ReViews
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Herod: King of the Jews and Friend of the Romans
Peter Richardson
(Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1996) xxviii + 360 pp., $34.95
CAESAREA MARITIMA—There was shock in Caesarea and Jerusalem, and as far away as Damascus and Ashkelon, at news of the death of King Herod, a wise administrator, able politician, and brilliant military commander … He will be missed.1
A flurry of blatantly fictional news flashes, interviews with the man on the street and reports from throughout Judea—all reporting on the death of Judea’s king—open Peter Richardson’s bold new biography of Herod. The splashy reports are only fitting for a book published 2,000 years after Herod’s death in 4 B.C.E.
Biographies of Herod tend to appear every 30 years or so. Although each older study is marked by the biographer’s, and his generation’s, peculiarities—whether Teutonic thoroughness, romanticization, religious polemic, amateur psychologizing or theological interpretation—they have all adopted, to varying degrees, the writings of Flavius Josephus as their basic framework. Their biographies are essentially critical retellings of the first-century C.E. Jewish historian’s writings, the only detailed account we have of Herod’s reign.
Richardson, however, has another idea. In a departure that reflects the postmodern spirit of our time, Richardson uses fictional reports written from diverse points of view to impress upon the reader the pervasiveness and profundity of bias. He thereby illustrates the naiveté of seeking the simple “truth” about Herod. He also points out that Josephus’s narratives, though we call them historical, are only separated from outright fiction by degree.
The book closes with a fabricated record of Herod’s achievements that imitates the emperor Augustus’s famous res gestae (literally, “things done”). The list, written in Herod’s voice, begins with his appointment as governor of Galilee at age 25 and records his elevation, first, to procurator of Syria and, eventually, with Roman support, to king of Judea, which he ruled from 37 to 4 B.C.E. Herod honors himself for increasing exports, suppressing dissension in the land, honoring Jewish tradition, building Caesarea Maritima (with its remarkable man-made harbor) and Samaria (which he renamed Sebaste, Greek for Augustus), and, of course, rebuilding the Jerusalem Temple.
By dispensing with the usual scholarly cautions (such as “One might argue that …”) in his final chapter, Richardson effectively fulfills the historian’s task better by helping us to grasp directly something of the spirit that was Herod.
To illustrate the complexity of reconstructing Herod’s life and motives, Richardson unexpectedly begins his story with the king’s final days. This jolts the reader out of a simple linear, cause-and-effect mode of historical thinking. He then reverts to a modified traditional plan: Every other chapter traces, in a fairly straightforward manner, the astonishing career of Herod, from its beginnings, through various watersheds in his dealings with Roman overlords, up to the time of his death. In the intervening chapters, however, Richardson puts Herod’s life into context, exploring Herod’s family affairs, Hellenism in the Near East, the shape of Herod’s kingdom, his building projects, his relationship with various religious groups in Judea, and the Herodian family’s involvement in Christian origins.
Although this format necessitates a certain amount of repetition—topics such as Herod’s building of Caesarea and his family problems crop up in both chronological and thematic chapters—it demonstrates well the many dimensions of such a major public figure. As Richardson makes clear, perceptions of Herod varied according to the perceiver: Each sibling, wife, child and more distant relative viewed him differently, as did individual religious groups within Judea. (According to Richardson, Essenes viewed Herod the most favorably, while conservatives of all stripes were the most opposed.) The same held for each 068subgroup of each social class (such as gratefully employed tradesmen versus severely punished social bandits, disgruntled partisans of the old priestly circles versus the newly favored), Diaspora Jews in contrast to many Judeans, the leaders and peoples of each neighboring region, and Herod’s various friends in Roman circles.
Throughout the book Richardson keeps a steady eye on social-historical questions. Because the older studies of Herod depend so heavily upon Josephus, they tend to adopt their source’s preoccupation with political and religious issues. Richardson, by contrast, fearlessly poses any pertinent question, even where evidence is thin. The very asking of these question helps readers to imagine Herod’s world more fully. What was it like to walk into Herod’s Temple compound? What sorts of taxes did ordinary people pay? What were the social implications of Herod’s own marriages and those he arranged for others? How old were his wives and sons at key points in his career? What were the social and economic effects of Herod’s many building projects? How did he arrange for water supplies and infrastructure? What were the effects of a famine after a sabbatical year, and how did Herod deal with them? How should we assess Herod’s personal religious world? Such basic questions characterize most studies of the classical world today, but they have been sparingly applied to the life of Herod.
Richardson tries to answer these questions by making full use of analogies from other contemporary regions along with evidence from archaeological artifacts, coins and inscriptions. The net effect is to give the reader a place to stand outside of Josephus’s narratives. From this vantage point, Richardson and the reader are free to appreciate Josephus’s narratives for what they are—highly selective stories with narrow aims. While drawing heavily on pertinent scholarship from recent, smaller studies, Richardson repeatedly brings refreshing intelligence to bear on his analysis: Josephus’s slighting of Hyrcanus II—as weak and ineffective, made priest only to please Herod’s father, Antipater—does not match the incidental evidence found in the Roman decrees that he cites. Incidental evidence suggests that Herod’s elevation as king depended much more upon the Parthian threat to Rome than on the personal qualities of Herod that Josephus features: his bravery, his ability as a soldier and administrator, and his loyalty to Rome. Josephus’s allegation that Herod built a string of fortresses out of paranoia over attacks by his subjects depends on a list of building projects that are not in fact fortresses and that do not come from the period asserted. Other statements by Josephus, concerning, for example, Herod’s personal payment for the Temple and the fellow-feeling of Idumeans and Jews, appear creditable, however, because he mentions them even though they run counter to his literary agenda of denigrating the Idumeans and criticizing Herod’s simplicity.
To be sure, Richardson argues from many angles that Herod’s personal commitment to Judaism and the Jewish people must have been deep and genuine. Only so can one explain such phenomena as Herod’s avoidance of violating the second commandment even in his personal living spaces, his personal payment for famine relief, his benefactions toward gentile cities with substantial Jewish minorities, and much else. This is a leading theme of the book, balanced by the demonstration of Herod’s ongoing commitment to Rome. Hence the subtitle.
This book is aimed at both scholars and interested laypersons, and it will meet the needs of both. It is a daunting read at times because of all the proper names and dates from Roman, Mediterranean, Judean, Parthian, Nabatean and other history. The Herodian family alone is a challenge, as a result of the king’s many marriages. Readers should not blame themselves for occasionally losing the thread. Nor should they blame the author, however, who writes with clarity, economy and no little wit. The problem lies in the material, for Richardson is obligated by his topic to sort out myriad issues. Helpfully, he routinely distills the three or four most important points from a tangled discussion. He also furnishes elaborate aids in the form of maps, chronological charts, complete indices and documentation. Patient readers will find their concentration repaid many times. Then again, we should probably not try to comprehend everything in one pass but rather treat the book as an investment, as the new reference for all things Herodian. As Al Pacino says of Shakespeare in the film Looking for Richard, “Who understands every line?”
Timnah: A Biblical City in the Sorek Valley
George L. Kelm and Amihai Mazar
(Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1995) xix + 186 pp., 38 color plates, 145 b&w illustrations, $29.50 (hardcover)
When Samson “went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman” (Judges 14:1), where exactly was he? According to George Kelm and Amihai Mazar, Samson found his Philistine bride at 070Tel Batash, in the Sorek Valley, where they excavated from 1977 to 1989. They base their identification on the location of the tell and the close correlation between the tell’s archaeological finds and the history of Timnah as indicated in both Biblical and extra-Biblical sources. They fail to mention, however, that some scholars do not agree that this 10-acre tell is the Timnah of Genesis 38:12–14. The lack of geographic indicators make it possible the site was located in another area.2
In this lavishly illustrated excavation report, archaeologists Kelm and Mazar summarize the history of Tel Batash (whether the Biblical site or not) from the prehistoric era to its demise as an urban center around 600 B.C.E. They set the site in a broader context by considering what was happening in the surrounding areas, such as Biblical Ekron (Tel Miqne, just 3 miles to the southwest), and in the conflicts between Egypt and Assyria in the seventh century B.C.E.
Timnah has one of the most detailed successions of strata for the Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 B.C.E.) in southern Palestine. A fine patrician house from this era at Tel Batash is without close Canaanite parallels.
The Iron Age (1200–586 B.C.E.) finds include a fragmentary Hebrew inscription dated to the tenth century—a rarity—which refers to [b]n hnn, or “son of Hanan.” Several jars with the well-known lmlk seals, meaning “belonging to the king,” were also found at Timnah. The authors conclude that these jars contained foodstuffs distributed by King Hezekiah in anticipation of the assault by the Assyrian ruler Sennacherib in 701 B.C.E.
The archaeological evidence—including a combination of Judahite and late Philistine pottery forms—suggests that Timnah came under Judean control after the collapse of Assyrian power around 630 B.C.E. but that a large part of the population remained “Philistine.”
Two oil presses discovered at Timnah are similar to the 113 presses discovered at Ekron, Timnah’s larger neighbor. An artist’s reconstruction vividly recreates the construction of such a press, which used a beam weighted down with stones to crush the olives within canvas bags. The authors point out that these installations clarify the Biblical expression beth ha-bad (house of the beam), but they fail to give the reference. In fact, the phrase does not occur in Hebrew scriptures but is a common rabbinic expression for an olive press.3
Timnah is an admirable exposition of an important excavation. At times the authors fail to provide uninitiated readers with much help on more specialized subjects, yet they do offer valuable archaeological insights without immersing them in a surfeit of technical details.
Cities of the Biblical World
LaMoine F. DeVries
(Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1997) xviii + 398 pp., $34.95 (hardcover)
For many readers, archaeological reports of ancient cities can seem as dry as the dirt they discuss. It is unusual to find current and well-researched information about archaeology written in clear language accessible to lay readers. But that is just what LaMoine DeVries offers in this valuable volume, devoted to 50 significant cities of the Old and New Testament worlds. Traveling from Ashur to Rome, with stops at Carchemish, Ashkelon and Capernaum, to name a few, DeVries provides in one fluid volume knowledge heretofore available only in multiple sources. Special consideration is given to the geographical setting, history and archaeological discovery of sites in Mesopotamia, Aram/Syria, Phoenicia, Anatolia, Egypt and Palestine during the Old Testament period; and Palestine and the Roman provinces during the New Testament era.
The book fills a void, as the only other volume of its kind, Major Cities of the Biblical World (Thomas Nelson, 1985), a multi-author work edited by R.K. Harrison, is now out of print. Moreover, many of the articles in other Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias are dated, if not obsolete—a problem inherent to materials about sites where each season’s excavation can render past reports incomplete or even invalid.
In determining how much to include on sites where experts have drawn various and sometimes contrasting conclusions from the archaeological data, DeVries generally spares the reader the sundry “theories du jour.” Instead, he focuses on consensus or long-standing judgments. An exception is his in-depth discussion of the location of Biblical Golgotha. Two rival sites in Jerusalem have traditionally been identified as the site of Jesus’ crucifixion: the Garden Tomb, north of the Old City, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. As DeVries notes, archaeological evidence favors the latter site: Excavations have revealed that the Garden Tomb was not in use during the New Testament period.a
In writing on Qumran, however, DeVries offers no hint of the controversy surrounding the identification of this Judean desert site. Do some scholars identify Qumran as home to a religious community, while others claim it was a fortress and still others a villa? Is there any doubt about who lived at Qumran and whether these people were responsible for depositing the Dead Sea Scrolls in adjacent caves? You won’t find the answers (which happen to be yes and yes again) in DeVries, who simply labels his chapter on the site “Qumran: Religious Commune of the Essenes.” The author’s reticence will no doubt spark criticism.
Amplifying the text are maps, black-and-white photos of varying quality, drawings, a chart of historical periods, an index of place names and an index of Biblical and ancient sources. Bibliographies at the end of each chapter refer the reader primarily to nontechnical resources, such as articles in Bible dictionaries, encyclopedias and journals.
An associate professor of religion at Southwest Missouri State University, a practicing field archaeologist who has worked most recently at Banias (Caesarea Phillipi), in Israel, and a seasoned traveler who has visited most of the sites discussed in his book, DeVries is well equipped to tackle this subject. The strength of his work lies in its user-friendly and captivating style. Although designed to be an affordable college text, it commends itself to a broader readership of educators, ministers and anyone else interested in the Biblical world.
Herod: King of the Jews and Friend of the Romans
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Footnotes
See Dan Bahat, “Does the Holy Sepulchre Church Mark the Burial of Jesus?” BAR 12:03.