The Murder of The Innocents
A view of Herod the Great

A particularly nasty tyrant. Ruler from 37BC to 4BC of the kingdom of Judea (consisting mostly of Jerusalem and present-day southern Israel), Herod's paranoia about keeping power and his ruthless suppression of dissent earns him a well deserved place alongside the great dictators and criminals of history.

Brutal Bastard: Herod killed many of his people. He trusted no one, not even his wives (of which he had ten) or his many sons. One spouse and three of his boys were all executed because he feared they were plotting against him. Any threat of an uprising was put down with brutal and bloody ferocity. Encouraged by his Roman masters, Herod believed in singling out individuals for public execution as well as the mass slaughter of opponents.

But his most brutal act of genocide - the so-called Murder of the Innocents, recorded in St Matthew's Gospel - was to order the killing of every single male child under two in his kingdom in an effort to destroy the infant Jesus, lest he grow into another threat to Herod's rule. It has inspired some of the most lurid scenes in recent Hollywood biblical epics, with Herod's soldiers beating out the brains of babies and running others through with their swords. Simply being a member of Herod's family did not guarantee safety.

He married Mariamne, a princess of the deposed Hasmonean royal family, in order to secure his rule - despite already having a wife. Later, convinced that Mariamne was being unfaithful, he hatched a plot to have her murdered. Once she found out, she stopped sleeping with her husband, who saw this as evidence of her infidelity and put her on trial for adultery. Herod's anger soon dissipated and, convinced that she had been faithful after all, his affections were rekindled. However, this came too late as Mariamne had already been executed. Her mother Alexandra, who had supported Herod in the trial of his queen, was repaid by being the next to be dispatched, for suggesting that he was unfit to rule.

Herod governed by consent of the Roman emperors whose dominion stretched over most of the eastern Mediterranean and down to Egypt, under Cleopatra. They regarded Herod as a useful puppet king, able to keep the often rebellious Israelites in order. They were not too interested in his methods, though the Emperor Augustus was reported to have said: 'It is better to be Herod's dog than one of his children.'

What prompted the remark was the pile of corpses of Herod's family that grew in the courtyard of his palace. In 35BC, he had his brother-in-law, the High Priest Aristobulus, drowned because he suspected him of disloyalty. Another brother-in-law, Kostobar, was killed soon afterwards. His sons by Mariamne, Alexandros and Aristobulus, were both killed on his orders. Another son, Antipas, was executed for treason.

It is not hard to see why, for many Jews, the much-married Herod was a hated figure.
But his crimes extended beyond his brutality and lack of morals. He came to symbolise their subjugation to Rome. When he placed a golden eagle, the emblem of Roman rule, on the gateway into the Jewish temple, the holiest of holies, he faced an uprising, again put down with much bloodshed.

The Jewish historian Josephus Flavius, in his first-century accounts History Of The Jewish War and The Antiquities Of The Jews, gave a glimpse of Herod's methods. He also describes how Herod died a painful death from chronic kidney disease and gangrene in 4BC at the age of 70. However, if this account is accurate, it poses a tricky dilemma for the Christian Church. How did this tyrant manage to order the murder of young children to prevent Jesus growing to adulthood a full four years before Jesus was actually born?

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He who is born king of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him. But when Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea. For so it is written by the prophet, "And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the governors of Judah. For out of you shall come a Governor who shall rule My people Israel."

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, inquired of them exactly what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child. And when you have found him, bring me word again so that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed. And lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them until it came and stood over where the child was. And seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And coming into the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother. And they fell down and worshiped Him.

And opening their treasures, they presented gifts to Him, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise and take the young child and His mother and flee into Egypt. And be there until I bring you word, for Herod is about to seek the child to destroy Him. And he arose and took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt. And he was there until the death of Herod; so that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the LORD through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called My Son."

Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was greatly enraged. And he sent and killed all the boys in Bethlehem, and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had carefully inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not." (Matt 2:1-18)

The killing of hundreds of babies can never be depicted  in its reality.
 We can only imagine the terror and Mean Herod's wicked smile.