DECEMBER 29: Did Herod the Great Really Kill 14,000 Infants?

The Catholic Church has since the 5th century commemorated the Feast of the Holy Innocents, either today, December 29, or December 28, depending on where you lived.  Herod the Great was a Roman Jewish king of Judea.  He was born around 72BC, named King of the Jews by the Roman Senate in 40BC.  Most likely died at the age of 70 in 4BC, but maybe not until 1BC, shortly after Jesus was born.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men[a] from the east came to Jerusalem, 

2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose[b] and have come to worship him.” 

3When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 

4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 

5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 

9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 

11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 

12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 

17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
    weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
    she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Jesus escaped being killed by King Herod through the intervention of God, the wise men, and Joseph: 

• The wise men: The wise men were warned in a dream about Herod's intentions and told not to return to him. 
• 
  Joseph: Joseph was warned in a dream by an angel to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt. 
• God: God intervened to help Jesus escape. 

Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem sometime after 6BC, but before 4BC.  The area was part of the Roman Empire ruled by Herod.  Soon thereafter, Herod either commissioned the slaughter of innocents...or not.

• But this act was mostly myth or folk-lore.
• Others say it was a historical event.
• True that Herod in the past had heard rumors that somebody was going to bump him off and take over the throne, and he then killed that person first.  

• 
  The ‘massacre of the innocents’ was typical of Herod’s extreme behaviour recorded independently by the Jewish historian Josephus. Herod was intensely jealous and chronically insecure. He had suffered a severe breakdown in 29BC after he murdered his favourite wife Mariamne and his brother-in-law Joseph after falsely accusing them of having an affair.

  As recently as 7BC, Herod had executed his own sons Aristobulus and Alexander (whom he accused of plotting to take the throne) and the following year, around the time of Jesus’s birth, he tortured each of his slave-girls in turn to reveal any further threats to his authority. In 4BC Herod executed his own son Antipater.

• 
  He was a paranoid schizophrenic.
•  Matthew 2:16 has been traditionally called the “massacre of the innocents.”  
• The Martyrdom of Matthew states that 3,000 babies were slaughtered. The Byzantine liturgy places the number at 14,000 and the Syrian tradition says 64,000 innocent children were killed (Brown 1993:205). Yet Professor William F. Albright, the dean of American archaeology in the Holy Land, estimates that the population of Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth to be about 300 people (Albright and Mann 1971:19). The number of male children, two years old or younger, would be about six or seven (Maier 1998:178, footnote 25). 
• 
  The slaughter of the innocents is unattested in secular records, but the historical plausibility of this event happening is consistent with the character and actions of Herod the Great. Besides killing his enemies, he had no qualms in killing family members and friends as well. Herod would not have given a second thought about killing a handful of babies in a small, obscure village south of Jerusalem in order to keep his throne secure for himself, or his sons, even if it was one of the last dastardly deeds he committed before he died. As Herod lay dying, raked in pain and agony, the men of God and those with special wisdom opined that Herod was suffering these things because it was “the penalty that God was exacting of the king for his great impiety” (Antiquities 17:170; LCL 8:449-451).

My assessment is that there was infanticide perpetrated.

• From the written record.
• Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, and close to birth, they moved to Bethlehem (population 300 to 3000...not really known for sure) for the birth of Jesus.  There they supposedly got that visit from the 3 Magi, but that could have been later.
• 40 days after the birth, the family went to Jerusalem (20,000 to 55,000 population) to complete Mary's ritual purification after childbirth.

• 
  According to Boccaccio, 144,000 children were murdered, for he says Herod ordered all male babies age 2 and younger be killed in Bethlehem AND ALL THE COASTS OF ISRAEL.
• A Syrian  list of saints asserts 64,000.
• If Herod knew Jesus was born in Bethlehem and was still there, perhaps 6-20 innocents would be closer to the truth.
• If Herod also expanded the scope to Jerusalem, then multiply by a factor of ten, or 60-200.
• According to the Gospel of Matthew, the family went to Egypt, specifically to Judaea.
• 
  Egypt was part of the Roman Empire in those days, with a population from 3-7 million.
• Herod had a history in Eygpt, and historians say Cleopatra tried to seduce him.
• Doing the math, Boccaccio's 144,000 might be possible.
• However, there would have been some intelligence to pinpoint their location, and Herod knew the country, so the Syrian list of saints of 64,000 might be more probable.
• 
  Since the 5th century, the Catholic Church has commemorated a separate day in memory of the children killed by King Herod, usually December 28 or 29.  So something must have happened.  Can't imagine Matthew making up this story.
• The number?  144,000 seems extreme, while 6-20 might be too low, for Herod was obsessed. 
• So my assessment is that, yes, Herod the Great did kill a large number of infants.  How many?  No one knows for sure.

To close, Saturday Night Live Five-Timers Club induction of Martin Short.

Here is the list.  #1, Alec Baldwin has hosted 17 times.

Yes, of course, he plays the best Donald Trump.  But, his Pete Schweddy might be more memorable.  Watch this Schweddy Balls skit.

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