And was there until the death of Herod . The Revised Version rightly joins this with the preceding, not with the following, clause. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying ( Matthew 1:22 , notes), Out of Egypt have I called (Revised Version, did I call ) my Son ( Hosea 11:1 , "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt"). Observe here: read more
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked ( ὅτι ἐνεπαίχθη ) . The verb which in the New Testament occurs only in the synoptists, and always in the strict sense of "mock" ( e.g. Matthew 20:19 ; Matthew 27:29 , Matthew 27:31 , Matthew 27:41 ), represents Herod's feelings, and perhaps his language, at his treatment by the Magi. It was more than deception; they had trifled with him. Of the Wise Men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children ; Revised... read more
The slaughter of the innocents. read more
The innocents. This is one of the most heartrending scenes in all history. The questions which it suggests are mysterious, and some of them quite unanswerable. I. HEROD 'S CRIME . People have said, "This is impossible!" But Herod's character, as painted by the secular historian, shows him to be gloomy and morose in his later days and capable of almost any cruelty. We execrate the enemies of Christ as monsters of wickedness. Herod and Judas are names that make us shudder, and we think... read more
A notable instance of the vicarious in the human lot and in suffering. The great desirableness of reading Scripture and nature alike , observant of the facts of each, refusing to disguise the facts of either, attentively following them as far as may be possible, and, if this be not far enough to conduct to the vindication of the facts themselves, reverently storing them, as the things that await explanation. Therefore— I. THE ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT THE PRESENT ... read more
Providence in evil. Josephus does not mention this massacre. The event occurred ninety-four years before he wrote; it was but one of the many frightful atrocities of Herod, and, not being apparently connected with any political event, was easily passed over by him. Lardner, however, cites Macrobius, a heathen author of the fourth century, who refers to it thus: "When he [Augustus Caesar] heard that among those male infants above two years old which Herod, the King of the Jews, ordered to be... read more
Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by ( διά ) Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not ( Jeremiah 31:15 , from the Hebrew). Notice: (a) The order in the Revised Version. A voice was heard in Ramah is more literal; the stress is on the cry rather than on the place. (b) Lamentation and must be omitted, with the Revised... read more
Vicarious sorrow. "Rachel weeping for her children." It seems to be a most strange Divine permission that the innocent babes of Bethlehem should be slaughtered. One asks, but the question cannot be answered, "Why did not some miraculous hand preserve those innocents from Herod's shameless device?" We can only say that God's interventions are always held in the strictest limitations. They just effect their end, but interfere as little as possible with the ordinary course of human affairs,... read more
But when Herod was dead . Does the repetition of the tenor of Matthew 2:15 point to a different source? Behold, an angel (rightly; contrast Matthew 1:20 , note) of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph ( φαίνεται κατ ὄναρ , as in Matthew 2:13 ). In both cases the stress is on the fact of the appearance, not on its mode. In Egypt. The evangelist will leave no room for doubt as to where Joseph then was (cf. note at head of chapter). read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 2:14
When he arose, he took ; Revised Version, and he arose and took. The ἐγερθείς here, as in Matthew 2:13 , precludes delay. The young Child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt . As St. Paul in after years was able to connect himself with fellow-craftsmen, and thus maintain himself ( Acts 18:3 ), so might Joseph reasonably expect to be able to do in Egypt, and the more so since the connexion there between those who worked at the same trade seems to have been even... read more