1. Herod’s palace at Masada, however, contains a positive relic.
In 1963, archaeologists excavated Herod’s palace at Masada. They discovered a cache of seeds on the site that proved to belong to a species of Judean date palm experts had believed to be extinct for nearly a thousand years. In 2005, one of the seeds was planted and germinated and the resulting plant was named Methuselah because of its great age. However, the plant was male and so unable to produce fruit. It looked like Methuselah was finally doomed to die out until in 2015 more seeds were planted. These germinated into female plants, meaning Methuselah’s future is assured. Herod’s historical reputation may have been one of carnage and death. However, at least this part of his legacy is one of life.
Where Do we get this stuff? Here are our sources.”
Whose who in the Roman World, John Hazel, Routledge, 2002
Edom, Idumaea, Bible Study Tools
Antipater, Idumaean Governor of Judea, Encyclopedia Brittanica, July 20, 1998
Edom, Encyclopedia Brittanica, June 4, 2017
Why Is Jewishness Matrilineal? Tzvi Freeman and Yehuda Shurpin, Chabad.org,
Herod the Great, Livius.org, April 12, 2018
Meet the Hasmoneans: A Brief History of a Violent Epoch, Elon Gilad, Haaretz, December 23, 2014
Phasael, Richard Gottheil, and Samuel Krauss, Jewish Encyclopedia
Mariamne, Richard Gottheil and Samuel Krauss, Jewish Encyclopedia
The Wars of the Jews, Flavius Josephus (ed William Whiston) Perseus
The Antiquities of the Jews, Flavius Josephus, (ed William Whiston) Perseus
“Herod the Great.”New World Encyclopedia, Dec 22, 2017
Researchers Diagnose Herod the Great, Amanda Onion, ABC News, January 25, 2002