist (Matt. 14:1 et seq.; Mark 6:14-16).

Luke is the only evangelist who mentions the meeting of Herod Antipas with Jesus. Their meeting took place during the trial of Jesus, when Herod Antipas arrived in Jerusalem for the Passover feast.

The procurator Pontius Pilate, having learned that Jesus was from Galilee, sent Him to the ruler of this region, Herod Antipas. He had long wanted to see Jesus (Lk. 9:9; Lk. 23:8), hoping to witness a miracle. But the Prisoner turned out to be inaccessible in His isolation, and then the disappointed tsar, mocking Him, sent Him away in a buffoon's outfit - apparently, like Pilate, he did not take the political motives of the high priests seriously. Luke writes that this led to an improvement in the previously hostile relationship between Pilate and Herod (Luke 23:9-12,15).

In 37 AD Tiberius died and the next emperor, Caligula, favored Antipas' nephew, Herod Agrippa. Caligula released Agrippa from prison, where he was placed for wishing Tiberius a speedy death, and, assigning him the royal title, appointed him to rule the tetrarchy of the deceased Philip (Josephus Flavius, Antiquities of the Jews, XVIII, ch. 6-7).

This hurt the ambition of Herodias. She forced Antipas to turn to Caligula with a request to confer on him the royal title. However, when in 39 AD. Antipas went to Rome to the emperor, Agrippa sent a denunciation to Caligula, accusing Antipas of conspiring with the Parthian king Artaban and complicity in Seyan's conspiracy. As a result, Herod Antipas was exiled to Lugdunum in Gaul (modern Lyon), where he died. The tetrarchy and property of Antipas were transferred to Agrippa. Herodias was asked to remain under the protection of her brother (Agrippa), but she chose to go into exile with her husband.

Material prepared by Sergey Shulyak

The book introduces young readers to the basics of Christianity. A simple and figurative story about the earthly life of the Savior will undoubtedly find its way to the heart of a child and reveal to him what is most precious in the Gospel - warm, warming faith and endless love. By reading and thinking about the teachings of Jesus Christ, about the events that happened to Him and His disciples, children will be able to come to Christ the way He wanted people to come to Him - with an open heart and with a loving soul.

King Herod orders to kill babies. Joseph and Mary with Jesus flee to Egypt

The Magi bowed to the Son of God and set off on their way back. At night, in a dream, they received a warning from God: they should not tell Herod anything about the Baby. Therefore, the wise men went to their own country, bypassing Jerusalem.

That same night, the Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph:

- Get up, take the Baby and run with His Mother to Egypt. King Herod will look for the Born One in order to kill Him. Stay in Egypt until I come to you again.

Joseph immediately began to fulfill this command of the Lord. In the morning he bought a donkey, put Mary and the Child on it, and went with them to Egypt.

The path to this country was long and difficult. The fugitives were surrounded by a deserted sandy desert, in which there was no place to hide from the scorching sun and the night cold. In addition, many deadly dangers awaited them on the road: predatory animals and robbers.

One evening, passing through the gorge, the fugitives stumbled upon a gang of sleeping robbers. Two of them woke up. One robber wanted to wake up everyone else, but another, named Titus, stopped him. In the dim light of the fire, he saw the Baby and was amazed.

“If God Himself were incarnated on earth,” he whispered, “he would take the form of such a beautiful baby.” I will give you forty coins,” he said to his friend, “just don’t stop these travelers from moving on.

And he handed the second robber his belt, in which the money was sewn up.

The fugitives walked past the sleeping ones with a quiet step. The Holy Virgin Mary said in a low voice, addressing Titus:

- The Lord God will protect you with His right hand and grant you remission of sins.

This journey to Egypt was foretold by the ancient prophets. The prophet Isaiah proclaimed that the idols, which were revered in Egypt as gods, would stagger on their pedestals and collapse from the power of the Lord. And his prophecy was fulfilled exactly.

After a hard road through the desert, tired travelers finally reached the first Egyptian city - Hermopolis. There you could find shelter and rest from the tiresome journey.

There was a pagan temple with stone idols in the city. One of these false Egyptian gods was considered the main one. It was inhabited by an evil spirit that spoke to the priests.

When the travelers entered the city, a strange uneasiness seized all its inhabitants. They asked the priest to ask the idol what was the cause of their anxiety.

The idol was forced to tell the truth:

“A deity unknown to you has come here. This God is true, and none but Him is worthy of divine honors.

When Mary with Joseph and the Child passed by this pagan temple, all the idols in it fell from their pedestals and broke.

The miracle was immediately reported to the ruler of the city, Aphrodite. All the priests were in great fear. They expected punishment for broken idols.

Aphrodite, without delay, came to the temple with a large retinue. He examined the crushed idols, and then silently left. On the street, among the worried townspeople, he saw Mary with the Baby in her arms. Aphrodite came closer and looked at Jesus. To the retinue surrounding him, the ruler of Hermopolis said:

“If this Infant were not a Deity, then the idols would not fall and break. Now they lie and silently testify that the true God is here.

Meanwhile, King Herod did not wait for the return of the Magi. The thought of the King of the Jews born in Bethlehem did not give him rest day or night. Every minute Herod waited for the magicians to return and finally tell whether they had seen the Baby.

But the day came when he was informed that the Magi had long gone to their country. Herod was furious and almost mad with anger and fear. Burning with hatred for the little King of the Jews, he gave a terrible order. Herod ordered the soldiers to kill all male infants under the age of two in Bethlehem and its environs.

The warriors went to fulfill the order of the cruel king. The blood of innocent babies was shed. Poor mothers hid their children in vain. The soldiers took away their babies and immediately killed them mercilessly.

Moans and cries resounded from Bethlehem throughout the Jewish land. This terrible event was foretold by the prophet Jeremiah. He said that Jewish mothers would weep inconsolably for their murdered children.

After the brutal massacre of the babies, very little time passed, and the righteous judgment of God overtook King Herod. The villain died a terrible, painful death - his body began to rot alive and worms started to live in it.

And Mary and Joseph remained in Egypt until the death of Herod. They lived near the current Egyptian capital of Cairo.

When Herod died, the Angel of the Lord again appeared in a dream to Joseph and said:

“Get up, take the Mother and the Son, and return to your country.” He who wished for the death of the Infant himself ended his days.

This appearance of the Angel was previously predicted by another prophet of God - Hosea. God spoke through his mouth that He would call His Son out of Egypt.

Joseph obeyed the command of the Lord. Together with the Virgin Mary and the Child, he went back to the Jewish country. But in Judea itself, he did not stop, since Herod's heir, his son Archelaus, ruled in it. Joseph was afraid that the new king would also try to kill Jesus.

The Holy Family returned to Nazareth in Galilee. The Son of God Jesus Christ grew up and matured in this city. That is why, when He began to preach His doctrine to people, everyone considered Him a native of Nazareth. He was called the Nazarene or the Nazarene. And this too was foretold by the prophets.

Hello. I have a question. When reading the Gospel, I did not understand: Herod, in whose reign the Savior was born, and Herod, who executed John the Baptist, is it one person or there were two kings of Herod, because. the Holy Family returned from Egypt after the death of Herod under Archelaus, and John the Baptist was executed much later. Thanks for the answer.

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:

The Holy Scriptures of the New Testament mention seven Herods: a father, four children, a grandson and a great-grandson. All of them were representatives of the dynasty founded Herod I(c. 73 - 4 BC). He was the son of the wealthy Edomite Antipater, who, through his services, managed to gain the confidence of Julius Caesar and received from him the right of Roman citizenship. His son Herod I, with the help of Roman troops from 40 (actually from 37) BC. seized the throne and became king of Judah. In the person of Herod I, for the first time, a non-Jew entered the Jewish throne. He was an Edomite, a descendant of the brother of the patriarch Jacob Esau. With the accession of Herod I, the ancient messianic prophecy of Patriarch Jacob was fulfilled: The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the legislator from his loins, until the Reconciliator comes, and to Him is the obedience of the peoples.(Gen. 49:10). The exact time of the coming of the Messiah was indicated. Christ will come when a non-Jew sits on the royal throne in Judea.

Herod I restored several cities from the ruins and decorated with beautiful buildings, giving them new names in honor of his patron, Caesar Augustus: Samaria was renamed Sebastia, Straton's Tower - Caesarea. In Jerusalem itself, he restored the ancient castle, which he named Anthony. In order to win the favor of the Jews, Herod I began a complete restructuring of the Jerusalem temple, seeking to give it an unprecedented splendor. The temple was demolished in parts and rebuilt, keeping its former areas, but increasing the height and not suspending worship for a single day. Despite this building activity, the Jews hated Herod not only for his deceit. They saw in him a foreigner, a Roman appointee and a thief of the throne of David. The Jewish people also despised him because he built theaters and amphitheaters in the cities he restored, arranged Roman and Greek games, set feasts with purely pagan amusements, and generally introduced such customs that were distinguished by a pagan character.

The cruel and vindictive Herod I exterminated almost the entire house of the Asmoneans (representatives of the Maccobean family), as descendants of the legitimate rulers of the Jewish people. He did not stop even before the murder of his wife Mariamne, who was the granddaughter of the high priest Hyrcanus II. “Soon after the massacre of the infants, the death of Herod himself followed. Only five days before his death, he made a frenzied suicide attempt and ordered the execution of his eldest son Antipater. His deathbed<...>was surrounded by extraordinary horrors; he died of a disgusting disease, which rarely happens and occurs only with people who have dishonored themselves with bloodthirstiness and cruelty. On the bed of his unbearable illness, in that magnificent and luxurious palace that he built for himself in the shade of the Jericho palms, swollen with diseases and burned with thirst, covered with ulcers on his body and internally scorched by a slow fire, surrounded by seditious sons and predatory slaves, hating everyone and hated by everyone, longing for death as deliverance from his torments, and at the same time not satisfied with blood drinking, terrible for everyone around him and even more terrible for himself in his criminal conscience, devoured alive by grave decay, gnawed by worms, as if visibly struck by the finger of Divine wrath, after a seventy-year life of villainy and debauchery, the miserable old man, whom people called great, lay in a wild frenzy, waiting for his last hour ”(Farrar F.V. Life of Jesus Christ. 6th ed., St. Petersburg, 1893, p. 26- 27).

He had seven sons from ten wives: Antipater, Alexander, Aristobulus, Philip (from Mariamne II), Archelaus, Antipas, Philip (from Cleopatra). After the death of Herod, the kingdom was divided and power passed to his three sons: Archelaus, Herod Antipas and Philip.

2. Archelaus(Matthew 2:22) received Judea along with Idumea and Samaria. When, after the death of Herod I, St. rights. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus were returning from Egypt, they learned about the accession to the throne of Archelaus and, fearing to live in the area subject to him, settled in Nazareth of Galilee. Because of the oppression of his subjects in the year 6 A.D. Archelaus was deprived of power, and the areas that he ruled were transferred to the Roman procurator (in the Slavic text of the Gospel he is called in Greek: "hegemon"; from the verb igemai - "I command"; in the Synodal Bible - "ruler"), who was subordinate to the proconsul Roman province of Syria.

3. Mentioned in the Holy Gospel (Luke 3:1) son of Herod I Philip(from Cleopatra) ruled the northeastern part of Palestine: in Iturea and the Trachonite region. He was very different in character from his brothers: he was moderate and strove for justice. He was married to his great-niece Salome, daughter of Herodias, who danced before Herod Antipas (Mt 14.6; Mk 6.22).

4. Most often in the New Testament (Matthew 14:3,6; Mark 6:14,16-18,20-22; 8:15; Luke 3:1,19; 9.7,9; 13.31; 23: 7,8,11,12,15; Acts 13:1) is mentioned Herod Antipas(son of Herod I from Malfaka), who got Perea and Galilee, where Jesus Christ lived for about 30 years before the beginning of His gospel. He was brought up in Rome along with his older brother Archelaus. At his half-brother's house (5.) Philip(not a tetrarch, but another son of Herod I from Mariamne, who did not receive any inheritance and lived as a private person), he met his sister-in-law and niece Herodias, with whom he fell passionately in love. In order to marry her, he banished his lawful wife, the daughter of the Arabian king Aretas IV. For this, St. John the Baptist, whom he beheaded. Pontius Pilate sent the Savior of the world, who was in the chains of the Savior of the world, to be judged by Herod Antipas, wishing to relieve himself of responsibility. The Roman emperor Caligula exiled him on the complaint of the Jews to Lyon, where he died.

6.Herod AgrippaI, son of Aristobulus, grandson of Herod I. Ruled Judea from 38 to 44 A.D. He persecuted the Apostles, killed St. Apostle James in the last year of his reign and tried to kill St. Apostle Peter, but the Lord did not allow this (Acts 12:2-11). Herod Agrippa died struck by the Angel of the Lord (Acts 12:23).

7. Herod AgrippaII, son of Herod Agrippa I, great-grandson of Herod I. Ruled Judea from 48 to 100 A.D. Agrippa II is mentioned together with sister Verenice in connection with the trial of St. apostle Paul. Herod Agrippa II is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles by St. Evangelist Luke: 25:13.22-24.26; 26:1-2,7, etc.

With the death of Herod Agrippa II, the dynasty that left a dark memory in the history of Palestine disappeared.

Jesus Christ at the trial of King Herod

Herod Antipas, king of Galilee, who executed John the Baptist, heard a lot about Jesus Christ and longed to see Him. When they brought Jesus Christ to him, he was very glad, hoping to see some miracle from Him. Herod asked Him many questions, but the Lord did not answer him. The chief priests and the scribes stood and vigorously accused Him.

Then Herod, together with his soldiers, outraged and mocked Him, dressed the Savior in bright clothes, as a sign of His innocence, and sent him back to Pilate.

From that day on, Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, while before they were at enmity with each other.

NOTE: See the Gospel of Luke, ch. 23, 8 12.

From the book Son of Man the author Men Alexander

Chapter one. “IN THE DAYS OF KING HEROD” 4 B.C. Let us now mentally fast forward to Judea in the last months of Herod's reign. The inhabitants of Jerusalem, accustomed to the fact that their city was often visited by pilgrims from distant lands, probably did not pay attention to the caravan of foreigners, which

From the book Funny Gospel author Taxil Leo

Chapter 12 Then Herod, seeing himself ridiculed by the Magi, became very angry, and sent to beat all the babies in Bethlehem and within it, from two years old and below, according to the time that he found out from the Magi. Matthew, chapter 2, verse 16 Meanwhile, as it was already

From the book Son of Man, with illustrations the author Men Alexander

Chapter one. “IN THE DAYS OF KING HEROD” 4 B.C. Let us now mentally move to Judea in the last months of Herod's reign. The inhabitants of Jerusalem, accustomed to the fact that their city was often visited by pilgrims from distant lands, probably did not pay attention to the caravan of foreigners, which

From the book Land of the Virgin author Prudnikova Elena Anatolievna

Palestine in the time of King Herod Whatever happened in the world of people, "indifferent nature" shone with the same beauty, misleading researchers from later times. Let us return to the already mentioned M. Ya. Mikhailov. In his essay "The Country and the People of Palestine" he

From the book The Law of God author Sloboda Archpriest Seraphim

Jesus Christ at Pilate's Trial The high priests and Jewish leaders, having condemned Jesus Christ to death, themselves could not carry out their sentence without the approval of the head of the country - the Roman governor (hegemon or praetor) in Judea. At this time the Roman

From the book The Last Days of the Earthly Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ author Innokenty of Kherson

Chapter XVI: Jesus Christ, at the trial of the high priests and the Sanhedrin of the Guard, brings Christ to the palace of the high priest Anna. - Private interrogation. - Answer of Jesus. - The first ear from a slave. — Peter's first denial. - The Divine Prisoner refers to Caiaphas. - Midnight meeting

From the book Explanatory Bible. Volume 9 author Lopukhin Alexander

Chapter XIX: Jesus Christ at the trial of Pilate The character of Pilate and his attitude towards the Sanhedrin. - Unfounded accusation of Jesus Christ by the high priests. - The Procurator is not satisfied with him. - National interrogation. - The answer to it is majestic, but contrary to expectation and views

From the book Jesus Christ and the Bible Mysteries author Maltsev Nikolay Nikiforovich

Chapter XX: Jesus Christ at the Judgment of Herod Character of Herod. - The way he thinks about Jesus Christ. - Herod's attitude to the Sanhedrin. - His desire to see a miracle. - Unfulfilled desire. - Shame and white clothes, in which the Divine Prisoner is referred to Pilate. Tetrarch

From the book of Holy Scripture. Modern Translation (CARS) author bible

1. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, the Magi from the East came to Jerusalem and said: In explaining this verse, one must first of all pay attention to the likelihood of a rapid change in the events of the Savior’s initial childhood. We can hardly

From the book Son of Man the author Men Alexander

3. The cause of the death of Herod the Great and the family of King David Looking ahead, I will say that the most beloved son of the devil, King Herod the Great, died in 6 BC. e. in the full bloom of his powers after he believed the Magi that the Divine Infant was born without the knowledge of King Herod the Great, and therefore without

From the book Bible tales author author unknown

7. The Mystery of King Herod's Palace and Jehovah's Temple, or "The Holy Sepulcher" And there was a great secret meaning in this. The fact is that in the basement of Herod's palace were hidden especially protected documents on the genealogy of the descendants of Cain up to Herod Antipas, as well as huge

From the book Interpretation of the Gospel author Gladkov Boris Ilyich

Death of King Herod Herod then left Judea for Caesarea and stayed there for a while. 20 Herod was angry with the inhabitants of Tire and Sidon, and they, agreeing among themselves, came to him and, enlisting the support of Blast, the manager of the royal court, asked for peace, because

From the book Explanatory Bible. Old Testament and New Testament author Lopukhin Alexander Pavlovich

Chapter one. "IN THE DAYS OF KING HEROD" 4 BC e. Let us now mentally fast forward to Judea in the last months of Herod's reign. The inhabitants of Jerusalem, accustomed to the fact that their city was often visited by pilgrims from distant lands, probably did not pay attention to the caravan of foreigners, which

From the author's book

Jesus Christ at Pilate's trial The high priests, having condemned Jesus Christ to death, had no right to carry out their sentence without the consent of Pilate, the Roman ruler in Judea. When Jesus Christ was brought to Pilate, the elders and bishops said that Jesus

From the author's book

CHAPTER 43 Jesus at Herod. The Second Judgment of Pilate. Flagellation of Jesus. Pilate's betrayal of Jesus into the power of the Sanhedrin When Judas left the courtroom, the entire multitude (Luke 23:1) of the members of the Sanhedrin went to Pilate, where Jesus was also taken. Pilate's trialPilate was

From the author's book

XXVIII The Judgment of Christ at the High Priests Anna and Caiaphas. Peter's denial and repentance. Jesus Christ at the trial of Pilate and Herod; scourging him and condemning him to death by Pilate. The death of Judas, as well as other perpetrators of the crime While Christ was being taken into custody,

Speaking of Christmas, one of the significant figures of that time cannot be ignored. Herod, the man who was shocked by the arrival of the Magi, who initiated the slaughter of babies, and who was the first of many who tried to stop the coming of Jesus.

Description: Herod the Great was a puppet king of the Roman Empire in the Judean province. He was elected to the post of "King of the Jews" by the Roman Senate in about 40 BC. This happened after an uprising against the previous governor of the province, Hyrcanus II, led by the king's nephew. Herod ruled in this province from 37 B.C. to 4 BC

Herod was not a Jew by blood, he was an Edomite. Despite the fact that he adopted all the customs and practices of the Jews, the Pharisees of that time did not consider him a Jew.

Herod was also responsible for building the great temple in Jerusalem. Temple, which the Romans destroyed in 70 A.D. during the Jewish revolt.

Meaning: it was Herod who received the Magi, his advisers sent them to Bethlehem, the city of David. It was Herod who ordered what later went down in history as the "Massacre of the Innocents", during which all male children under the age of two were killed in Bethlehem.

First mention: Herod is only mentioned in the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, in relation to how he met the Magi. “When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, magicians from the east came to Jerusalem and said: Where is the King of the Jews who has been born? for we have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him. On hearing this, King Herod was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. And, having gathered all the high priests and scribes of the people, he asked them: where should Christ be born? They said to him: in Bethlehem of Judea... Then Herod, secretly calling the magi, found out from them the time of the appearance of the star, and sending them to Bethlehem, said: go to worship Him ... And, having received a revelation in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their country in a different way ... Then Herod, seeing himself ridiculed by the Magi, became very angry, and sent to beat all the babies in Bethlehem and in all its limits, from two years and below, according to the time that he found out from the Magi ”(Matt. 2: 1-5, 7-8, 12, 16-17).

This passage includes a reference to a prophecy in the book of the prophet Jeremiah. In chapter 31, verse 15, it says the following: “A voice is heard in Rama, weeping and sobbing and a great cry; Rachel weeps for her children and does not want to be comforted, for they are not” (Matt. 2:18).
The mention of Rachel in this passage is connected not only with the fact that she was part of the Jewish people and the beloved wife of Jacob, but also with the fact that her grave was in Bethlehem.

Herod's death further marked the beginning of Jesus' security in Israel and the end of his sojourn in Egypt.
“After the death of Herod, behold, the Angel of the Lord appears in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and says: Get up, take the Child and His Mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the soul of the Child are dead” (Matthew 2:19-20).

Explanation: Historically, the presence of Herod is seen by many scholars as a problem in terms of the historicity of the Gospels. The first question to be answered is, “if Herod died in 4 BC, how could he be on the throne at the birth of Christ?”

There are two answers to this. First, the Western calendar system from the birth of Jesus did not begin until the mid-sixth century. Monk Dionysius Minor decided that the date of Jesus' birth should be made central in the calendar. According to his calculations, Jesus was born in 753 AUC, the old chronology known as Ab Urbe Condita (Latin), which literally translates as "from the founding of the City." Considering that this phrase was in Latin, the City it mentions is undoubtedly Rome.

Historian Edwin Tate, editor of the Journal of Christian History, explained Dionysius' motives in an interview with the Christian Post: "He wanted to start keeping a calendar from the birth of Jesus Christ because the system then in existence was named after Diocletian, who persecuted Christians."

However, given that he had sixth century tools, it is understandable that his calculations were not 100% accurate, so it is possible that Jesus was born earlier than he thought.

There is also another theory (the truth may include elements of both theories) that states that Herod did not die in 4 BC. Tate wrote: “Most scholars think that Herod the Great died in 4 BC. , although it is based on the evidence presented by Josephus, and I have seen alternative explanations for the evidence stating that Herod actually died later.”

There are also historians who dispute the fact of the massacre of babies. They are based on the fact that apart from the Gospels there are no special references to this event. The main opponent of this was Josephus, the Jewish historian, who described Herod's reign in many significant details.

One critical historian, David Hill, agrees that the event "does not contain anything historically impossible," but adds that at the time Matthew was writing about these events, his "real concern was ... to provide Theological Review of the Fulfillment of the Old Testament Text.

However, other historians point out that despite the cruelty of beating babies, the scale of this act was relatively small. Herod's cruelty was known throughout his reign. He is also known for having executed several members of his family, including his wife Mariamne I. During the beating of babies, he accounted for the deaths of 5 to 15 people.

Historian R.T. Frans disputes the plausibility of this event on the basis that “the murder of several babies in a small village was not on the scale. to match the more prominent murders recorded by Flavius."

Rabbi Ken Spino described him as "a lunatic who killed his own family and a large number of rabbis... the evil genius of the Jewish people... ready to commit any crime to satisfy his boundless ambitions."
He also called him "the greatest builder in Jewish history", in fact Herod is remembered not only for the beating of babies, but also for the construction of the port in Palestinian Caesarea, massive fortifications in Masada and Herodium and of course the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem. However, in Christian history, this temple did not represent a great achievement, as it became the place where Jesus overturned the tables and drove the money changers and merchants out of the building.

Translation: Anna Ugleva