Étude 1 sur 4 · La mort du roi Hérode le Grand

  1. Étude 1 : La mort du roi Hérode le Grand
  2. Étude 2 : Rappel du massacre des Galiléens par Pilate
  3. Étude 3 : Le codex Gigas
  4. Étude 4 : Les Esséniens

The context of Jesus’ birth (Nativity) and childhood

  • CHR008 The death of King Herod the Great

    The study explores the chronology of the death of Herod the Great, which affects the dating of the birth and ministry of Jesus. Based on the work of Schürer, who proposes the year 4 BC, it stresses the importance of reconsidering historical interpretations in light of the texts of Flavius Josephus.

    Luke 3.1-23 (King James Version) :
    Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judæa, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
    King James Version (1769), domaine public — texte : eBible.org
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    Level: Intermediate Level: Intermediate

From the 3rd Passover to the start of the final week

  • PER229 Reminder of the massacre of the Galileans by Pilate

    Pericope PER229 (Luke 13,1-5) recounts how witnesses of a Pharisee's meal confronted Jesus about the massacre of Galileans by Pilate. Jesus refuses to see in it a divine punishment and calls for personal repentance, also citing the fall of the tower of Siloam. He teaches that death is the common lot of all, and that only repentance opens the way to the Kingdom of God.

    Luke 13.3 (King James Version) :
    I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
    King James Version (1769), domaine public — texte : eBible.org
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    Level: Intermediate Level: Intermediate

Historical notes

  • INF055 The Codex Gigas

    The Codex Gigas, or 'Devil's Bible', is the largest known medieval manuscript, written around 1200 in a Benedictine monastery in Bohemia. It contains the complete Bible in Latin, texts by Flavius Josephus and Isidore of Seville, and medical treatises. Belonging to the Western text, it is valuable for textual criticism. A medieval legend attributes its writing in a single night to the monk Herman the Recluse, helped by the devil.

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    Level: Intermediate Level: Intermediate

  • INF065 The Essenes

    The Essenes were an ascetic Jewish sect of the 2nd century BC, known for their strict communal life, ritual purity and devotion to the Scriptures. Associated with the site of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947, they disappeared after the destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70, leaving a major textual and spiritual legacy for understanding ancient Judaism and the origins of Christianity.

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    Level: Intermediate Level: Intermediate

Further reading
  • ANN009 The censuses of Quirinius

    Article ANN009 examines the question of the censuses of Quirinius mentioned in the Gospel of Luke (Lk 2,1-2) and their apparent discrepancy with the census historically…

  • ANN011 The death of King Herod the Great

    The article analyses the dating of Herod the Great's death, traditionally placed around -1 BC, and its modern reassessment to -4 BC…