Eddersheim wrote that the town of Bethelem probably only had about twenty boys under the age of two. One possibility the even may have been omitted is that it may have been considered so insignificant among Herod's contemporaries compared to his other acts of madness. Another likely possibility is that both Herod and his descendants would have executed anyone, such as John the Baptist, who portrayed members of their family in a poor light. Most of what we know about Herod's family comes after the destruction of Jerusalem, when the last member of royalty had fled for safety during a revolt in 70 A. D. thus ending his dynasty.
The Slaughter of the Innocents found in the Gospel of Matthew has been challenged as unreliable because it is recorded nowhere else. It was perfectly within the scope of Herod's cruelty to initiate an act, after all, he had murdered his own wife and several children. But Bethlehem was a small town.
Eddersheim wrote that the town of Bethelem probably only had about twenty boys under the age of two. One possibility the even may have been omitted is that it may have been considered so insignificant among Herod's contemporaries compared to his other acts of madness. Another likely possibility is that both Herod and his descendants would have executed anyone, such as John the Baptist, who portrayed members of their family in a poor light. Most of what we know about Herod's family comes after the destruction of Jerusalem, when the last member of royalty had fled for safety during a revolt in 70 A. D. thus ending his dynasty. After doing away with the descendants of the Maccabees, Antipas the Idumaen managed to get his son Herod recognized by the Roman senate as the first king of Judea since the Babylonian captivity. Herod was hated due to the fact that he was seen as a Roman pawn and the fact that his ancestors were forced converts to Judaism. He had a mentality that everyone was out to get him. He was afraid he would be killed by the Roman government each time he visited the imperial government.
On one occasion, Herod ordered the assassination of his wife Mariamne I if he was executed in Rome. She found out about his plans and Herod executed the person who told her. On a second trip to Rome, Herod gave the same orders. His wife found out again. Herod executed both her and the informant. He later murdered two sons he had fathered by Mariamne I after receiving permission from Rome to try them for treason. Herod would have delusions in which he saw the ghost of his first wife and would mourn in the hallways of the palace. Herod's second wife, Alexandra, declared that he was too mentally unstable to rule and declared herself ruler of Judea. Herod responded by having her executed. Herod's third wife, Mariamne II was banished from the kingdom. Herod tried a third son for treason, drowned a high priest, made at least one suicide attempt, and had four separate wills depending on who was least likely to betray him. While he was one his death bed, Herod had a third son executed. The emperor Augustus said it was "Better to be Herod's dog than one of his children". Hyrcanus was the nephew of Judas Maccabee through his brother Simon. He was born about the time Antiochus IV conquered Jerusalem. At the age of 30, Hyrcanus ruled Jerusalem as both High Priest and a secular leader from 134 BC - 104 BC. He conquered the land of Idumea, formerly known as Edom.
Hyrcanus ordered the forced conversion and circumcision of all Idumeans. It is believed that Herod's grandfather or great-grandfather was one of these forced converts. His father was simply called Antipater the Idumean. Due to this forced conversion, Herod was not accepted as a legitimate Jewish ruler of Israel, let alone a descendant of David. Judas, or "Judah" Maccabee succeeded his father Mattathias in the rule of Israel. He was both a warrior and priest. Maccabee was a nickname that meant "the Hammer". Maccabee, along with his brother, led years of intense guerilla warfare against the Seculids. Judas recovered the Temple three years after it had been seized by Antiochus. The purified the Temple of all pagan idols and idolatry.
Judas ordered a new feast of dedication, or "Hanukkah", to be celebrated for eight days. Simon, the brother of Judas, became the new leader of the revolt when Judas took on the office of high priest. Judas later died in battle. His descendants ruled until Herod the Great was recognized as king by the Roman Empire. Mattathias was a priest who lived in the rural community of Mo'idin, a town about 20 miles west from Jerusalem. He refused to obey the decrees of Antiochus to worship the Greco-Roman gods. General Appeles tried to coerce Mattathias into offering a pagan sacrifice on an altar in the center of the town. Mattathias refused to obey the orders.
Another man came forward to offer a pagan sacrifice. Mattathias killed him on the altar and also killed General Appeles. Mattathias and his five sons gathered others around them and fled into the desert where they hid caves. The army followed them and attacked on the Sabbath. Because no work is permitted in the Sabbath, many Jews refused to defend themselves. Nearly a thousand men, women, and children were slaughtered. Matthathias pointed out that since God wants to preserve life, self-defense is permissible even on the Sabbath. This ruling became a tradition that continues to exist in modern times. Mindful that circumcision was punishable by death during the reign of Antiochus, Mattathias made an opposite and equally powerful ruling. Mattathias ordered every boy in Israel, including Gentiles, to be circumcised. Matthathias ruled for a year until he died of natural causes. He was succeeded by his son, Judah. Okay, so I made up the word "Intertestamental" to describe the characters of the Bible who lived from the end of the Malachi's ministry to the Annunciation of John the Baptist. This period lasted from about 420 BC to about 4 BC. The first interstamental being under discussion is Antiochus Epiphanes, Antiochus surnamed himself Epiphanes or "god manifest". His critics nicknamed him Epimanes or the "mad man".
He outlawed all forms of Judaism. He boiled seven brothers alive in front of their mother for refusing to renounce their faith. He banned circumcision and killed all babies who had undergone this Jewish rite of passage. He then hung their dead bodies around their mothers necks as the women were executed. He executed anyone who rested on the Sabbath or observed the other feasts of the Lord. He commanded all copies of Scripture to be burned. He then fulfilled a prophecy in Daniel 9:27 called the "abomination of desolation". Antiochus took over the Temple in Jerusalem and desecrated the altar by offering an unclean animal, a pig, to an idol of Zeus Olympus. Some versions of this story say he forced the priests to eat the flesh of the pig. The Jewish people led by the Maccabees later revolted and were able to regain their Temple almost three years later. Antiochus died of sudden disease the next year. The descendants of the Maccabees continued to rule until the reign of Herod the Great. About 168 B.C. a Seculid ruler known as Antiochus Epiphanes took over Jerusalem.. The surname Epiphanes meant "god manifest" and was a name this ruler gave himself. His critics surnamed him Epimanes, the "Mad Man" in a play on words. Antiochus desecrated the Temple by offering an unclean animal, a pig, to an idol of Zeus Olympus. He outlawed all forms of Judaism. A group led by the Maccabees "the Hammer" revolted and regained the Temple three years later on the same day. The victory was gained in Kislev, usually December according to our modern calendar.
The Maccabees and their followers decided to purify the Temple and hold the closest feast in their calendar. Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. It usually takes place in October (the Bible uses a lunar based calendar), and celebrates the Fall harvest.. The Temple also needed to be purified and re-dedicated after the idolatry and sacrifice of an unclean animal. The purification process took eight days. The legend says that they only had enough oil for the lamps for one day and it would take eight days to prepare new oil. The lamps were lit anyway and supposedly stayed lit for eight days when the oil was prepared. In both the books of the Maccabees and in the accounts of Josephus, the miracle of the oil is not mentioned. However, the Feast of Tabernacles lasted eight days and was also known as the Feast of Lights during that time according to Jewish sources. The celebration of the eight day feast in the month of Kislev became known as Hannukah "Dedication" because Biblical Hebrew did not have a word for the more accurate "re-dedication." Although it is normally thought of a Jewish holiday, the only time it is mentioned in Scripture is in the Gospel of John. Fast forward to the Puritans. The Puritans wanted to rid themselves of all Catholic influences which they considered pagan, including Christmas. They even enacted laws banning Christmas and only celebrated holidays mentioned in the Bible. Modern scholars believe that the first Thanksgiving was actually the Feast of Tabernacles. Like the Maccabees, the Puritans wanted to purify themselves of non-Biblical influences and celebrated their delayed Feast of Tabernacles. Or perhaps, because the Geneva Bible used by the Puritans contained the Books of the Maccabees, maybe the first Thanksgiving was really Hannukah. |
About FainnHe has a thick Appalachian accent and a magnificent beard. He is also married to Mary Ball Archives
November 2021
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