Matthew 2:13

And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. AND WHEN THEY WERE DEPARTED, BEHOLD, THE ANGEL OF THE LORD APPEARETH TO JOSEPH IN A DREAM, SAYING, ARISE, AND TAKE THE YOUNG CHILD AND HIS MOTHER. Observe this form of expression, repeated in the next verse-another indirect hint that Joseph was no more than the Child's guardian. Indeed, personally considered, Joseph has no spiritual significance, and very little place at all, in the Gospel history. AND FLEE INTO EGYPT - which, being near, as Alford says, and a Roman province independent of Herod, and much inhabited by Jews, was an easy and convenient refuge. Ah! Blessed Saviour, on what a chequered career hast Thou entered h...

13._And when they had departed _How many days elapsed from the departure of the Magi, till Joseph was ordered to flee into Egypt, is not known, nor is it of much importance to inquire: only it is probable that the Lord spared Mary, till she was so far recovered from childbirth as to be able to perform the journey. It was a wonderful purpose of God, that he chose to preserve his Son by flight. The mind of Joseph must have been harassed by dangerous temptations, when he came to see that there was no hope but in flight: for in flight there was no appearance of divine protection. Besides, it was very difficult to reconcile the statement, that he who was to be the Savior of all, could not be preserved without the exertion of a mortal man. But, in preserving the life of his Son, God maintained such reserve, as to give some indications of his heavenly power, and yet not to make it so manifest a...

13-15 Egypt had been a house of bondage to Israel, and particularly cruel to the infants of Israel; yet it is to be a place of refuge to the holy Child Jesus. God, when he pleases, can make the worst of places serve the best of purposes. This was a trial of the faith of Joseph and Mary. But their faith, being tried, was found firm. If we and our infants are at any time in trouble, let us remember the straits in which Christ was when an infant. Matthew 2:16 Herod killed all the male children, not only in Bethlehem, but in all the villages of that city. Unbridled wrath, armed with an unlawful power, often carries men to absurd cruelties. It was no unrighteous thing with God to permit this; every life is forfeited to his justice as soon as it begins. The diseases and deaths of little children are proofs of original sin. But the murder of these infants was their martyrdom. How early did per...

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 tongue enjoyed many advantages in that country: besides, they had the Greek version of the Septuagint, which had been translated nearly 300 years before this time. Egypt was now a Roman province, and the rage of Herod could not pursue the holy family to this place. There is an apocryphal work in Arabic, called _the Gospel of the infancy_, which pretends to relate all the acts of Jesus and Mary while in Egypt. I have taken the pains to read this through, and have found it to be a piece of gross super...

THE ANGEL APPEARETH TO JOSEPH IN A DREAM - See Matthew 1:20. FLEE INTO EGYPT - Egypt is situated to the southwest of Judea, and is distant from Bethlehem perhaps about 60 miles. It was at this time a Roman province. There were many Jews there, who had a temple and synagogues (see the notes at Isaiah 19:18), and Joseph, therefore, would be among his own countrymen, and yet beyond the reach of Herod. The jurisdiction of Herod extended only to the River Sihon, or “river of Egypt,” and, of course, beyond that Joseph was safe from his designs. For a description of Egypt, see the notes at Isaiah 19. It is remarkable that this is the only time in which our Saviour wa

EXPOSITION JESUS THE CHRIST BY HIS EARLY HISTORY answering to the word of God by the prophets. This is shown by four particulars, for each of which a corresponding prophecy is adduced. (1) The place of his birth; where, further, he receives homage of Gentiles, though neglected by his own people (Matthew 2:1). (2) His stay in Egypt (Matthew 2:13). (3) The slaughter of the innocents (Matthew 2:16). (4) His dwelling at Nazareth, and consequent appellation ...

AND WHEN THEY WERE DEPARTED,.... That is immediately, or as soon as they were gone, or in a very little time after, probably the same night, BEHOLD, THE ANGEL OF THE LORD APPEARETH TO JOSEPH IN A DREAM; it is very likely the same angel who appeared to him in such sort, Matthew 1:20 "saying arise", awake out of sleep, and rise from thy bed directly, AND TAKE THE YOUNG CHILD AND HIS MOTHER. The angel does not say take thy wife and son; for though Mary was properly his wife, yet Christ was not properly his son. The child is also mentioned before the mother, not only because of his divine nature and office, in respect to which he was her God and Saviour; but because it was the preservation of the child that was chiefly regarded, and for which the providence of God was particularly concerned; wherefore Joseph is ordered to take them in proper carriages, and

Matthew 2:1. _Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,_ Probably from that Assyria which is joined with Israel and Egypt in the remarkable prophecy in Isaiah 19:24: «In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria even a blessing in the midst of the land: Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance. «Behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,» Matthew 2:2. Saying, Where is he that is, born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the

2. THE KING WORSHIPPED BY GENTILES; Jerusalem in Ignorance of Him; the Child Persecuted. _ 1. The Visit of the Wise Men.(Matthew 2:1 .) 2. The Flight into Egypt. (Matthew 2:13 .) 3. The Return from Egypt. (Matthew 2:19 .)_ CHAPTER 2 The second chapter in Matthew relates events which are nowhere else recorded in the Gospels. For this reason, and this is the only reason, the authenticity of the chapter has been doubted more than once. All that which the second chapter contains belongs properly into the Jewish, dispensational Gospel, and would indeed be entirely out of place in the other three Gospels, therefore the Holy Spirit has seen fit to put it only in the first Gospel. The chapter

THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT AND THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS. While Mt. says Jesus was born before Herod's death (how long before he does not say), Lk. suggests, by his reference to Quirinius, that it was after. But see Luke 2:1 *. MATTHEW 2:15. Hosea 11:1 *. It looks as though Mt. made the incident fit the quotation, _cf._ Abbott, _op. cit.,_ p. 413. A second-century Jewish tradition speaks of Jesus working as a labourer in Egypt, and practising magic ere he returned to Palestine and proclaimed Himself a God. There were a million Jews in Egypt in the first century A.D. In place of the slaughter of the Bethlehem children Lk. gives the story of the presentation in the Temple. The massacre is not narrated by Josep