Ryan Center for Biblical Studies

• Uselton Catalog #: 5
• Class: Biblical
• Ruling Authority: Herod Archelaus (4 B.C. - 6 A.D.)
• Type: AE (bronze) prutah
• Size: 16.27 mm.
• Weight: 2.25 g.
• Die Axis:
• Obverse: Vine branch with bunch of grapes and small leaf. Above it, a Greek inscription HPW?OY (of Herod).
• Reverse: Crested helmet with two cheek pieces. [Conjectural: Below it, a small caduceus and inscription E?NAP[X]O (of the Ethnarch).]
• Exergue:
• References: Ya’akov Meshorer, A Treasury of Jewish Coins (New York, 2001), pl. 48, no. 73a
• Original #: 5

“Herod Archelaus was born in 23 BCE as the son of king Herod and his wife Malthace; he was full brother of Herod Antipas and a half-brother of Philip. With these brothers, he was sent as a hostage to Rome, where he received his education. In his father’s testament, Herod Archelaus was appointed king, but the Roman emperor Augustus wrote him that he had to contend himself with the title of ethnarch (‘national leader’ ) of Samaria, Judaea and Idumea…. Herod Archelaus ruled so badly that the Jews and Samarians unitedly appealed to Rome to request that he should be deposed. In 6 CE, Archelaus was banished to Vienna in Gaul and after a bloody revolt led by Judas the Galilean, Judaea became a province of the Roman Empire. Archelaus must have died before 18. Several of his coins show a bunch of grapes. This was the most common picture on a Jewish coins, reminding the user of the coin of the fabulous fertility of the country (the image is derived from Numbers 13.23). A crested morion was shown on the reverse; its significance is unclear to us, although it must be pointed out that this ‘Boeotian helmet’ was very un-Roman. Other coins showed the bow of a ship and a laurel wreath.” –Livius.org

“…But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,..” Matthew 2:22.