Matthew 2:18

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 2:16-18

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 2:16-18

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 2:16-18

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 2:17-18

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 2:18

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

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 2:18

In Rama was there a voice heard - Rama was a small town in the tribe of Benjamin. Rachel was the mother of Benjamin, and was buried near to Bethlehem, Genesis 35:16-19. Rama was about 6 miles northwest of Jerusalem, near Bethel, and was some 10 or 12 miles from Bethlehem. The name Rama signifies an eminence, and was given to the town because it was situated on a hill. Rama is commonly supposed to be the same as the Arimarthea of the New Testament the place where Joseph lived who begged the body... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Matthew 2:18

Matthew 2:18. In Rama was a voice heard Rachel weeping for her children Benjamin, it is well known, was the son of Rachel: his posterity, therefore, who inhabited Ramah and the parts adjacent, sprung from her, and, according to the Scripture language, were her children. The slaughter of the inhabitants of Bethlehem, also, might with propriety enough be termed the slaughter of her children; she being buried there, Genesis 35:19, and the Bethlehemites being the offspring of her husband and... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Matthew 2:1-18

11. Herod and the Magi (Matthew 2:1-18)It seems that after the ceremonies in Jerusalem, Joseph and Mary returned with Jesus to Bethlehem. Because most of the travellers had now gone, they were able to move into the house (see Matthew 2:11). Meanwhile, in a country to the east, men known as Magi (people who study the stars) had worked out that a new king was born in Judea and they came to Jerusalem looking for him (Matthew 2:1-2).Herod the Great was ruler of Judea at the time, and he had no... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Matthew 2:18

Rama = Ramah in O.T. lamentation. Greek. threnos. Occurs only here. children. Greek plural of teknon. App-108 . read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Matthew 2:17-18

Matthew 2:17-18. Then was fulfilled, &c.— Then, &c.—a cry heard, lamentation, and weeping, and bitter complaint. See, for an explanation of this text, the notes on Jeremiah 31:15. Dr. Doddridge understands this also as an allusion. But the notes above referred to will convince the reader, that this passage may, with strict propriety, be understood as a prophesy of that event to which the sacred historian applies it. read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 2:16-18

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 2:16-18

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 2:16-18

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 2:17-18

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 2:18

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 2:18

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Matthew 2:18

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Matthew 2:1-18

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Matthew 2:18

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Matthew 2:17-18

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