Rulers, officials and religious leaders

Herod the Great

Also called King Herod and Herod

King of Judea at the time of Jesus’ birth

Editorial summary

Questioned the wise men in Jerusalem and ordered the killing of the boys of Bethlehem.

Scripture

Wise men arrive in Jerusalem
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem asking where the newborn King of the Jews was. Herod learned from the chief priests and scribes that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, and sent them there.
Flight to Egypt
Warned in a dream that Herod would seek the child’s life, Joseph took the child and his mother by night to Egypt, and they stayed there until Herod died.
Herod’s order
Angry that the wise men had not returned, Herod ordered the killing of all the boys two years old and under in Bethlehem and the surrounding countryside.