Herod's Death (Joseph question)

[IesusDeus]

Please help me understand those passages:

St. Matthew 2: 13-15 "When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt.** He stayed there until the death of Herod,** that what the Lord said through the prophet might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called by son.”

Luke 23:13-25 13 Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him; 15 neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Behold, nothing deserving death has been done by him;

**Acts 12:19-25 **And when Herod had sought for him and could not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesare’a, and remained there. 20 Now **Herod **was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; and they came to him in a body, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. 21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and made an oration to them. 22 And the people shouted, “The voice of a god, and not of man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he did not give God the glory; and he was eaten by worms and died.

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1. Joseph stayed in Egypt until the death of Herod
2. Herod did not die until after Jesus’s ascension

So Joseph was not present in the public life of Jesus?
That’s why he was not present at the cross, is not mentionned at Cana, etc… ?

 

[Verbum_Caro]

Hi iesusdeus, welcome to the forums!

Here is what St. Agustine said in his work *The Harmony of the Gospels (*Chapter VII – Of The Two Herods)

"For the Herod who sought the life of the child Christ was king; whereas this other Herod, his son, was not called king. .

So Herod the Greater who was present at the time of Christ’s birth was the father of Herod the Less, who was present at the time of Christ’s passion.

God Bless,
VC

 

[IesusDeus]

Thanks

 

[Fidelis]

From the Navarre Bible Commentary on Matthew 2:

1. “King Herod”: four different Herods are mentioned in the New Testament. The first is Herod the Great, referred to in this passage and in the next; the second, his son, Herod Antipas, who had St. John the Baptist beheaded (Matthew 14:1-12) and who abused our Lord during His passion (Luke 23:7-11); the third, Herod Agrippa I, a nephew of Herod the Great, who executed the Apostle St. James the Greater (Acts 12:1-3), imprisoned St. Peter (Acts 12:4-7), and died suddenly and mysteriously (Acts 12:20-23). The fourth, Herod Agrippa II, was Herod Agrippa’s son. It was before him that St. Paul answered Jewish accusations when he was a prisoner in Caesarea (Acts 25:23).

Herod the Great, who appears here, was the son of non-Jewish parents. He came to power with the aid and as a vassal of the Romans. He was a consummate politician and among other things he rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem on a lavish scale. Herod the Great had a persecution complex; everywhere he saw rivals to his throne. He was notorious for his cruelty: he killed over half of his ten wives, some of his children and many people of standing. This information derives largely from the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who wrote towards the end of the first century, and it confirms the cruel picture drawn in the Gospels.

 

[captommo]

Joseph:

(uninspired) tradition has it that Joseph was much older than Mary when they married - he was already an established tekton (ie architekton or ‘master builder’), and the tradition further has it that Joseph was previously widowed and had other children prior to marrying Mary.

 

[Zooey]

I found that it helped when I finally realized that “Herod” was more a family name, less a personal one.

 

[NotWorthy]

Quote Fidelis: Herod the Great had a persecution complex; everywhere he saw rivals to his throne. He was notorious for his cruelty: he killed over half of his ten wives, some of his children and many people of standing.

It was said of Herod, I believe by a Roman Emporer, “It is better to be one of Herod’s pigs than to be one of Herod’s family members”. You can see why, eh?

God Bless!

Notworthy