Christianity page 2

 Christianity page 2 by ric gustafson

In 39 BC, a dynasty was born by the Roman Senate. Herod's family came from Idumea described in the Hebrew Scriptures as Edom. Herod recaptured Judea from king Antigonus. Herod first built fortresses. Masada in the Judean desert. Herodion south of Jerusalem. Machareus where John the Baptist was murdered. Herod built a harbor named Caesarea. In Jerusalem, Herod built a palace, a theatre, a hippodrome and an amphitheater for gladiatorial fights. Herod expanded the Jerusalem Temple. The Temple was the center of Jewish worship. It was built by King Solomon. The Sadducees was a group of elite priests whose wealth was mostly from the Temple treasury. The collection of the Temple tax fed the Temple treasury. 

So how was Herod able to finance his construction plans?. Judea was a poor region. Most of the wealth came from the fertile agricultural region in Galilee. Herod used this wealth for his construction plans. It was Herod's idea to change the subsistence way of farming to a large estate farming industry. Herod built a large port in Caesarea to handle surplus produce.

Herod imposed taxes on everything. This included farming, salt, fishing and the production of salted fish. Tax collectors who collected these taxes for Herod became loathed. When Jesus came on the picture, there were a lot of poor malnourished people in Galilee. These people followed Jesus wherever he went.

research help: ' The Story of Christianity' by Jean Pierre Isbouts

Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric