The Jewish King
who Was Not A Jew!
by John Robert Shea
How did Herod The Great become King of Judea?
Herod the Great, king of Judea when Jesus was born, was an Arab, not a Jew! He was the son of Antipater, an Edomite, who married the daughter of a politically influential family from Jordan. Antipater's support of the Roman invasion into Palestine in 63 BCE won him favor with the Roman general Pompey and, ultimately, that of the dictator Julius Caesar who conferred Roman citizenship upon Antipater and his descendants. In 47 BCE he was appointed governor over Judea while his son Herod was appointed governor of Galilee.
In 36 BCE, when civil war broke out in Palestine and Herod was forced to flee, Rome sent an army into Judea and posted Herod with the Roman title "king of Judea." In an attempt to gain political support among Jews, Herod divorced his wife Doris and married Mariame, a Jewish daughter of the influential priestly Hasmonean family.
When Mark Antony passed through Judea on his way to Egypt, just as his father had done with Pompey, Herod shifted his loyalty and support to Mark Antony, even though Mark Antony was by now operating outside of Roman law. When Mark Antony, smitten by his love for Cleopatra, had seized land from Herod as a gift to the Egyptian Queen, Herod wisely remained a loyal supporter and friend. However, when Augustus Caesar came in pursuit of Mark Antony, Herod quickly and easily shifted his loyalty to the reigning dictator. In this way Herod reigned as king for 32 years until his death a few years after the birth of Jesus. •