Dr. Guy Maclean Rogers

And on that, also a colleague of mine, a very good Josephus scholar named Steve Mason has kind of brought out some of the rhetorical issues in Josephus' text. And then finally, very quickly, you know, Josephus has a sort of Deuteronomic view of history, which is essentially that God determines how everything is going to come out.

And on that, also a colleague of mine, a very good Josephus scholar named Steve Mason has kind of brought out some of the rhetorical issues in Josephus' text. And then finally, very quickly, you know, Josephus has a sort of Deuteronomic view of history, which is essentially that God determines how everything is going to come out.

And when the Jewish people are faithful to his commands, everything works out well. And when they don't, there's disaster. And that's sort of the frame that he puts all of this in for his readers. So we have to take all of those things into account.

And when the Jewish people are faithful to his commands, everything works out well. And when they don't, there's disaster. And that's sort of the frame that he puts all of this in for his readers. So we have to take all of those things into account.

And when the Jewish people are faithful to his commands, everything works out well. And when they don't, there's disaster. And that's sort of the frame that he puts all of this in for his readers. So we have to take all of those things into account.

Right. So I think the starting point for understanding what happened and what went wrong really is just after the assassination of Julius Caesar. After Caesar was killed on the Ides of March in 44, his right-hand man, Mark Anthony, who had had some experience in this region, decided that

Right. So I think the starting point for understanding what happened and what went wrong really is just after the assassination of Julius Caesar. After Caesar was killed on the Ides of March in 44, his right-hand man, Mark Anthony, who had had some experience in this region, decided that

Right. So I think the starting point for understanding what happened and what went wrong really is just after the assassination of Julius Caesar. After Caesar was killed on the Ides of March in 44, his right-hand man, Mark Anthony, who had had some experience in this region, decided that

the point man for Roman policy should be this guy, Antipater II, who was an Edomian, and his sons, Herod, eventually Herod the Great, and his brother, Phacael, who originally were made tetrarchs, or rulers of a quarter of territory. But after a couple of years,

the point man for Roman policy should be this guy, Antipater II, who was an Edomian, and his sons, Herod, eventually Herod the Great, and his brother, Phacael, who originally were made tetrarchs, or rulers of a quarter of territory. But after a couple of years,

the point man for Roman policy should be this guy, Antipater II, who was an Edomian, and his sons, Herod, eventually Herod the Great, and his brother, Phacael, who originally were made tetrarchs, or rulers of a quarter of territory. But after a couple of years,

Anthony decided that he would push the Roman Senate to make Herod into the king of Judea, the Galilee, the so-called Pariah, which is the region to the east of the Jordan River, and then also South Syria. So in 40, Herod becomes king.

Anthony decided that he would push the Roman Senate to make Herod into the king of Judea, the Galilee, the so-called Pariah, which is the region to the east of the Jordan River, and then also South Syria. So in 40, Herod becomes king.

Anthony decided that he would push the Roman Senate to make Herod into the king of Judea, the Galilee, the so-called Pariah, which is the region to the east of the Jordan River, and then also South Syria. So in 40, Herod becomes king.

And basically, from a strategic point of view, Hera's role was going to be kind of Rome's man to hold down this very valuable real estate, which was in between the Roman enemies, the Parthians to the east, and then, of course, the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. So it took Herod a few years to consolidate his role. But by 37, he was kind of in charge there.

And basically, from a strategic point of view, Hera's role was going to be kind of Rome's man to hold down this very valuable real estate, which was in between the Roman enemies, the Parthians to the east, and then, of course, the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. So it took Herod a few years to consolidate his role. But by 37, he was kind of in charge there.

And basically, from a strategic point of view, Hera's role was going to be kind of Rome's man to hold down this very valuable real estate, which was in between the Roman enemies, the Parthians to the east, and then, of course, the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. So it took Herod a few years to consolidate his role. But by 37, he was kind of in charge there.

Right. So he's in charge from 37 until he dies in four. And in my book, I sort of argue that Probably the reason why Herod was successful was that he figured out that on the one hand, it would be important for him to keep order, which was always a kind of Roman requirement of their client kings.

Right. So he's in charge from 37 until he dies in four. And in my book, I sort of argue that Probably the reason why Herod was successful was that he figured out that on the one hand, it would be important for him to keep order, which was always a kind of Roman requirement of their client kings.

Right. So he's in charge from 37 until he dies in four. And in my book, I sort of argue that Probably the reason why Herod was successful was that he figured out that on the one hand, it would be important for him to keep order, which was always a kind of Roman requirement of their client kings.