Israel Under Herod the Great

Our Borderland: Israel in the Time of Jesus exhibit bridged the gap between the Old and New Testaments and unpacked the world that Jesus was born into, providing helpful context for the people and events of Jesus’ lifetime.

One of the rulers you could meet in this exhibit was Herod the Great. Learn more about him and his reign below.

Herod the Great

Herod was an Idumaean (or Edomite), the son of a high official in the Hasmonean government whose family had converted to Judaism. During the dynamic strife that divided the Hasmonean family, Herod was driven from Judea by a usurper. Declared “King of the Jews” by the Roman Senate, he regained control of Jerusalem with the aid of a Roman army and eventually eliminated the Hasmonean family through execution and murder.

At the end of his reign, Herod’s fear led to the murder of all male infants in the district of Bethlehem after magi asked about the birth of a competing “King of the Jews.” When Herod contracted a horrific disease and died in Jericho, few mourned his death.