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
Wise Men Visit Jesus
1 Now after#*Here “after” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“was born”) Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2saying, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star at its rising#Or, “when it rose”; traditionally rendered “in the east” by many English versions and have come to worship him.” 3And when#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal King Herod heard it,#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him, 4and after#*Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“calling together”) which is understood as temporal calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired from them where the Christ was to be born. 5So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet,
6‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,
for from you will go out a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”#A quotation from Mic 5:2
7Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“summoned”) has been translated as a finite verb determined precisely from them the time when#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“appeared”) the star appeared. 8And he sent them to Bethlehem and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“sent”) has been translated as a finite verb said, “Go, inquire carefully concerning the child, and when you have found him, report to me so that I also may come and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“may come”) has been translated as a finite verb worship him.” 9After#*Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“listened to”) which is understood as temporal they listened to the king, they went out, and behold, the star which they had seen at its rising#Or, “when it rose”; traditionally rendered “in the east” by many English versions led them until it came and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came”) has been translated as a finite verb stood above the place where the child was. 10Now when they#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal saw the star, they rejoiced with very great joy. 11And when they#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“came”) which is understood as temporal came into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“fell down”) has been translated as a finite verb worshiped him. And opening their treasure boxes, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route.
Joseph, Mary, and Jesus Escape to Egypt
13Now after they had gone away, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him.” 14So he got up and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“got up”) has been translated as a finite verb took the child and his mother during the night and went away to Egypt. 15And he was there until the death of Herod, in order that what was said by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,
“Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Herod Has Innocent Children Murdered
16Then Herod, when he#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal saw that he had been deceived by the wise men, became very angry, and he sent soldiers#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“sent”) has been translated as a finite verb executed all the children in Bethlehem and in all the region around it from the age of two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined precisely from the wise men. 17Then what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled, saying,
18“A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she did not want to be comforted,
because they exist no longer#Literally “they are not”.”#A quotation from Jer 31:15
Joseph, Mary, and Jesus Return to Nazareth
19Now after#*Here “after” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“had died”) Herod had died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the life of the child are dead.” 21So he got up and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“got up”) has been translated as a finite verb took the child and his mother and entered#Literally “entered into” the land of Israel. 22But when he#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream, he took refuge in the regions of Galilee. 23And he came and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came”) has been translated as a finite verb lived in a town called Nazareth, in order that what was said by the prophets would be fulfilled:#Literally “that”; the conjunction could be understood (1) to introduce a direct quotation, serving a function similar to modern English quotation marks, and thus not translated; or (2) to introduce an indirect quotation, in which case it could be translated “that he would be called a Nazarene” “He will be called a Nazarene.”
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