1Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, 2“Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.” 3When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ would be born. 5They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet,

6‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah,

are in no way least among the princes of Judah;

for out of you shall come a governor

who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’”

7Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.”

9They, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them until it came and stood over where the young child was. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12Being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.

13Now when they had departed, behold, an 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 stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”

14He arose and took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt, 15and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

16Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent out and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under, according to the exact time which he had learned from the wise men. 17Then that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying,

18“A voice was heard in Ramah,

lamentation, weeping and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children;

she wouldn’t be comforted,

because they are no more.”

19But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 20“Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child’s life are dead.”

21He arose and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. Being warned in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee, 23and came and lived in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets that he will be called a Nazarene.

Person

Herod Antipas

Father Herod

Spouse Herodias

Siblings Archelaus Philip Philip

Biography | Jeffrey Kershner

Herod Antipas was a son of Herod the Great by Malthace, a Samaritan wife. Antipas was made Tetrarch over Galilee and Perea in 4 B.C., after Herod the Great’s death, and reigned until A.D. 39. Like his father, he sought to be remembered by building cities, including Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. He is shown in a negative light in the New Testament. Antipas divorced his first wife, the daughter of Aretas IV (king of the Nabateans), in order to marry his half brother’s wife, Herodias. John the Baptist told Antipas this marriage was unlawful, and so he had John thrown in prison for this. Herodias convinced her daughter Salome to dance at a party hosted by Antipas. When Antipas offered her a gift in thanks for the dance, Herodias told Salome to demand John the Baptist’s head. He quickly ordered John to be beheaded. Soon after this Aretas made war against Antipas over the insult to his daughter. Antipas was soundly defeated, and many attributed this to God’s vengeance for the death of John the Baptist. The only other time Antipas figures prominently in the New Testament is at the trials of Jesus. Herod Antipas knew of Jesus by reputation and was excited when Jesus was brought to him because “he hoped to have seen some miracle” (Luke 23:8). When Jesus refused to perform, Antipas had him sent back to Pilate to be crucified.

A few years later, his wife, upset at seeing others advanced before him, prodded Antipas to go to Rome and seek a higher position. Antipas arrived at the same time as letters from Herod Agrippa accusing him of being in league with the Parthians in conspiring against the Emperor Caligula. Caligula had him permanently banished to Lyons in Gaul. Herodias was not banished, but chose to stay with her husband anyway (Hendriksen, NTC: Matthew 590) -JK

Person & place data: Theographic Bible Metadata by Robert Rouse (Viz.Bible), CC BY-SA 4.0.