Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, March 28th, 2024
Maundy Thursday
There are 3 days til Easter!
Attention!
Take your personal ministry to the Next Level by helping StudyLight build churches and supporting pastors in Uganda.
Click here to join the effort!

Bible Encyclopedias
Bagoas

The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia

Search for…
or
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Prev Entry
Bagnol
Next Entry
Bagratuni
Resource Toolbox
Additional Links

1. General of the Persian king Artaxerxes Ochus (359-338 B.C.); is called "Bagoses" by Josephus ("Ant." 11:7, § 1). He interfered in the Jewish party struggles, and forced an entrance into the sanctuary. 2. Eunuch of Herod the Great. He was implicated in a conspiracy against the life of Herod, instigated by four women in the royal palace and supported by the Pharisees. The Pharisees predicted that Bagoas would be king of the Jews and that he would beget children in some wonderful manner. The conspiracy was discovered by Salome; and Herod, old and near his end, finding that his fears of assassination were not without foundation, had Bagoas executed (Josephus, "Ant." 17:2, § 4). According to the Mishnah (Yeb. 8:4), a person born a eunuch had the power of healing; and through this the above-mentioned story finds confirmation. As a special instance, the Mishnah mentions a certain Ben Megusat, of Jerusalem, who was, however, made a eunuch. As classical authors (Ovid, "Amores," 2:2,1; Pliny, "Historia Naturalis," 13:4) use the word "bagoas" as the equivalent of "eunuch," it may perhaps be assumed that the "Megusat" of the Mishnah is a form of the same word.

Bibliography:
  • He-Ḥaluẓ, Schorr, 8:113, 10:7;
  • A. Geiger, in Jüd. Zeit. 8:171;
  • Krauss, Griechische und Lateinische Lehnwörter, 1:259;
  • see also Kohut, Fl. Josephus Jüdischer Krieg, p. 572, Linz, 1901, who refers to Isaiah 16:3;
  • Nöldeke, Persische Studien in Sitzungsberichte der Wiener Akademie, 126:28;
  • and Justi, Iranisches Namenbuch, p. 58.
G.
S. Kr.
Bibliography Information
Singer, Isidore, Ph.D, Projector and Managing Editor. Entry for 'Bagoas'. 1901 The Jewish Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​tje/​b/bagoas.html. 1901.
adsFree icon
Ads FreeProfile