Both Herod the Great and his son Archelaus were much hated by their Jewish subjects. For good reason. Both were very cruel men. For example, Herod commanded that on his death certain leading scholars be executed to ensure there would be mourning when he died. The cruelty of Herod the Great is also attested in Matthew 2 when Herod slaughtered infants in an attempt to destroy the Messiah.
When Archelaus succeeded his father in Judea Joseph was warned not to return to that area (Mt 2:22), a clear indication that Archelaus shared his father’s propensity for cruelty. This soon became evident. For example, one Passover protestors threw stones at Archelaus’ soldiers. Archelaus responded by “sacrificing” 3000 Israelites, filling the Temple with their corpses.
Herod died in 4 BCE. In accordance with his will Archelaus ruled over Judea and Samaria. Archelaus went to Rome wanting Augustus to give him the authority to declare himself a king (his army had already acclaimed him as such). However, an embassy of his subjects pleaded with Augustus to take note of Archelaus’ cruelty and asked that Judea be annexed to Syria. Augustus compromised. Archelaus was named ethnarch.
It is possible that in Luke 19 Jesus had in mind this protest by the embassy when he gave the example of “a man of noble birth” (Archelaus?) going “to a distant country” (Rome?) “to have himself appointed king” (by Augustus?) “and then to return” (v12). Significantly, Jesus told this parable after he had entered Jericho and was passing through on this way to Jerusalem. Jesus’ exceptional detour into Samaria (John 4:4) suggests that normally he would have travelled the Jordan valley route via Jericho, thus passing Archelais, a town built by Archelaus and named after himself.
Like his father Archelaus had a passion for building. During his time as ethnarch he restored the royal palace in Jericho and constructed an irrigation aqueduct there and also built Archelais in the Jordan Valley, north-east of Jericho, on the main road heading north. This site has been excavated for more than a decade. Though this settlement was located in a desert area it was well supplied with water, not from the lower-lying Jordan river, but through a system of aqueducts and springs and reservoirs. Archelaus built for himself a massive, luxurious mansion. Inside the building was a large courtyard, over 300 square metres (around 1000 square feet) with a mikveh, that is, a Jewish ritual bath in the north-western corner.
After Archelaus’ exile Augustus gave Archelais to Herod’s sister Salome. Later Herod’s grandson Agrippa 1 ruled the area (41-44 CE). In addition to expanding the settlement Agrippa built a road house for pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem which occupied four acres. This too contained a mikveh. Archelais was destroyed by Vespasian at the time of the Great Jewish Revolt, 66-70 CE.
It is quite likely, therefore, that Jesus had just passed through Archelais, the settlement built by Archelaus. Besides the presence of Archelaus’ royal palace in Jericho, would have encouraged Jesus to tell a story that built on the events surrounding Archelaus. Ironically, Jesus finds parallels in what happened to Archelaus and in his own life.
In Jesus’ parable the subjects of this king “sent a delegation”, saying, “We don’t want this man to be our king” (v14). While Jesus may have used the events concerning Archelaus in his parable he is really referring to himself as the rejected king. One point of possible discontinuity with the story of Archelaus is suggested at verse 15: “He was made king, however, and returned home.” It might be wise not to over-press this. Though, technically speaking, Archelaus returned without the title “king” Augustus had effectively granted him the right to rule.
A decade later another embassy complained to Augustus about Archelaus’ rule. There were two grounds for complaint: (1) Archelaus’ continued cruelty; (2) his expression of contempt for God’s law since he had married his brother Alexander’s widow while his own wife was still alive. Augustus responded by exiling Archelaus to Gaul in 6 CE.
The terrible irony of Jesus’ parable in Luke 19 is that the people treated their good and gracious Messianic king in the same way as they treated the cruel and tyrannical Archelaus.
Reference: Hananya Hizmi, “Archelaus Builds Archelais” in Biblical Archaeology Review 34/4 (August/September 2008) 48-59
Posted September 8, 2008
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