Regarding Herod killing the children, are there any other documents from other sources such as Roman or other ancient cultures documenting this event?<\/p>\n\t
“Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men<\/em>” (Matthew 2:16).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The event that Matthew records we know is consistent with Herod’s personality as we read history. History tells us that Herod was paranoid about being overthrown. He murdered his two older sons in 7 B.C. because he was convinced by the instigation of another son that they were plotting to overthrow him. Antipater, who encouraged his father\u2019s murder of his older brothers, was also killed in 4 B.C., just before Herod\u2019s death, for plotting to overthrow his father. It caused Augustus to joke that he would rather be Herod\u2019s pig than one of his sons. (As a follower of the Jewish religion, Herod wouldn’t kill an unclean animal, such as a pig, but it didn’t stop him from murdering innocents or even members of his own family.) As he approached the end of his life, Herod slaughtered thousands on the least hint that a rebellion might be breaking out.<\/p>\n
Part of his paranoia might have come from the fact that he wasn\u2019t an Israelite. He was a descendant of Edom. His father aided Julius Caesar during the conquest of Judea and Herod was a friend of Anthony and Octavian (who later became Caesar Augustus). Because of his friendship, he was given the title \u201cKing of the Jews,\u201d but it took him three years of hard fighting take hold of his \u201ckingdom.\u201d Now, in his old age, foreigners had come announcing the birth of a new King of the Jews. Such news would strike Herod\u2019s deepest fears.<\/p>\n
During his reign, Herod had a countless number of people put to death. This was a man who shortly before his death had many leading Jews arrested with a standing order that they were to be killed when he died so that at least some would morn when he died.<\/p>\n
That Herod would kill the children in the area of Bethlehem to remove the threat of a new king arising is completely consistent with history though this particular event didn’t make the history books. On a global scale, it was one of a great many atrocities that Herod committed and it took place in a small town in a backwater region. It factors significantly in the Gospels because it was a strike against the Messiah, but to a Roman or Jewish historian, it would have been just a smaller version of some of the greater things Herod had done.<\/p>\n
But then, the “big events” that the secular historians recorded didn’t make the cut for being recorded in the gospels either. Everyone writes toward a target audience and what is important to one audience is not important to another. Yet all agree that Herod was a paranoid, loony murderer — especially in his old age.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Regarding Herod killing the children, are there any other documents from other sources such as Roman or other ancient cultures documenting this event? Answer: “Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[872,279,73,708],"class_list":["post-7872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-herod","tag-history","tag-jesus","tag-matthew"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46527,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-jesus-and-his-family-refugees\/","url_meta":{"origin":7872,"position":0},"title":"Were Jesus and his family refugees?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm wondering if Jesus and his family were refugees of political violence, or are these web posts lies? I've seen comparisons to the Syrian refugees on the web. A Google search brought me to your site. Did they flee Bethlehem to Nazareth to escape? What is the best answer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35107,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/believing-the-unbelievable-story-of-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":7872,"position":1},"title":"Believing the Unbelievable Story of Jesus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Don Bunting God intends for people to come to Him by faith.\u00a0 Undoubtedly God could reveal Himself to humanity in a powerful, material, undeniable way.\u00a0 Still, God says:\u00a0\u00a0\"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41573,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-didnt-john-the-baptist-get-killed-with-the-rest-of-the-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":7872,"position":2},"title":"Why didn’t John the Baptist get killed with the rest of the children?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why didn't John the Baptist die, as is stated in Matthew 2:16, but lived to adulthood, baptized Jesus, and was ultimately beheaded, or is Matthew 2:16 simply wrong? Answer: When the wise men came, Herod found out where the Messiah was to be born. \"And when he had gathered\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38175,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-truth-about-jesus-birth\/","url_meta":{"origin":7872,"position":3},"title":"The Truth About Jesus’ Birth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The world, at this time of year, turns its attention to the birth of Jesus \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The secular world sees opportunity to profit \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The denominations moan about how their holiday is being secularized \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And the real problem is that almost no one is interested in the truth\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44994,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/new-testament-apocrypha-infancy-gospels\/","url_meta":{"origin":7872,"position":4},"title":"New Testament Apocrypha – Infancy Gospels","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Peter 1:13-21 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Reasons for existence \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Promotion of a false doctrine because support cannot be found in the Scriptures \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Gaps led to speculation \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Have you ever wondered what Jesus\u2019 childhood was like? So have many others, which has lead to infancy gospels to tell\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9236,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-was-herodias-daughter\/","url_meta":{"origin":7872,"position":5},"title":"Who was Herodias’ daughter?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 3, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Who was Herodias' daughter, the one who was a dancer? Answer: \"But when Herod's birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod\" (Matthew 14:6; see also Mark 6:22). 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