Matthew 2
2
The Visit of the Wise Men
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem#map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4. in Judea, in the time#tn Grk “in the days.” of King Herod,#sn King Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty. wise men#sn The Greek term magi here describes a class of wise men and priests who were astrologers (L&N 32.40). from the East came to Jerusalem#map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. 2 saying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose#tn Or “in its rising,” referring to the astrological significance of a star in a particular portion of the sky. The term used for the “East” in v. 1 is ἀνατολαί (anatolai, a plural form that is used typically of the rising of the sun), while in vv. 2 and 9 the singular ἀνατολή (anatolh) is used. The singular is typically used of the rising of a star and as such should not normally be translated “in the east” (cf. BDAG 74 s.v. 1: “because of the sg. and the article in contrast to ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν, vs. 1, [it is] prob. not a geograph. expr. like the latter, but rather astronomical…likew. vs. 9”). and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod#sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. heard this he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law,#tn Or “and scribes of the people.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader. he asked them where the Christ#tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn See the note on Christ in 1:16. was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they said, “for it is written this way by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are in no way least among the rulers of Judah,
for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”#sn A quotation from Mic 5:2.
7 Then Herod#sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. privately summoned the wise men and determined from them when the star had appeared. 8 He#tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated. sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well.” 9 After listening to the king they left, and once again#tn Grk “and behold the star.” the star they saw when it rose#tn See the note on the word “rose” in 2:2. led them until it stopped above the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star they shouted joyfully.#tn Grk “they rejoiced with very great joy.” 11 As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down#tn Grk “they fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.” and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense,#sn Frankincense refers to the aromatic resin of certain trees, used as a sweet-smelling incense (L&N 6.212). and myrrh.#sn Myrrh consisted of the aromatic resin of certain shrubs (L&N 6.208). It was used in preparing a corpse for burial. 12 After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod,#sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. they went back by another route to their own country.
The Escape to Egypt
13 After they had gone, an#tn Grk “behold, an angel.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1). angel of the Lord#tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20. appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod#sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Herod the Great was particularly ruthless regarding the succession to his throne. is going to look for the child to kill him.” 14 Then he got up, took the child and his mother during#tn The feminine singular genitive noun νυκτός (nuktos, “night”) indicates the time during which the action of the main verb takes place (ExSyn 124). the night, and went to Egypt. 15 He stayed there until Herod#sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. died. In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”#sn A quotation from Hos 11:1.
16 When Herod#sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Note the fulfillment of the prophecy given by the angel in 2:13. saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men#tn Or “soldiers.” to kill all the children in Bethlehem#map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4. and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men. 17 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud wailing,#tc The LXX of Jer 38:15 (31:15 ET) has “lamentation, weeping, and loud wailing”; most later mss (C D L W 0233 Ë13 33 Ï) have a quotation in Matthew which conforms to that of the LXX (θρῆνος καὶ κλαυθμός καὶ ὀδυρμός; qrhno" kai klauqmo" kai odurmo"). But such assimilations were routine among the scribes; as such, they typically should be discounted because they are both predictable and motivated. The shorter reading, without “lamentation and,” is thus to be preferred, especially since it cannot easily be accounted for unless it is the original wording here. Further, it is found in the better mss along with a good cross-section of other witnesses (א B Z 0250 Ë1 pc lat co).
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she did not want to be comforted, because they were#tn Grk “are”; the Greek text uses a present tense verb. gone.”#sn A quotation from Jer 31:15.
The Return to Nazareth
19 After Herod#sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. When Herod the Great died in 4 b.c., his kingdom was divided up among his three sons: Archelaus, who ruled over Judea (where Bethlehem was located, v. 22); Philip, who became tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis (cf. Luke 3:1); and Antipas, who became tetrarch of Galilee. had died, an#tn Grk “behold, an angel.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1). angel of the Lord#tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20. appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” 21 So#tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s instructions. he got up and took the child and his mother and returned to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus#sn Archelaus took after his father Herod the Great in terms of cruelty and ruthlessness, so Joseph was afraid to go there. After further direction in a dream, he went instead to Galilee. was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod,#sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. he was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the regions of Galilee. 23 He came to a town called Nazareth#sn Nazareth was a very small village in the region of Galilee (Galilee lay north of Samaria and Judea). The town was located about 15 mi (25 km) west of the southern edge of the Sea of Galilee. According to Luke 1:26, Mary was living in Nazareth when the birth of Jesus was announced to her.map For location see Map1-D3; Map2-C2; Map3-D5; Map4-C1; Map5-G3. and lived there. Then what had been spoken by the prophets was fulfilled, that Jesus#tn There is no expressed subject of the third person singular verb here; the pronoun “he” is implied. Instead of this pronoun the referent “Jesus” has been supplied in the text to clarify to whom this statement refers. would be called a Nazarene.#tn The Greek could be indirect discourse (as in the text), or direct discourse (“he will be called a Nazarene”). Judging by the difficulty of finding OT quotations (as implied in the plural “prophets”) to match the wording here, it appears that the author was using a current expression of scorn that conceptually (but not verbally) found its roots in the OT.
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Matthew 2
2
1 NOW WHEN Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men [astrologers] from the east came to Jerusalem, asking,
2 Where is He Who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east at its rising and have come to worship Him. [Num. 24:17; Jer. 23:5; Zech. 9:9.]
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was disturbed and troubled, and the whole of Jerusalem with him.
4 So he called together all the chief priests and learned men (scribes) of the people and anxiously asked them where the Christ was to be born.
5 They replied to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 And you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are not in any way least or insignificant among the chief cities of Judah; for from you shall come a Ruler (Leader) Who will govern and shepherd My people Israel. [Mic. 5:2.]
7 Then Herod sent for the wise men [astrologers] secretly, and accurately to the last point ascertained from them the time of the appearing of the star [that is, how long the star had made itself visible since its rising in the east].
8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search for the Child carefully and diligently, and when you have found Him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship Him.
9 When they had listened to the king, they went their way, and behold, the star which had been seen in the east in its rising went before them until it came and stood over the place where the young Child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were thrilled with ecstatic joy.
11 And on going into the house, they saw the Child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then opening their treasure bags, they presented to Him gifts–gold and frankincense and myrrh.
12 And receiving an answer to their asking, they were divinely instructed and warned in a dream not to go back to Herod; so they departed to their own country by a different way.
13 Now after they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, Get up! [Tenderly] take unto you the young Child and His mother and flee to Egypt; and remain there till I tell you [otherwise], for Herod intends to search for the Child in order to destroy Him.
14 And having risen, he took the Child and His mother by night and withdrew to Egypt
15 And remained there until Herod's death. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, Out of Egypt have I called My Son. [Hos. 11:1.]
16 Then Herod, when he realized that he had been misled by the wise men, was furiously enraged, and he sent and put to death all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that territory who were two years old and under, reckoning according to the date which he had investigated diligently and had learned exactly from the wise men.
17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
18 A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they were no more. [Jer. 31:15.]
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt
20 And said, Rise, [tenderly] take unto you the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the Child's life are dead.
21 Then he awoke and arose and [tenderly] took the Child and His mother and came into the land of Israel.
22 But because he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being divinely warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee.
23 He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled: He shall be called a Nazarene [Branch, Separated One]. [Isa. 11:1.]
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