Mat 2:13-23 | RWP

‏ Matthew 2:13-23

Until the death of Herod ( εως της τελευτης Hηρωιδου ). The Magi had been warned in a dream not to report to Herod and now Joseph was warned in a dream to take Mary and the child along ( μελλε ζητειν του απολεσα gives a vivid picture of the purpose of Herod in these three verbs). In Egypt Joseph was to keep Mary and Jesus till the death of Herod the monster. Matthew quotes Ho 11:1 to show that this was in fulfilment of God's purpose to call his Son out of Egypt. He may have quoted again from a collection of testimonia rather than from the Septuagint. There is a Jewish tradition in the Talmud that Jesus "brought with him magic arts out of Egypt in an incision on his body" (Shabb. 104b). "This attempt to ascribe the Lord's miracles to Satanic agency seems to be independent of Matthew, and may have been known to him, so that one object of his account may have been to combat it" (McNeile).

Slew all the male children that were in Bethlehem ( ανειλεν παντας τους παιδας τους εν Βηθλεεμ ). The flight of Joseph was justified, for Herod was violently enraged ( εθυμωθη λιαν ) that he had been mocked by the Magi, deluded in fact ( ενεπαιχθη ). Vulgate illusus esset. Herod did not know, of course, how old the child was, but he took no chances and included all the little boys ( τους παιδας, masculine article) in Bethlehem two years old and under, perhaps fifteen or twenty. It is no surprise that Josephus makes no note of this small item in Herod's chamber of horrors. It was another fulfilment of the prophecy in Jer 31:15. The quotation (2:18) seems to be from the Septuagint. It was originally written of the Babylonian captivity but it has a striking illustration in this case also. Macrobius (Sat. II. iv. II) notes that Augustus said that it was better to be Herod's sow ( υς ) than his son ( υιος ), for the sow had a better chance of life.

For they are dead ( τεθνηκασιν ). Only Herod had sought to kill the young child, but it is a general statement of a particular fact as is common with people who say: "They say." The idiom may be suggested by Ex 4:19: "For all are dead that sought thy life."

Warned in a dream ( χρηματισθεις κατ' οναρ ). He was already afraid to go to Judea because Archelaus was reigning (ruling, not technically king, βασιλευε ). In a fret at last before his death Herod had changed his will again and put Archelaus, the worst of his living sons, in the place of Antipas. So Joseph went to Galilee. Matthew has had nothing about the previous dwelling of Joseph and Mary in Nazareth. We learn that from Luke who tells nothing of the flight into Egypt. The two narratives supplement one another and are in no sense contradictory.

Should be called a Nazarene ( Ναζωραιος κληθησετα ). Matthew says "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets" ( δια των προφητων ). It is the plural and no single prophecy exists which says that the Messiah was to be called a Nazarene. It may be that this term of contempt (Joh 1:46; 7:52) is what is meant, and that several prophecies are to be combined like Ps. 22:6, 8; 69:11, 19; Isa 53:2, 3, 4. The name Nazareth means a shoot or branch, but it is by no means certain that Matthew has this in mind. It is best to confess that we do not know. See Broadus on Matthew for the various theories. But, despised as Nazareth was at that time, Jesus has exalted its fame. The lowly Nazarene he was at first, but it is our glory to be the followers of the Nazarene. Bruce says that "in this case, therefore, we certainly know that the historic fact suggested the prophetic reference, instead of the prophecy creating the history." The parallels drawn by Matthew between the history of Israel and the birth and infancy of Jesus are not mere fancy. History repeats itself and writers of history find frequent parallels. Surely Matthew is not beyond the bounds of reason or of fact in illustrating in his own way the birth and infancy of Jesus by the Providence of God in the history of Israel.