03_Biblica_Sharon_Layout 1 01/04/14 11:46 Pagina 51 51 HEROD’S AGE WHEN APPOINTED STRATEGOS OF GALILEE III. The Immediate Context and the Greco-Roman Background Due to Josephus’ imprecise language concerning Herod’s age when he died, the above argumentation is not decisive. However, an examination of the immediate context of Josephus’ statement about Herod’s age in 47 BCE should make the case against adopting the above-mentioned emendation; it should, rather, be seen as a literary motif. Scholarship has tended to overlook or reject offhand the cen- tury-old observation of W. Otto, that Josephus’ emphasis on Herod’s young age precludes the possibility that he originally wrote that Herod was twenty-five; yet fifteen is in line with that emphasis 7. Admittedly, according to LSJ, ne,oj could refer to men at least up to the age of thirty 8. Nevertheless, I would like to argue that Otto’s ob- servation is correct. A priori there are two possibilities of understanding the statement that Herod was “a mere lad” upon this appointment: (a) as a statement pertaining to law; or (b) as a general observation. 1. A Legal Issue? The first possibility would be that Josephus’ statement means to say that Herod was appointed to this post at an age which was younger than the age fixed for this office by law. Although in the Hebrew Bible na’ar (lad) appears to have a wide age-range (e.g., 1 Sam 4,21 – newborn; Gen 37,2 – teenager; Gen 41,12 – young adult, ca. 28 years old), in legal terms “youth” is apparently defined as between the ages of five and twenty, and adulthood begins at the age of twenty, that being the age of military service (e.g., Lev 27,3- 5; Num 1,3). Consequently, the age of twenty-five would not be too young in biblical terms. However, considering that Herod’s ap- pointment took place and was recorded in the Roman era, and es- 7 W. OTTO, Herodes. Beiträge zur Geschichte des letzten jüdischen Königshauses (Stuttgart 1913) 18 (= PWRE Supplementband II, 16). Otto also notes that the 9th century Photius has fifteen as well. Likewise, the me- dieval Josippon has fifteen (39:6-7; The Josippon (Josephus Gorionides) [ed. D. FLUSSER] [Jerusalem 1980] 171). R. Marcus notes Otto’s observation (Josephus. With an English Translation [Loeb Classical Library; Cambridge, MA 1926-1969] VII, 533 n. d). 8 Josephus’ use of the adverbs komidh/| and panta,pasi seems to preclude that upper limit.