INNOCENTS, MASSACRE OF THE. This is the conventional name given to the slaughter by Herod of children two years old and under in Bethlehem at the time of the birth of Christ (Matt 2:16-18).

The statement of the Wise Men about a child to be born in Bethlehem who would become “King of the Jews,” aroused in Herod the fear of a claimant to his petty royal power. In his rage when the Wise Men deceived him and did not return to Jerusalem he ordered the killing, thinking to put an end to any possible rival. Estimates of the number of victims range from 20 to 30 to as high as 60 or 70; the numbers 3,000 and 144,000 (cf. Rev 7:4; 14:1), mentioned in the Apoc. and some of the Church Fathers, have no support. The objective and detached manner in which the narrative is presented indicates its historicity. It fits perfectly the character and deeds of Herod, esp. in his later years; for Josephus mentions even worse atrocities committed by the king in his obsession for power.

Matthew sees in this incident a fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:15, though the connection between this v. and Bethlehem is not clear, for Ramah, the traditional burial place of Rachel, is about ten m. N of Jerusalem. “The tradition of the massacre recalled to mind the prophecy, and led to its being quoted, though of doubtful appositeness in a strict sense” (A. B. Bruce).