Herod ruled
The Massacre (or Slaughter) of the Innocents is an incident in the nativity narrative of the Gospel of Matthew (2:16–18) in which Herod the Great, king of Judea, orders the execution of all male children who are two years old and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem.
The following year he was tried for plotting against Herod and Pheroras, Herod's brother, and was executed five days before his father's death.
What did Herod the Great accomplish? Herod the Great was known for consolidating Roman rule over and advancing the Hellenization of Judaea. He built the city of Sebaste on the site of ancient Samaria as well as the port city of Caesarea and rebuilt the Temple of Jerusalem.
Herod the Great, also called Herod I, became king in 37 bc and ruled until his death in 4 bc. He was about 73 years old at the time when Jesus was born, and it was Herod who ordered the massacre of the children of Bethlehem. Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, was tetrarch (governor) of Galilee.
Herod had planned to make the Magi tell him of the whereabouts of the Christ child. When he heard of the Magi's change in course, he grew angry and tried to kill the infant messiah by killing all the young children in the area, an event known as the Massacre of the Innocents.
The matriarch of the Herodian dynasty was Cyprus (I), Herod's mother. She had one daughter—Salome (I)—and many daughters-in-law. The wife of Pheroras, her youngest son, was an impressive woman, who, alas, remains nameless. Herod was married ten times.
The leader is probably most notorious for the "Massacre of the Innocents," as described in the gospel of Matthew. When, upon hearing that a new king of Jews had been born in Judaea, Herod ordered the killing of all male infants of Bethlehem aged 2 years or younger.
Herod ruled Judea from 37 BC. The Bible says he initiated a murder of all the infants in Bethlehem in an attempt to get rid of the baby Jesus.
Herod Antipas (Greek: Ἡρῴδης Ἀντίπας, Hērǭdēs Antipas; c. 20 BC – c. 39 AD) was a 1st-century ruler of Galilee and Perea. He bore the title of tetrarch ("ruler of a quarter") and is referred to as both "Herod the Tetrarch" and "King Herod" in the New Testament, although he never held the title of king.
At the instigation of his sister Salome and Mariamne's mother, Alexandra, however, Herod had her put to death for adultery.
Matthew furthermore implies that Jesus was up to two years old when Herod reportedly ordered the Massacre of the Innocents, that is, the murder of all boys in Bethlehem up to the age of two (Matthew 2:16).
Jesus was born in Bethlehem when Herod was king of Judea .
The Hebrew Bible portrays King Manasseh and child sacrifice as the most reprehensible person and the most objectionable practice within the story of 'Israel'.
Jephthah led the Israelites in battle against Ammon and, in exchange for defeating the Ammonites, made a vow to sacrifice whatever would come out of the door of his house first. When his daughter was the first to come out of the house, he immediately regretted the vow, which bound him to sacrifice his daughter to God.
King Manasseh of Judah sacrificed his sons by fire (2 Chronicles 33:6), filling Jerusalem with innocent blood.
Nothing is known about what happened to him after this event. On the basis of events which were documented by the second-century pagan philosopher Celsus and the Christian apologist Origen, most modern historians believe that Pilate simply retired after his dismissal.
Acts 12:3–19 says that Peter was put into prison by King Herod, but the night before his trial an angel appeared to him, and told him to leave. Peter's chains fell off, and he followed the angel out of prison, thinking it was a vision (verse 9).
The date of birth of Jesus is not stated in the gospels or in any historical sources, but most biblical scholars generally accept a date of birth between 6 BC and 4 BC, the year in which King Herod died.
Herod the Great, king of ancient Judea, was a brutal, ruthless, vindictive and dangerously high-strung tyrant. He had many of his subjects killed on suspicion of plotting against him and was accused of slaughtering children in Bethlehem when informed that a new king of the Jews had been born there.
John the Baptist criticised king Herod Antipas for marrying his brother's ex-wife Herodias and other evils. John the Baptist was therefore arrested by Herod Antipas.
It is believed that Jesus sought refuge in Egypt for three-and-a-half years in hiding. The Holy Family were was tually able to safely return to Palestine after the death of King Herod.
Henry VIII (1509-1547) is one of history's most famous monarchs. His radical political and religious upheavals reshaped the Tudor world. He is best known for his six marriages and his life-long pursuit of a male heir.
For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, 'It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife'. And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him.