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00:00Even today, the very name Herod resonates with evil.
00:07He is one of the Bible's most notorious villains,
00:11the king who slaughtered newborn babies.
00:15By this bloodshed, he hoped to kill a child named Jesus,
00:20a child already called by some, King of the Jews.
00:26There is just one verse in the Gospel of Matthew
00:30that has made Herod a pariah.
00:35But Herod stands accused by history as a brutal king.
00:40The pattern of his entire life is to use violence
00:44as a solution to his problems.
00:47So did Herod really carry out this horrendous slaughter?
00:56Herod the Great was a giant of the ancient world.
01:03A powerful king, he ruled the land of Judea for over 30 years.
01:09Herod the Great was a giant of the ancient world.
01:13A powerful king, he ruled the land of Judea for over 30 years.
01:17His legacy includes fine architecture and impressive engineering.
01:36But it's the killing of the children
01:38that has earned Herod his reputation as a tyrant.
01:41Matthew explains in his Gospel how the crime took place.
01:54Travelers from the east journeyed to King Herod's palace in Jerusalem.
01:58Matthew calls them wise men.
02:01They had seen a star, a sign that a new king of the Jews had been born.
02:08This news troubled Herod.
02:15He was king of the Jews.
02:18Herod's high priest warned him of a prophecy
02:21that a king would be born in the town of Bethlehem.
02:24Herod asked the wise men to return and tell him where the child was.
02:39Warned in a dream,
02:41the wise men secretly made their way home by a different route.
02:46When the wise men didn't return,
02:51Herod flew into an uncontrollable rage.
02:54According to the Bible,
02:56he had planned to kill Jesus and had failed.
03:03Herod ordered the killing of every child in Bethlehem
03:07under the age of two.
03:09That's why we took a call.
03:29But there was at least one boy who escaped.
03:32Joseph and Mary had taken their son and fled to Egypt.
03:42The massacre is described in just one verse in the Bible.
03:47A single verse has grown into one of history's most infamous crimes.
03:55But the evidence that Herod ordered these murders is incredibly thin.
03:59In fact, the story is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible.
04:09In researching Herod's life, historian Peter Richardson
04:13has checked for any references to a mass murder of children.
04:18I think it is important that even within the New Testament,
04:22only Matthew tells the story,
04:25and Luke, who tells of other incidents surrounding the birth of Jesus,
04:32told from a quite different point of view, in fact, in Luke.
04:35Luke knows nothing of this incident.
04:39Luke isn't the only writer who fails to mention the massacre.
04:43No other records of it have been found.
04:46The Jewish historian Josephus lived in the 1st century A.D.
04:55He wrote about Herod and Jesus,
04:58yet he makes no reference to the killing.
05:05Josephus knows nothing of this incident.
05:08I think we have to simply grant
05:11that there is very little evidence for it.
05:14We have only Matthew's account.
05:16And that should make us just a little bit suspicious
05:19about the details of the story.
05:24One verse in the Bible,
05:26one piece of evidence,
05:28is hardly enough to convict Herod.
05:30But there's another way to investigate the killings.
05:33By focusing on Herod himself,
05:40rather than the historical records,
05:42it may be possible to establish
05:44if he had the motive and the capability for the crime.
05:50Josephus wrote in detail about Herod's actions
05:52and even his feelings.
05:54He got much of his information from Nicholas of Damascus,
05:58Herod's prime minister and court historian.
06:00With such rich source material,
06:07modern psychology can shed light
06:09on Herod's character and personality.
06:13Josephus in the biography of Herod
06:15pays very close attention,
06:18unusually close attention, I think,
06:20to psychological facts of Herod's life,
06:22his paranoia, his violence,
06:25his melancholia, and also his greatness.
06:27So we get a lot of psychological detail
06:30in the biographical portrait of Herod,
06:32and that's essential to make sense of Herod's life.
06:36So was Herod ruthless enough to commit this crime?
06:42Josephus provides illuminating information
06:44about his early life.
06:45Herod's father was prime minister of Judea,
07:03a Roman province at the time,
07:05and a close friend of Julius Caesar.
07:07His mother was an Arab princess from Petra
07:10in present-day Jordan.
07:11Herod was born into a privileged world
07:18and had an early introduction
07:20to the power politics of his age.
07:24In Herod's family,
07:26he grows up with names at the table
07:29that his grandfather and his father
07:31have rubbed shoulders with.
07:32Pompey, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony,
07:36Octavian, Cleopatra, Brutus, Cassius,
07:39all of the great names are names right at the table.
07:47Herod's own rise to power was fast.
07:50At 25, he was appointed governor of Galilee.
07:53He married a woman called Doris,
07:55and they had a son.
07:57His life and career were taking off.
08:02But Josephus writes that shortly after this,
08:06Herod's life took a fateful turn.
08:15Returning from a successful military campaign,
08:18he was made a tantalizing offer.
08:23Betrothal to a beautiful teenage girl
08:25who was of Jewish royal blood,
08:28princess Mariame.
08:35Mariame represented a golden opportunity for Herod.
08:39She was from the royal family
08:40most Jews regarded
08:41as the rightful rulers of Judea.
08:46Marrying her would be
08:47a powerful alliance for Herod.
08:50There was just one problem.
08:53He already had a wife and son.
08:55Josephus writes that Herod acted decisively.
09:03He banished Doris and their three-year-old son.
09:07He went ahead with the betrothal
09:08and married Mariame.
09:13The Romans clearly saw Herod
09:15as a man after their own hearts.
09:17Five years later,
09:21they named him King of the Jews.
09:24He wants what he wants.
09:26Nothing's going to stand in the way of what he wants.
09:29He's going to get what he wants.
09:30He's very single-minded in that respect.
09:35Herod was ambitious and unscrupulous.
09:39But that's hardly grounds enough
09:41to condemn him as a child killer.
09:43In fact,
09:56a very different side of his character
09:57emerges from a number of archaeological finds
10:00made in Israel
10:01over the last few decades.
10:03They reveal a king
10:09with sophisticated tastes
10:11whose legacy as a great builder
10:13belies his reputation
10:15as a murderer.
10:16Hey guys, it's breakfast time.
10:33Just south of Bethlehem
10:37are the remains of an architectural wonder
10:40conceived and designed by Herod.
10:53It's Herodium,
10:55a desert palace built by Herod
10:57which, according to archaeologist Jody Magnus,
11:01is a testament to his engineering genius.
11:04She has excavated inside Herodium
11:07and identified its unique design.
11:12There are actually two palace complexes at Herodium.
11:16There was a palace or palace buildings
11:19on top of the mountain,
11:21sort of in the mouth of the volcano, if you wish,
11:23and a palace complex at the foot of the mountain.
11:27And that complex includes an enormous pool
11:31that had a pavilion in the middle of it
11:33and the pool would have been used for swimming
11:35and perhaps even for boating
11:37and was supplied by aqueduct
11:39from springs that were located some miles away.
11:43The sheer scale of Herodium
11:55has become apparent in the last 30 years
11:58thanks to the work of archaeologists
12:01like Ehud Netzer.
12:03He discovered royal apartments,
12:08guest rooms, bathhouses, arcades and gardens
12:12where Herod could entertain his family
12:14and his entire court.
12:17A typical day of Herod at Herodium
12:20would maybe he started swimming.
12:24There was a large swimming pool.
12:27The morning is very pleasant in the summer to swim.
12:30I guess after a good breakfast
12:32he would meet many of the friends.
12:36It seems that the site accommodated
12:38dozens if not hundreds of family members
12:41and no doubt maybe some nice dinners
12:45and a lot of wine from Italy.
12:51Herodium wasn't unique.
13:0040 miles to the south
13:07by the shores of the Dead Sea
13:09is the most impressive
13:11of all Herod's palaces
13:13Masada.
13:17It towers a thousand feet
13:19above the Judean desert.
13:20Three stories high,
13:31the palace is a sensational feat of building.
13:43Josephus writes that Herod
13:45was directly involved at every stage
13:47in the design and the location
13:49of his buildings.
13:54Achievements like this
13:55suggest a highly cultured man,
13:58a judgment that's difficult to square
13:59with his reputation as a child killer.
14:04But there's more than meets the eye
14:06at Masada and Herodium.
14:09Both palaces say much
14:11about Herod's state of mind.
14:15What's striking about Masada
14:17is that it's more than just a palace.
14:21Built on a treacherous mountain
14:22in a vast desert,
14:24it is an unassailable fortress.
14:27A place where Herod could feel safe.
14:34It seems the king was terrified of something
14:36and excavations here
14:38have revealed the depth
14:40of his insecurity.
14:46Archaeologists have unearthed
14:48large storage rooms for food.
14:51The water cisterns
14:52are the biggest ever discovered
14:54from the Roman Empire.
14:56Herod had prepared Masada
14:57to withstand a very long siege.
15:00Well, we know that in addition
15:05to storing food and water
15:06on top of Masada,
15:08that Herod also stored
15:09an arsenal of weapons.
15:10We do know also
15:12that Herod, of course,
15:13had soldiers stationed
15:14on top of the mountain.
15:16And in fact, after he died,
15:18the mountain continued
15:19to be occupied
15:20by a small garrison of soldiers.
15:29Even the family palace
15:30of Herodium is deceptive,
15:32for it, too,
15:33is in fact a fortress,
15:35another place born
15:37of deep insecurity.
15:42The steep sides
15:44meant Herod could defend it
15:45with just a few soldiers.
15:48Precisely how
15:50was revealed
15:50when archaeologists
15:51found these huge stones
15:53at its base.
15:56The big stone,
15:58we call them rolling stones.
15:59Nothing to do
16:00with pop music.
16:02We call them rolling stones.
16:04And this is if a group
16:06of soldiers
16:06would try to go
16:08as a group up
16:09or a few ones.
16:11You hold them
16:11from top
16:12and then
16:13it's very frightening
16:15as well as effective
16:16if it hits the people.
16:21Herod's fear
16:22was so strong
16:23that he built
16:24that he built
16:24that he built
16:24more than 20 fortresses
16:26across his kingdom.
16:29Signals could be sent
16:30between the fortresses
16:31with mirrors.
16:33They mirror the architecture
16:35of his paranoid mind.
16:38He had these deep fears
16:39of being attacked,
16:40of being vanquished,
16:41of having his titles
16:42taken from him
16:43and the buildings
16:44speak to that fear
16:46quite directly.
16:51Perhaps Herod
16:52felt so threatened
16:53that he would even
16:54kill the children
16:55of Bethlehem
16:56to protect his interests.
16:57But what was he
17:00so afraid of?
17:07Documents from the period
17:08reveal a widespread desire
17:10among Jews
17:11for a different
17:12kind of king.
17:25They believed
17:26a great leader
17:27a messiah
17:28would be chosen
17:29by God
17:29to overthrow Herod
17:31and become
17:32the true king
17:33of the Jews.
17:39Biblical historian
17:40Warren Carter
17:41has studied
17:42the expectations
17:42of the times.
17:45In Herod's day
17:45everyone knew
17:46the scriptures
17:47and their prophecies.
17:50We do know
17:51that in some
17:51Jewish traditions
17:52during the time
17:53of Herod
17:54there were some
17:54expectations
17:55among some people
17:57of a messiah.
17:59We have some psalms
18:00written in the name
18:01of Solomon
18:01that look for
18:03a king
18:04in the line
18:05of David
18:05who will come
18:07to Jerusalem
18:08and without using
18:10military means
18:11will somehow
18:12expel the Romans.
18:14Herod was aware
18:15of these expectations
18:16and was aware
18:17of the threat
18:18that they posed.
18:19the Jews
18:20had every reason
18:26to question Herod's
18:27claim to be
18:28their legitimate king.
18:29They expected
18:30their king
18:31to be a full-blooded Jew
18:32and many were suspicious
18:34of Herod's Jewish origins.
18:38Herod's Jewishness
18:39comes from
18:40the conversion
18:41of his grandfather.
18:42Herod thus
18:43is a third-generation Jew
18:45and he acquires
18:47his commitment
18:48to Judaism
18:49as a result
18:50of that conversion
18:51process
18:52rather than
18:53through bloodline.
18:55Herod himself
18:56did not have
18:57a drop of Jewish
18:58blood in him
18:58though he was
18:59Jewish by religion.
19:02In fact,
19:03Josephus wrote
19:04that much of the population
19:05looked down on Herod
19:07especially those
19:08from old families.
19:15This is why Herod
19:18married Princess
19:19Mariami.
19:20As a member
19:20of the Jewish
19:21royal family
19:22she strengthened
19:23his claim
19:23to the title
19:24King of the Jews.
19:30Fear of his subjects
19:31explains why Herod
19:33built such an
19:33unusual network
19:34of fortresses
19:35across his kingdom.
19:39Herod fortified
19:40Masada
19:41and other palaces
19:43as a sort
19:46of a fortification
19:47system against
19:48an internal threat
19:49his Jewish population
19:50because the Jewish
19:51population
19:52did not like him
19:54did not accept him
19:55as a legitimate king
19:56and he lived
19:57his life in fear
19:58that one day
19:59they would rise up
20:00in revolt
20:01and try to kill him.
20:05Herod was clearly
20:06worried.
20:07There's evidence
20:08that he went out
20:08of his way
20:09to flatter
20:10his Jewish subjects.
20:11He worked hard
20:12to gain popularity
20:13and public approval.
20:29This is the Western Wall
20:32one of the oldest
20:33landmarks in Jerusalem.
20:36Jews from all over
20:37the world
20:37come here to pray.
20:43This wall
20:44is all that's left
20:45of a spectacular building
20:46masterminded
20:47by Herod.
20:50Precise descriptions
20:51by Josephus
20:52have allowed architects
20:53to recreate
20:54the entire building.
21:02It is the Temple
21:04of the Temple of Jerusalem
21:05and it was Herod's idea.
21:18The Temple was hailed
21:19by many at the time
21:21as the most beautiful
21:22building in the world.
21:29It was a very public
21:31attempt by Herod
21:32to win the hearts
21:33and minds
21:34of the Jewish people.
21:42Now because
21:43there could only be
21:45in Judaism
21:45one Temple building,
21:47the one in Jerusalem,
21:48therefore by definition
21:49that was of course
21:51a very important building
21:52because the entire
21:53Jewish religion
21:54was centred around
21:56that single building.
21:57we do know
22:00that it was
22:01a very large
22:02and magnificent building
22:03with marble
22:04and gold
22:05and that it was
22:06surrounded by
22:07its own courtyard
22:08with towers
22:09and fortification walls.
22:1818,000 workers
22:20were employed
22:21and more money
22:22was lavished
22:23on the Temple
22:23than on any other building
22:25in the history
22:26of Judea.
22:27We're told in one
22:31of the Jewish sources
22:32that God so favoured
22:34this project
22:35that it only rained
22:37at night
22:37during the years
22:38of the building
22:39of the Temple
22:40but every day
22:41was a sunny dry day
22:42so that the project
22:44could proceed
22:45unhindered.
22:48During the construction work
22:50Herod took great care
22:52to show respect
22:53for Jewish sensibilities.
22:57on the human front
22:59it was important
23:00that the Temple
23:01not be defiled
23:04during the time
23:06of the rebuilding
23:07and in order
23:09to get around that
23:10Herod had priests
23:12trained in all
23:13the relevant building
23:15technologies
23:16as masons,
23:17as carpenters
23:18and so on.
23:21There's no question
23:22that Herod rebuilt
23:25the Temple
23:25in Jerusalem
23:26in order to
23:27solidify his reputation
23:29with the Jewish people.
23:35With such public devotion
23:37to the Jewish faith
23:38Herod should have won
23:40the approval
23:40of his people.
23:41but despite everything
23:45he tried
23:46Josephus says
23:47that many
23:47still despised him.
23:52The roots of this hatred
23:54are not hard to trace.
23:57Although Herod
23:58was king of the Jews
23:59he had been appointed
24:01by an occupying power
24:02the Romans
24:03and to make things worse
24:06he pandered to them
24:07at every opportunity.
24:11in his next building project
24:18Herod took a step
24:19that caused great offence
24:21to the Jewish population
24:22and swept away
24:23any remaining traces
24:25of goodwill.
24:31Herod's new project
24:32lies 60 miles northwest
24:34of Jerusalem
24:35and was once known
24:38as the Jewel
24:39of the Mediterranean.
24:41It is an entire city
24:44and seaport.
24:49This aqueduct
24:50which supplied fresh water
24:52is one of the best
24:53preserved structures.
24:54but in naming the city
25:06Herod delivered the highest insult
25:08to his Jewish population.
25:10He named it Caesarea
25:25in honour of the Roman emperor
25:29Caesar Augustus.
25:30its amphitheatres and arenas
25:38were packed with Roman entertainments
25:40despised by Jews
25:42as decadent
25:43and immoral.
25:51Herod's hippodrome
25:53in Caesarea
25:54was for horse races
25:56perhaps chariot races
25:58but also could be used
26:01for gladiatorial games
26:02battles with animals
26:04between humans
26:05those kinds of bloody spectacles
26:07this was the bloody underside
26:09of Roman civilization.
26:13Then Herod committed
26:15the unforgivable
26:16he built a temple
26:18not to the god of the Jews
26:20but to a Roman god
26:21the emperor.
26:29He even funded a vast harbour
26:32with proceeds from Jewish taxes.
26:34Little of it survives today
26:39but from the air
26:40it's still possible
26:41to make out the foundations
26:42of this sophisticated
26:44piece of engineering.
26:53Architect Christopher Brandon
26:54has been carrying out
26:56underwater archaeology
26:57that is revealing
26:58the true scale
26:59of Herod's harbour.
27:02What you first see
27:04is it's basically
27:04a reef
27:05you think
27:05it's just a natural reef
27:06and then you start
27:08to see beam impressions
27:09post holes
27:11and you start to realise
27:12that this is not
27:13a natural feature
27:15this is a man-made structure.
27:19Herod used
27:20a revolutionary
27:21building technique
27:22that had just been invented
27:24by the Romans.
27:26Herod constructed
27:28this harbour
27:28by floating out
27:30wooden boxes
27:31which were sunk
27:32in a line
27:33by filling them
27:34by filling them
27:34with concrete.
27:36All it was
27:36is an enclosing wall
27:37which was always
27:39filled with water.
27:40So the concrete
27:41was poured into the water
27:42and set within the water.
27:45They formed
27:45a solid foundation
27:47in which he could then
27:48build the rest
27:49of the piers
27:50that actually
27:51formed the harbour itself.
27:52in the final analysis
28:04Herod's sympathies
28:06lay with the Romans.
28:08No wonder Jews
28:09challenged the legitimacy
28:11of his kingship.
28:12No wonder he felt insecure.
28:16It would certainly
28:17give him a motive
28:18for murdering
28:19the children
28:19of Bethlehem.
28:24But was Herod
28:26actually capable
28:27of such a barbaric crime?
28:30The first indication
28:32of just how far
28:33he would go
28:34came when he was
28:3538 years old.
28:36In 35 BC
28:55Herod appointed
28:57a new high priest
28:58at the temple
28:59in Jerusalem.
29:00The high priest
29:01was second in power
29:02only to the king.
29:04under pressure
29:07from his wife
29:07Mariame
29:08and from her mother
29:09Herod appointed
29:11his brother-in-law
29:12the 17-year-old
29:13Aristobulus.
29:18But Herod worried
29:19that powerful
29:20Jewish families
29:21might form an alliance
29:22against him
29:22and back Aristobulus
29:24a full-blooded Jew
29:25as king.
29:31Then at a party
29:33at Herod's palace
29:34Aristobulus
29:35was mysteriously drowned.
29:49Few believed
29:50that it was an accident
29:51and Josephus
29:53was convinced
29:53that Herod
29:54had had
29:55the young man drowned.
30:01Here we find Herod
30:03ordering the drowning
30:04of Mariame's brother
30:05Aristobulus
30:06and this tells us
30:08first that Herod's
30:09paranoid
30:09and secondly
30:10that he's capable
30:11of murder
30:12even though the evidence
30:13is rather circumstantial.
30:19The evidence
30:20would hardly stand up
30:22in a court of law
30:22but there was worse
30:24to come.
30:24five years later
30:47Rome had a new ruler.
30:50Octavian had defeated
30:51Mark Antony
30:52and went to pledge
30:59his loyalty
31:00to Octavian.
31:01Josephus
31:01says Octavian
31:02was impressed
31:04and confirmed
31:05Herod
31:05as king of the Jews.
31:11This was a risky step
31:22for Herod.
31:23He left Jerusalem
31:24fearing Octavian's retribution
31:25for supporting his enemies.
31:31In fact,
31:32Herod left secret orders
31:33for his wife
31:34Mariame
31:35to be killed
31:36if he did not
31:37return alive.
31:41Josephus writes
31:42that he could not
31:43bear the thought
31:44of her being
31:45with anybody else.
31:50The relationship
31:50between Herod
31:51and Mariame
31:52was by all accounts
31:54volatile,
31:55intensely volatile
31:56one might say.
31:57It was not,
31:58as Josephus put it,
31:59of a calm nature.
32:00Herod was deeply
32:01in love with Mariame.
32:02His love was intense
32:03and passionate.
32:06On his return,
32:08Herod was horrified
32:09to discover
32:10that Mariame
32:10had learned
32:11of his plans
32:12to have her killed.
32:15Their marriage
32:16fell apart.
32:17She stopped
32:18sleeping with him.
32:21I do feel
32:22in his heart
32:22of hearts
32:23that Herod
32:24may have slightly
32:25resented Mariame
32:26for not loving him
32:27with the intensity
32:28that he loved her.
32:30But that again
32:30reveals something
32:31about Herod,
32:32I think,
32:32the fact that
32:33he has a very
32:34difficult time
32:34comprehending
32:36other people's emotions,
32:37almost as if
32:38his view of the world
32:39is that everybody
32:40should accede
32:41to his wishes
32:42and be what
32:42he wants them to be.
32:46Increasingly jealous,
32:48Herod put Mariame
32:49on trial.
33:00Mariame was brought
33:07before her own husband
33:09on a trumped-up charge
33:10of adultery.
33:11The penalty
33:12was death.
33:16Herod's sister,
33:17Salome,
33:18was the chief witness
33:19against her.
33:25Mariame's mother,
33:27Alexandra,
33:27made a dramatic
33:28appearance at the trial
33:29and testified
33:31against her own daughter.
33:40Josephus saw this
33:41as a reflection
33:42of Herod's hold
33:43on Alexandra.
33:44She, too,
33:45was on his death list
33:47and probably incriminated
33:48her daughter
33:49to save her own life.
33:51Herod declared
33:55Mariame guilty
33:56and ordered
33:58her execution.
34:02She was just
34:0325 years old
34:04and had given him
34:05five children
34:06in seven years.
34:13Josephus writes
34:14movingly
34:15that Mariame
34:16was calm
34:17and serene
34:18as she went
34:18to her death.
34:21If Herod
34:38could kill
34:38his own wife,
34:40then perhaps
34:40he could murder
34:41rivals for his throne.
34:43I see the turning
34:50point in Herod's
34:51life without doubt
34:53being his ordering
34:54of the murder
34:54of Mariame.
34:56And that's,
34:57he begins down
34:58the avenue
34:59of his ruin
34:59from then on.
35:00I think,
35:01I think the ordering
35:02of that murder
35:03determines a lot
35:04of his psychological
35:05life from then on.
35:07It determines
35:08a lot of his motives
35:09from then on.
35:10But Herod
35:17might argue
35:17in mitigation
35:18that the killing
35:19of Mariame
35:20was not
35:21a cold-blooded
35:21murder,
35:22but a crime
35:23of passion.
35:26And indeed,
35:27Josephus reports
35:28that Herod
35:28grieved for her loss.
35:30apparently Mariame's
35:39death tore
35:39Herod apart.
35:41He was consumed
35:42with remorse
35:43and refused
35:43to believe
35:44she was dead.
35:45He wandered
35:46the palace,
35:47calling her name.
35:48it does to some degree
35:58redeem Herod's character.
36:00He's not,
36:00he's not thoroughly
36:02unlikable.
36:03He is capable
36:03of love.
36:04He is capable
36:05of grief.
36:06He is absolutely
36:08undone
36:09by her death.
36:11and so we feel
36:13more warmly
36:14towards him
36:15because we don't
36:16see him
36:17as this vile
36:18beast any longer.
36:19We see him
36:20as this suffering
36:21person.
36:26While the killing
36:27of Mariame
36:27doesn't make Herod
36:29a mass murderer,
36:30Josephus records
36:31that it did push him
36:32dangerously close
36:33to the edge.
36:34He's psychotic.
36:40He's hearing voices.
36:43He's deeply depressed.
36:45He's incapable
36:45of carrying on
36:46public affairs
36:47any longer.
36:48So this is a,
36:49this is a true
36:50psychotic break.
36:52It's a definite
36:53turning point
36:54and it cements
36:56his fate.
36:59Herod was by now
37:00seriously ill.
37:02His behavior
37:03was erratic
37:03and there were
37:04reports of heavy
37:05drinking.
37:16His enemies
37:16sensed he was
37:17losing his grip
37:18on the country.
37:19Some even thought
37:20he'd lost his mind.
37:23For the first time
37:24there was a bold
37:25attempt to seize
37:26his throne.
37:28The way Herod
37:29reacted gives
37:30the clearest
37:30indication yet
37:32of whether he
37:32could kill
37:33in cold blood.
37:47With Herod
37:48lying ill,
37:50Mariamy's mother
37:51made a wild bid
37:52for power.
37:56Alexandra declared
37:57herself queen
37:58proclaiming that
38:00the king was
38:00the king was
38:00no longer
38:01mentally fit
38:01to rule the
38:02country.
38:17Josephus says
38:18she made a fatal
38:19mistake.
38:20Her action
38:21brought Herod
38:21out of his lair,
38:23fighting.
38:23without so much
38:27as a trial
38:27he had
38:28Alexandra executed.
38:38But that only served
38:40to increase
38:41the risk
38:41of a coup.
38:42when he was 65
38:58Herod's constant fears
39:00were confirmed
39:00when he heard
39:01that his two sons
39:02from his marriage
39:03to Mariamy
39:04were plotting
39:05to assassinate him
39:06and seize the kingdom.
39:07these were his own sons
39:14from the woman
39:15he had loved.
39:19It's good to remember
39:20that Herod
39:21in the later part
39:22of his life
39:22was completely
39:23unhinged.
39:25He believed in solving
39:26problems through violence.
39:28He was also deeply
39:29paranoid.
39:30so when rumours
39:33are flying
39:33about possible efforts
39:35on the part
39:36of his son
39:36to seize power
39:37from him
39:38Herod falls back
39:40on the behaviours
39:41that have worked
39:42for him
39:42psychologically
39:43in the past.
39:45Herod decided
39:46to act.
39:50He had his two sons
39:52executed.
39:58In this same year
39:59just eight miles away
40:01in a manger
40:03in Bethlehem
40:04a woman named Mary
40:05gave birth
40:07to a baby
40:07she called Jesus.
40:13When the wise men
40:14arrived at Herod's court
40:15they met a king
40:16who had killed his wife
40:18and murdered her brother
40:19and her mother.
40:23Just months before
40:24he had also killed
40:26two of his sons.
40:29If Herod could kill
40:33his own children
40:34it doesn't require
40:35a great leap of faith
40:36to believe
40:37that he could also
40:38have killed
40:39the children of Bethlehem.
40:42But if he did
40:44the mystery
40:45is why such
40:46a horrific episode
40:47is reported only
40:48in the Gospel of Matthew.
40:53Why is the story
40:54absent from all other
40:56contemporary
40:56historical sources?
41:04Some scholars
41:05now believe
41:06that despite
41:07everything we know
41:08about Herod's paranoia
41:10and brutal crimes
41:11there was in fact
41:12no massacre
41:14in Bethlehem.
41:17They believe
41:19two different accounts
41:20of the killing
41:20of children
41:21got confused
41:22in the retelling
41:23of the story
41:24through the ages.
41:26I find it
41:27very suggestive
41:28that the birth
41:29of Jesus
41:30and the execution
41:32of two of Herod's
41:33children
41:33may have taken place
41:34in the very same year.
41:36One of the things
41:37that might be happening
41:38in the Christian story
41:39about the massacre
41:41of the innocents
41:42at Bethlehem
41:43is that the horror
41:45of a father executing
41:48two of his own children
41:50has got transferred
41:51into the story
41:52of the birth
41:53of Jesus
41:54and has become
41:56the story
41:56of the execution
41:57of a bunch
41:58of children
41:59at the time
42:00of the birth
42:00of Jesus.
42:03There's another possibility.
42:05Perhaps the massacre
42:06did take place
42:07but the historian
42:08Josephus
42:09deliberately
42:10left it out.
42:11It's possible
42:14because Josephus
42:15is interested
42:16in the important people
42:17the powerful people
42:18kings
42:19and successors
42:20and rivals
42:21and allies
42:22and a little event
42:24in a nowhere town
42:25like Bethlehem
42:26with little people
42:27is not something
42:29that is particularly
42:30important
42:30in the grand scheme
42:31of things.
42:32So it could be
42:33that it fell through
42:34the historical cracks
42:35in that way.
42:36But the massacre
42:37of children
42:38even in a small town
42:40is certainly worthy
42:41of some notice.
42:44The Gospel of Matthew
42:46does not say
42:47how many children
42:47were killed.
42:49Later accounts,
42:49however,
42:50insist that the numbers
42:51were huge.
42:57The Greek Orthodox Church
42:59says Herod killed
43:0014,000 boys.
43:03The Syrian Church
43:05speaks of 64,000
43:07and later
43:08medieval authors
43:10went as far
43:11as 144,000.
43:15But maybe the massacre
43:16was not on the scale
43:17that any of those
43:18traditions suggest.
43:25Biblical historian
43:26Olu Peters
43:27approached this question
43:28by looking again
43:30at Matthew's account
43:31of the killings
43:31in the original Greek.
43:35The word massacre
43:36at times connotes
43:38the idea
43:38of thousands
43:40of people
43:41that may
43:42have been killed.
43:43But if you go back
43:44to the Gospel
43:46of Matthew,
43:47the word
43:48that is used there
43:49is anirel.
43:50That's the Greek word
43:51not to be translated
43:53as massacre
43:54but as the killing
43:56of infants.
43:57That word
43:58can be used
43:59for even
44:00the killing
44:00of one person.
44:03So the word
44:05as it is used
44:06in Matthew
44:06does not give you
44:08the idea
44:09of thousands
44:10being killed.
44:13In fact,
44:15demographic clues
44:16from first century
44:17Palestine
44:18reveal that Bethlehem
44:19was a small village
44:20with a population
44:21between 300
44:23and 1,000.
44:28At any given time
44:30the number
44:30of babies
44:31under the age
44:31of two
44:32would be only
44:33between 7
44:34and 20.
44:37So numbers alone
44:39may be the reason
44:40why Josephus
44:41does not mention
44:42the murders.
44:46That's still
44:47not enough evidence
44:48to convict Herod
44:49beyond a reasonable doubt
44:51but he certainly
44:52had the motive
44:53and the cold-blooded
44:55capability.
44:57And for some historians
44:59that is enough
45:00to condemn him.
45:03It's overwhelmingly
45:04obvious to me
45:05that the slaughter
45:05of the innocent
45:06children of Bethlehem
45:07is entirely consistent
45:08with Herod's way
45:09of dealing with problems
45:10in his life.
45:12Violence is a theme
45:13in his life.
45:14He killed his wife
45:15after all.
45:16He killed his sons.
45:18So what he hears
45:19of this king of the Jews
45:20being born
45:20and perceives
45:22a threat
45:22to his kingship
45:23it seems perfectly
45:24understandable
45:25that he would resort
45:26to violence.
45:27It's worked for him
45:28in the past.
45:30And it worked
45:31for him
45:31over and over again.
45:34Only five days
45:45before he himself died
45:47Herod killed
45:48another plotter.
45:49This time
45:50it was his son
45:51Antipater.
45:52This was his own
45:53firstborn child
45:55the baby boy
45:56he'd had
45:56with his first wife
45:57Doris.
46:04Herod finally died
46:12in his 70th year
46:13and was buried
46:14at his desert palace
46:15Herodium.
46:25He is remembered today
46:27as the tyrant
46:28who tried to kill
46:29the infant Jesus.
46:34Ironically
46:34although he failed
46:36many historians
46:37now take the view
46:38that Herod
46:39actually created
46:41the conditions
46:41for Christianity
46:42to flourish.
46:45Herod has embodied
46:47Roman rule
46:48in a way
46:49that has caused
46:50much misery
46:51and much pain
46:52and much hardship
46:53for much of the population.
46:56There's been
46:56considerable resistance
46:58that has built up.
47:00There is longing
47:01among some
47:02for a very different
47:03way of life.
47:05The teaching of Jesus
47:06taps into
47:07this unrest.
47:09He envisages
47:09a different
47:10sort of society.
47:13The teachings
47:14of Jesus
47:14offered hope
47:15and a better world
47:17to people
47:17who had been oppressed
47:19for more than
47:19a generation.
47:21At the same time
47:22Herod's connections
47:23with Rome
47:24allowed Christianity
47:26to spread out
47:27across the wider world.
47:29The development
47:32of roads
47:32for example
47:33the Roman peace
47:34the ability
47:36to take ships
47:37from one place
47:38quickly to another
47:40the interest
47:40in literature
47:41all of these things
47:43play into
47:44the ongoing strength
47:46of early Christianity
47:47as it develops
47:48in the first few generations.
47:51So in some ways
47:52Christianity
47:53has a kind of
47:55debt
47:56dare I say
47:57to Herod the Great
47:58for helping
47:59to create
48:00some of these
48:01conditions
48:01that allowed
48:02it to flourish.
48:05Having failed
48:06to kill
48:07its founder
48:08Herod would be
48:09astonished
48:09to see
48:10what Christianity
48:11became
48:11so far beyond
48:13the borders
48:13of his kingdom
48:14where it began.
48:16the poise
48:18of the Great
48:19and the
48:20the
48:20good
48:21and the
48:21the
48:22the
48:22hope
48:24was
48:26the
48:26good
48:26and the
48:28good
48:28to see
48:29the
48:30make
48:30the
48:31and the
48:31good
48:31of the
48:33and the
48:33and the
48:34the
48:34the
48:35the
48:35the
48:35the
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