CHAPTER II. _Wise men come from the east to worship Christ_, 1, 2. _Herod, hearing of the birth of our Lord, is greatly troubled_, 3; _and makes inquiry of the chief priests and scribes, where the_ _Christ should be born_, 4. _They inform him of the prophecy relative to Bethlehem_, 5, 6. _The... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Matthew 2:2. _WE HAVE SEEN HIS STAR_] Having discovered an unusual luminous appearance or meteor in the heavens, supposing these persons to have been Jews, and knowing the prophecies relative to the redemption of Israel, they probably considered this to be the _star_ mentioned by Balaam, Numbe... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Matthew 2:3. _WHEN HEROD - HEARD_ THESE THINGS, _HE WAS TROUBLED_] Herod's consternation was probably occasioned by the agreement of the account of the _magi_, with an opinion predominant throughout the _east_, and particularly in Judea, that some great personage would soon make his appearance... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Matthew 2:4. _THE CHIEF PRIESTS_] Not only the _high priest_ for the time being, called כהן הראש _cohen ha-rosh_, 2 Kings 25:18, and his _deputy_, called כהן משנה _cohen mishneh_, with those who had formerly borne _the high priest's office_; but also, _the chiefs or_ _heads of the twenty four... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Matthew 2:5. _IN BETHLEHEM OF JUDEA: FOR THUS IT IS WRITTEN BY THE_ _PROPHET_] As there have been several confused notions among the Jews, relative not only to the Messiah, and his character, but also to the time of his birth, it may be necessary to add, to what has already been said on this... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Matthew 2:6. _AND THOU BETHLEHEM_, IN _THE LAND OF JUDA_] To distinguish it from Bethlehem, in the tribe of Zebulon. Joshua 19:15. Matthew 2:1. _ART NOT THE LEAST_] In Micah 5:2, it is read, _Though thou be little _- צעיר להיות tsair lehayoth, _little to be_. _Houbigant_, struck with the odd... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Matthew 2:8. _THAT I MAY COME AND WORSHIP HIM ALSO._] See Matthew 2:2, and on Genesis 17:3, and Exodus 4:31. What exquisite hypocrisy was here! he only wished to find out the child that he might murder him; but see how that God who searches the heart prevents the designs of wicked men from bei... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Matthew 2:9. _IN THE EAST_] Or, _at its rise_. Matthew 2:2, Matthew 2:2. _STOOD OVER WHERE THE YOUNG CHILD WAS._] _Super caput pueri_, Over the head of the child, as the OPUS IMPERFECTUM, on this place, has it. See Griesbach's Var. Lect. So it appears to have been a simple luminous meteor in... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Matthew 2:11. _THEY PRESENTED UNTO HIM GIFTS_] The people of the east never approach the presence of kings and great personages, without a _present_ in their hands. This custom is often noticed in the Old Testament, and still prevails in the east, and in some of the newly discovered South Sea... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Matthew 2:13. _FLEE INTO EGYPT_] Many Jews had settled in Egypt; not only those who had fled thither in the time of Jeremiah, see Jeremiah 48; but many others who had settled there also, on account of the temple which _Onias_ IV. had built at _Heliopolis_. Those who could speak the Greek tong... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Matthew 2:15. _OUT OF EGYPT HAVE I CALLED MY SON._] This is quoted from Hosea 11:1, where the deliverance of Israel, and that only, is referred to. But as that deliverance was extraordinary, it is very likely that it had passed into a proverb, so that "Out of Egypt have I called my son," migh... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Matthew 2:16. _SLEW ALL THE CHILDREN_] This cruelty of Herod seems alluded to in very decisive terms by _Macrobius_, who flourished toward the conclusion of the fourth Century. In his chapter _De_ _jocis Augusti in alios, et aliorum rursus in ipsum_, he says, _Cum_ _audisset inter pueros, quo... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Matthew 2:18. _IN RAMA WAS THERE A VOICE HEARD_] These words, quoted from Jeremiah 31:15, were originally spoken concerning the captivity of the ten tribes; but are here elegantly applied to the murder of the innocents at Bethlehem. As if he had said, Bethlehem at this time resembled Rama; fo... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Matthew 2:20. _THEY ARE DEAD_] Both Herod and Antipater his son; though some think the plural is here used for the singular, and that the death of Herod alone is here intended. But as Herod's son _Antipater_ was at this time heir apparent to the throne, and he had cleared his way to it by proc... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Matthew 2:22. _WHEN HE HEARD THAT ARCHELAUS DID REIGN_] Herod, having put Antipater his eldest son to death, altered his will, and thus disposed of his dominions: he gave the tetrarchy of Galilee and Petrea to his son Antipas; the tetrarchy of Gaulonitis, Trachonitis, Batanea, and Paneadis, to... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Matthew 2:23. _THAT IT MIGHT BE FULFILLED WHICH WAS SPOKEN BY THE_ _PROPHETS_] It is difficult to ascertain by what prophets this was spoken. The margin usually refers to Judges 13:5, where the angel, foretelling the birth of Samson, says, _No razor shall come_ _upon his head; for the child s... [ Continue Reading ]