Matthew 2:15

καὶ ἧν ἐκεῖ, etc.: the stay in Egypt cannot have been long, only a few months, prohably, before the death of Herod (Nösgen). ἵνα πληρωθῇ : another prophetic reference, this time proceeding directly from the evangelist; Hosea 11:1, given after the Hebrew, not the Sept [8], which for בְנִי has τέκνα αὐτοῦ. The oracle states a historical fact, and can therefore only be a typical prophecy. The event in the life of the infant Jesus may seem an insignificant fulfilment. Not so did it appear to the evangelist. For him all events in the life of the Christ possessed transcendent significance. Was it an event at all? criticism asks. Did the fact suggest the prophetic reference, or did the prophecy create the fact? In reply, be it said that the narratives in this chapter of the Infancy all hang together. If any one of them occurred, all might occur. The main question is, is Herod's solicitude credible? If so, then the caution of the Magi, the flight to Egypt, the massacre at Bethlehem, the return at the tyrant's death to Nazareth, are all equally credible.

[8] Septuagint.