In War 1.650ff, Josephus describes a confrontation between the Herod and the people over a statue of an eagle that he had put up over the entrance to the temple. What was the significance of this eagle? The eagle was a complex symbol in the ancient world. It was a Greek symbol of Zeus (an Egyptian religious symbol before that), appeared on lots of Ptolemaic coins and might have been a sort of dynastic symbol, but also a symbol of the Roman Empire. The eagle appears in relief on lots of temples of the time, but Josephus' description makes it sound like the eagle is fully 3D (rather than a relief), like those on the treasury at Petra. Why did Herod put up the eagle? It is the only animal representation we have evidence of in Herod's temple (or at any time in the Second Temple). He knew it would make the people mad, so what was he after? I'm interested in historical arguments based in academically credible source material.

Why didn't God strike Herod with Leprosy before he could to any harm to the newborns? He could prevent the death of many newborns and Joseph wouldn't have been forced to run to Egypt with Mary and baby Jesus. Matthew 2:16: >When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. In Matthew 2:18 it says that this needs to happen to fulfill the prophecy of Jeremiah: >A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more. But why?

In Luke 23, Jesus is taken to Pilate and Herod to be tried for his supposed crimes against Rome and the Jews. In verse 12, there's an interesting aside: > ¶ And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves. (Luke 23:12 , KJV) Why did Luke include this seemingly random statement in his narrative of Jesus' final hours? Do we know anything about the relationship between Pilate and Herod before Jesus' trial, and why did it change with the trial of Jesus?

Are the messages between Pontius Pilate and Herod real or are there no real epistles found between Herod and Pilate? The source , here is the exact part that I am talking about: > From Pilate to Herod, the head of the quarter, Peace: I know and > confirm, that on the day Jesus converted to me, I flattered myself and > confirmed by washing my hands that I was innocent From the blood of > those who rose from the grave after three days, You have been pleased, > because you wanted me to share with you in the crucifixion, But I knew > of the executioners and the soldiers who guarded his grave He rose > from death and I was sure what I was told: He physically appeared in > Galilee, in the same form, In the same voice, in the same teachings, > and with the same disciples, Nothing has changed in anything, just > preaching his resurrection And with an eternal kingdom, and behold, > heaven and earth are joy; And Procla, my wife, believes in the visions > that have appeared to her When Li sent the man, she said that I should > not That Jesus delivered to the people of Israel, because of their > evil intentions When I heard my wife Brockla, that Jesus had risen and > appeared in Galilee, I went with Longinus, the Roman commander and > twelve soldiers, The same who guarded the tomb, and we went to welcome > Christ, As if we would see a great view, and we saw him with his > disciples As they stood and marveled, staring at him, He looked at > them and said to them, What is this? Do you believe in me? Brockla, as > you know it has been said in the covenant that The Lord gave him to > the Fathers, that every dead person would live by my death, Which you > have seen and you see that I am alive, I have crucified him and I have > suffered many things, So I was lying in the grave but now, Hear me and > believe in my Father, the God who is in Because I have broken the > ropes of death and broken the gates of hell, My coming will be in the > future When Brockla and my wife and the Romans heard these things, > They came and told me they were pakin, because they were inventing > When the evils they did against him and me while I was On the sofa of > my bed, I was mourning, I wore a mourning gown, I took fifty Romanian > women with my wife and went to Galilee, While I was going on the road > I saw these things: That Herod did me these things, that he pointed > out, And hindered me to rest my hands against him, and to judge who is > trying everyone, And to praise the righteous, Lord of righteousness, > and when we approached him, Lord Herod, Heard a great voice from the > sky, scary thunder, The earth trembled and a sweet smell rose from it, > I never heard of it before, nor did it ever happen In the temple of > Jerusalem, while I was standing in the road, The Lord saw me as he > stood and spoke with his disciples But I prayed in my heart, because I > knew that you gave him to me, He was the Lord of creation and Creator > of all, When we saw him, we all fell on our faces In front of his feet > and I said loudly, I have sinned, my God, That I have sat down and > condemned you, O one who avenge all the truth, and have mercy on me O > God of Israel! My wife said with great sadness, O God of heaven and > earth, O God of Israel, Do not reward me according to the work of > Pontius Pilate, Nor according to the will of the children of Israel, > nor according to the thought of the sons of the priests, But remember > my husband in your glory! And the Lord drew near, and brought me down > My wife and the Romans looked at him and saw him stirring his cross He > said, "What all righteous fathers wished to receive, And did not see > him, in your days, the Lord of Days, the Son of Man, The Son of the > Most High, who forever, rose from death And glorified in the highest > of all his creation, and of all What I have established for ever and > ever

Is there any historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus like some papers or something or from some sources that are not from the bible . I am asking this because an atheist said to me something like the following: > Give me a Roman newspaper with “MAN CRUCIFIED ARISES FROM CAVE!” dated > around 30 AD and I’ll take your assertion seriously. I have searched the web and only find some translated messages a the following: The Messages of Pontius Pilate and Herod The text of Nazareth is a historical guide to the resurrection of Christ from the tomb However it needs translation into English. I don't know why the first article author didn't mention the reference with links. He just said: > These messages are located in a Syriac manuscript in the British Museum, dated to the sixth or seventh century there is a Greek copy in a Museum in Paris

If Herod the great died 4 bc And Jesus was born 2 bc How is explained that Herod great was alive at the time of Jesus birth Perhaps I have my dates wrong yet they are what I found on internet Regards Richard

When Herod heard of the news from the kings form east that there was a new king (Jesus) born, he ordered the killing of all boys younger than the age of two. So that would have been a great slaughter. So is there any historical 'evidence' for that event?

There are different Herods in the Bible. We have Herod the Great who ruled when Jesus was born and Herod Antipas, who ruled later. I have seen in several places that Herod the Great is called "king" and Herod Antipas is called "tetrarch", apart from some texts written with simple language like Gospel of Mark where he is also called king. My question is – was Herod Antipas a true, "full" king? Or does his title suggest that he was someone lower than king? Was he coronated? Is a tetrarch a king or something more like a prince or duke?

I have trouble understanding how the Romans converted to Christianity. In the Bible, the Romans weren't portrayed very nicely. For example, Herod the Great did quite a lot of awful things. Jesus was crucified by Roman soldiers. The Bible obviously seems to portray the Romans as the enemy of the Chosen People of God. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me that the Romans could still become Christians. [I want to apologize ahead if my questions sound disrespectful to anybody. This isn't my intent. I grew up in East Asia which has very few Christians. I have been studying the Bible on my own. My knowledge could have serious defects and my terminologies could be way off. I would appreciate if you guys can bear with me, and help me understand the history and the Bible better.]