(DOWNLOAD) "Simply Irresistible: Augustus, Herod, And the Empire." by Journal of Biblical Literature ~ Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Simply Irresistible: Augustus, Herod, And the Empire.
- Author : Journal of Biblical Literature
- Release Date : January 22, 2008
- Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines,Books,Professional & Technical,Education,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 192 KB
Description
Recent scholarship has been arriving at increasingly appreciative evaluations of Herod the Great. A generation ago the consensus about Herod could be summed up with words and phrases like "ruthless," "little more than a creature of cruelty," or "one of the most wicked of men ... ignorant [and] insensitive ... bent solely on the affairs of this world." (1) Although such views still persist--a widely used introductory NT textbook describes Herod as "renowned for his ruthless exercise of power"--more and more frequently we read that "Herod was not a monster," but rather a leader whose actions, within their historical context, were "reasonable." (2) He can now be described as "thoroughly in tune with the cultural developments of his age," and as a ruler who "wished to convey to his people a new self-confidence in the spirit of the age." (3) Ehud Netzer expressed the emerging new perspective well when he closed his magisterial book on Herod with these words: Herod the Great has been getting a makeover.