Matthew 2:13

φαίνεται : assuming that this is the correct reading, the flight to Egypt is represented as following close on the departure of the Magi; the historic present, vividly introducing one scene after another. A subjective state of anxiety is here also to be presumed. Whence arising we can only conjecture. Did the Magi give a hint, mentioning Herod's name in a significant manner? Be that as it may, Joseph also gets the necessary direction. Ἐγερθεὶς … εἰς Αἴγυπτον : Egypt near, friendly, and the refuge of Israel's ancestors in days of old, if also their house of bondage. παράλαβε, take with a view to taking care of (cf. John 1:11, “His own received Him not,” παρέλαβον); benigne, Fritzsche ἕως … σοί : either generally, till I give thee further orders (Fritzsche); or till I tell thee to return (Meyer, Schanz); sense the same; the time of such new direction is left vague (ἂν with sub.). μέλλει γὰρ : gives reason of the command. τοῦ ἀπολέσαι αὐτό : Herod's first purpose was to kill Mary's child alone. He afterwards killed many to make sure of the one. The genitive of the infinitive to express purpose belongs to comparatively late Greek. It occurs constantly in the Sept [7] and in N. T.

[7] Septuagint.