Person New Testament
Herod the Great
Also known as King Herod
Herod the Great was the Rome-appointed king of Judea at the time of Jesus' birth. Disturbed by the magi's question about a newborn king, he tried to use them to find the child, then ordered the killing of the boys of Bethlehem. He died soon after, and Joseph brought the family back from Egypt.
Why it matters. Herod anchors the birth of Jesus in datable history and embodies the world's hostility to God's king from the first chapter of the story.
- Primary passages
- Dates
- 37 to 4 BC (high confidence, Josephus' account of Herod's reign; death shortly before Passover of 4 BC)
Herod's reign from 37 BC to 4 BC is fixed by Josephus and Roman records. The span records his reign, not his lifespan; a minority proposal places his death in 1 BC.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
Connections
Herod the Great participates in The visit of the magi
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceHerod receives the magi, consults the scribes, and sends the visitors to Bethlehem with a false request.
Evidence:Herod the Great participates in The flight to Egypt
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceHerod's search for the child causes the flight, and his death ends it.
Evidence:
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
Appears in Scripture
Named in 11 verses across 3 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.