Most would agree that the principal responsibility for raising a child lies with the parents.

(Proverbs 22:6)1NIV New International Version Translations“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old, they will not turn from it.”

What is often missed is the generational impact of good parenting and Godly training. Deuteronomy 4:9 states, ” Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and their children after them.” To understand this point further, we can look at the generational impact of one family on biblical history. Antipater the Idumaean founded the Herodian Dynasty, ruling from 47 BC to 42 BC. His descendants, however, ruled Judea until its conquest by the Romans in 70 AD. This covers most of the period of the New Testament itself.

To begin our history lesson, there is Antipater’s son, Herod the Great. Herod the Great was a Roman Jewish “client king” of the Herodian Kingdom of Judea. He was born around 72 BC and died around 4 BC (Jesus’ birth is thought to be between 4 BC and 6 BC). A client king meant that Herod’s rule depended on the continued approval of the more powerful State, Rome, to keep his authority. Herod the Great’s reign is recorded in the works of the Jewish historian Josephus. Herod the Great first appears in the Gospel of Matthew 2:1–22 as the ruler of Judea who orders the Massacre of the Innocents at the time of the birth of Jesus. He sought to kill Jesus by ordering the massacre of all infant boys in Bethlehem. Herod the Great also tried to trick the Wise Men into revealing the location of the Christ child. It was the first interaction the Herod family had with Jesus. While there is some evidence of a successful legacy as king, most historians view him as a tyrannical ruler.

On Herod the Great’s death in 4 BC, the Romans divided his kingdom among his three sons and his sister. His son, Herod Antipas, received the tetrarchy of Galilee and Peraea. The word “tetrarchy” means “rule of four.” Other family members of Herod the Great include Herod’s son, Herod Archelaus, who became the ruler of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea.  Herod the Great’s son Philip was a half-brother to Antipas. Philip was a product of his father’s fifth wife and became ruler of territories north and east of the Jordan River. Herod the Great’s sister, Salome, became ruler of the cities of Jabneh, Ashdod, and Phasaelis. Family life around the Herod household must have been interesting!

(Isaiah 40:3-5) – ” A voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’”

We see a similar foretelling in Malachi 3:1. These prophecies foretold the coming of a forerunner who would prepare the way for a Messiah. John the Baptist was this person, forming the link between the Old and New Testaments. John the Baptist is also known as Saint John the Forerunner. He was born in the 1st century BC in the Herodian Tetrarchy and died around 30 AD in Machaerus. According to the Gospel of Luke, John and Jesus were relatives. His mother, Elizabeth, was a cousin of Mary, the mother of Jesus. His father was the priest Zechariah. John the Baptist is revered and a major religious figure in Christianity, Islam, the Baháʼí faith, the Druze faith, and Mandaeism. These faiths consider John the Baptist to be a prophet of God. The angel Gabriel also foretold his birth and outlined his divine purpose, setting the stage for John the Baptist’s destined role as a “herald of the Messiah.” This is emphasized in Luke 1:16–17: “He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

John the Baptist anticipated a messianic figure greater than himself. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus identifies John the Baptist as “Elijah who is to come”, a direct reference to the Book of Malachi. John used baptism as the central symbol or sacrament of his pre-messianic movement. Most biblical scholars agree that John baptized Jesus, and several New Testament accounts report that some of Jesus’s early followers had previously been followers of John. John’s use of baptism was a call to repentance and a symbol of cleansing from sin. His purpose was to prepare the people to receive the message of salvation directly from Jesus. His central theme was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 3:2). He baptized those who responded to his message and had sincerely repented.

Herod Antipas is first mentioned in the New Testament in Matthew 14:1–12 and Mark 6:14–29.  John the Baptist directly confronted Herod Antipas for divorcing his first wife, Phasaelis (something Herod Antipas learned, no doubt, from his father) and then unlawfully marrying Herodias, the wife of his half-brother Herod Philip. Herodias, Herod Antipas’s new wife, was not pleased with John the Baptist’s public disapproval of her bigamous marriage to Herod Antipas and his half-brother Herod Philip. She would not rest until she saw John the Baptist killed. At the request of Herod Antipas’ soon-to-be mistress Salome (his stepdaughter, child of Herodias and Herod Philip), Herod Antipas carried out Herodias’ demand to murder John the Baptist (Matthew 14:6–11; Mark 21:21–29). John was beheaded by Herod Antipas around 30 AD.

In the Gospel of Luke, Herod Antipas is also mentioned in Acts 4:27 as having a role in the trial of Jesus. The first mention is where he is referred to as just “Herod,” one of those guilty of the crucifixion of Jesus. When Jesus was arrested in Jerusalem, Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator of Judaea, sent Jesus to Herod Antipas because Jesus was a Galilean, under Antipas’ jurisdiction. Herod Antipas was eager to see Jesus, expecting him to perform miracles. However, instead of seeking the truth from Jesus, Herod Antipas wanted him to perform a miracle for his entertainment. When Jesus did not comply, Antipas and his soldiers mocked Jesus. Then, instead of freeing this innocent man, Herod Antipas sent him back to Pilate, who had the authority to have Jesus crucified. Herod Antipas’s actions during Jesus’ trial improved his relationship with the chief priests and the Sanhedrin and started a friendship with Pilate. Therefore, Herod Antipas is considered one of the co-conspirators who carried out the condemnation and execution of Jesus Christ. This might also be an early example of political alliances’ perversion of a nation’s justice system.

When we look at the history of the Herod family, it is easy to see the dysfunction. Murder, divorce, immorality, corruption, and the list goes on. How might history have changed if the patriarch, Antipater the Idumaean, had formed a Godly dynasty? What if the Herod brothers and Aunt Salome were raised to fear God? Antipater the Idumaean, the founder of the Herodian Dynasty and father of Herod the Great, died by poisoning due to his unpopularity. The people had grown tired of his leadership style. His death occurred in 43 BC. Herod the Great died in 4 BC. He passed away at his winter palace in Jericho. His death was due to a gruesome, painful, and mysterious illness. Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, ruled Galilee and Perea until 39 AD. His nephew, Agrippa I, accused him of conspiring against the Roman emperor Caligula. Herod Antipas was exiled to Gaul, accompanied by Herodias, his wife. The exact date of his death is unknown. The daughter of Herod Antipas and Herodias, who gave history the Dance of the Seven Veils2“Dance of the Seven Veils” was popularized in the 1894 English translation of Oscar Wilde’s 1893 French play “Salome”. The dance was also incorporated into Richard Strauss’s 1905 opera “Salome”., is rumored to have died in a tragic accident. As she was passing over a frozen river, the ice broke, and she sank up to her neck, freezing to death. Missing from history are details on Salome, sister of Herod the Great, who died around 10 AD, Herod Philip, who died around 18 AD, and Herod Archelaus, who died about 34 AD. One might conclude that God was far more interested in sustaining the legacies of John the Baptist, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus than the Herod family.

Contemplations

  • An American educator, A.E. Winship, decided to trace the descendants of Reverend Jonathan Edwards, an American revivalist preacher, philosopher, and Congregationalist theologian. Winship would do this almost 150 years after his death. His findings are remarkable, especially when he compared Edwards’ genealogy to “Max Jukes.”3Max Jukes is a pseudonym used in sociological studies to refer to the patriarch of a New York family studied in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with a less-than-stellar reputation. (see footnote)
    • Jonathan Edwards’ legacy included: 1 U.S. Vice-President, 1 Dean of a law school, 1 dean of a medical school, 3 U.S. Senators, 3 governors, 3 mayors, 13 college presidents, 30 judges, 60 doctors, 65 professors, 75 Military officers, 80 public office holders, 100 lawyers, 100 clergymen, and 285 college graduates.
    • Max Jukes’ descendants included: 7 murderers, 60 thieves, 190 prostitutes, 150 other convicts, 310 paupers, and 440 who were physically wrecked by addiction to alcohol. Of the 1,200 descendants that were studied, 300 died prematurely.
  • Ideas to Explore: https://ywam-fmi.org/news/multigenerational-legacies-the-story-of-jonathan-edwards/
  • What will your genealogy look like in 150 years?
    • Ideas to Explore: The seeds of faith planted by parents and grandparents now will produce the fruit harvested by future generations.
  • 1
    NIV New International Version Translations
  • 2
    “Dance of the Seven Veils” was popularized in the 1894 English translation of Oscar Wilde’s 1893 French play “Salome”. The dance was also incorporated into Richard Strauss’s 1905 opera “Salome”.
  • 3
    Max Jukes is a pseudonym used in sociological studies to refer to the patriarch of a New York family studied in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with a less-than-stellar reputation.