The Complex Legacy of Herod the Great: Bruce Chilton

Until his death in 4 BCE, Herod the Great's monarchy included territories that once made up the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. Although he ruled over a rich, strategically crucial land, his royal title did not derive from heredity. His family came from the people of Idumea, ancient antagonists of the Israelites.

Our guest Bruce Chilton discusses The Herods, his dynamic and comprehensive new study of the Herodian Dynasty, and the effect it had on the ancient world … effects that in many ways last to this very day.

Herod framed a version of theocratic ambition all his own, deliberately crafting a dynastic claim grounded in Roman might and Israelite theocracy. That unlikely hybrid was the key to the Herodians' surprising longevity in power during the most chaotic century in the political history of Judaism.

Bruce D. Chilton is the Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion at Bard College, where he has taught since 1987. In addition to his many celebrated publications on the texts, practices, and beliefs of ancient Judaism and Christianity, he is also the author of many books, including Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography (Doubleday 2000).