Flight into Egypt and the Slaughter of the Innocents
Matthew 2:13-18
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Matt.2.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Αναχωρησαντων: VERB,aor,act,part,gen,pl,m
- δε: CONJ
- αυτων: PRON,gen,pl,c
- ιδου: INTJ
- αγγελος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- κυριου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- φαινεται: VERB,pres,mid,ind,3,sg
- κατ᾽οναρ: ADV
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- Ιωσηφ: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- λεγων·Εγερθεις: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,sg,m
- παραλαβε: VERB,aor,act,imp,2,sg
- το: ART,nom,sg,n
- παιδιον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- και: CONJ
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- μητερα: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- φευγε: VERB,pres,act,imp,2,sg
- εις: PREP
- Αιγυπτον: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- ισθι: VERB,pres,act,imp,2,sg
- εκει: ADV
- εως: PREP
- αν: PART
- ειπω: VERB,aor,act,subj,1,sg
- σοι·μελλει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- γαρ: PART
- Ηρωδης: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- ζητειν: VERB,pres,act,inf
- το: ART,nom,sg,n
- παιδιον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- του: ART,gen,sg,m
- απολεσαι: VERB,aor,act,inf
- αυτο: PRON,acc,sg,n
Parallels
- Matthew 1:20 (structural): An angel appears to Joseph in a dream giving divine instruction (to take Mary as wife); parallels the same motif of angelic dream-guidance directing Joseph's protective actions in 2:13.
- Matthew 2:14–15 (structural): Immediate narrative continuation: Joseph obeys the angel, takes Jesus and Mary to Egypt; Matthew then interprets the flight as fulfillment of scripture (cf. 2:15).
- Matthew 2:19–21 (structural): A second angelic dream reverses the command and instructs Joseph to return from Egypt—parallel episodes of divine guidance framing the sojourn in Egypt.
- Hosea 11:1 (allusion): Matthew later cites this verse as fulfillment ('Out of Egypt I called my son') connecting Jesus' flight to Egypt with Israel’s history; 2:13 initiates the event that Matthew reads as fulfilling Hosea.
- Exodus 1:22 (thematic): Pharaoh's decree to kill Hebrew male infants provides a background motif of a ruler seeking to eliminate a threatened male child, paralleled by Herod’s intent to kill the newborn king.
Alternative generated candidates
- And when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to seek the child in order to destroy him."
- Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him."
Matt.2.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- δε: CONJ
- εγερθεις: VERB,aor,pass,ptcp,nom,m,sg
- παρελαβε: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- το: ART,nom,sg,n
- παιδιον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- και: CONJ
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- μητερα: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
- νυκτος: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- ανεχωρησεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- εις: PREP
- Αιγυπτον: NOUN,acc,sg,f
Parallels
- Matthew 2:13 (structural): Immediate narrative precursor — an angel warns Joseph in a dream to take the child and mother and flee to Egypt; v.14 depicts Joseph's obedient departure at night.
- Matthew 2:15 (structural): Close narrative follow-up in Matthew that cites the flight to Egypt as fulfillment: 'Out of Egypt I called my son,' linking v.14's movement to a prophetic fulfillment claim.
- Hosea 11:1 (quotation): OT text ('Out of Egypt I called my son') that Matthew explicitly alludes to/quotes in 2:15; v.14's actual entry into Egypt provides the historical basis for Matthew's use of this Hosea line.
- Genesis 46:4 (thematic): God's promise to Jacob about going down to Egypt and later being brought up connects to the larger biblical motif of a divinely-ordained sojourn in Egypt; Matthew frames Jesus' Egypt episode in this typological pattern (Jesus as representative/fulfillment of Israel's story).
Alternative generated candidates
- And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and went away into Egypt, and he remained there until the death of Herod.
- And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod.
Matt.2.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- ην: VERB,impf,act,ind,3,sg
- εκει: ADV
- εως: PREP
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- τελευτης: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- Ηρωδου·ινα: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- πληρωθη: VERB,aor,pass,subj,3,sg
- το: ART,nom,sg,n
- ρηθεν: PART,aor,pass,nom,sg,n
- υπο: PREP
- κυριου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- δια: PREP
- του: ART,gen,sg,m
- προφητου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- λεγοντος·Εξ: VERB,pres,act,ptc,gen,sg,m
- Αιγυπτου: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- εκαλεσα: VERB,aor,act,ind,1,sg
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- υιον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- μου: PRON,gen,sg,1
Parallels
- Hosea 11:1 (quotation): Matthew directly quotes this verse ('Out of Egypt I called my son'). Hosea originally speaks of Israel's exodus; Matthew applies the line typologically to Jesus' return from Egypt.
- Exodus 4:22–23 (thematic): God addresses Israel as 'my son'/'firstborn' (background language for Hosea). Provides the covenantal/sonship context behind Matthew's use of 'called my son'.
- Matthew 2:14 (structural): Immediate narrative parallel in Matthew: Joseph takes Mary and Jesus to Egypt (the action that Matthew 2:15 interprets as fulfillment of the prophecy quoted). The two verses are narratively linked.
- Matthew 1:22–23 (allusion): Another instance of Matthew's 'so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled' fulfillment formula (here applied to Isaiah). Shows Matthew's hermeneutic practice of citing OT texts as prophetic fulfillments for events in Jesus' life.
Alternative generated candidates
- This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."
- So that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: "Out of Egypt I called my son."
Matt.2.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Τοτε: ADV
- Ηρωδης: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- ιδων: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,sg,m
- οτι: CONJ
- ενεπαιχθη: VERB,aor,pass,ind,3,sg
- υπο: PREP
- των: ART,gen,pl,f
- μαγων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
- εθυμωθη: VERB,aor,pass,ind,3,sg
- λιαν: ADV
- και: CONJ
- αποστειλας: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,sg,m
- ανειλεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- παντας: ADJ,acc,pl,m
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- παιδας: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- εν: PREP
- Βηθλεεμ: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- εν: PREP
- πασι: ADJ,dat,pl,m
- τοις: ART,dat,pl,m
- οριοις: NOUN,dat,pl,m
- αυτης: PRON,gen,sg,f
- απο: PREP
- διετους: ADJ,gen,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- κατωτερω: ADJ,gen,pl,m
- κατα: PREP
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- χρονον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- ον: PRON,acc,sg,m,rel
- ηκριβωσεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- παρα: PREP
- των: ART,gen,pl,f
- μαγων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
Parallels
- Exodus 1:15-22 (thematic): Pharaoh orders the killing of Hebrew male infants to prevent a future rival—parallels Herod’s decree to slaughter Bethlehem’s children as a royal attempt to eliminate a perceived threat to his throne.
- Jeremiah 31:15 (quotation): Matthew 2:17–18 cites this verse (“A voice was heard… Rachel weeping for her children”) as the prophetic fulfillment and interpretive lens for the massacre described in 2:16.
- Matthew 2:17-18 (structural): The immediate verses following 2:16 quote Jeremiah 31:15 and explicitly link Herod’s slaughter to fulfilled prophecy; they provide the narrative and theological framing of the event.
- Luke 2:7 (structural): Luke’s account locating Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem explains why Herod focused on Bethlehem’s children—establishing the setting that makes the massacre in Matthew 2:16 possible and meaningful.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then when Herod saw that he had been deceived by the wise men, he became furious; and he sent and put to death all the male children in Bethlehem and all its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had ascertained from the wise men.
- Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children in Bethlehem and in all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had learned from the wise men.
Matt.2.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- τοτε: ADV
- επληρωθη: VERB,aor,pass,ind,3,sg
- το: ART,nom,sg,n
- ρηθεν: PART,aor,pass,nom,sg,n
- δια: PREP
- Ιερεμιου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- του: ART,gen,sg,m
- προφητου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- λεγοντος·: PART,pres,act,gen,sg,m
Parallels
- Jeremiah 31:15 (quotation): Matthew explicitly cites this verse (Rachel weeping for her children) as fulfilled by the slaughter of Bethlehem infants (the source quotation behind Matt 2:17–18).
- Matthew 2:18 (structural): Direct continuation: 2:17 introduces the fulfillment formula and 2:18 contains the actual wording of the Jeremiah citation—together forming the citation block.
- Exodus 1:22 (thematic): Pharaoh's decree to kill Hebrew male infants in Egypt parallels Herod's massacre in Bethlehem—both are ruler‑ordered infanticides serving as typological background for the narrative.
- Matthew 2:15 (verbal): Earlier verse in the infancy narrative also uses a fulfillment formula to cite Scripture (Matt 2:15 quotes Hosea), showing Matthew's pattern of framing Jesus' early life as fulfillment of prophetic texts.
- Hosea 11:1 (allusion): Quoted in Matt 2:15 ('Out of Egypt I called my son'); relates to Matthew's broader strategy of applying Old Testament passages to episodes in Jesus' infancy, linking prophetic texts to the narrative of danger and deliverance.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
- Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
Matt.2.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Φωνη: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- εν: PREP
- Ραμα: NOUN,dat,sg,f
- ηκουσθη: VERB,aor,pass,ind,3,sg
- κλαυθμος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- οδυρμος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- πολυς·Ραχηλ: ADJ,nom,sg,m;NOUN,nom,sg,f
- κλαιουσα: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,sg,f
- τα: ART,acc,pl,neut
- τεκνα: NOUN,acc,pl,neut
- αυτης: PRON,gen,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- ουκ: PART,neg
- ηθελεν: VERB,impf,act,ind,3,sg
- παρακληθηναι: VERB,aor,pass,inf
- οτι: CONJ
- ουκ: PART,neg
- εισιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
Parallels
- Jeremiah 31:15 (quotation): Matthew 2:18 directly quotes this verse—'A voice was heard in Ramah…Rachel weeping for her children'—applying Jeremiah's lament to Herod's massacre.
- Matthew 2:16 (structural): Immediate narrative context: Herod orders the killing of Bethlehem's male children, which is the event that Matthew interprets by citing the Jeremiah lament in v.18.
- Genesis 35:16-20 (allusion): Background for the Rachel imagery: Rachel dies and is buried near Bethlehem, establishing her as the ancestral figure whose mourning is evoked for children taken from that region.
- Exodus 1:15-22 (thematic): Parallels in theme of state-ordered infanticide (Pharaoh's decree to kill Hebrew male infants), providing an Old Testament antecedent to the massacre motif in Matthew.
Alternative generated candidates
- "A voice was heard in Ramah—lamentation and bitter weeping: Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more."
- "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping: Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more."
And when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said to him, 'Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt; remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him.' And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt; and he remained there until the death of Herod.
This took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 'Out of Egypt I called my son.'
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been deceived by the wise men, became furious; and he sent and put to death all the male children in Bethlehem and in all its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time which he had carefully ascertained from the wise men.
Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,
'A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and great mourning: Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.'