TOPICS FROM PRACTICE: Days of the Week

Over the last month or so, several topics came up in practice that I didn't have time to address during our short hour together.  I promised that I would get back to you on them, but it's probably too much to discuss during the next practice.  So, here is a quick write-up for you here, instead.

DAYS OF THE WEEK:

We discussed a few days back that the days of the week are named for old pagan gods.  The days were originally named for Greco-roman gods, but the Germans replaced them with their own, and English inherited this naming  The question was asked why Christians kept pagan names?  The answer was simple - convenience and that most people had forgotten the origins by the time English came around.

As requested, here's the listing of the origin of each name:

• Sunday:  "The Sun's Day"
• Monday:  "The Moon's Day"
• Tuesday:  "Tyr's Day" (One-handed god associated with oaths)
• Wednesday:  "Odin's Day" (Father of the norse pantheon)
• Thursday:  "Thor's Day" (You've probably seen the movie)
• Friday:  "Freya's Day"  (Wife of Odin)
• Saturday:  "Saturn's Day" (The only Roman god to remain in our calendar)

TOPICS FROM PRACTICE: The Herods

Over the last month or so, several topics came up in practice that I didn't have time to address during our short hour together.  I promised that I would get back to you on them, but it's probably too much to discuss during the next practice.  So, here is a quick write-up for you here, instead.

ALL THE HERODS:

A few weeks back, we discussed the difference between Herod the Great in Matthew 2, and Herod the Tetrarch in Matthew 14.  The question then came up about Archeleus in Matthew 2:22, who was said to be "ruling in place of his father Herod."  I promised to do some research into the line of Herod for us all.  Here we go:

1. Herod the Great ruled from about 37 B.C. to about 1 B.C.*  Before he died, he split up his kingdom with his 4 sons (tetrarch means "ruler of one fourth").  When he died, his sons took over the last pieces he had ruled.
2. Archeleus ruled Judea (one fourth of Herod the Great's kingdom) from about 4 B.C. to about 6 A.D.  He's only mentioned once in scripture.
3. Herod the Tetrarch (a.k.a. Herod Antipas) ruled Galilee (including Nazareth) and Perea from about 4 B.C. to about 40 A.D.  He is both the man who killed John the Baptist and the one who Jesus comes before during his trial (Luke 23:6-12).
4. Philip ruled 4 B.C. to about 34 A.D. over Ituraea.  He's only mentioned in scripture as the husband of Herodias (Luke 14:3)
5. Herod Agrippa I took over Herod the Tetrarch's kingdom and ruled from 41 A.D. to 44 A.D.  He is the one who arrested James and Peter in Acts 12:1-3.
6. Herod Agrippa II (known as "King Agrippa") was the son of Herod Agrippa I and ruled from 50 A.D. to 93 A.D.  He was the one that Paul was brought before in Acts 25 & Acts 26.

*This, of course, raises the obvious question:  "How could Herod the Great die in 1 B.C., if B.C. means 'Before Christ'?"  It's because the exact B.C./A.D. split was set down a long time ago, when the exact dating of Christ's birth was uncertain.  We now believe Jesus was born around 5 B.C., although even now it is impossible to be certain, because the gospel writers did not write down an exact date.