THE BIBLE AND ARCHAEOLOGY

Session 8

Welcome

HEROD, THE BIRTH OF JESUS AND ARCHAEOLOGY

• Historicity

• Setting

• Aspects

• Chronology

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO TALK ABOUT TODAY?

REVIEW LAST WEEK

What was that?

NEW TESTAMENT ANDARCHAEOLOGY

OVERVIEW

1.The Archaeology before Jesus' Birth2.The Archaeology at Jesus’ Birth3.The Archaeology during Jesus’ Life4.The Archaeology after Jesus death

and Resurrection

HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY

• Herod the Great (Herodian Dynasty)

• Rome, Parthia, Seleucids, Hasmoneans

• Antiochus Epiphanes

• Hanukkah or Feast of Dedication

• Palaestina, Judeaus, and Ioudas

ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERIODS

ISRAEL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERIODS

ROMAN I(HERODIAN)

• 37 B.C. – 70 A.D

• Roman domination

• Herod (the Great) and his sons rule Israel

• The line of David as a political force has been marginalized

• The priestly class has been politicized and corrupted

• Vying political parties vied for control of the Temple

OT AND NT ARCHAEOLOGY

• Focus

• Setting

• People• Scope

• Science

DIFFERENCES

NT AND OT ARCHAEOLOGY

• We are dealing with “old” things

• Digs and tells are still important

• Purpose

SIMILARITIES

HEROD (THE GREAT)

73 BC- 4 BC

WHO WAS HEROD (THE GREAT)?

• His father (Antipater) and mother (Cyprus) were Idumeans (Edomites)

• He was from Jericho

• He was a nominal Jew

• He married into the Hasmonean dynasty

• He is mentioned twice in the New Testament (Matt 2:1-19; Luke 1:5)

• He had ten wives

MACCABEAN LINEAGE

Fight for Power

HERODIAN DYNASTY

HEROD’S KINGDOM

ARCHAEOLOGY AND HEROD

• Temples to Roma, Augustus and Baal Shamim, the Pythian temple at Rhodes and Jerusalem Temple

• Palaces at Masada, Jericho, Ascalon and others

• Gymnasia, baths, fountains, colonnades, markets and other public buildings throughout the eastern Roman empire

• The cities Sebaste and Caesarea Maritima

MASADA

HERODIUM

CAESAREA MARITIMA(BY THE SEA)

PUBLIC FORUM

HEROD’S DEATH

“In the days of Herod the king…”

• Luke 1:5There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

• Matthew 2:1Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Jesus was born into this world

QUESTIONS?

Does anyone have any questions about last weeks lesson?

HEROD, THE BIRTH OF JESUS AND ARCHAEOLOGY

• Historicity

• Setting

• Characters

• Aspects

• Chronology

THE BIRTH OF JESUS AND CHRONOLOGY

1.Chronology is not absolute2.The Bible is not a strict time keeper3.We can’t be dogmatic on when Jesus

was born4.When the Bible is silent, we need to be

silent5.Focus on redemptive history not

chronological certainty

THE TEXT IN QUESTION

Luke 21 And it came to pass in those days, that

there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

CHARACTERS AND PROBLEM

• Caesar Augustus

• Cyrenius (Quirinius)

• Herod

• Joseph

• Mary

• Jesus

CAESAR AUGUSTUS

• Also known as Gaius Octavian

• Great Uncle was Julius Caesar

• Lived from 63 B.C. – 14 A.D.

• Rome’s first emperor

• Ruled from 23 B.C. to 14 A.D

• Took the power away from the Senate as a body and gave individual Senators power

CAESAR AUGUSTUS

63 B.C. – 14 A.D.

WHO IS CYRENIUS?

• Luke 2:2

• (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

• Quirinius (Latin)

• High Roman official

Publius Sulpicius Quirinius

• Lived from c.45 BCE? - 21 CE

• Roman Senator

• He oversaw a prominent census in 6 A.D. where many rebelled including many Jews

• Military hero

• Served Caesar as Governor of Galatia and Pamphylia (central Turkey)

QUIRINIUS AND CARISTANIUS

QUIRINIUS INSCRIPTION

IMPORTANCE OF YOUR HOMETOWN

• Luke 2:3

• And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

• Family or birth city (ancestral home)

• Required travel

“EACH WENT TO HIS OWN HOUSE…”

LUKE’S CENSUS

• Greek word for enrolment and census is used (apographe) in Luke 2:2

• Inhabitants are compelled to go

• All members of the family

• Taxation and registration are implied

• Empire wide

• Go to your ancestral home

SIR WILLIAM RAMSAY

March 1851- April 1939

WHO IS SIR WILLIAM RAMSAY?

• Originally set out to disprove the New Testament

• Eventually after a few years of digs in Asia Minor became a Christian and was convinced of the trustworthiness of the New Testament

• World’s foremost authority on Asia Minor and its archaeology