King Herod Comes to Power (The Jewish Encounter with Rome Part I)
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- A brief description of the rise of King Herod to power, viewed against the background of the Hasmonean Kingdom and their alliances with Rome. Part I of the lecture series The Jewish Encounter with Rome.
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Best history teacher EVER.
Thank you for that very informative lesson. I really appreciate your approach to historical figures and topics that can at times be difficult to navigate. You truly are a master navigator of history. Keep up the great work!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I appreciate the feedback!
Once again: fantastic. Illuminating events/people/times with such clean, clear straightforward descriptions. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thank you so much for your kind words!
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Another Great Class in Our History...
Class Never Goes Out of Style...
Thank you Dr Abramson! I'm really happy you didn't give in to the trolls and put this out even with the controversy. I really enjoy these videos and I'm happy you continue to do what you do!
Very interesting channel. Thank you for putting this history together.
Thank you Dr. Abramson.
You have a wonderful way with unfolding the story ... Love the Humor... Excellent content with great style.
Glad you enjoy it!
I missed you Doctor Abramson ❤️
Isn't it suspicious that the Books of The Maccabees are not in the canonical Jewish books? It looks as if the Greek Romans did something there so that Jews wouldn't revolt again.
not really.
the reason the book is not in the jewish canon is because of tremendous tensions between the Rabbis and Hasmoneans.
The Hasmoneans used the book to claim Biblical mandate to rule, while the Rabbis objected that, believing the only divinely ordained ruling dynasty is the Davidic dynasty.
Jews dont place Maccabees in their canon because they recognize it to be Hasmonean state propaganda and not divinely inspired.
Gentile christians, as outsiders, simply werent aware of all these intricate nuanses, and in their mind, the age of prophecy didnt cease, so there was no issue placing maccabees in their canon, while as the Rabbis saw it, the age of prophecy ended in the days of Ezra and the great assembly.
Excellent coherent explanation of this complex era.
Many thanks!
Truly fascinating - thanks for preserving the rich history of these ancient Mediterranean cultures!! 🙌👍
Glad you found it worthwhile!
Thank you
Lessons and information are strong. However, these videos really need to be close captioned. Those of us who have hearing issues would like to understand what is being said.
Thanks
Thanks for supporting the research!
I loved it❤ thanks Henry
Thank you!
Excellent presentation, clear, succinct (as usual). I hope you don't mind ... a small correction regarding pronunciation. In the lectures on Roman history that I've watched, General Pompey's name is always pronounced as POM-pee, as distinguished from Pom-PAY, the pronunciation of the city Pompei.
Hello- Thank you so much for telling this history from a very easily understood and empathetic place- Also I think it is awesome you are a fellow Canadian eh!
That coin... anyone else think the sun blaze looks like Alexander the Great's family symbol. That he had on his shield and/or breastplate?
Thanks for all!!! Do you know if when the first time the bible was written in, was it In the alphabet א ב we use these days?
Very educational, thank you. I have read that the Roman Emperors Augustus as well as Tiberius gave instructions to governors of Judea not to antagonize the Jewish people. The New Testament myth of the Slaughter of the Innocents certainly would have caused a major uproar. Herod had to get permission from the emperor Augustus to kill his own son, where Augustus reportedly quipped, “It is better to be Herod’s pig than his son."
You should perhaps do a video together with Sam Aronow.
Thank you and very good so far
Thank you too!
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@@HenryAbramsonPhD I am a Catholic who really enjoys your channel
If i am not wrong, there were two threaties between Judea and Rome. Real assistance wasn't possible, but these threaties probably were important for new Hamonean kingdom to establish itself in the Mediterranen world.
When observing the coins of Alexander Jannaeus, I cannot help but notice the similarity between the sun symbol and the Greek / Macedonian "Vergina Sun" symbol. I assume that this was very much intentional, with the Hashmonean king Jannaeus taking the name Alexander, as well as minting his coins in both Greek and Hebrew - to me, this is a sign that he wished to be seen as equal in status to the Greek kings, which I find fascinating.
Excellent lessons on Roman-Jewish history! Given that Roman history extends several centuries earlier, would it make sense to study Roman history?
Hello from my last day in la Paz Mexico vacation and Shavua Tov
@Paslms 122:6, Pray for the peace of
Jerusalem, they will prosper that love
you. Good blessings on your journey!!!
Why is it that there were Israelites in Judea and Galilee with the Samaritans in between at this period? Seems kind of weird that they had these arch enemies in between them.
I don’t care what anyone says, I laugh at your dad jokes.
chips !!!!! there bis something wrong with me now......... i say that one coming a mile away Professor!
About Herod being brutal and generous... not so rare! That's how pharaohs of Egypt and Roman emperor's ruled too, the latter by building public baths, circuses, and feeding the masses of their capital city-"panem et circenses" was the word... When they would turn brutal they'd do so against elites, because that was where the threat to their rule lingered. As Stalin exiled his generals and party comrades to Siberian camps, Herod focused his brutality on Sadducees, Pharisees, and his own family. But then, as they were the ones to write history, we got this perhaps exaggerated picture of Herod the Monster.
15:24 Machiavelli would be proud.
Yup
Wow Wow wow! Can’t wait!
I'm glad you are so excited about the class!
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@@HenryAbramsonPhD I really hope there’ll be more episodes about Judea under the Hellenistic / Roman rule. This topic is so exciting…
Alexsander Yanai was a brother in law of Shimon Ben Shetach , Shlomtzion The queen ,wife by leverate marriage to the former ,brother to the latter.
The Gemara relates: King Yannai said to his wife before he died: Do not be afraid of the Pharisees [perushin], and neither should you fear from those who are not Pharisees, i.e., the Sadducees; rather, beware of the hypocrites who appear like Pharisees, as their actions are like the act of the wicked Zimri and they request a reward like that of the righteous Pinehas (see Numbers, chapter 25).( Sotah 22b).
The story of Herod by the Sanhedrin couldn’t of happened only in the time of Hillel and Shamai .
This was the time of יצא מנחם לעבודת המלך (חגיגה 16). Josephus calls him Menachem the Essene .(Antiquities 15 ch. 10)
wasn’t it taught in a baraita: Hillel, and his son Shimon, and his grandson Gamliel, and his great-grandson Shimon filled their position of Nasi before the House, while the Temple was standing, for a hundred years, ( Shabbat 15), this fits in perfectly with the time of Herod’s Reign.
The Sages taught in a baraita: A person should always be patient like Hillel and not impatient like Shammai. (Shabbat 30). There were two opinions in Chazal how to go about the political impasse , and how to navigate through the political climate they were in.
As we find by the story of Kamtza bar Kamtza;
The blemish notwithstanding, the Sages thought to sacrifice the animal as an offering due to the imperative to maintain peace with the government. Rabbi Zekharya ben Avkolas said to them: If the priests do that, people will say that blemished animals may be sacrificed as offerings on the altar. The Sages said: If we do not sacrifice it, then we must prevent bar Kamtza from reporting this to the emperor. The Sages thought to kill him so that he would not go and speak against them. Rabbi Zekharya said to them: If you kill him, people will say that one who makes a blemish on sacrificial animals is to be killed. As a result, they did nothing, bar Kamtza’s slander was accepted by the authorities, and consequently the war between the Jews and the Romans began.
Rabbi Yoḥanan says: The excessive humility of Rabbi Zekharya ben Avkolas destroyed our Temple, burned our Sanctuary, and exiled us from our land.
He took the view of Shamai not of Hillel.
.
This story of the Talmud is confirmed by Josephus as the real reason for the start of the great Roman war .
“And this was the true beginning of our war with the Romans; for they rejected the sacrifice of Cæsar on this account: and when many of the high-priests and principal men besought them not to omit the sacrifice, which it was customary for them to offer for their princes, they would not be prevailed upon. “(Wars 2 chapter 17)”
But in Eicha Rabba the version of this episode is brought differently.
“Rabbi Zekharya ben Avkulas was there and it was within his ability to protest, but he did not protest. Immediately, [bar Kamtza] left. He said to himself: ‘These who are reclining at the feast are sitting in serenity; I will slander them.’7 What did he do? He went to the ruler and said to him: ‘Those offerings that you send to the Jews for them to sacrifice, they eat them and sacrifice others in their stead….While they were traveling on the way, the official fell asleep. [Bar Kamtza] arose during the night and rendered them all blemished animals in a discreet manner.8 When the priest saw them, he sacrificed others in their stead. The emissary of the king said: ‘Why did you not sacrifice these offerings?’ He said to him: ‘[I will sacrifice them] tomorrow.’ The third day arrived and he did not sacrifice them. He sent and said to the ruler: ‘The matter that the Jew said, he spoke the truth.’ Immediately, [the ruler] ascended to the Temple and destroyed it……Rabbi Yosei said: ‘The humility of Rabbi Zekharya ben Avkulas burned the Sanctuary.”
Here it’s the Humility of Hillel’s teaching that was not in place as he didn’t stand up to the task when needed.
The men of the great assembly were in the Persian reign, they rebuilt Judaism as we know it by making the Torah accessible to the masses not only the priests . Ezra even changed the script for this reason.
In historical context they taught
“ raise many disciples and make a fence round the Torah”(Avot 1:1)
Shimon Hatzaddik lived in the time of Alexander the Great (Yoma 69)
Antigenos Ish Socho is living in the time of Ptolemies , Jews are interested in Greek wisdom . Ironically he taught the same as the popular wisdom of Epicurus .
Apikoros taught that people should behave ethically not because the gods punish or reward people for their actions.
But this was out of an Hedonistic outlook.
Antignos taught the same popular belief but for lofty spiritual connection to the Almighty.
“He used to say: do not be like servants who serve the master in the expectation of receiving a reward, but be like servants who serve the master without the expectation of receiving a reward, and let the fear of Heaven be upon you.”
(Avot1:3)
It’s quite obvious the influence the Greeks were having on the Jews.
At his time begins the Sadducees that are nominally Jewish and Hellenised.
Yossi be Yoezer Ish Tzerada and Yossi Ben Yochanan are at the period of the Seleucids . The Seleucid being Much less tolerant to Jewish tradition, they group with the Hellenisers
The Midrash ( Genesis Rabbah 65:22) relates ;
וְיָקוּם אִישׁ צְרוֹרוֹת הָיָה בֶּן אֲחוֹתוֹ שֶׁל רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בֶּן יוֹעֶזֶר אִישׁ צְרֵידָה, וַהֲוָה רָכֵיב סוּסְיָא בְּשַׁבְּתָא אֲזַל קוֹמֵי שָׁרִיתָא לְמִצְטַבָּלָא, אֲמַר לֵיהּ חֲמֵי סוּסִי דְּאַרְכְּבִי מָרִי וַחֲמֵי סוּסָךָ דְּאַרְכְּבֵךְ מָרָךְ. אָמַר לוֹ אִם כָּךְ לְמַכְעִיסָיו קַל וָחֹמֶר לְעוֹשֵׂי רְצוֹנוֹ, אָמַר לוֹ עָשָׂה אָדָם רְצוֹנוֹ יוֹתֵר מִמְּךָ, אָמַר לוֹ וְאִם כָּךְ לְעוֹשֵׂי רְצוֹנוֹ קַל וָחֹמֶר לְמַכְעִיסָיו. נִכְנַס בּוֹ הַדָּבָר כְּאֶרֶס שֶׁל עַכְנָא, הָלַךְ וְקִיֵּם בְּעַצְמוֹ אַרְבַּע מִיתוֹת בֵּית דִּין, סְקִילָה, שְׂרֵפָה, הֶרֶג וְחֶנֶק, מֶה עָשָׂה, הֵבִיא קוֹרָה נְעָצָהּ בָּאָרֶץ וְקָשַׁר בָּהּ נִימָא וְעָרַךְ הָעֵצִים וְהִקִּיפָן גָּדֵר שֶׁל אֲבָנִים, וְעָשָׂה מְדוּרָה לְפָנֶיהָ וְנָעַץ אֶת הַחֶרֶב בָּאֶמְצַע וְהִצִּית הָאוּר תַּחַת הָעֵצִים מִתַּחַת הָאֲבָנִים, וְנִתְלָה בַּקּוֹרָה וְנֶחְנַק, קִדְּמַתּוֹ הָאֵשׁ, נִפְסְקָה הַנִּימָה, נָפַל לָאֵשׁ, קִדְּמַתּוֹ חֶרֶב וְנָפַל עָלָיו גָּדֵר וְנִשְׂרַף. נִתְנַמְנֵם יוֹסֵי בֶּן יוֹעֶזֶר אִישׁ צְרֵידָה וְרָאָה מִטָּתוֹ פָּרְחָה בָּאֲוִיר, אָמַר בְּשָׁעָה קַלָּה קְדָמַנִּי זֶה לְגַן עֵדֶן.
This Yakum is believed to be the last of the Hellenised Kohanim Gadolim Alcimus discussed in Maccabees and Josephus . And the beginning of the Era of the Hasmoneans.
“ Yose ben Yoezer used to say: let thy house be a house of meeting for the Sages and sit in the very dust of their feet, and drink in their words with thirst.”
In other words stick to the Rabbis stay away from the Greek influence.
Yehoshua Ben Prachia and Nitae of Arabel lived in the time of the Hasmoneans , he had to run to Egypt with the Talmidim ,Because Jochanan Hurkyanus or King Yannai.
He was called back by a cryptic message from Shimon ben Shetach brother in law of King Yannai .
“When King Yannai was killing the Sages, Shimon ben Shataḥ was hidden by his sister, Yannai’s wife, while Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya went and fled to Alexandria of Egypt. When peace was made between Yannai and the Sages, Shimon ben Shataḥ sent him the following letter: From myself, Jerusalem the holy city, to you, Alexandria of Egypt. My sister, my husband dwells within you, and I am sitting desolate. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya said: I can learn from it that there is peace, and I can return.”(Sotah 47).
Nittai the Arbelite used to say: keep a distance from an evil neighbor, do not become attached to the wicked, and do not abandon faith in [divine] retribution.
(Avot 1:7)
Very good advice for this period in history when the wicked looked like they’re on top.
Shmaya and Avtalion lived at the transition of the Hasmoneans and the rise of the Herodians. Very influential on teaching and avoiding politics. [They were converts to Judaism].This made them beloved by the people . As illustrated in this Gemarra;
“The Sages taught in a baraita: There was an incident involving one High Priest who exited the Holy Temple and everyone followed him. When they saw Shemaya and Avtalyon, the heads of the Sanhedrin, walking along, in deference to them they left the High Priest by himself and walked after Shemaya and Avtalyon.Eventually, Shemaya and Avtalyon came to take leave of the High Priest before returning to their homes. Envious of the attention they received, he angrily said to them: Let the descendants of the gentile nations come in peace. Shemaya and Avtalyon descended from converts, and he scornfully drew attention to that fact. They said to him: Let the descendants of the gentile nations come in peace, who perform the acts of Aaron, who loved and pursued peace; and let not a descendant of Aaron come in peace, who does not perform the acts of Aaron and who speaks condescendingly to descendants of converts.(Yoma 71).
Shemaiah used to say: love work, hate acting the superior, and do not attempt to draw near to the ruling authority.
This was the motto of the Pharisees, as they distanced themselves from all Royal intrigue and ruling by authority rather influencing by virtue.
Hillel and Shamai lived under Herod the Great and his son Archeleius .
Ruthless leaders but they managed to strengthen and win over the multitudes as Josephus testifies numerous times , the multitudes of the people are after the Pharisees.
“Moreover he (Hillel )saw a skull floating on the face of the water. He said to it: because you drowned others, they drowned you. And in the end, they that drowned you will be drowned.
Another common phenomenon by the political rulers this one assassinating the other without end .
Think about Julius Caesar, assassination , Pompey’s head being severed. Mark Anthony …
Thanks Doctor
The Gemara returns to the earlier comment of Rabbi Yishmael in the name of his father Rabbi Yosei ben Ḥalafta, that the Roman Empire ruled over Israel one hundred and eighty years before the second Temple was destroyed. The Gemara asks: Did Rome rule over Israel for one hundred and eighty years before the destruction of the Temple and no more? But didn’t Rabbi Yosei the Great, i.e., Rabbi Yosei ben Ḥalafta himself, teach:
The Persian Empire, which ruled the world before the construction of the Temple, continued to do so for 34 years in the presence of the Temple, i.e., after the Temple was built; the Greek Empire ruled for 180 years in the presence of the Temple; the Hasmonean dynasty ruled for 103 years in the presence of the Temple; and the Herodian dynasty likewise ruled for 103 years. From this point forward, you can go and calculate the date on which an event occurred by how many years it happened after the destruction of the Temple.(minyan shtarot).
According to this statement of Rabbi Yosei, evidently when the Greek rule over the Jewish people ended and the Roman rule began it was 206 years before the Second Temple was destroyed, i.e., the two sets of one hundred and three years of the Hasmonean dynasty and the Herodian dynasty. But you said that when the Roman Empire stretched forth over Israel and ruled over them it was 180 years before the Temple was destroyed. This is not a contradiction, but rather, it proves that for 26 years the Romans stood faithfully with the Jewish people, honoring their agreement, and did not subjugate them. And therefore, Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, does not count these 26 years among the total years in which the evil Roman Empire stretched forth over Israel and ruled over them.
( Avodah Zarah 9 , see also Shabbat 15)
Chazal are pretty precise they count all of the rule of the Hasmoneans and Herodeans as Roman except for 26 years .
This is confusing because if you count from the time of Chanukah which was around 160 BCE unty 70 CE you have 230 years not 206 ?
This can be explained because the first to call himself King of the Jews was Shimon Hamacabi brother of Judah and son of Matisyahu . He crowned himself around 140 CE . The Gemarra doesn’t consider the time of Judah and Yonatan as Roman rather as a Greek period.
Sun worship forbidden, having your own representative leader/priest was also forbidden. America's "freedom" was and is the same.
The mishna teaches that one may not raise pigs anywhere. The Sages taught in a baraita the background for this halakha: When the members of the house of Hasmonean monarchy were at war with each other, Hyrcanus, one of the parties to this war, was inside the besieged Jerusalem, while his brother Aristobulus, the other contender to the throne, was on the outside. And every day the people inside would lower down money in a box from the Temple walls, to purchase sheep to sacrifice, and those on other side would take the money and send up sheep to them over the wall for the daily offerings.
There was a certain elder there who was familiar with Greek wisdom, and he said to those besieging Jerusalem: As long as they occupy themselves with the Temple service, they will not be delivered into your hands. The next day they lowered down money in a box as usual, but this time they sent up to them a pig. When the pig reached to the midpoint of the Temple wall it stuck its hooves into the wall, and Eretz Yisrael quaked over an area of four hundred parasangs by four hundred parasangs.
At that time the Sages said: Cursed be the man who raises pigs, and cursed be the man who teaches his son Greek wisdom. And it was concerning that time of siege that we learned in a mishna: There was an incident in which the barley for the omer offering came from the gardens of Tzerifin, far from Jerusalem, and the wheat for the two loaves of Shavuot was brought from the valley of Ein Sokher. Barley and wheat could not be brought from any nearer because the besiegers had destroyed all the produce around Jerusalem. This concludes the baraita.
(Bava Kamma 82)
This is when the Jewish people generated an abhorration to pigs not even mentioning it by name rather דבר אחר .
The cryptic message here is probably as is written in Maccabees, the pig was the symbol of the whole revolt ( it actually began with an offering of a pig in Modien see Maccabees 1 chapter 2 ; see also Yossiphon chapter 20)the wall symbolises a boundary breached by bringing Pompey into the temple . There are those that say about the passage of the harlot in the holy of Holies should be attributed to Pompey not Titus.
Rome based it's presence in arabian Petra and won Syrian Wars against greeks.
"I don't know why I put those things in there". It's because we old men are silly in such ways, professor. Does a man wish to talk about snacks at random? How can a man not, when it is our wives that make us slaves of our apatite!
Ships
Attack Israel or the kingdom of Judah?
I am who I am- YHWH, I am sent me
I am the one who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery
You must put no other GODS before me
You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth beneath of in the sea
You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I am jealous and WILL NOT tolerate your affection for any other gods.
I lay the sins of the parent onto the children, The entire family is affected
You must not misuse my name. I will not let those who misuse my name go unpunished
Elijah: 1 kings 18-1
Read the words of the 12 minor prophets, in the old testament, Use I, Me, Myself, My spirit, word of Mine, when you see LORD or GOD, gather the 12 stones, tear down that tree you were hiding behind, sacrifice the bull *those spirits that try to destroy you, fear, anguish, punishment, death, murder, accusations and then MY righteous fire will come down and heal my heart and the words can live inside giving me life and not punishment or fear.
I WILL live my life, I am the living soul, and read Ecclesiastes also saying I me myself my kingdom, word of mine, my spirit, Instead of god, place a flaming sword there so no "man" can enter
I am the living soul, men have destroyed my conscience and I no longer will let them in to hurt me or anyone else anymore, Only words of encouragement, life, happiness, love, peace, understanding, and unity, the redeemer is Me, Egypt, The Assyrians, the Babylonians, The Persians, Greeks and Romans, Anglo-English-Germans and many more have confused all of us to lock Us in their mental cages
Good God! Are you?
@@jrutt2675 Germanic tribes were completely different people who haven't even met Jews until within the borders of the Roman empire, often as slaves, both!
@@jrutt2675 We don't see Goths and Visigoths any near the Roman Empire until the 3rd and 4th centuries. Paul couldn't and didn't have any interactions with them. From all we know he spent his entire life within the Empire.
@@jrutt2675 Gosh! Who would have thought...
I cannot see comments of jrutt. But yes rome caused a lot of problems and enslaved britton, after that the anglos invaded briton and became powerful. Religion has caused a lot of trouble, but I am just a messenger 😊
Was the land you are identifying as Israel actually called "Israel" by the Romans? I thought it was called Judea.
Alot of people ✡ Jews ✡and Alot of people think that the Tower of David in the Holy city of Jerusalem was built by Dovid Ha Melech. But in reality it was actually it was built by Herod melech Yisrael and only what I mean is So called King of Israel 🇮🇱. May his evil 😈name be erased from the face of the earth 🌎😉!!!!
YOU AND humor just does not mix..prof...stick to history
All of the monarchs referred to as "Herod" in the New Testament are descendants of Esau. "Idumea" is a New Testament variation (I believe Aramaic) of the Old Testament land of Edom. As it is stated in the Old Testament "Esau is Edom" and "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated".
Very good! The rabbis tried to hide this fact from the rest of Judah and Israelites. This is where all the confusion has led us today!
Lol. Is ra el is egyptian and has been discovered. Esau is coming for what's his lol. Evil yet don't eat from good and evil, mankind is asking for tormoil through ancient lies
@@Jaybee6428 Isaiah 5:20
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
@@haledwards4642 woe unto the man that puts an image before me, woe to the man who says vain foolish rhetoric while giving moses godly power. Good luck
@@Jaybee6428 2 Timothy 3:8
“Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.”