by Angela Hunt
Interview with the Author
Q. In most versions of this story, Mariamne is the tragic heroine and Salome the villain. Why did you reverse their roles?
A. I have learned that no man or woman is completely good or evil. Perspective changes everything. Even “bad” people often have good reasons for doing what they do, whereas “good” people can do terrible things on occasion.
So I asked myself, Why did Herod massacre the innocents at Bethlehem? Why did he execute his wife, his mother-in-law, and his sons? Why did he gain a reputation for being ruthless and bloodthirsty?
He did those things to achieve his goals, to eliminate all threats to his position. He also wanted to be loved by his people, and yet no matter how hard he tried, he always fell short. Meanwhile, he resented the people who were adored, such as young Aristobulus the high priest, and later his sons by Mariamne—because he longed for adoration but never achieved it.
Salome, whom history records as a devious schemer, only began to scheme and manipulate after Alexandra had been doing the same thing for years, so Salome learned from a master. Herod’s court was filled with meddling women who formed cliques—mothers against mothers, daughters-in-law against daughters-in-law. I imagine there were also children pitted against children, but history doesn’t go into those details.
It’s safe to say, however, that with ten wives and at least fifteen children, most of them living in the palace at the same time, Herod’s harem was one of the least peaceful places on earth, with plenty of mischief-making on both sides.
Q. Was it difficult to find enough historical information to write this novel?
A. My challenge was that there’s almost too much information. If I’d included everything we know about Herod’s buildings, his acts, his family, his wars, his wives, and his conquests, the book would have weighed twenty pounds and taken me years to write. I constantly had to reduce information to narrative and skim over periods of time in order to get at the bits of the story I wanted to tell—the story of Salome and her relationships with Herod and her handmaid.
Q. Is Zara a historical character?
A. No. Although I’m sure Salome had handmaids, Zara is a product of my imagination. Yet the key incident at the conclusion of the novel is true. When faced with what to do regarding the people in the hippodrome, Salome chose to do something she would never have done earlier in her life. Something caused her to change her ways, and I thought it would enhance the story if I could fictionalize that motivation.
Q. Where did you get the information about hairstyles?
A. Fascinating, isn’t it? I discovered the work of Janet Stephens, an expert on ancient hairstyles, and watched her assemble some of these styles on YouTube videos. I learned that hairbrushes and hairpins had not yet been invented in the first century before Christ, so I had to make adjustments in the story.
Q. How much of the novel is fiction and how much is fact?
A. Nearly all of the events are factual. According to the historian Josephus, Aristobulus’s drowning and Alexandra’s letters to Cleopatra and her attempts to leave Jerusalem (in a coffin, no less!) are true. Of course, not even Josephus was privy to the prime characters’ dialogue and thoughts, so those are fictional. But I always strive to be logical and stick to the facts when they’re available.
Q. Did Cleopatra really proposition Herod?
A. If historical sources can be trusted, yes.
Q. Did Nicolaus of Damascus really write a biography of Herod?
A. Yes. He was a prolific writer, and researchers believe Josephus referred to Nicolaus’s biography of Herod when he wrote his own history. Sadly, no copies of the biography of Herod have survived.
Q. Did Herod really disguise himself and eavesdrop on the streets of Jerusalem?
A. He did. Incidentally, though Rome was famous for its sewers and aqueducts, it wasn’t until after the first century that the sewers were designed to keep standing water out of the streets, rather than move filth out of the city. While private homes may have had toilets, they were not connected to the sewer lines.
Q. According to your timeline, Jesus was born in 7 BC?
A. There’s an ongoing debate taking place among biblical scholars concerning the exact time of Jesus’s birth. In fact, those who hold to a later year would place the massacre of the innocents during the reign of Herod Archelaus, an idea that is plausible. But when writing historical fiction, a novelist has to choose a time and stick with it so the story’s events will remain consistent. I went with the earlier date because it best suited the story.
Q. Is this the last book in THE SILENT YEARS series?
A. Yes. In Egypt’s Sister, Judah’s Wife, Jerusalem’s Queen, and King’s Shadow, we have covered all the major events during the four hundred years between the Old and New Testaments: the Seleucid occupation, the Hellenization of the world (including Judea), the Maccabees, the Hasmonean dynasty, the rise and sweeping influence of the Roman Empire, and finally the events leading up to the birth of Christ in Bethlehem.
I found it interesting that Josephus and other secular historians do not mention the slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem, which has led many modern scholars to conclude that it did not happen. But I trust the biblical writers who both prophesied it (Jeremiah 31:15) and recorded it (Matthew 2). I don’t know why Josephus and others didn’t write about this slaughter. Bethlehem was a small city, so perhaps the event wasn’t well known outside certain circles. Because an event was omitted in the historical record, however, does not mean it didn’t occur. No source is exhaustive.
Q. What’s next for you?
A. I’ll begin work on a new series about women in the New Testament, women we haven’t yet read about in novels. I’m looking forward to it.
References
Bateman, Herbert W. “Were the Opponents at Philippi Necessarily Jewish?” Bibliotheca Sacra 155, 1998.
Charles River Editors. The Kingdom of Herod the Great: The History of the Herodian Dynasty in Ancient Israel During the Life of Jesus, 2015.
Connolly, Peter. Living in the Time of Jesus of Nazareth. London: Oxford University Press, 1983.
Criswell, W. A. et al., eds. Believer’s Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991.
Elwell, Walter A., and Philip Wesley Comfort. Tyndale Bible Dictionary. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001.
Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G. The Messianic Bible Study Collection. Vol. 31. Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 1983.
Gelb, Norman. Herod the Great: Statesman, Visionary, Tyrant. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2013.
Graf, David F. “Aretas.” David Noel Freedman, ed. The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992.
Harrop, Clayton. “Intertestamental History and Literature.” Chad Brand et al., eds. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2003.
Hoehner, Harold W. “A Chronology of the Life of Christ.” Holman Christian Standard Bible: Harmony of the Gospels. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2007.
Horbury, William. Messianism Among Jews and Christians: Twelve Biblical and Historical Studies. London; New York: T&T Clark, 2003.
Ilan, Tal. “Salome.” Jewish Women’s Archive. https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/salome, accessed July 27, 2018.
———. “Herodian Women.” Jewish Women’s Archive. https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/herodian-women, accessed July 27, 2018.
Josephus, Flavius, and William Whiston. The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987.
Marshak, Adam Kolman. The Many Faces of Herod the Great. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2015.
Mowczko, Marg. “The Intrigues of Salome I, Herod the Great’s Sister.” https://margmowczko.com/salome-i-herod-the-greats-sister, accessed June 22, 2018.
Myers, Allen C. The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1987.
Negev, Avraham, and Shimon Gibson, eds. Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 1990.
Netzer, Ehud. The Architecture of Herod the Great Builder. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006.
Pelser, G. M. M. “Governing Authorities in Jewish National Life in Palestine in New Testament Times.” The New Testament Milieu. A. B. du Toit, ed. Vol. 2. Johannesburg, S.A.: Orion Publishers, Halfway House, 1998.
Richardson, Peter. Herod: King of the Jews and Friend of the Romans. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1999.
Robertson, A. T. Word Pictures in the New Testament. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933.
Stephens, Janet. “Ancient Roman Hairdressing: Fiction to Fact.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5bfRkomVkg, accessed August 2018.
Swindoll, Charles R., and Roy B. Zuck. Understanding Christian Theology. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.
VanderKam, James C. The Dead Sea Scrolls Today. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994.
Vermes, Gaza. The True Herod. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2014.
Vos, Howard Frederic. Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Manners & Customs: How the People of the Bible Really Lived. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999.
Angela Hunt has published more than one hundred books, with sales over five million copies worldwide. She’s the New York Times bestselling author of The Tale of Three Trees, The Note, and The Nativity Story. Angela’s novels have won or been nominated for several prestigious industry awards, such as the RITA Award, the Christy Award, the ECPA Christian Book Award, and the HOLT Medallion Award. Romantic Times Book Club presented her with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. She holds both a doctorate in Biblical Studies and a ThD degree. Angela and her husband live in Florida, along with their mastiffs. For a complete list of the author’s books, visit angelahuntbooks.com.
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Table of Contents
Cover
Half Title Page
Other Books in the Series
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Epigraph
Part One: 37 Years Before the Common Era 1
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Part Two: 20 Years Before the Common Era 40
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Epilogue
Interview with the Author
References
About the Author
Back Ads
Back Cover
List of Pages
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