Étude 1 sur 4 · La mort du roi Hérode le Grand

  1. Étude 1 : La mort du roi Hérode le Grand
  2. Étude 2 : Rappel du massacre des Galiléens par Pilate
  3. Étude 3 : Le codex Gigas
  4. Étude 4 : Les Esséniens

The context of Jesus’ birth (Nativity) and childhood

  • CHR008 The death of King Herod the Great

    The study explores the chronology of the death of Herod the Great, which affects the dating of the birth and ministry of Jesus. Based on the work of Schürer, who proposes the year 4 BC, it stresses the importance of reconsidering historical interpretations in light of the texts of Flavius Josephus.

    Daniel 9.24-27 (King James Version) :
    Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
    King James Version (1769), domaine public — texte : eBible.org
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    Level: Intermediate Level: Intermediate

From the 3rd Passover to the start of the final week

  • PER229 Reminder of the massacre of the Galileans by Pilate

    Pericope PER229 (Luke 13,1-5) recounts how witnesses of a Pharisee's meal confronted Jesus about the massacre of Galileans by Pilate. Jesus refuses to see in it a divine punishment and calls for personal repentance, also citing the fall of the tower of Siloam. He teaches that death is the common lot of all, and that only repentance opens the way to the Kingdom of God.

    Luke 13.1-5 (King James Version) :
    There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilæans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilæans were sinners above all the Galilæans, because they suffered such things?I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
    King James Version (1769), domaine public — texte : eBible.org
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    Level: Intermediate Level: Intermediate

Historical notes

  • INF055 The Codex Gigas

    The Codex Gigas, or 'Devil's Bible', is the largest known medieval manuscript, written around 1200 in a Benedictine monastery in Bohemia. It contains the complete Bible in Latin, texts by Flavius Josephus and Isidore of Seville, and medical treatises. Belonging to the Western text, it is valuable for textual criticism. A medieval legend attributes its writing in a single night to the monk Herman the Recluse, helped by the devil.

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    Level: Intermediate Level: Intermediate

  • INF065 The Essenes

    The Essenes were an ascetic Jewish sect of the 2nd century BC, known for their strict communal life, ritual purity and devotion to the Scriptures. Associated with the site of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947, they disappeared after the destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70, leaving a major textual and spiritual legacy for understanding ancient Judaism and the origins of Christianity.

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    Level: Intermediate Level: Intermediate

Further reading
  • ANN009 The censuses of Quirinius

    L'article ANN009 examine la question des recensements de Quirinus mentionnés dans l'évangile de Luc (Lc 2,1-2) et leur apparent décalage avec le recensement historiquement…

  • ANN011 The death of King Herod the Great

    L'article analyse la datation de la mort d'Hérode le Grand, traditionnellement située autour de -1 av. J.-C., et sa réévaluation moderne à -4 av.…