History Forum / General / Ancient History / December 2004

Depends on your gospel. Matthew's version leads one to the idea that the
Herod visited by the Magi was Herod the Great (builder of Masada). The
alternative would be his son Herod Archelaus, but he is usually called
"Herod Archelaus" or "Archelaus", not "Herod".

On the other hand, Luke says that Jesus was born when Quirinius was
governor of Syria, i.e. in our year 6, at the end of the reign of Herod
Archelaus. Usually, this is interpreted as a mistake, because elsewhere,
Luke implies that Jesus was "about thirty years old" in the year 28.
This fits Matthew's chronology.

It seems that the people remembered that Jesus was born during the last
year of the reign of a king named Herod, but were not sure which one.

Merry Christmas!

Jona