Nadav Sharon, «Herod's Age When Appointed Strategos of Galilee: Scribal Error or Literary Motif?», Vol. 95 (2014) 49-63
In Antiquities Josephus says that Herod was only fifteen-years-old when appointed strategos of Galilee in 47 BCE. This is often dismissed as scribal error and corrected to twenty-five, because it contradicts other Herodian biographical information. However, this unattested emendation does not fit the immediate context, whereas 'fifteen' does. This paper suggests that rather than a scribal error, this is a literary motif, presenting Herod as a particularly young military hero. The specific age of fifteen may have had a deeper intention, fictively linking Herod's birth to the year 63, the year of Augustus' birth and Pompey's conquest of the Temple.
03_Biblica_Sharon_Layout 1 01/04/14 11:46 Pagina 62
62 NADAV SHARON
preparation for his planned rebuilding of the Temple (Ant. 15.382-
387) — in which he is recorded as saying: “I think I have, by the will
of God, brought the Jewish nation to such a state of prosperity as it
has never known before†(§383) — certainly appears to reflect such
a messianic pretension. Schalit even suggests that Herod had his lin-
eage forged, making him a descendant of “the leading Jews who
came to Judaea from Babylon†instead of an Idumean (Ant. 14.9), in
order to present himself as a descendant of David, given the fact that
the Davidic kings were exiled to Babylonia 43. Even if we do not go
that far 44, a forged Jewish lineage of Herod obviously opens the door
for possible messianic claims 45. If so, it is possible, though admit-
tedly speculative, that a chronological link with the conquest of the
Temple in 63 was created as part of a messianic portrayal of Herod.
* *
*
It appears that Josephus’ statement on Herod’s age in 47 BCE
is a case for literary inquiry, not of textual error. The emendation
of the text is unwarranted; the context excludes that possibility.
Nicolaus, probably at the request of Herod himself (or guessing his
preferences), portrayed the king in the most favorable way. For this
objective he employed a common literary device depicting Herod
as a particularly precocious youth, and, more specifically, as a mil-
itary hero in his youth, like King David. However, because the
specified age of fifteen does not derive from the David typology
and, moreover, contradicts other data of Herod’s life, I think that
we should look for factors which may have led Nicolaus to ascribe
that specific false age. Therefore, I suggest two possible, albeit
speculative, factors. Nicolaus may have intended to link Herod’s
and esp. 232-239 (Hebrew). Cf. W. HORBURY, “Herod’s Temple and ‘Herod’s
Days’â€, idem, Messianism among Jews and Christians. Twelve Biblical and
Historical Studies (London 2003) 83-122. S. ROCCA, “Josephus and the
Psalms of Solomon on Herod’s Messianic Aspirations: An Interpretationâ€,
Making History. Josephus and Historical Method (ed. Z. RODGERS) (JSJSup
110; Leiden 2007) 313-333, proposes that Herod modeled himself and his
messianic ideology on King Solomon.
43
SCHALIT, King Herod, 233-234. Cf. ILAN, “David, Herodâ€, 224-225.
44
M. STERN, “A. Schalit’s Herodâ€, JJS 11 (1960) 55-57.
45
HORBURY, “Herod’s Templeâ€, 91.
FOLLOW US