1When Jesus therefore was born in Bethlehem of Juda, in the days of king Herod, behold, there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem, 2Saying: Where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and are come to adore him. 3And king Herod hearing this, was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4And assembling together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where Christ should be born. 5But they said to him: In Bethlehem of Juda. For so it is written by the prophet: 6And thou Bethlehem the land of Juda art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come forth the captain that shall rule my people Israel. 7Then Herod, privately calling the wise men learned diligently of them the time of the star which appeared to them; 8And sending them into Bethlehem, said: Go and diligently inquire after the child, and when you have found him, bring me word again, that I also may come and adore him. 9Who having heard the king, went their way; and behold the star which they had seen in the East, went before them, until it came and stood over where the child was. 10And seeing the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11And entering into the house, they found the child with Mary his mother, and falling down they adored him: and opening their treasures, they offered him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12And having received an answer in sleep that they should not return to Herod, they went back another way into their country. 13And after they were departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt: and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him. 14Who arose, and took the child and his mother by night, and retired into Egypt: and he was there until the death of Herod: 15That it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying: Out of Egypt have I called my son. 16Then Herod perceiving that he was deluded by the wise men, was exceeding angry: and sending killed all the menchildren that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. 17Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremias the prophet, saying: 18A voice in Rama was heard, lamentation and great mourning; Rachel bewailing her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. 19But when Herod was dead, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph in Egypt, 20Saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel. For they are dead that sought the life of the child. 21Who arose, and took the child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22But hearing that Archclaus reigned in Judea in the room of Herod his father, he was afraid to go thither: and being warned in sleep retired into the quarters of Galilee. 23And coming he dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was said by the prophets: That he shall be called a Nazarene.
Challoner’s argument, 1750
The offerings of the wise men: the flight into Egypt: the massacre of the Innocents.
Egypt — off the southern edge of this map.
Found outside this book
- Herod the Greatking of Judea under Rome73–4 BC, reigned from 37 BC
- Archelaushis son, ethnarch of Judea; deposed by Augustus4 BC – AD 6
Notes
- Archelaus is the reason the family turns aside into Galilee. Augustus gave him Judea but not his father’s title, and deposed him in AD 6 after ten years of complaint — so the gospel’s instinct that Judea was the more dangerous place is borne out by what happened to him.
- The flight into Egypt is a journey of some 400 km to the Nile delta, where there had been a large Jewish population since the Babylonian exile.
What the Fathers said
Chrysostom preached straight through this gospel at Antioch in the 380s. These are his, in full, in the Oxford translation.
- Homily 5 · on Matthew 1:22, 23 "Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet, saying, Behold, a Virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth…
- Homily 6 · on Matthew 2:1, 2 "When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born…
- Homily 7 · on Matthew 2:4, 5 "And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, in…
- Homily 8 · on Matthew 2:2 "And when they were come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His…
- Homily 9 · on Matthew 2:16 "Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding…
Not known
How many wise men there were. The text says only that they came and that they brought three kinds of gift.