Herod II Boethus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Herod Philip I. (Discuss) |
Herod II Boethus (c. 25 BC - after 30 AD) was the fourth son, namesake & briefly heir apparent of Herod the Great (also known as Herod I). His mother was Herod's third wife Mariamne II. He may or may not be one and the same with Herod Philip I - they are both recorded as sons of Herod I and Mariamne II and husbands of Herodias.
Contents |
[edit] Life
Herod the Great's execution of his Hasmonean sons, Alexander & Aristobulus IV in 7 BC, left the latter's daughter Herodias orphaned and a minor. Herod engaged her to Herod II, her half-uncle, and her connection to the Hasmonean bloodline supported her new husband's right to succeed his father.
As Josephus reports in Jewish Antiquities (Book XVIII, Chapter 5, 4):
Herodias, [...], was married to Herod, the son of Herod the Great by Mariamne, the daughter of Simon the high priest. [Herod II and Herodias] had a daughter, Salome...[1]
This marriage led to opposition to the marriage from Antipater III, Herod I's eldest son, and Herod I's demoting Herod II to second in line to the succession. Antipater's execution in 4 BC for plotting to poison his father seemed to leave Herod II, now Herod I's eldest surviving son, as first in line, but his mother's knowledge of the poison plot yet failure to stop it led to his being dropped from this position in Herod I's will just days before he died.
Herod II did survive his father's deathbed purges, but was left a private citizen while Herod Antipas and his other remaining half-brothers shared Judaea out amongst them. Also it was in this period that, in Josephus's words:
Herodias took upon her to confound the laws of our country, and divorced herself from her husband while he was alive, and was married to Herod Antipas[2]
After that the younger Herod slipped into such anonymity that, less than 30 years later, two of the gospels (Mark & Matthew) confused him with Antipas' other half-brother, Philip.
[edit] Relationships
- Son of Herod the Great & Mariamne II.
- Half-brother of Antipas.
- First husband of Herodias.
- Father of Salome II, by Herodias.
[edit] Sources
- Josephus, Antiquities 17.14-19, 53, 78; 18.109-110, 136-137.
- Josephus, Jewish War 1.557, 573, 588, 600.
- Gospel of Mark 6:17-18
- Gospel of Matthew 14:3-4.
