Herod the Great’s Fortress of Masada

History of MasadaStory of Masada was recorded by Josephus Flavius, a

commander of Galilee during the Great Revolt around 70 AD

According to Josephus the first fortress at Masada was built by “Jonathan the High Priest” the Hasmonean king Alexander Janaeus (103-76BC) (No architectural remains have been discovered that date to this period)

Herod the Great, who ruled from 37 BC to 4 BC built a winter palace and refuge at Masada because of its strategic advantages in location. During his reign luxurious palaces were built here in addition to well-stocked storerooms, cisterns, and a casemate wall. After the death of Herod in 4AD and the annexation of Judea to Roman Empire in 6 AD, the Romans stations a garrison at Masada

Masada and the BibleThere is no Biblical mention of the Fortress of Masada.

However, Herod the Great is mentioned in connection with Jesus birth.

Read Matthew 2:1-23

“In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ 3When King Herod heard this, he was frightened,

and all Jerusalem with him; 4and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6 “And you,

Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,   are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a

ruler  who is to shepherd my people Israel.”

’7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ 9When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’

14Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 15and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. 17Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: 18 ‘A voice was heard in Ramah,  wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.’19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 20‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.’ 21Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. 23There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He will be called a Nazorean.’

Bible study on Matthew 2How is Herod the Great portrayed according to

Matthew?Why did Herod fear the infant Jesus?What other biblical story does this story remind

you of? Read Exodus 1:8-22.

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History of Masada Continued…One of the first events of the Great Revolt of the Jews

against the Romans in 66 AD was the conquest of Masada by the Sicarrii, headed by Menahem, son of Judah the Galilean who was murdered in Jerusalem in 66AD.

After the murder, Eleazar Ben Yair fled from Jerusalem to Masada and became commander of the rebel community on the mountain.

The last of the rebels fled to Masada after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and joined those already at the fortress under the command of Elezar Ben Yair. The rebels, lived in rooms in the casemate wall and in some of Herod’s palaces and they constructed a synagogue and mikvehs (Jewis ritual baths) They left behind numerous material vestiges attesting to their community life.

History of Masada Continued…Masada was the last rebel stronghold in Judea. In 73AD the Roman Tenth Legion Fretensis, led by Flavius

Silva, laid siege to the mountain. The legion consisting of 8,000 troups among which were auxiliary forces, built eight camps around the base, a siege wall, and a ramp mad of earth and wooden supports on a natural slope to the west.

After a siege that lasted a few months, the Romans brought a tower with a battering ram up the ramp with wich they began to batter the wall. The rebels constructed an inner support wall out of wood and earth, which the Romans then set ablaze.

When the hope of the Rebels dwindled, Eleazar Ben Yair gave two speeches in which he convinced the leaders of the 960 member of the community that it would be better to take their own lives and the lives of their families than to live in shame and humiliation as Roman slaves

Exerpts from Eleazar Ben-Yair’s Speech…(According to Josephus FlaviusThe Wars of the Jews, VII, 395-406)

“Since we, long ago, my generous friends, resolved never to be servants to the Romans, nor to any other than to God himself, who alone is the true and just Lord of mankind, the time is now come that obliges us to make that resolution true in practice. And let us not at this time bring a reproach upon ourselves for self-contradiction, while we formerly would not undergo slavery, though it were then without danger, but must now together with slavery, choose such punishments also as are intolerable; I mean this, upon the supposition that the Romans once reduce us under their power while we are alive. We were the very first that revolted from them and we are the last that fight against them; and I cannot but esteem it as a favor that God hath granted us, that it is still in our power to die bravely and in a state of freedom, which hath not been the case of others, who were conquered unexpectedly. It is very plain that we shall be taken within a day’s time, but it is still an eligible thing to die after a glorious manner, together with our dearest friends…

Let our wives die before they are abused, and our children before they have tasted slavery; and after we have slain them, let us bestow that glorious benefit upon one another mutually and preserve ourselves in freedom as an excellent funeral monument for us. But first let us destroy our money and the fortress by fire; for I am well assured that this will be a bitter blow to the Romans, that they shall not be able to seize upon our bodies, and shall fail to our wealth also; and let us spare nothing but our provisions: for they will be a testimonial when we are dead that we are not subdued for want of necessaries; but that according to our original resolution, we have preferred death before slavery.”

Masada History continued…

According to Jsephus, two women and five children who had been hiding in the cisterns on the mountaintop told the Romans what had happened that night, on the 15th of Nissa, the first day of Passover.

The fall of Masada was the final act in the Roman conquest of Judea. A Roman auxilary unit remained at the site until the beginning of the second century.

After Romans left Masada, the fortress remained uninhabited for a few cneturies. During the 5th century a Byzantine hermit monastery was founded. With the rise of Islam in the seventh century, the monastery apparently ceased to exist.

After Byzantine period Masada sank into oblivion until the 19th century. The first scholars identified Masada in 1838. From 1920s and especially during the 1940s, Masada became a lodestone for pioneering Zionist youth groups.

The two ways to get to the plateau of Masada are by tram or a 45 minute

hike

View from Top of plateau, the Dead Sea is in the

distance

Model of the Northern Palace

Northern PalaceThis grand and daring building was constructed by

Herod. It is 30 meters high, built on three rock terraces and supported by impressive retaining

walls.

The Palace was built to host high-ranking visitors and to allow the king his solitude.

Herod and his family lived on the upper level and the two lower levels were for

receptions.

SynagogueThis building was originally built in Herod’s time as

a stable, but during the revolt it became a synagogue. The synagogue at Masada is one of

the very few discovered so far that date from the Second Temple period.

The rebels changed its internal structure and even closed off a small room in the corner of the hall,

which apparently served for storage of Torah scrolls. Under its floor were found fragments of Biblical scrolls including the “Vision of the Dry

Bones” in the book of Ezekiel.

Thermal BathhouseHerod had several private bathhouses built at

Masada.  The caldarium depicted here had a heavy floor suspended on 200 pillars. 

During the revolt the bathhouse was adapted according the the Jewish purity laws, ritual baths and benches built from drums of the dismantled

columns of the courtyard

Cistern

Columbarium TowersThese two square towers in which pigeons were raise and also served as lookout and guard towers, were built at Herod’s time before the construction of the perimeter

wall.

These structures could be accessed only via a ladder. The niches in the walls house

pigeons that were used as food, and whose droppings were used as fertilizer.

Siege Ramp-Breaching point The ramp was built while siege engines and

armed men protected the workers. Ultimately it allowed the Roman army to access the stronghold.

Video

Tomb of the ZealotsVideo

Masada balls of catapult

Siege CampA solid wall was built surrounding Masada and

connected the 8 Roman camps.  It was 6 feet thick and 7 miles long and built to prevent escaping.

An estimated 9000 soldiers plus support personnel and slaves conducted the siege.