King Herod (Herod the Great) died near the end of his reign in Jericho around 4 BCE after a severe and painful illness, and his kingdom was then divided among his sons. Later Christian tradition sometimes also speaks of another “King Herod” (Herod Agrippa I) who died suddenly, described in Acts as being struck down and “eaten by worms.”
Herod the Great’s death
Herod the Great, the ruler of Judea when Jesus was born, suffered from a progressive and agonizing disease in his final years, described by ancient historian Josephus as involving intense pain, infection, and putrefaction. Modern medical analyses suggest possible causes such as advanced arteriosclerosis, kidney failure, intestinal cancer, or parasitic infection, but there is no single agreed diagnosis.
Herod died in Jericho around 4 BCE, after an unsuccessful suicide attempt during the last phase of his illness. He was buried at Herodium, a fortified palace complex he had built, and after his death his realm was partitioned among his sons Archelaus, Antipas, and Philip, subject to Roman approval.
Biblical and later traditions
The New Testament mentions Herod’s death briefly in the context of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus returning from Egypt after the massacre of the infants at Bethlehem, treating his death as the end of an era of danger for the child Jesus. This aligns with the historical date of about 4 BCE and with the picture of Herod as a paranoid and violent ruler in his last years.
Other early Christian writings about Herod the Great mainly emphasize his moral decline and cruelty rather than adding reliable medical details. Medieval and later retellings sometimes embellish the story, but these are considered devotional or dramatic expansions rather than primary historical evidence.
Herod Agrippa I (another “King Herod”)
In the New Testament book of Acts, another ruler called “King Herod” (Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great) is said to accept divine praise from a crowd, after which an angel strikes him and he is “eaten by worms” and dies. Ancient historians such as Josephus also report his sudden death after severe abdominal pain, though without the same theological framing, and some modern scholars suggest acute intestinal infection or parasitic disease as explanations.
Because several rulers in the same dynasty share the name Herod, questions about “what happened to King Herod” can refer either to Herod the Great’s slow, painful death and division of his kingdom, or to Herod Agrippa I’s sudden, dramatic death described in Acts.
