Images of Herod at the Israel Museum


On Tuesday, May 21, 2013, a panel of speakers at the Israel Museum presented the figure of King Herod from the perspectives of Jewish and Christian traditions.

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The three speakers were Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, head of the hesder yeshiva in Petah Tikva, Father David Neuhaus, Latin Patriarchal Vicar, and Dr. Sharon Roubach, from the Hebrew University.

Rabbi Cherlow began the evening with a description of Herod in the rabbinic sources. He pointed out that there was very little about Herod in these sources but that he is remembered primarily negatively as a foreign king who hated the sages of Israel. Nonetheless, he is also remembered for the building up of the Temple in all its magnificence.

Father David, after mentioning the historical difficulty regarding the presentation of Herod in the New Testament, focused on a reading of chapter 2 in the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, where Herod plays a central role as an evil king who seeks to destroy Jesus.

Dr. Roubach presented Herod in contemporary film and discussed various representations of Herod in films like “The king of Kings”, Pasolini’s “Gospel according to Saint Matthew” and “Jesus Christ Superstar”.

The well attended evening witnessed to the great interest that the sumptuous Herod exhibition at the Museum has aroused, an exhibition that will be on show until January 2014.

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