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The Herodian Dynasty: Making Sense of the Family Tree

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The Herodian Dynasty: Making Sense of the Family Tree THE HERODIAN DYNASTY: MAKING SENSE OF THE FAMILY TREE On Wednesday evenings we are involved in looking at characters that could be confusing based on their names. There are six women named Mary in the New Testament while there are five men named John. Not to be outdone, the term "Herod" can also be quite confusing as well. The term HEROD was the family name of several Rome appointed rulers as kings or provincial governors of Palestine which we can read in the New Testament. I want to take this opportunity to give a brief overview of the major biblical “players” of the Herodian Dynasty for your consideration. HEROD THE GREAT: Herod the Great was king during the days of Emperor Augustus when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. (Matthew 2:1, Luke 3:1) Herod the Great ruled from 37 to 4 B.C. as a creative architect, had organizational skill and was an extremely savvy politician. Herod’s savage policies included killing his wife and two sons and all male babies under two years old. His greatest achievement was rebuilding Solomon’s Temple which took nearly 50 years. One other achievement was the rebuilding of Caesarea as a port city on the Mediterranean. This was used as a Roman provincial capital for Palestine during the New Testament era. The aqueducts used to transport water still stand and can be seen today. HEROD ANTIPAS: Antipas succeeded his father as the governor of Perea and Galilee. (Matthew 14:1) It was this Herod who was responsible for the death of John the Baptizer. (Luke 3:19-20, Matthew 14:1-12) HEROD AGRIPPA I: Caligula Caesar named Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great, ruler of Palestine. Agrippa was a “good” leader in the sense that he accomplished the desires of the Jewish people. However, once Christianity was viewed with distinction from traditional Judaism, Agrippa sided with the Jews and became an early persecutor of the Christians. Agrippa was killed by an angel of the Lord for his apparent blasphemy by accepting praises of the people as if he were divine. (Acts 12) HEROD AGRIPPA II: In 50 A.D. Agrippa II was appointed ruler over several larger territories of Galilee. The only reference of this Herod occurs in Acts 25:13-26:32 where Paul makes his defense before Agrippa in Caesarea. Had Paul not appealed to Caesar in Rome, he could likely have been set free at this point. Agrippa II was the ruler during the time when Vespasian gave the order to overthrow Jerusalem in 68-70 AD. He was the final ruler in the Herodian Family. Two other HERODS are mentioned in the Bible: HEROD ARCHELAUS (Matthew 2:22) and HEROD PHILIP. (Luke 3:1) Both of these were sons of Herod the Great and ruled parts of the territory governed by their father. Although it is also biblically important we could consider the placement of Herodias, Druscilla and Bernice; however there is simply no room for that information in this article. The Bible is a book of history and so this information can be useful in our appreciation of how God's Word teaches us today. Although a knowledge of such things will not determine our eternal salvation, it is at least of interest to realize the world of the New Testament. For this cause, I am hopeful this article will help you “make sense of it all” next time you are reading the New Testament. I wish you a great rest of the week! See you Sunday and bring a friend! In Christ, James.
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