Although Bob Thompson takes the title and composition for La Mort des Enfant de Bethel from a 1653 painting by French artist Laurent de la Hyre, he re-imagines the work for a mid-twentieth-century audience. La Hyre depicted a story from the New Testament of the Bible, in which King Herod ordered the murder of all male children near Bethlehem in an effort to protect his claim to the throne. In the context of the civil unrest in 1960s America, the biblical reference assumes new significance, particularly in light of the violent acts against innocent people of color across the country.