Did Herod really give the order to kill the children
Did the murder of children as young as two years old on Herod's orders really happen? But let's first read what the Scriptures state:
Matthew 2.1-23 "[1] Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, [2] Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. [3] When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. [4] And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. [5] And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, [6] And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
[7] Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. [8] And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. [9] When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. [10] When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. [11] And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. [12] And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. [13] And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. [14] When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: [15] And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
[16] Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. [17] Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, [18] In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. [19] But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, [20] Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life. [21] And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. [22] But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: [23] And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene."
People who do not believe in a reliable account of the birth of Jesus very often charge that the murder of children is not included in any other known historical source. The fact is that so far not a single mention, outside the Bible, of this event has been found. For this reason, are we entitled to conclude that such an event did not take place? Well, no, and here is why.
Evidence of Herod's killing of children
The birth of Jesus took place more than 2,000 years ago at a time when Rome ruled over Jerusalem. In many historical sources, we can learn how people lived in the conquered lands and the violence that prevailed then, which would be shocking to us today, while it was something "normal" then. The Romans, when conquering other nations, often plundered cities, murdered people, raped women and sold the local population into slavery. They did this as well, residents of other countries, mutual bestial murders were not unusual at the time. Jews were not much different from the surrounding peoples, they themselves often waged wars in which they killed or sold into slavery all the inhabitants of cities, villages, including women and children. The victims of such assaults numbered in the thousands, yet no one has written down all the cruel events.
The Romans in the conquered territories collected taxes, people who did not pay them on time were often killed or sold. Sometimes entire villages were leveled to the ground, precisely because taxes were not paid as much as they should have been. Such behavior by the Romans was also not unusual.
Herod, who according to the Gospels ordered the murder of children, was a tyrant; during his life he ordered the murder of thousands of people, including his beloved wife, his three sons, his closest family members and the people around him. He did not hesitate to murder priests and entire groups of Jews whenever they opposed him. The terror that prevailed at the end of his life was related to his mental and health condition, he fell into insanity. Just before his death, he killed his son, whom he had previously named in his will as the heir to the throne. Herod's death saved the lives of the most important representatives of the cities of Judea, who, on his orders, were forcibly detained in the square and presumably were to be executed. Throughout his reign, Herod dealt bloodily with those who opposed him. The people of Judea hated him.
It is also worth mentioning the history of fighting and anarchy that prevailed in the border lands with the Nabataeans. The inhabitants of these areas were notoriously attacked by highwaymen, who had their base in the fortress of Repta. Herod, unable to attack the enemy, ordered the murder of their families living in Trachon. As a result of these events, the border lands of Judea were ravaged and the inhabitants cruelly slaughtered. Herod eventually attacked Repta, razing it to the ground. After these events, he fell into the emperor's disfavor, which his enemy Syllaios and the Nabataeans took advantage of, invading and plundering the lands of Judea. Only an intervention with the emperor himself and letters written by Roman commanders about the lawlessness prevailing in the lands put an end to more violence.
After Herod's death, the so-called War of Varus broke out in Galilee, Judea and Idumea, in which thousands of people were killed.
Josephus Flavius and Herod's infanticide
The main attack by unbelievers on the falsity of the words of the Gospels is based on the fact that Josephus Flavius, in his works, did not write a single sentence confirming Herod's order to murder the children. Note that Flavius was born 40 years after Herod's death, and began writing even later, so he could not have witnessed these events. The slaughter of the children falls during the period of Herod's greatest terror and madness. Not only his sons, the commanders of the fortresses, but also many others were sentenced to death at that time. The notorious violence that prevailed in the lands conquered by the Romans, including Judea, and the executions ordered by the insane king overshadowed the slaughter that took place in Bethlehem, one of the many sick and cruel orders of the possessed king. Thousands of people lost their lives in local battles, and women and children were not spared. Murders were the order of the day. The infanticide in the small village of Bethlehem was too small an event to have been described by Flavius, who probably never heard of it at all. Bethlehem was a small settlement with an estimated 20-30 children under the age of two. This infanticide is very cruel, but there were so many atrocities in those days that the one mentioned in Scripture was overshadowed by many other acts of violence.
It's sad how easily many dismiss the veracity of the words in Matthew's Gospel based solely on the fact that there is no other evidence of infanticide outside of Scripture. When you examine the Bible from a historical perspective, you will see how many of the events contained in the Old and New Testaments actually took place and were written many years before the discovery of excavations or other manuscripts confirming the events.
