And thou, Bethlehem land of Judah, Art in no wise least among the princes of Judah: For out of thee shall come forth a governor, Who shall be shepherd of my people, Israel.For once, the Pharisees did not embellish the plain word of God with all the trivia usually so dear to the Pharisaical mind. Under the awesome inquiry of merciless and ambitious Herod, they let the Word of God stand alone and unadorned. read more
Matthew 2:4. And when he had gathered &c.— And having assembled. Campbell. All the chief priests, must comprehend here not only the high-priest for the time being, and his deputy, with those who formerly had borne that office; but also the heads of the twenty-four courses, as well as any other persons of peculiar eminence in the priesthood. See 1 Chronicles 24:6. 2 Chronicles 36:14. The scribes of the people, mean the rabbies or doctors, who explained the law to the people. See Michaelis's... read more
Matthew 2:5. In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus, &c.— For a full explanation of this passage we refer to the notes on Micah 5:2; Micah 5:15.; just observing, with Dr. Doddridge, that when this and several other quotations from the Old Testament, which we find in the New, come to be compared with the original, and even with the Septuagint, it will plainly appear that the apostles did nor think it necessary always to transcribe exactlythe passages they quoted, but sometimes contented themselves... read more
4. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together—The class of the "chief priests" included the high priest for the time being, together with all who had previously filled this office; for though the then head of the Aaronic family was the only rightful high priest, the Romans removed them at pleasure, to make way for creatures of their own. In this class probably were included also the heads of the four and twenty courses of the priests. The "scribes" were at... read more
5. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea—a prompt and involuntary testimony from the highest tribunal; which yet at length condemned Him to die. for thus it is written by the prophet— (Micah 5:2). read more
6. And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Juda—the "in" being familiarly left out, as we say, "London, Middlesex." art not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come a Governor, c.—This quotation, though differing verbally, agrees substantially with the Hebrew and the Septuagint. For says the prophet, "Though thou be little, yet out of thee shall come the Ruler"—this honor more than compensating for its natural insignificance while our Evangelist, by a lively turn, makes him... read more
1. The prophecy about Bethlehem 2:1-12 The Old Testament not only predicted how Messiah would be born (Matthew 1:18-25) but where He would be born (Matthew 2:1-12). read more
C. The King’s childhood ch. 2There is nothing in chapter 2 that describes Jesus Himself. Therefore Matthew’s purpose was not simply to give the reader information about Jesus’ childhood. Rather he stressed the reception that the Messiah received having entered the world. The rulers were hostile, the Jewish religious leaders were indifferent, but the Gentiles welcomed and worshipped Him. These proved to be typical responses throughout Jesus’ ministry, as Matthew’s Gospel reveals. This literary... read more
This news troubled Herod because he was very aware of the Jews’ desire to throw off the Roman yoke and his own rule in particular. Remember Pharaoh’s fear for his throne that also led to infanticide. Herod was an Edomite, a descendant of Esau, and the prospect of a Jewish Messiah’s appearance was one he could not ignore. The rest of Jerusalem’s citizens became disturbed because they realized that this news from the Magi might lead Herod to take further cruel action against them. This is what... read more
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Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 2:5
And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written through the prophet. read more