The Reign of King Herod 

years, plus the year of the next games. The Olympiad year began on July 1, and ended on June 30 of the 

following calendar year. 

    The Romans kept track of events by the number given to each Olympics. This method of keeping track of 

the years is noticeable in the writings of Josephus. For example, Josephus places the capture of Jerusalem by 

Herod in the third month of the 185th Olympiad.

789

 According to the argument given above, Herod captured 

Jerusalem in the year 43 

B.C.

, which places the 185th Olympiad from July 1 of 43 to June 30 of 42 

B.C.

 The 

usual date given for the 185th Olympiad is July 1 of 40 

B.C.

 to June 30 of 39 

B.C.

790

 Thus the dates for the 

Olympiad years in this revised chronology differ from the generally accepted dates by 3 years. 

The Sons of Herod the Great 

    Herod the Great had four sons and he named them all Herod: Herod Antipater,  Herod Archelaus, Herod 

Antipas, Herod Philip. Herod the Great killed his son Antipater shortly before Herod himself died. Herod 

Archelaus lost political power after a reign of about 10 years.

791

 Herod Antipas was tetrarch of Galilee and is 

referred to in the Gospels as Herod the tetrarch (e.g. Lk 3:1). Pilate sent Jesus to Herod Antipas on the day of 

the Crucifixion because Herod had jurisdiction over Galilee, where Jesus had lived for many years. 

    The reign of Herod Philip is also mentioned in Sacred Scripture (Lk 3:1). According to Josephus, Philip was 

unlike his father and brothers; he was a moderate, quiet, and just ruler.

792

 The chronology of Philip's reign is in 

agreement with my revised chronology of Herod the Great's reign. 

    In many modern editions of  Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus, the text reads:  About this time it 

was that Philip, Herod's brother, departed this life, in the twentieth year of the reign of Tiberius, after he had 

been tetrarch of Trachonitis, and Gaulonitis, and of the nation of the Bataneans also, thirty seven years. 

793

However, a recent study of the most ancient editions of Josephus reveals that none of the texts published prior 

to 1544 reads  twentieth year of Tiberius. 

794

 Most of the older editions had the text as  twenty second year of 

Tiberius,  and the older the text, the more likely it was to read  twenty second  rather than  twentieth. 

795

Therefore, Philip died in the 22nd year of Tiberius.  

    In the usual chronology, the 22nd year of Tiberius' reign would be 

A.D.

 36. In this revised chronology, the 

22nd year of Tiberius is 

A.D.

 22. Josephus also mentions that Tiberius added Philip's principality (the area he 

governed) to the province of Syria.

796

 Therefore, Philip died before Tiberius died. This places Philip's death 

early in 

A.D.

 22, prior to Tiberius' death in March. 

    The older versions of Antiquities of the Jews also give a different number for the length of Philip's reign. The 

oldest texts say that Philip's reign lasted either 32 or 36 years, not the 37 years found in more modern 

editions.

797

 The Roman custom was to count the first full calendar year of a ruler's reign as year one for that 

ruler, and to count the calendar year in which the ruler died (in which he ruled for only part of the year) as the 

last year of that ruler's reign. Counting the years in this way, Philip's first year would be 10 

B.C.

, if he ruled for 

32 years (10

B.C.

 to 1 

B.C.

 is 10 years; 

A.D.

 1 to 

A.D.

 22 is 22 years; 10 plus 22 = 32 years). If Philip ruled for 36 

years, counting likewise, his reign would have begun with the year 14 

B.C.

    This revised chronology places Herod the Great's death in early 8 

B.C.

 So Philip ruled for about 29 years 

after the death of his father. However, many scholars believe that Herod's sons antedated their reigns, i.e. they 

counted their reigns as having begun years before Herod's death. Finegan presents ample evidence for this 

possibility.

798

 If Philip antedated his reign from a point two years before Herod's death, the length of his reign 

would be given as 32 years, in agreement with some of the oldest editions of Josephus. 

    There are two possibilities for an antedated reign. First, a ruler may have counted his reign as beginning at a 

time before it actually began. An example of this is found within Dio's description of the antedating of the 

reigns of Galba, Otho, and Vitellius.

799

 According to Dio, their reigns did not actually begin as early as they 

claimed. Second, a ruler may count his reign as beginning before the death of the previous ruler but with good 

reason, because he actually did have considerable power beginning from the earlier date. An example of this is 

seen in Tiberius' reign, as detailed in chapter 13. Concerning Philip's antedated reign, he counted his reign 

from a point beginning two years before Herod's death, but he may or may not have had much power or 

authority at that earlier time. 

181