Chapter 12  

The Reign of King Herod 

The Days of Herod the King 

     Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from 

the East came to Jerusalem, saying, `Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his 

star in the East, and have come to worship him.' When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all 

Jerusalem with him .  (Mt 2:1 3). 

    Jesus was born during the reign of king Herod (called  Herod the Great ). It is useful to determine when 

Herod's reign began and ended, and when various events occurred during his reign. These dates are helpful in 

finding the dates of various events, such as the year when the rebuilding of the Temple began and the year of 

Christ's Birth. 

    Herod's reign over Judea began with his capture of the city of Jerusalem in a war between the Romans and 

the Parthians. Herod's reign ended with his death, which occurred about 34 years later, according to 

Josephus.

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 However, there is currently no agreement among scholars as to when Herod died. In past years, 

many scholars thought that Herod died in 4 

B.C.

 You may see the years of Herod's reign stated in reference 

books, as if it were known with certainty, as 37 

B.C.

    4 

B.C.

 However, the disagreements among scholars 

about the chronology of Herod's reign are clear to anyone reading recent texts on the subject.

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The Beginning of Herod's Reign 

    Herod was appointed as king of the Jews by the Roman Senate, at the request of Marc Antony.

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 However, 

the Romans did not control Jerusalem and the surrounding area of Judea at that time, so they sent Herod with 

an army to capture the area from the Parthians. Herod won this war and captured Jerusalem and Judea, so 

that his effective reign as king began a few years after he was officially appointed as king. For this reason, the 

reign of Herod over the Jews is counted from the capture of Jerusalem. 

    Josephus states that the city of Jerusalem was captured by Herod  on the hundred eighty fifth olympiad, on 

the third month, on the solemnity of the fast . 

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 The solemnity of the fast is the Day of Atonement (Yom 

Kippur), one of the holiest days in the Jewish faith (Lev 23:26 32). The Olympiad year begins on July 1, so 

that the third month is September. Thus, Josephus tells us that Jerusalem was captured by Herod in a year 

when the Day of Atonement (which is Tishri 10) occurred in September. 

    The Day of Atonement occurs on the tenth day of the Jewish month of Tishri, which is the first month of 

the Jewish civil calendar, but the seventh month of the Jewish sacred calendar. The sacred calendar begins in 

springtime with the month of Nisan, which contains the feast of Passover. The civil calendar begins in autumn 

with the month of Tishri, which contains the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles (also called the 

Feast of Booths). 

    In most years, Tishri 10 does fall in September. But every 2 or 3 years, Tishri 10 will fall in early October. 

This occurs whenever the month of Nisan begins later than about March 28, and the Passover begins (Nisan 

14) later than about April 10, so that the subsequent months also begin later than usual. Typically, this 

happens in years following a Jewish leap year, because an extra month has been added to the Jewish calendar, 

but it can also happen in years which are not leap years. 

    Now, as explained in chapter 17, it was not until sometime after Herod captured Jerusalem that the Jewish 

calendar switched from using an observation of the crescent new moon, to using a calculation of the new 

moon date in determining the start of each month. Since we are in the process of determining when Herod 

captured Jerusalem, we must consider that in any proposed year for the capture of the city that the calendar 

was still determined by observation. 

    Thus, in 37 

B.C.

, Passover began (on Nisan 14) on April 16 (if determined by observation), so that the start 

of the next Jewish civil calendar year (on Tishri 1) began in late September. As a result, in 37 

B.C.

, the 

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