Kathie Lee Gifford’s Latest Book Explores a Biblical Villain
By Movieguide® Contributor
Kathie Lee Gifford says her latest book, “Herod and Mary: The True Story of the Tyrant King and the Mother of the Risen Savior,” is “the greatest story never told.”
“I’ve lost track, I think it’s my thirty-first book,” she joked during an episode of the “Livin’ The Bream” podcast.
The book “reveals deep insight to how Herod came to power, how corruption and an ancient evil threatened the stability of a nation, and how a teenage Mary was called to traverse these obstacles to bring the Savior, Jesus, our living hope, into the world,” according to a synopsis.
“Once I started studying rabbinically in the Holy Land, which means what the Old Testament really actually says and what the New Testament really actually says in their original source languages…everything changed for me,” Gifford shared. “I realized if Jesus if the greatest story ever told, then Herod is the greatest story never told. I could not believe what I learned about this man. There are only several references to him in the New Testament.”
“Our story is, what was the life of that man?” she said. “It’s just beyond belief. This man was an incredible architect. Certain things, they didn’t know for centuries and centuries and centuries how he did what he did.”
Gifford added that Herod was also “an amazing political animal” who “desperately wanted to be loved…and [to be] a beloved king,” despite the fact that he was universally hated.
“I just want to encourage people, by reading this fascinating book on somebody they think they know — you don’t know anything about Herod. Just like I knew nothing,” Gifford concluded.
In an interview with PEOPLE, Gifford spoke about her commitment to sharing her faith with the world.
“I don’t know how much time the Lord has me still on this earth, but for whatever time it is I pray that I would be useful… that I would be kind and helpful, and loving to people,” she said. “I am a strong woman, but I’m a woman who for 60 years has been trying to do godly work, trying to do the right thing, trying to love people, [and] trying to represent the kingdom of God.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Gifford’s efforts to share encouraging messages of faith with her social media followers:
Kathie Lee Gifford shared a Bible verse and prayer on Instagram, reminding her followers to trust that God will take care of them.
She posted Psalm 1:1-3, which reads:
Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
“Heavenly Father, You have planted us in Your garden of life. It is Your joy and delight to take care of us, to prosper us…for our roots to go deep into Your love and purpose for us. Help us to yield to this process, LORD, we pray,” the actress wrote.
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