Herod's Age When Appointed Strategos of Galilee: Scribal Error or Literary Motif?
In Antiquities Josephus says that Herod was only fifteen-years-old when appointed strategos of Galilee in 47 BCE. This is often dismissed as scribal error and corrected to twenty-five, because it contradicts other Herodian biographical information. However, this unattested emendation does not fit th...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Peeters
2014
|
| In: |
Biblica
Year: 2014, Volume: 95, Issue: 1, Pages: 49-63 |
| Further subjects: | B
Antiquities
B Josephus B Herod |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | In Antiquities Josephus says that Herod was only fifteen-years-old when appointed strategos of Galilee in 47 BCE. This is often dismissed as scribal error and corrected to twenty-five, because it contradicts other Herodian biographical information. However, this unattested emendation does not fit the immediate context, whereas 'fifteen' does. This paper suggests that rather than a scribal error, this is a literary motif, presenting Herod as a particularly young military hero. The specific age of fifteen may have had a deeper intention, fictively linking Herod's birth to the year 63, the year of Augustus' birth and Pompey's conquest of the Temple. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2385-2062 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Biblica
|