Seder Olam Revisited: C32a- Herod
- Albert Benhamou
- Aug 25
- 33 min read
Updated: Oct 7
CHRONOLOGY OF JEWISH HISTORY
Generation 32: Hebrew years 3720-3840 (40 BCE - 80CE)
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To return to the list of chronological generations from Seder Olam Revisited, click here.
Introduction
This 32nd chronological generation sees the times of great troubles for the Jewish people, with the increase rule of Rome over the Jewish nation, the rise of Christianity and the destruction of the Second Temple.
Hebrew Year | BCE / CE | Event | Source |
3720 | -40 | Antigonus regains kingship; Herod in Rome | Maccabees V, 49 |
3723 | -37 | Herod reconquers Judea; death of Antigonus | Maccabees V, 52 |
3729 | -31 | Herod politicizes the Temple service; earthquake in Judea | Maccabees V, 56 |
3729 | -31 | The zugot Hillel and Shammai | Talmud |
3730 | -30 | Herod puts Hyrcanus to death | |
3731 | -29 | Herod puts his wife Mariamne to death | Maccabees V, 58 |
3738 | -22 | Foundation of Caesarea | |
3748 | -12 | Herod in Rome with his son Alexander | |
3750 | -10 | Herod enlarges the Second Temple | |
3753 | -7 | Herod puts his two sons to death | Josephus, Jewish Antiq., 16, 11:7 |
3756 | -4 | Birth of Jesus. Death of Herod | Gospel of Matthew |
3758 | -2 | Dispute over Herod succession | |
3766 | 6 | Judea becomes a Roman province | |
3769 | 9 | Death of Hillel | |
3778 | 18 | Foundation of Tiberias in Galilee | |
3780 | 20 | Gamaliel, grandson of Hillel |
Year 3720 – 40 BCE – Antigonus and the Parthians
After the assassination of Julius Caesar, Octavia and Antony won the civil war that followed. The two decided to divide the Roman dominion and share power: Octavian ruled from Rome over the Western provinces while Antony ruled from Alexandria over the Eastern provinces. Antony also married Octavian’s sister to solidify the mutual interests. But Antony fell in love with Cleopatra, and Octavian’s sister returned to Rome. This is when the quarrel between Antony and Octavian started.
Meanwhile, unrest began in Judea when Antigonus, son of Aristobulus II, made an alliance with the Parthians to overthrow Hyrcanus II and his new adviser, Herod son of Antipater, the allies of Rome. The Parthians conquered Jerusalem in 40 BCE and Antigonus was able to rule over Judea. Hyrcanus II was exiled to Babylon. As of Herod, he fled to a Hasmonean fort south from Jerusalem that he later rebuilt as a fortress palace and made it as his final resting place named after himself: Herodion (this is today a national park in Israel which is worth the visit). Herod nearly got captured by his pursuers before he escaped further south by night, with his family and followers, in the Judean desert. They reached a more defensible Hasmonean fort called Masada. There he left his family with a garrison and fled to Alexandria then to Rome to ask for support from Octavian. In Rome, Herod was made King of the Jews by a weakened Roman Senate (all those senators who conspired against Julius Caesar were killed).
Year 3717 – 37 BCE – King Herod
After about 3 years in Rome, Herod finally returned to Judea with Roman forces. At the time, Antony was engaged in a campaign against the Parthians with an army mostly composed of foreign allies because Octavian would not send him any Roman troops. This campaign failed and Antony retreated to Egypt. He however left the Roman part of his army to help Herod regain Judea. Antigonus retreated to Jerusalem and prepared for a long siege. Finally, Herod succeeded to take over the city with the support from the Romans but had great difficulty to prevent their killing of civilians and the legionnaires' intent to plunder the Temple.
When Herod finally reached Masada after three years, he was surprised to see that his family and followers had succeeded in remaining alive in the Judean desert region and surrounded by rebels. These traumatic moments for Herod were never forgotten. He realized the potential of Masada as a place of refuge in case of future rebellion against him, and built there two palaces, lodging for a garrison, a quantity of storerooms for food reserves, and an extended water system, all this to be able to sustain a long siege should he need to do so. Today Masada is a national park, the second most visited site in Israel.
As of Antigonus, he was taken prisoner and brought to Egypt where Antony slew him (also in 37 BCE), thus putting an end to the Hasmonean dynasty that had lasted about 126 years, from the death of Antiochus Epiphanes and the rise of Judah Maccabee.
The road was paved for Herod to become the sole ruler over the Jewish nation. But the people hated him. He made every effort to be accepted by the Jewish nation and even married Mariamne, the last Hasmonean princess, daughter of Alexander (son of Aristobulus II) and Alexandra (daughter of Hyrcanus II).
He [Herod] employed himself in advancing the dignities, in kindnesses and promotions, of those who were well inclined to him and obeyed his will. He also exerted himself in destroying those persons, together with their families, and in plundering their cattle and their goods, who had opposed him, furnishing aid against him. And he oppressed persons, taking away their property, and despoiling all those who had shaken off obedience to the Jews; and slew those who resisted him, and plundered their goods. Also, he made an agreement with all who were obedient to him, that they should pay him money. He also stationed guards at the gates of the Holy House, who might search those who went out, and take whatever gold or silver they should find on anyone and bring it to him. He also ordered the coffins of the dead to be searched; and whatever money any person might endeavor to carry out by stratagem, the same to be taken. And he heaped together so much money as none of the kings of the second house had amassed. (Maccabees, Book V, 54:2-8)
Through deceit, Herod also got rid in 35 BCE of the popular 16 years old brother of his wife Mariamne, Aristobulus III, out of fear that he may one day rise to power against him. But one obstacle remained: Hyrcanus II, the former master of Herod's father Antipater, was still alive in Babylon, captive of the Parthians. Although Antigonus had cut his brother's ear so that he could not be High Priest again, Hyrcanus represented a threat to Herod’s legitimacy to power. Nonetheless Herod sought to attract some aristocracy back into Jerusalem, so he granted special conditions to rich Jews of Babylon to come and settle in Jerusalem. It is from this time that the Upper City of Jerusalem was constructed with large mansions for this Jewish aristocracy from Babylon (the excavations called "Herodian Quarter" in the present-day Jewish Quarter show the remains of these spectacular mansions).
Some of these newcomers were of Levite descent, such as the Kathros family mentioned in the Talmud (their house has been found in Jerusalem and is now known as the "Burned House" museum in the modern-day Jewish Quarter of the Old City). The Kathros were employed in the Temple service until its destruction by the Romans. Beside these mansions, the new population also brought from Babylon the fashion of spectacular mausoleum as burial sites, as witnessed by those that remained today in the Kidron Valley (such as the so-called Absalom Tomb, Zechariah Tomb, and Tomb of Bnei-Hezir). Herod himself adopted this sort of mausoleum for his tomb in Herodion.
In Herod’s court however, Alexandra, the mother of Mariamne, thus also the mother-in-law of Herod, hated the king for what he had done to her son Aristobulus III. She conspired with Cleopatra and others to get rid of Herod but failed several times.
Year 3729 – 31 BCE – Earthquake in Judea
Judea experienced a powerful earthquake in year 31 BCE that killed tens of thousands of people:
And there happened a great earthquake in the land of Judah, such as had not occurred since the time of king Harbah [Uzziah], in which a great number of men and of animals was destroyed. And this alarmed Herod a lot, and caused him great fear, and broke down his spirit. He therefore took counsel with the elders of Judah about making an agreement with all nations round about them, designing peace, and tranquility, and the removal of wars and bloodshed.
He sent also ambassadors on these matters to the surrounding nations, all of whom embraced the peace to which he had invited them, except the king of the Arabians who ordered the ambassadors whom Herod had sent to him to be put to death, for he supposed that Herod had done this because his men had been destroyed in the earthquake, and therefore, being weakened, he had turned himself to making peace. Wherefore he resolved to go to war with Herod; and having collected a large and well provided army, he marched against him. (Maccabees, Book V, 56:18-22)
The earthquake at the time of King Uzziah is mentioned in Zechariah 14 and Amos 1 (see document C25, year 800 BCE).
Outraged by the proceedings of killing ambassadors, Herod raised an angry Jewish army who utterly defeated the Arabian army.
Year 3729 – 31 BCE – Octavian vs. Antony
Meanwhile, in the Roman dominions, a civil war began between Octavian and Antony. After the naval battle of Actium in 31 BCE, Antony fled to Egypt with Cleopatra. In 30 BCE, Octavian landed in Egypt and Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra also managed to take her own life when she realized she would lose the throne. And Octavian put to death Ptolemy XV “Cesarion”, the son she had with Julius Caesar, but he spared the children she had with Antony.
Four years later, in 27 BCE, Octavian accomplished the dream of Julius Caesar to establish an empire: he renamed himself Augustus.
Year 3729 – 31 BCE – The zugot Hillel and Shammai
After Shemaiah's death, the role of nassi was left vacant during a few years, owing to the political troubles of the nation. Then, in 31 BCE, when Herod finally stabilized his rule, Hillel and Shammai were respectively elected as nassi and av beth din at the head of the Sanhedrin. Hillel was born in 110 BCE in Babylonia and converted to Judaism at the age of 40. He went to Judea to live a Jewish spiritual life and spent the next 40 years in study. But he was poor when he arrived in Judea and could barely afford to pay for his learning:
It was reported about Hillel the Elder that every day he used to work and earn one tropaik, half of which he would give to the guard at the House of Learning, the other half being spent on his food and on that of his family. One day he found nothing to earn and the guard at the House of Learning would not permit him to enter. He climbed up and sat upon the window [on the roof], to hear the words of the living God from the mouths of Shemaiah and Abtalion. They say that day was the eve of Sabbath in the winter solstice and snow fell down upon him from heaven. When the dawn rose, Shemaiah said to Abtalion: Brother Abtalion, every day this house is light and today it is dark, is it perhaps a cloudy day? They looked up and saw the figure of a man in the window. They went up and found him covered by three cubits of snow. They removed him, bathed him, anointed him, and placed him opposite the fire and they said: This man deserves that the Sabbath be profaned on his behalf. (Talmud, Yoma, 35b)
At the age of 80, he was one of the most important religious leaders and had many disciples, commonly called the House of Hillel. This is when he was chosen as nassi, the Head of the Sanhedrin. Hillel's teachings were more liberal than the stricter Shammai who also had many disciples called the House of Shammai. Together they analyzed issues of the commandments and contributed to the redaction of the Mishna. They were the last of the period called the zugot (the “pairs”).
In most cases, the ruling from Hillel took precedence over the one from Shammai, even if the latter was righter according to the strict Scripture. Or, in many cases, the two diverging opinions were mentioned in the Talmud with no definite solution. Here is one argument that Shammai finally won, a rare occasion caused by events that guided the debate:
It has been taught: Beth Hillel [the House of Hillel] said to Beth Shammai: according to you, if one ate at the top of the Temple Mount and forgot and descended without having said grace [he forgot so the mistake was accidental], he should return to the top of the Temple Mount and say grace? Beth Shammai replied to Beth Hillel: According to you, if one forgot a purse at the top of the Temple Mount, is he not to go up and get it? And if he will ascend for his own sake, surely, he should do so all the more for the honor of Heaven!
There were once two disciples who omitted to say grace. One who did it accidentally followed the rule of Beth Shammai and found a purse of gold, while the other who did it purposely [being in a hurry going somewhere else] followed the rule of Beth Hillel, and he was eaten by a lion. (Talmud, Berachot, 53b)
The character of the two leaders was also compared to the advantage of Hillel:
Our Rabbis taught: A man should always be gentle like Hillel, and not impatient like Shammai. It once happened that two men made a wager with each other, saying, He who goes and makes Hillel angry shall receive four hundred zuz. Said one, ‘I will go and incense him.’ That day was the Sabbath eve, and Hillel was washing his head. He went, passed by the door of his house, and called out, ‘Is Hillel here, is Hillel here?’ Thereupon he put a robe and went out to him, saying, ‘My son, what do you require?’ ‘I have a question to ask,’ said he. ‘Ask, my son,’ he prompted. Thereupon he asked: ‘Why are the heads of the Babylonians round? [This question was meant to annoy Hillel who was of Babylonian origin] ‘My son, you have asked a great question,’ replied he: ‘[This is] because they have no skillful midwives.’ He departed, tarried a while, returned, and called out, ‘Is Hillel here; is Hillel here?’ He put a robe and went out to him, saying, ‘My son, what do you require?’ ‘I have a question to ask,’ said he. ‘Ask, my son,’ he prompted. Thereupon he asked: ‘Why are the eyes of the Palmyreans bleared?’ [The Palmyreans used to sell lighting materials by wandering at night in the city, in the Syrian desert] ‘My son, you have asked a great question, replied he: ‘because they live in sandy places.’ He departed, tarried a while, returned, and called out, ‘Is Hillel here; is Hillel here?’ He put a robe and went out to him, saying, ‘My son, what do you require?’ ‘I have a question to ask,’ said he. ‘Ask, my son,’ he prompted. He asked, ‘Why are the feet of the Africans wide?’ ‘My son, you have asked a great question,’ said he; ‘because they live in watery marshes.’ ‘I have many questions to ask,’ said he, ‘but fear that you may become angry.’ Thereupon he put a robe, sat before him and said, ‘Ask all the questions you have to ask,’ ‘Are you the Hillel who is called the Nassi of Israel?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘If that is you,’ he retorted, may there not be many like you in Israel.‘ – ‘Why, my son?’ queried he. ‘Because I have lost four hundred zuz through you,’ complained he. ‘Be careful of your moods,’ he answered. ‘Hillel is worth it that you should lose four hundred zuz and yet another four hundred zuz through him, yet Hillel shall not lose his temper.’ (Talmud, Shabbat, 30b-31a)
The preference for Hillel’s teachings is also mentioned in the following anecdote:
R. Abba stated in the name of Samuel: For three years there was a dispute between Beth Shammai and Beth Hillel, the former asserting, ‘The halakhah is in agreement with our views’ and the latter contending, ‘The halakhah is in agreement with our views’. Then a “bath kol” announced: ‘[The utterances of] both are the words of the living God, but the halakhah is in agreement with the rulings of Beth Hillel’. Since, however, both are the words of the living God’ what was it that entitled Beth Hillel to have the halakhah fixed in agreement with their rulings? Because they were kind and modest, they studied their own rulings and those of Beth Shammai and were even so [humble] as to mention the words of Beth Shammai before theirs. (Talmud, Eiruvin, 13b)
Year 3730 – 30 BCE – Death of Hyrcanus
Herod offered to Hyrcanus to return to Jerusalem with honors. Despite the words of caution expressed to him by the Babylonian Jews where he had found shelter during his political captivity, he was old and longed to be back to Jerusalem. So Hyrcanus ignored the warnings and returned to Judea. As he could not be High Priest again, having been mutilated in the ear by his nephew Antigonus (see above, year 37 BCE), Herod offered him a seat of the state, and the situation lasted some years with no trouble.
But in 30 BCE, Herod unveiled an attempt of Hyrcanus to flee from Jerusalem with the help of the king of the Nabateans. After defeating them, Herold confounded Hyrcanus with the proofs he had against him and had him beheaded in 30 BCE for treason. Hyrcanus was 80 years old when he met his death.
The biggest threat for Herod was now Octavian who knew that the King of the Jews had been a supporter of Antony and had even assisted Antony against him during the Roman civil war. But after their meeting in Egypt, Octavian forgave Herod on the principle that he had only done his duty towards an ally, and that Antony had deceived him on advice of Cleopatra. Octavian also appreciated that Herod defeated the Nabateans alone, who were also enemies of Rome. So, Octavian further enlarged Herod’s realm by giving him back all the territories that Antony had taken away from Judea to give to Cleopatra. And Rome granted him even more, so Herod reigned over a kingdom larger than any of the Hasmonean kings ever conquered. Furthermore, he was confirmed as Friend of the Roman People, which is a rare distinction. As a result, he was no longer due to pay taxes to Rome! Herod however continued to collect money from the people and started a vast program of constructions, in Judea of course but also in other Roman provinces (such as Cyprus) and even in Rome!
Year 3731– 29 BCE – Death of Mariamne and Alexandra
Before going to Egypt to meet with Octavian, and thinking that he may meet his death, Herod had given secret orders to execute his wife Mariamne and her mother Alexandra, the last survivors of the Hasmonean dynasty, should he not come back alive. These orders came to be known to Mariamne who then hated her husband even more. He could not reconcile with her after he came back from Egypt. Herod’s sister, the wicked Salome who hated Mariamne, took this opportunity to make false claims that Mariamne intended to poison her husband, and she got her brother's approval to have her executed without trial.
After Mariamne’s death, her mother Alexandra was certain that her turn would come next. She conspired against Herod, and he came to know it. He then had her executed as well:
Now Herod begot of her [Mariamne] two sons, namely, Alexander and Aristobulus who, when their mother was slain, were living in Rome for he had sent them there to learn the literature and language of the Romans. Afterwards, Herod repented that he had killed his wife, and he was affected with grief to that degree on account of her death, that by it he contracted a disease of which he had nearly died. (Maccabees, Book V, 58:20-21)
The two sons of Herod and Mariamne returned to Jerusalem from Rome as soon as they learned about their mother’s execution.
Alexander was married to the daughter of Archelaus, king of Cappadocia in Macedonia, and Aristobulus was married to Bernice, Salome’s daughter. But Herod also had another son called Antipater, named after his father, whom he had from a first wife before Mariamne. Unsure about his two sons’ feelings after the execution of their mother, Herod got closer to his elder son Antipater and made known his intent to have him as his successor. From this moment, Antipater endeavored to convince Herod to execute his two Hasmonean sons, making up accusations that they conspired against both Herod and Antipater.
Year 3738 – 22 BCE – Caesarea
In Judea, one of Herod's major projects was the construction of a new important harbor, to compete in maritime trade against the Phoenician harbor of Tyre in the north and against the Egyptian harbor of Alexandria in the south: this project was the construction of a new city called Caesaria, named after Octavian, who became the first emperor (Caesar) of Rome in 27 BCE. And to make the new harbor attractive to ships and their crews, he built a hippodrome for games, a theatre, temples, public latrines, and baths.
Year 3750– 10 BCE – Herod enlarges the Second Temple
The Second Temple, completed in 516 BCE, had not undergone any restoration work for almost 500 years. In 20 BCE, Herod issued a proposal to the religious authorities to have it refurbished entirely. This was met with suspicions that the king wanted to destroy the Temple and not even rebuild a new one. The work, however, started and was completed in about 10 years to the magnificence known to archaeologists today.
Additional construction works on the Temple Mount continued for many years after Herod's death.
A certain number of artifacts have been discovered over the past 150 years near the temple built by King Herod. One of them was found by French archaeologist Clermont-Ganneau in the early 1870's when he examined the wall of a Muslim construction near the Temple Mount. This construction used a stone taken from the Temple of the time of Herod. How do we know this? Because the stone bears the following inscription in Greek, thus it was destined to the Gentiles to be read when they went up the mount:
No foreigner may enter within the tryphactos [balustrade] or the peribole [enclosure] around the hieron [sanctuary]. Whoever is caught [trespassing], can put the blame [on himself] for the death which will follow. (Clermont-Ganneau, Une stèle du Temple de Jérusalem, Revue Archéologique, 1872, No. 23, pp. 214-234)
This was an important finding because, as Clermont-Ganneau explained, this warning was put around the Temple Mount at several locations. And indeed, other such warning steles have been found over the years after the French archaeologist's discovery. Josephus mentioned that the warnings were inscribed in both Greek and Latin but only Greek ones have been found thus far. One of the references in Josephus' writings is as follows:
Thus was the first enclosure. In the midst of which, and not far from it, was the second, to be gone up to by a few steps: this was encompassed by a stone wall for a partition, with an inscription, which forbade any foreigner to go in under pain of death. (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, book XV 11:5, XV 410)
Year 3753 – 7 BCE – Herod executes his two Hasmonean sons
Around 12 BCE, Herod travelled to Rome with his son Alexander for a visit to Octavian, who was now known as Emperor Augustus since 27 BCE. As he started to suffer from some serious illness, he accused his son in front of the Roman leader of intent to poison him, which Alexander vehemently denied. Augustus rebuked Herod's suspicions and convinced him to make peace with his son. So, when he returned to Jerusalem, Herod declared to the Elders that all his three sons would have equal authority. Antipater became angry at seeing his inheritance being at stake, but he hid his feelings. After a couple of years, in 9 BCE, he designed a plan with his uncle, Herod’s brother Pheroras, of false accusation that the two Hasmonean sons wanted to murder their father the king. They were thrown into jail. But Alexander’s father-in-law, King Archelaus, came to Jerusalem to investigate the matter and unveiled the plot. He nonetheless succeeded in avoiding punishment against Pheroras, in exchange for a full testimonial. In the end, all Herod’s family was reconciled, at least in appearance because Antipater still had in mind to get rid of his two half-brothers.
In 7 BCE an evil man called Gaius Julius Eurycles, a Spartan who had Roman citizenship, came to Judea and became friend with Herod. Seizing the opportunity of this friendship, Antipater paid him to insinuate to Herod that his son Alexander was again plotting to murder him. This time the plot could not easily be denounced and both Alexander and his brother Aristobulus were executed in the town of Sebaste (today the town of Sebastia which was the old capital Samaria) and buried in the fortress of Alexandrium (called Sartaba in the Talmud), which was built by their ancestor Alexander Jannai (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 16, 11:7). Alexandrium is known today to the local Arab population as Jebel al-Melekh which means the mountain of the king.
Alexander’s widow, Glaphyra, was sent back to her father to Armenia but Herod kept his two grandsons, Alexander’s sons, who remained with him until his death. He also tried to pre-arrange their marriage so that they would keep a part of their dead father’s inheritance. But Antipater, fearing that these fatherless sons would eventually rise against him, and hate him for what he had done to their fathers, endeavored to change the plans that the ageing Herod had wished (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 17, 1:2).
When Pheroras died, Herod suspected that he had been poisoned by his wife, who was then disgraced from the king’s court. But investigations led him to discover that the poisoning was aimed at his own person, under order from his son Antipater who, at the time, was travelling to Rome. Antipater chose the timing of this travel to coincide with Herod’s expected death so that no suspicion would arise about him. But, upon his return from Rome, Antipater was tried against the accusation of parricide. Herod, disappointed by the actions of his heir and the indirect role of two of his other sons, Archelaus and Philip, chose his youngest son, Antipas, as the new heir.
Antipas was the son of a Samaritan wife of Herod, who later married Herodias, the daughter of Aristobulus who was first married to Philip, one of the disgraced sons of Herod and half-brother to Antipas. At the time, Herod was in his 70’s, according to Josephus (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 17, 146).
Then, Herod’s health declined rapidly. He moved to the region of the Dead Sea, in his winter palace of Jericho, hoping to heal his ailment which caused him great pains. It is in this palace that he had built lavishly at the end of the Prat stream (known as Wadi Qelt in Arabic) on the Western side of Jericho, that he spent his last moments.
Year 3756 – 4 BCE – Birth of Jesus
When he was about to die, Herod was angry at the idea that the nation would be joyful and would not mourn him. So, he gave an extraordinary order:
Now any one may easily discover the temper of this man's mind, which not only took pleasure in doing what he had done formerly against his relations, out of the love of life, but by those commands of his which savored of no humanity; since he took care, when he was departing out of this life, that the whole nation should be put into mourning, and indeed made desolate of their dearest kindred, when he gave order that one out of every family should be slain, although they had done nothing that was unjust, or that was against him, nor were they accused of any other crimes; while it is usual for those who have any regard to virtue to lay aside their hatred at such a time, even with respect to those they justly esteemed their enemies. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 17, 180)
The Gospel of Matthew places the birth of Jesus towards the end of the reign of Herod, while the Gospel of Luke places it at the time of the census of Quirinius, thus in 6 CE. As it is also written that Jesus was crucified in his 30’s (Gospel of Luke 3:23), and that his crucifixion likely took place around 33 CE, it seems more likely that the Gospel of Luke was correct as, if we follow the Gospel of Matthew, it would mean that Jesus was 4+33 = 37 years old at the time of his crucifixion.
Christian tradition considers that Jesus was born a bit before Herod's death. We can consider that his parents fled to Egypt at the time of the above decree to slain one member of each family, a circumstance which reminds the Christian story called the Massacre of the Innocents.
There is no evidence however that this decree from Herod was ever put into execution after his death. To the contrary, Tradition tells that his sister Salome hid the news of the death of her brother for some time until all prisoners were released from jail.
As for Eusebius of Caesarea (to read his chronicles online, click here), who lived in the 4th century CE and compiled the New Testament, he placed the birth of Jesus in the 3rd year of the 194th Olympiad which corresponds to the year 2 + (193 x 4) -776 = 2 BCE. And he placed the death of Herod in the 4th year of the 195th Olympiad, thus 3 CE. However, Historians consider that Herod died about 4 BCE. Years later, after an astronomical event that took place in 1604, Kepler made some calculation and estimated that Jesus was born in the year 6 BCE.
Year 3757 – 4 BCE – Death of Herod
In the last years of his life, Herod was subjected to the hatred and misunderstanding from the Jewish people, included the religious sects who found that the changes he made to the Second Temple were not in accordance with the Jewish Law. But, before his death in Jericho, rumors circulated in Jerusalem that he had already died. Two religious scholars, Judah and Mattathias, believed the rumor to be true and asked their students to remove the Roman golden eagle that adorned the entrance to the Temple. It was placed there on order from Herod when the Temple was completed. This really angered the ailing king who put the two religious leaders on trial before ordering to burn them alive:
But the people, on account of Herod's barbarous temper, and for fear he should be so cruel and to inflict punishment on them, said what was done [by the two accused men] without their approbation and that it seemed to them that the actors might well be punished for what they had done. But, as for Herod, he dealt more mildly with others [of the assembly] but he deprived Matthias of the high priesthood, as in part an occasion of this action, and made Joazar, who was Matthias's wife's brother, high priest in his stead. [Matthias ben Theophilus was high priest in 4 BCE, and was succeeded by Joazar son of Boethus, from the sect of the Boethusians, related to the Sadducees].
Now it happened, that during the time of the high priesthood of this Matthias, there was another person made high priest for a single day, that very day which the Jews observed as a fast [of Yom Kippur].The occasion was this: This Matthias the high priest, on the night before that day when the fast was to be celebrated, seemed, in a dream, to have conversation with his wife; and because he could not officiate himself on that account [because religious laws of impurity for the high priest prohibit his intercourse in the day preceding the holy day], Joseph, the son of Ellemus, his kinsman, assisted him in that sacred office [thus, this Joseph was made High Priest on that single day of Yom Kippur]. But Herod deprived this Matthias of the high priesthood and burnt alive the other Matthias who had raised the sedition with his companions. And that very night there was an eclipse of the moon. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 17, 164)
In the Jewish calendar which counts the months based on the lunar cycles, lunar eclipses only happen on a full moon, on the 15th of a lunar month. So, the execution of the seditious Matthias would have happened five days after Yom Kippur which falls on the 10th of Tishri.
The mention of the lunar eclipse by Josephus is important as there were just a few such occurrences at the end of the reign of Herod. The mention of the High Priest and the day of fast are equally important details as they give us he clue that this lunar eclipse was the one which occurred on the 15th of September of 4 BCE, in the month of Tishri, and not in the month of Adar or Nisan as it is thought by certain scholars. Because the mentioned fast was the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, on the 1st of Tishri, the Hebrew year changed from 3756 to 3757: it is the New Year of the Jewish calendar.
After the New Year, Herod also executed his son Antipater upon reports that he was eager to see his father dead and replace him on the throne. He then changed his will to name Archelaus, the older brother of Antipas, as the new heir to the throne. Herod died in Jericho five days after the execution of Antipater, so his death occurred in fall time and not in springtime as it is generally assumed. He had reigned 34 years since the death of Antigonus. His tomb has recently been discovered at Herodion, a hill south of Jerusalem, which proved the account of the funerals from Josephus to be historically correct.
The hilltop had a Hasmonean fort before Herod reign, but he then ordered to build a palace protected by 4 circular towers, and also to build his tomb, in 23 BCE to commemorate his victory over the Parthians. And he named this new palace “Herodion” (for more information, read this article from The Times of Israel).
One Israeli historian, Abraham Schalit, who researched on Herod's life and divided his reign into three periods (37-27 BCE, 27-13 BCE, 13-4 BCE), stated that "he raised to power as a bull, reigned as a lion, and died as a dog".
The Jewish people, instead of mourning Herod, were sorry not to have been able to mourn the religious leaders Judah and Mattathias out of fear of reprisal from the ageing king. But, a few months later, when the feast of Passover was approaching, the multitude of pilgrims who came to Jerusalem and the general resentment against Herod’s family caused trouble:
At Herod's death, without waiting for the imperial decision, a certain Simon usurped the title of king [and led a rebellion mentioned in Josephus, book 17, 273]. He was dealt with by the governor of Syria, Quintilius Varus, while the Jews were disciplined and divided up into three kingdoms ruled by Herod's sons [Archelaus, Herod Antipas and Philip]. In Tiberius' reign all was quiet. (Tacitus, Histories, 5:9)
While Archelaus sailed to Rome to get approval from Augustus of his new status of king, this Quintilius Varus, the governor of Roman Syria who looked after the affairs in Judea, dealt harshly against the Jewish population. And when he left Judea, he placed the procurator Sabinus with one legion entrenched in the fortress of Jerusalem (what was previously Herod's Palace, near present-day Jaffa Gate). Sabinus caused even more tensions:
For after Varus was gone away, Sabinus, Caesar's procurator, stayed behind, and greatly distressed the Jews, relying on the forces that were left there that they would by their multitude protect him; for he made use of them, and armed them as his guards, thereby so oppressing the Jews, and giving them so great disturbance, that at length they rebelled; for he used force in seizing the citadels, and zealously pressed on the search after the king's money, in order to seize upon it by force, on account of his love of gain and his extraordinary covetousness. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 17, 250)
Sabinus’ actions aggravated further the resentment against Herod’s family and their Roman protectors. But his theft of the Temple’s money sparked anger throughout the land which was turned later into a rebellion led by a new group called the Zealots (see next document).
Year 3758 – 2 BCE – Dispute over Herod’s succession
A Jewish deputation was also sent to Rome and told Emperor Augustus about the people's dislike for Herod and their wish to be under a foreign political rule rather than under any abusing king, as long as they would be allowed to live according to their religious laws:
Now the main thing they desired was this: That they might be delivered from kingly and the like forms of government, and might be added to Syria, and be put under the authority of such presidents of theirs as should be sent to them; for that it would thereby be made evident, whether they be really a seditious people, and generally fond of innovations, or whether they would live in an orderly manner, if they might have governors of any sort of moderation set over them. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 17, 304)
Following these representations, and those of Archelaus’ siblings who also disputed the will of their father’s kingdom to give everything to him, Augustus decided to split the inheritance into three parts. As the official heir, Archelaus received the main share (Judea) but was ordered by Augustus to behave moderately towards his people.
Perea was the region of Judea that was beyond the Jordan river (Pera means the other side in Greek). This region, along with Galilee, was given to Herod Antipas, the youngest son of Herod. During his rule, Antipas rebuilt Sepphoris which had been badly destroyed during the Roman campaign of Varus and made it his capital. This vast project attracted many Jews with construction expertise to move north to Galilee. This may have been the reason for Joseph, said to be a carpenter but who was most likely a stonemason (as the gospels simply mention that he was a "technical worker"), moving from Bethlehem to Nazareth, a small Jewish village near Sepphoris. The gospels give another reason which is valid too: the bad reputation of Archelaus caused families of Judea to migrate to Galilee, in Antipas’ realm.
But because he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there; and having been divinely instructed in a dream, he departed into the regions of Galilee. (Gospel of Matthew, 2:22)
But, later, due to Jewish zealots who rebelled in Sepphoris, Antipas founded a new city in the banks of the Sea of Galilee and he named it Tiberias, after Emperor Tiberius. Over time, this new city became the capital of his kingdom. And, over time, Sepphoris was transformed into a Roman city.
The Northern region (Ituraea and Trachontinis, which encompass present-day the Hula Valley and the Golan Heights) was given to Herod Philip. He was married to the beautiful Herodias, with whom he had a daughter called Salome. But the marriage was not happy, and Herodias was in love with Philip's half-brother, Antipas. During his rule, Herod Philip founded the city of Bethsaida on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. This city was the previous capital of the kingdom of Geshur: its king was the father-in-law of Absalom, the rebellious son of David (see document C23b, year 1026 BCE); Josephus mentioned that, at the time that Herod Philip rebuilt it, it was called Julias (War of the Jews, book 2, 167); it was a city of fishermen where some of Jesus' disciples came from. But the site of ancient Geshur doesn't really fit the Betsaida of the gospels. Instead, a new site, on the northern side of the Sea of Galilee, was recently discovered near the Jordan River marshes: Beit Habek (al-Araj). It contains remains of an ancient church, unlike Geshur, so it seems to be the true Philip’s Bethsaida.
But Herod Philip chose Panyas as his capital since his father Herod had already built a palace there, as well as a temple for Augustus. Herod Philip renamed this city after his own name, "Caesarea Philippi": this name is mentioned in historical records and in the gospels. Panyas was the location of a famous battle that turned the land of Israel under the rule of the Seleucid kingdom (see document C30a, year 199 BCE). After the Arab invasion of the 7th century CE, the name changed to Banyas because the letter P doesn’t exist in Arabic and is changed into B.
As of Varus, he was eventually removed from his Syrian post and called back to Rome. A few years later, in 9 CE, he led three Roman legions against the German tribes but was defeated in the forest of Teutoburg: this battle became one of the worst military disasters that Rome ever suffered.
Year 3766 – 6 CE – Judea becomes a Roman province
Archelaus’ actions in Judea exacerbated the Jewish population who complained again to Augustus. In addition, Archelaus did something prohibited by Jewish law: he first married his brother Alexander’s widow after she already had children from him. Then Archelaus loved Glaphyra, of Armenian origin, so he married her. To do so, he repudiated his wife, a cousin, and Glaphyra also had to divorce her second husband, the king Juba II of Numidia, who was a protégé of Augustus. But Glaphyra did not live long with Archelaus as she died soon after returning to Jerusalem, following a premonition dream (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 17, 349).
This time, Augustus decided to demote Archelaus because of the poor management of his kingdom and for the grief he had caused to Juba II. He called him to Rome and then banished him to Vienne, in Gaul. As of Judea, it was added to the authority of the Syrian province, where Cyrenius had replaced Varus. This is when Judea started to be ruled by Roman governors, mostly with the title of procurator. Because Judea was considered in the Roman Empire as a poor remote province, and because of the trouble it caused, procurators were usually appointed and removed after a few of years during which they were mostly interested in making as much money for themselves from Judea taxes. As a result, over the years, this system of procurators caused a growing anger among the Jewish population. These Roman rulers set up their main residence in Caesaria, which became the de facto administrative capital of the Roman province of Judea.
The first procurator to be named was Coponius. One of his earliest acts was to make a census of the province, and of its richesses, to impose new taxes and make money for himself. This caused rebellious feelings and the enrollment of more supporters into new seditious factions: the Zealots and the more extreme Sicarii (a sect of assassins).
Cyrenius, the Roman governor, had to intervene, so he brought to Judea two other legions he had in Syria, and Arabian auxiliaries as well. He succeeded to overcome the rebellious sedition which, in Jerusalem, was mostly led by the Pharisees who wanted to defend their religious rights and the sanctity of the Temple from political combinations from the royal family.
The Zealots were a group created in the city of Sepphoris by Judas the Galilean. He was known as "the Galilean" but he originated from Gamla (Gamala), a city in the south of the Golan Heights. In these days, unlike today, the Golan region was part of Galilee. According to Josephus, Judas the Galilean also caused people to believe that the Messiah was coming, with the help of another man who stated that Elijah had come back to announce the Messianic venue. This Judas was finally caught and put to death by Herod Antipas:
And now Archelaus's part of Judea was reduced into a province, and Coponius, one of the equestrian order among the Romans, was sent as a procurator, having the power of [life and] death put into his hands by Caesar. Under his administration it was that a certain Galilean, whose name was Judah, prevailed with his countrymen to revolt, and said they were cowards if they would endure to pay a tax to the Romans and would after God submit to mortal men as their lords. This man was a teacher of a peculiar sect of his own and was not at all like the rest of those their leaders. (Josephus, War of the Jews, book 2, 117)
For Josephus, this Zealot faction was the root cause of the catastrophes that fell upon the Jewish nation in the following years:
All sorts of misfortunes also sprang from these men, and the nation was infected with this doctrine to an incredible degree; one violent war came upon us after another, and we lost our friends which used to alleviate our pains; there were also very great robberies and murder of our principal men. This was done in pretense indeed for the public welfare, but in reality for the hopes of gain to themselves; whence arose seditions, and from them murders of men, which sometimes fell on those of their own people, (by the madness of these men towards one another, while their desire was that none of the adverse party might be left,) and sometimes on their enemies; a famine also coming upon us, reduced us to the last degree of despair, as did also the taking and demolishing of cities; nay, the sedition at last increased so high, that the very temple of God was burnt down by their enemies' fire. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 18, 1)
Josephus saw the Sicarii as criminals because, beside the fact that they carried out murders of Romans, they would not hesitate to rob or kill their own brethren as well if they suspected them to be collaborating with the Romans.
However, this assessment must be taken with caution because Josephus wrote these works when he became a Roman citizen living in Rome. He had to blame the forthcoming events on these factions or sects, rather than on the Romans despite their exactions and robberies perpetrated against the Jewish people and their religious worship. At that time, the Jewish people were divided into four main factions (the first three started during Hasmonean rule):
the Pharisees who represented most of the people and followed the Jewish faith and commandments (and ran the Sanhedrin); they accepted the foreign rule as long as their religious freedom was maintained
the Sadducees who were in minority and came from the aristocracy; they assimilated to foreign cultures, first Hellenistic then Roman (while they would argue to keep the position of High Priest as honorific for one of their members)
the Essenes who counted about 4000 followers (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 18, 18) and lived an unmarried life in remote locations such as Qumran in the Judean desert
this new group called the Zealots were initially among the Pharisees but they refused to accept foreign rule and fought to restore the independence of Judea from the Roman yoke; the Sicarii was an extreme group issued from the Zealots
Year 3769 – 9 CE – Death of Hillel
Hillel died at the age of 120, like Moses. Besides his great patience, which was renown, Hillel is remembered for having stated the following:
On another occasion it happened that a certain heathen came before Shammai and said to him: ‘Make me a proselyte, on condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot.’ Thereupon he repulsed him with the builder's cubit which was in his hand. When he went before Hillel who said to him, ‘What is hateful to you, do not to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah, while the rest is the commentary thereof; go and learn it.’ (Talmud, Shabbat, 31a)
This principle, derived from the divine commandment, You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18), is the basis for a good and peaceful society.
After Hillel and Shammai, the system of zugot was abandoned and then only one member of the religious leaders was elected as nassi, meaning as President of the Sanhedrin (the Beth Din), who held all the religious authority. This task was given to the descendants of Hillel. From Hillel's own election in 31 BCE until the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, four people successively took this charge from father to son, over this 100-year period: Hillel, then Simeon, then Gamaliel "the Elder", then Shimon II.
Year 3770 – 10 CE – Simeon ben Hillel
Hillel was succeeded as nassi by his son, Simeon ben Hillel. Little is known concerning him and it is unclear if he held this post for a few months (replaced then by Shammai, who was still alive, as acting nassi), or until the year 20 CE when his successor is known to have taken the role at that time.
Year 3780 – 20 CE – Gamaliel and the Cycle of the Moon
Simeon ben Hillel was succeeded as nassi by his son Gamaliel who held this post until 50 CE, 20 years before the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Gamaliel had such a great reputation that, in the Talmud, he is the first to be referred to as Rabban (our master). His main teaching is as follows:
Rabban Gamaliel used to say: Appoint a teacher for yourself and avoid doubt; and make not a habit of tithing by guesswork. (Talmud, Avot 1:16)
Gamaliel is mentioned in the Talmud for having stated the following about the cycle of the Moon:
Rabban Gamaliel said to them [the Amoraim rabbis]: I have it on the authority of the house of my father's father [the House of Hillel] that the renewal of the moon takes place after not less than twenty-nine days and a half and two-thirds of an hour and seventy-three halakim. (Talmud, Rosh Hashanah, 25a)
The helek (halakim in plural) was used by the Jewish Sages as a unit of time, such as one hour = 1080 halakim. Brought into minutes, one minute = 18 halakim. So, 2/3 of one hour + 73 halakim make 793 halakim, or 44 minutes and 3 1/3 seconds.
So, according to Gamaliel, the cycle of the Moon is no less than 29 days 12 hours 44 minutes and 3 1/3 seconds, whereas calendar convention considers the Moon Phase (as being the Lunar Month) to have a mean value of 29 days 12 hours 44 minutes and 3 seconds (to see the table of moon phases established in 1988, click here). In other words, Gamaliel gave a figure which is only 1/3 second different over a lunar month measured scientifically. And Gamaliel mentioned that he received the tradition of this data from his grandfather, Hillel, who lived before the Common Era!
The value of the synodic month as 29.530594 days was known in the Antiquity; the Greeks used it but admitted they learned it from the Babylonians. Ptolemy published it in a book called the Almagest (click here to read it online and see section IV:2 about the periods of the moon). And it is assumed that the Babylonians knew it around 500 BCE, but there is no evidence of the way they either calculated this value or where they learned it from. Eye observation of the moon cycles would not be sufficient to predict the synodic month with such a precision of less than half a second. Even the Greek astronomer Meton of Athens, who lived around 430 BC and gave his name to the Metonic cycle, estimated that 19 solar years corresponded to 235 lunar months or 6940 days, and therefore that the synodic month would be 6940/235 = 29.531915, so roughly 2 minutes difference (which is in the range of human eye observation).
So, the knowledge to reach less than half a second precision must have been ‘given’ to the Babylonians from outside. The only people able to do that in these times were the exiled Judeans, after the Babylonians also took all the scriptures, the Sages, and leaders from Jerusalem into captivity. The fact that the Talmudists, who did not have access to secular knowledge as we do today, were able to design the Hebrew calendar on this very same value of the synodic month tends to show that they had this knowledge too, regardless of how the Babylonians acquired it themselves.
The great Jewish scholar Rashi, who lived in Troyes, France, in the Middle Ages, was a descendant of Gamaliel by his great grandson Yohanan Hasandlar.
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Albert Benhamou
Private Tour Guide in Israel
Elul 5785 - August 2025
