Herod Boethus

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Herodes Boethos (also Herodes Philip I , * approx. 22 BC), was a son of Herod the Great . The evangelist Mark mentions in Mk 6:17 that Herodias, the wife of Herod Antipas , was previously married to a Philip. Josephus leaves us in the dark about whether the first Herodias man was called Boethos or Philippos, since he only titled all Herodians with “Herod” (cf. Josephus, Antiquitates 18, 136). Relevant reference works are therefore by no means unanimous on the name of this Herod's son.

origin

Herodes Boethos / Philippos was the fourth son of Herod and came from the connection of Herod with his seventh wife Mariamne (II) . She had been the daughter of a simple priest and Herod the Great, who fell in love with her, had her father Simon Boethos 23 BC in order to make her a befitting wife . Appointed high priest in Jerusalem .

Life

Herod the Great apparently valued his son Herod Boethus. Because after the execution of his two half-brothers Aristobulus and Alexander because of alleged plans for a coup in 7 BC. At that time, Herod Boethos, who was around 15 years old at the time, took second place in his father's will, immediately behind his eldest son Antipater (from his marriage to his first wife Doris).

As 4 v. When Antipater's plans to overthrow his father were uncovered and the latter was no longer an option as an inheritance for King Herod, Herod Boethos even advanced to the first position in the succession. However, only for a short time: During the various highly embarrassing interrogations to which numerous people at the royal court were subjected, it turned out that Mariamne (II), the mother of Herod Boethus, had known about the planned poison attack on the king, but had remained silent. King Herod then banished her from his court as a punishment, disinherited her son Herod Boethos and deposed her father Simon Boethos as high priest.

While his half-brothers Herodes Antipas, Herodes Archelaos and Philippos (II) after the death of the king 4 BC. During the division of the inheritance of Emperor Augustus during the division of the inheritance , Herod Boethus was not considered because of this disinheritance. It was therefore also given the nickname “without a country”. But he remained a member of the Herodian ruling house and married his niece Herodias (* 15/14 BC) in 6 AD , who was a daughter of the executed prince Aristobulus and also a granddaughter of Herod the Great.

The daughter Salome (* around 8 AD) emerged from the union of Herod Boethus and Herodias, who , according to the account of the New Testament of the Bible, later performed the decapitation of John the Baptist through her dance and the demand for the death of John played a crucial role. (However, your name is not specifically mentioned in the Bible.)

Herod Boethos lived as a private citizen after his disinheritance. But he continued to associate with the other members of the royal house, including his half-brother Herod Antipas. As the historian Flavius ​​Josephus reports, he is said to have fallen in love with his sister-in-law Herodias during one of these visits. Since Herodias was apparently very ambitious and wanted to become the wife of a tetrarch , she responded to this advertisement and left Herod Boethos. Herod Antipas also separated from his first wife, a daughter of the Nabatean king Aretas IV , in order to marry Herodias .

The unusual connection between brother-in-law and sister-in-law provoked criticism from John the Baptist (Matt. 14, 3-5; Luke 3, 18-20). According to the Old Testament (Leviticus 18:16) it is contrary to Jewish law for a man to see his brother's wife naked. The Gospel of Matthew indicates that John the Baptist was executed because he publicly criticized this marriage (Matt. 14, 3-12). Flavius ​​Josephus does not explicitly claim this causal connection, but places both events, the marriage and the execution (as well as the subsequent war with King Aretas of Petra in 36 AD) in a temporal context (Josephus, Antiquitates 18, 116-119).

The sources give us no further details about the further life of Herod Boethos. His mother's family remained important, however, as other high priests were appointed from this family during the reign of the ethnarch Archelaus until 6 AD and at a later time.

See also

literature

personal data
SURNAME Herod Boethus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Herod Philip
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Son of Herod the Great
DATE OF BIRTH around 22 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 1st century