Matthew 2
Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · 6 BC – 4 BC · Life of Jesus · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·
23 verses · 572 words · ~3 min read · ~4 min listen
The Pilgrimage of the Magi
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
3When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4And when he had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.
5“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and learned from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8And sending them to Bethlehem, he said: “Go and search carefully for the Child, and when you find Him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship Him.”
9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the Child was. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great delight. 11On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.
The Flight to Egypt
13When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”
14So he got up, took the Child and His mother by night, and withdrew to Egypt, 15where he stayed until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
Weeping and Great Mourning
16When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi. 17Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
The Return to Nazareth
19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20“Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those seeking the Childʼs life are now dead.”
21So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22But when he learned that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
Footnotes (4)
- a v2 Or as it rose
- b v6 Micah 5:2; see also 2 Samuel 5:2.
- c v15 Hosea 11:1
- d v18 Jeremiah 31:15
Study notes on this chapter · 6
A star will come out of Jacob
The seer Balaam, hired to curse Israel, instead foresees a star rising from Jacob and a scepter from Israel that crushes Moab and Edom. Jewish and Christian readers have applied it to David, to the Messiah, and to later leaders. Matthew's magi follow a star, and Revelation calls Jesus the bright morning star.
When: Numbers (wilderness period); David subdues Moab and Edom, c. 1000 BC; Matthew, c. AD 60–85.
Ways people read this (3)
- Fulfilled first in David's conquest of Moab and Edom (2 Samuel 8), and in his dynasty.
- Messianic: the king and deliverer to come (as in many early Jewish and Christian writings).
- The star in Matthew 2 may echo the oracle, though Matthew does not cite it.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
Kings bring gifts to the king
Psalm 72 prays for the king of David's line, that he will judge with righteousness, and that kings of Sheba and Seba will bring gifts. Isaiah 60 pictures nations streaming to Zion's light with gold and frankincense. Christians have read these as background for the magi's gifts in Matthew 2, though Matthew does not quote either passage.
When: Psalm 72 (Solomon's era); Isaiah 60, c. 540 BC or earlier; the magi, c. 5–4 BC.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
He will be called a Nazarene
Matthew says that by settling in Nazareth, Jesus fulfilled what was spoken 'by the prophets', yet no Old Testament verse says these words. Matthew uses the plural 'prophets', so he may be summarizing a theme rather than quoting one text. Interpreters propose several links, none certain.
When: Matthew's account of Jesus' childhood; written c. AD 60–85.
Ways people read this (4)
- A wordplay on the Hebrew 'netzer' (branch, shoot) in Isaiah 11:1, so 'Nazarene' recalls the Davidic Branch.
- An allusion to the despised status of Nazareth and of the suffering servant (compare John 1:46 and Isaiah 53:3).
- A reference to Nazirite-like holiness (Judges 13:5), though Jesus is not described as a Nazirite.
- Matthew cites a prophetic theme (contempt and lowliness) rather than a specific verse, or a source we no longer have.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
Rachel weeping for her children
Jeremiah pictures Rachel mourning as her descendants are led into exile. Matthew connects the image to the grief in Bethlehem when Herod killed the infants.
When: Jeremiah, c. 587 BC; Herod's massacre, c. 6–4 BC.
Ways people read this (1)
- Typological: Israel's earlier grief prefigures the later mourning.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
Out of Egypt I called my son
Hosea looks back on the Exodus, when God called Israel his son out of Egypt. Matthew sees Jesus' return from Egypt as re-living Israel's story, so that the words 'fulfill' in a typological sense.
When: Hosea, c. 750–720 BC, looking back to the Exodus; Jesus' childhood c. 5–4 BC.
Ways people read this (1)
- Typology: Jesus as the true Israel retracing Israel's path.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
A ruler from Bethlehem
Micah names the small town of Bethlehem Ephrathah as the birthplace of a coming ruler of Israel 'whose coming forth is from of old'. When Herod asks the chief priests and scribes where the Messiah is to be born, they cite this passage.
When: Micah, c. 735–700 BC; fulfilled at Jesus' birth, c. 6–4 BC.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.