According to this Fox News story, Israeli archaeologist Ehud Netzer has discovered the tomb of King Herod (aka "Herod the Great"). The tomb was discovered at a site known as Herodium, a site where Herod built two palaces in the southern Judean desert. (For various pictures from parts of the Herodium previously excavated, click here).
Herod ruled over Judea from 37-4 B.C. (not from 74 B.C. as the Fox News story wrongly indicates). He was a "surrogate king" who answered to Rome. He is best known in the NT for two things. First, he began renovating the temple, a project that started in 20/19 B.C. and continued in some fashion until shortly before the start of the Jewish Revolt in 66 A.D. (cf. John 2:19-20). Second, Herod was the king when Jesus was born and before whom the magi appeared (Matt 2:1-8). He was also the king who ordered the slaughter of all the male children under the age of 2 in Bethlehem in order to try to destroy Jesus (Matt 2:16-18).
Herod's significance for the NT period is also seen in that several of the rulers mentioned are descendants of Herod the Great: Archelaus (Matt 2:22), Philip the Tetrarch (Luke 3:1), Herod Antipas (beheaded John the Baptist; Mark 6:14-29), Herod Agrippa I (executed James brother of John & imprisoned Peter; Acts 12), Agrippa II (Paul appeared before him in Caesarea, Acts 25:13-26:32).
UPDATE: More details are available in this story from the Israeli newspaper HAARETZ.
No comments:
Post a Comment