Herod the Great: Jewish King in a Roman World

by Martin Goodman

A vivid account of the political triumphs and domestic tragedies of the Jewish king Herod the Great during the turmoil of the Roman revolution
 
Herod the Great (73–4 BCE) was a phenomenally energetic ruler who took advantage of the chaos of the Roman revolution to establish himself as a major figure in a changing Roman world and transform the landscape of Judaea. Both Jews and Christians developed myths about his cruelty and in Christian tradition he was cast as the tyrant who ordered the Massacre of the Innocents; in the Talmud, despite fond memories of his glorious Temple in Jerusalem, he was recalled as a persecutor of rabbis.
 
The life of Herod is better documented than that of any other Jew from antiquity, and Martin Goodman examines the extensive literary and archaeological evidence to provide a vivid portrait of Herod in his sociopolitical his Idumaean origins; his installation by Rome as king of Judaea and cultivation of leading Romans; his massive architectural projects; and his presentation of himself as a Jew, most strikingly through the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple and his numerous polygamous marriages. Goodman argues that the later traditions about Herod as a monster derived from public interest in his execution of three of his sons after dramatic public trials foisted on him by a dynastic policy imposed by the Roman emperor.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Judaism, Biblical Studies

248 pages, Hardcover

First published March 12, 2024

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Martin David Goodman is a historian and writer on Roman history and the history of the Jews in the Roman period.

Reviews

[None Ofyourbusiness Loves Israel · Rating 4 out of 5]

King Herod. The name conjures images of a ruthless tyrant, a bloody stain on history thanks to the biblical narrative. But Martin Goodman's biography offers a refreshingly nuanced take. We meet not just the villain, but a cunning politician who navigated the treacherous political landscape of the Roman Republic.

Herod, a contemporary of Julius Caesar, Octavian, Augustus, Anthony and Cleopatra and many other Roman celebrities, was born into relative obscurity, and clawed his way to the Judean throne. This wasn't a birthright, but a position he earned through political savvy and unwavering loyalty to Rome. He shifted allegiances with the agility of a desert nomad, always landing on his feet. While Judea may have been a regional power at his birth, Herod expanded its influence even further. He built Caesarea, a harbor rivaling Alexandria, opening Judea to trade and tourism. The Temple in Jerusalem, the Cave of the Ancestors in Hebron, the palaces in the stronghold of Masada on the shore of the Dead Sea, the Herodion east of Bethlehem, various water projects and countless other grand building projects still stand in their glory across Israel today. Goodman is succinct yet detailed, fascinating and scholarly at the same time I do believe that the narrative could easily have been doubled or tripled without losing any of its luster yet providing extra details to the complicated background of Herod's actions.

Goodman doesn't whitewash Herod's brutality. He was a tyrant, his reign marked by internal and external conflicts. But the book expertly places him in historical context. We see Herod as a man navigating a world in flux, caught in the power shift from Roman republic to empire. Goodman, an expert on Jewish life under Roman rule, acts as our guide through this fascinating period. This biography reveals a complex man, more than just a two-dimensional villain. We understand his ruthlessness without losing sight of his political brilliance and his lasting impact on the region we know today as Israel.

This narrative contextualizes Herod within the broader tapestry of history. The Jewish presence in Israel predates Herod by centuries, a fact irrefutably supported by scholarly consensus and archaeological evidence. Jerusalem, the heart of Jewish spirituality and identity, was a thriving Jewish metropolis long before the arrival of Arab tribes. Herod's temple, a monumental testament to Jewish faith and sovereignty, stands as a defiant rebuttal to any claim of Arab cultural or religious primacy. Herod's glorious Temple with its famed Western Wall predated Islam and the Arab colonial expansion by six centuries. The Dome of the Rock that stands on the ruins of Herod's temple today would not be built for a millenium after Herod's lavish celebration of the completion of Beit HaMikdash in his Jewish capital of Jerusalem.

The appropriation of the indigenous Jewish history and heritage in the Land of Israel by subsequent powers is a complex issue, but the undeniable truth remains: the Jewish people have an unbroken historical and spiritual connection to the land of Israel that extends far beyond any colonial narrative of people who conquered and reconquered the land over the millennia.

[Josh Swinscoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

To preface, before Going into this I had zero knowledge of Herod the Great and his life. This has definitely changed after reading this.

I love the actual design of it, the sleeve, the hard cover and the page sides. All this just makes the boom feel unique and nice for myself.

However, I feel like the chapters at times are far to long, and I enjoy shorter around 20 upto 30 page chapters at a push, yet this one has some around 40. Now this is entirely a personal thing, as I am a slow reader and take my time, but it helps me space it out and just feels like I'm faster at reading. However I can't dock any points related to this as it's just a little opinion that isn't a big deal.

The book does jump around a bit at time, but overall is pretty chronological. It details Herods life very well, explaining how he dealt in a radically changing world, both geographically with borders and politically.

Overall I would definitely recommend this as a book to read, I enjoyed it alot and it taught me plenty about Herod.

5/5

[Daniel Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The life of Herod the Great is one of the best documented of any ancient king. Herod was a bit of an upstart on the Judean political scene, and owed his throne (and its preservation) largely to the friendship he cultivated with the Emperor Augustus. Martin Goodman seems equally at home with Romand and Jewish history, and this biography puts Herod in his ancient social and political context.

The blurb says:

"Herod the Great (73-4 BCE) was a phenomenally energetic ruler who took advantage of the chaos of the Roman revolution to establish himself as a major figure in a changing Roman world and transform the landscape of Judaea. Both Jews and Christians developed myths about his cruelty and rashness: in Christian tradition he was cast as the tyrant who ordered the Massacre of the Innocents; in the Talmud, despite fond memories of his glorious Temple in Jerusalem, he was recalled as a persecutor of rabbis."

Regarding the thing that Herod is perhaps most famous for—his slaughter of the innocents in attempt the kill Jesus from Matthew 2—Goodman regards this as fictional, but as far as I can tell that is not because it contradicts anything we know of Herod (it actually fits his character very well), but simply because 1) It is not documented elsewhere, and 2) In Matthew it functions typologically to cast Herod as one like Pharaoh. Neither of those is a good reason to my mind to deny its historicity.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s always interesting to read well researched books that expand on what we were taught in Sunday School. I realize now my boyhood confusion over Herod was justified … three different kings are referred to as Herod in the New Testament, only one of which was actually named Herod. Plus, the whole ‘killed all the babies’ story is unverifiable, popping up (perhaps for literary symmetry with the Moses story) in one of the gospels 4 years after the actual man named Herod died. Fascinating.

A readable book, highly recommended.

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really demonstrated that Herod had a great ability to form alliances and manipulate people. He backed eventual losers in Rome's civil wars. Whether it be Pompey, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony (Herod had issues with Cleopatra), before aligning himself with Octavian. Herod tried to fix marriage alliances for his siblings and children; he eventually killed most of his family. The biggest irony this book documents is that while Herod wanted to be beloved by the Jewish people, his desecration of the temple and hated among Christians marred his legacy.

[Gabriel Stein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating

A fascinating biography of a complicated personality. Herod the Great has had a “very bad press“. Martin Goodman‘s biography examines the king, his life and his accomplishments, without hiding his tragic and complicated family life. It deserves to be widely read.

[Bill Dauster · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine history of Herod by a leading scholar of the era

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

In one of the Christian stories of Jesus, Herod the Great (73-4 B.C.E.) is portrayed as a monster: he’s said to have ordered the death of innocent children in order to kill a prophesied king of the Jews. In the biography “Herod the Great: Jewish King in a Roman World” (Jewish Lives Series/Yale University Press), Martin Goodman, emeritus professor of Jewish studies at the University of Oxford, casts great doubt on the tale, noting that not only don’t the dates match up correctly, but the earliest Christian gospels make no mention of the story. What Goodman finds ironic is that a man so concerned with his posthumous reputation should be slandered after his death.
To read the rest of my review, visit https://www.thereportergroup.org/book...

[Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping and nuanced biography of one of the enigmas of the ancient Mediterranean. For the brevity of this biography I think it did a great service as a primer on understanding the importance of Herod in the massive transformation of the ancient world seen with the fall of the Roman Republic and destruction of the Hasmonean kingdom and how Herod weathered both those storms while still showing his complexities and faults.

A great book on a topic I didn’t know much about, a must read for those interested in Rome but only know it from a Roman perspective

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated this biography for upending what I thought I knew about Herod and teaching me a lot that I didn't know. His is a complex life, and our sources are few (mostly Josephus). My own interest was in learning about how Herod functioned as a Jewish king in a Roman empire (a la the subtitle of the book), and Goodman does a great job with this multifaceted topic. I'll confess that my eyes started crossing in the chapter on Roman politics, until I finally decided that I'd let the details sweep over me and try to capture just the big ideas. A very readable biography.

[Michael Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! The writer easily navigates between competing versions of various writers and even among contradictions of Josephus himself. Seamlessly intertwines various versions, sites sources, while easily maintaining the readers interest.

[Bud Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somewhat technical, but quite readable nonetheless. An illustrated family tree would be helpful! I don't agree with Goodman's explanation of the Biblical account of Herod's slaughter of the innocents; otherwise, a well-researched scholarly book.

[Stan Alam · Rating 4 out of 5]

just as I suspected, no so great. I usually don't listen to audio books. Finished it over the weekend. I would recommend the book. The early iron age was a terrible time to be alive.

[Esther Dushinsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook

[Terence]

5 out of 10.