Editing Herod the Great (section)

== New Testament references ==
{{Main|Massacre of the Innocents}}
[[File:Kerald (Meister des Codex Egberti) 001.jpg|thumb|Massacre of the Innocents, 10th century depiction. Herod on the left.]]
[[File:The Herods of the Bible.svg|thumb|Members of the Herodian dynasty mentioned in the New Testament]]

The [[Gospel of Matthew]] describes an episode known as the [[Massacre of the Innocents]]. According to this account, after the birth of [[Jesus]], [[Biblical Magi|a group of magi from the East]] visited Herod to inquire the whereabouts of "the one having been born king of the Jews", because they had seen his star in the east (or, according to certain translations, at its rising) and therefore wanted to pay him homage. Herod, as King of the Jews, was alarmed at the prospect of a usurper. Herod assembled the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the "Anointed One" (the [[Messiah]], {{Langx|el|Ὁ Χριστός|translit=ho Christos|link=none}}) was to be born. They answered, in [[Bethlehem]], citing [[Old Testament messianic prophecies quoted in the New Testament#Micah 5:2 (Micah 5:1 in Hebrew)|Micah 5:2]]. Herod therefore sent the magi to Bethlehem, instructing them to search for the child and, after they had found him, to "report to me, so that I too may go and worship him". However, after they had found Jesus, they were warned in a dream not to report back to Herod. Similarly, [[Saint Joseph|Joseph]] was warned in a dream that Herod intended to kill Jesus, so he and his family fled to Egypt. When Herod realized he had been outwitted, he gave orders to kill all boys of the age of two and under in Bethlehem and its vicinity. Joseph and his family stayed in Egypt until Herod's death, then moved to [[Nazareth]] in Galilee to avoid living under Herod's son [[Herod Archelaus|Archelaus]].

Most modern biographers of Herod, and a majority of biblical scholars, dismiss Matthew's story as a literary device.<ref name="Maier1998">{{Cite book |last=Maier |first=Paul L. |title=Chronos, Kairos, Christos II: Chronological, Nativity, and Religious Studies in Memory of Ray Summers |publisher=[[Mercer University Press]] |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-86554-582-3 |editor-last=Summers |editor-first=Ray |pages=170–171 |chapter=Herod and the Infants of Bethlehem |editor-last2=Vardaman |editor-first2=Jerry |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mWnYvI5RdLMC&pg=PA169}}</ref> Contemporary non-biblical sources, including Josephus and the surviving writings of [[Nicolaus of Damascus]] (who knew Herod personally), provide no corroboration for Matthew's account of the massacre,<ref>[[E. P. Sanders|Sanders, E. P.]] (1994). ''The Historical Figure of Jesus''. Viking Adult. pp. 87–88.</ref> and it is not mentioned in the [[Gospel of Luke]].  Classical historian [[Michael Grant (classicist)|Michael Grant]] states "[t]he tale is not history but myth or folk-lore",<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grant |first=Michael |url=https://archive.org/details/herodgreat00gran_0 |title=Herod the Great |publisher=American Heritage Press |year=1971 |isbn=978-0-07-024073-5}}</ref> while Peter Richardson notes that the story's absence from the Gospel of Luke and the accounts of Josephus "work[s] against the account's accuracy".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Richardson |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MWTakr1BbvkC&q=richardson+herod |title=Herod King of the Jews and Friend of the Romans |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-1-57003-136-6 |page=298}}</ref> Richardson suggests that the event in Matthew's gospel was inspired by Herod's murder of his own sons.{{sfn|Richardson|1996|p=288}} [[Jodi Magness]] has said that "many scholars believe that the massacre of the innocents never occurred, but instead was inspired by Herod's reputation".{{sfn|Magness|2021|p=126}} Others, such as Paul Maier, suggest that since Bethlehem was a smaller town, the slaughter of about a half dozen children would not have warranted a mention from Josephus.<ref name="Maier1998" />