HERODIAN FAMILY. We are principally indebted to Josephus for the information respecting the Herodian family, though incidental notices occur in. the classical writers, especially in Strabo (xvi. c. ii. 46). It will be sufficient for our purpose to com mence our consideration of their origin from Anti pater the Idumman, father of Herod I. This Anti pater, or Antipas, son of an Idurrman of the same name, had embraced the Jewish religion when Idu mxa was taken by John Hyrcanus ( Joseph. Antiq. xiii. 9. 1). Afterwards disputes arising between Hyrcanus II. and his brother Aristobulus, the com peting princes produced their case before Pompey. In B. C. 63 Pompey took Jerusalem, and Aristobu lus was deposed ; and in B. C. 47, when Csar came to Syria, he appointed Antipater governor of Juda.
According to Nicolaus of Damascus, Antipater was of the stock of the principal Jews who came out of Babylon into Judaea (Joseph. Antig. xiv. 1. 3). Various other accounts are given of his ances try, but none are worthy of notice here. Josephus himself in several passages says that Antipater vvas of Idumcean descent, and that Antigonus, the adversary of fIerod, publicly proclaimed that the Romans would not do justly if they gave the kingdom to Herod, who was an Iduman, i.e., a half-Jew (Joseph. Antiq. xiv. 15. 2). The latter expression shews that lie was of a prosclyte family. In other passages he says that Antipater was of the same race as the Jews, and that Herod was by birth a. Jew (Joseph. Antiq. xiv. 8. i; xx. 8. 7). ft seems, therefore, nearly certain, that the Herodian family were of Idumzean descent, and Ewald gives several forms of the names still retained in the family (Geschichte, iv. 477, note).
The splendour and magnificence of the reign of Herod shed a dazzling lustre around his govern ment, though he was really dependent upon the empire, and wisely saw the policy, which was fol lowed by all the members of his family, of courting his Roman masters, no doubt with the idea of forming at some time an independent Eastern monarchy. He was the first who shook the foun dation of the ancient form of Jewish govern ment as constituted by the Law. He appointed the high-priests, and reinoved them at pleasure, often filling the sacred office with men of low birth. In this he was followed by Archelaus, and afterwards by the Romans, so that thcre were in all twenty-eight high-priests from the days of Herod to the taking of the Temple by Titus, a period of io7 years (Joseph. Antiq. xx. io).
Herod the Great had ten wives ; of two of them the names have not been preserved. Accounts of thefamily of Herod and the combinations of relation ship between the descendants of the different wives may be found in the following- passages of Jose. phus (Antiq. xvii. t. 3 ; xviii. 5. 4 ; Bell. yud. 2S. 4). The following table merely shews the relationship between those members of the Hero dian family mentioned in the N. T. An elaborate table, by Mr. Westcott, giving a summary of the accounts of Josephus, which are not always consis tent in detail, is in Dr. Smith's Diet. of the Bible, vol. i. p. 792.