[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, [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. [3] When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. [4] And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. [5] And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, [6] And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
Verse 1 Expanded Bible Comments
| 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, | |
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| Question | Answer |
| Where was Jesus born? | Bethlehem. |
| Who was the King at that time? | Herod, a.k.a. Herod the great. |
| Who came at that time to Jerusalem? | The magi or wise men. |
| From where did these men come from? | The short answer is: "From the east." |
Verse 2 Expanded Bible Comments
| 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. | |
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| Question | Answer |
| What were these men from the east looking for? | The new born king of the Jews. |
| What led then to Jerusalem? | "His star." |
| What was their purpose in coming to Jerusalem? | To worship the child. |
Verse 3 Expanded Bible Comments
| When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. | |
|---|---|
| Question | Answer |
| What was Herod's reaction? | He was troubled. |
| Did anyone else share in the king's reaction? | "All Jerusalem." People are often afraid of change. |
Verse 4 Expanded Bible Comments
| And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. | |
|---|---|
| Question | Answer |
| What did Herod do? | He gathered together two groups:
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| Why did he gather together these particular groups? | Because he, the one who held the office "King of the Jews," did not know that much of the scriptures. |
| What did Herod ask of them? | Where was the Messiah to be born? |
Verse 5 Expanded Bible Comments
| And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, | |
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| Question | Answer |
| What was their response to Herod's question? | That, according to the Scriptures, the Christ would be born in Bethlehem. |
Verse 6 Expanded Bible Comments
| And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. | |
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| Question | Answer |
| Where does this prophecy come from? | Micah 5:2 |
[7] Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. [8] And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. [9] When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. [10] When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. [11] And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. [12] And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
Verse 7 Expanded Bible Comments
| Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. | |
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| Question | Answer |
| What did King Herod ask of the wise men? | What time the star appeared. |
Verse 8 Expanded Bible Comments
| And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. | |
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| Question | Answer |
| Where did he send the wise men? | Go to Bethlehem. |
| What did he tell them to do there? | Search for the child. |
| What reason did he give for wanting the wise men to go there? | So that he would to there to worship him too. |
Verse 9 Expanded Bible Comments
| When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. | |
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| Question | Answer |
| What happened when the wise men left the king? | The star in the east "stood over" where Jesus was. |
Verse 10 Expanded Bible Comments
| When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. | |
|---|---|
| Question | Answer |
| What effect did this star have on the wise men? | They rejoiced to see it. |
| Based upon what science we now understand, what was this star? | Perhaps the extremely close conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Venus in the constellation of Leo (The Lion [of the tribe of Judah]) on June 17, 2 BC. [There are many who are so convinced that this conjunction was the 'Christmas Star' that they consider this to be the date of Jesus' birth.] To the Magi who were used to watching the sky, and having been influenced by the teachings of the prophet Daniel, believed that the time for the birth of the Messiah was near, this would have been a very impressive sign. When they saw this they decided to travel to Jerusalem to inquire to find the new born king. We suggest then that this was not the date of his birth but rather the celestial event that triggered the wise men to come to Jerusalem in search of the child.
One can easily then see these wise men collecting their things, obtaining the gifts (gold, frankincense and myrrh), getting the camels and any retinue they needed and then making the journey to Jerusalem. Then they needed time to inquire of King Herod and then travel to Bethlehem. A period of two to three months for all this seems reasonable. |
Verse 11 Expanded Bible Comments
| And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. | |||||||||||||||||
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| Question | Answer | ||||||||||||||||
| This verse says they came 'into the house.' Wasn't Jesus born in a feeding trough (manger)? What is going on? | This may indicate the passage of time, i.e., the wise men are not there at the time of Jesus birth (as were the shepherds.) As a result they were no longer with the animals but now living in a normal dwelling. | ||||||||||||||||
| Why is nothing said about them seeing Joseph? | Since the Bible does not tell us directly we may only speculate. Since we are told that the focus of this narrative was "the birth of Jesus Christ," it may be that Joseph was not important enough to be included in the narrative. He may simply have been out (working, providing for his family.) Some other reason for his being away from home. | ||||||||||||||||
| When they saw Mary and Jesus, what was their reaction? | They fell down to worship him. | ||||||||||||||||
| What gifts did they give the child? | Gold, frankincense, myrrh | ||||||||||||||||
| What was the significance of these gifts? |
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Verse 12 Expanded Bible Comments
| And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. | |
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| Question | Answer |
| Why is it that these 'wise men' did not return to King Herod? | They were warned by God in a dream. |
[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. [14] When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: [15] And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
Verse 13 Expanded Bible Comments
| 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. | |
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| Question | Answer |
| What was Joseph told to do? | Flee to Egypt. |
| For how long were they to remain in Egypt? | Until King Herod died. |
| What reason did the angel give Joseph for fleeing? | King Herod was going to try to kill Jesus. |
Verse 14 Expanded Bible Comments
| When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: | |
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| Question | Answer |
| What did Joseph do? | As he was instructed, he took his family to Egypt. |
Verse 15 Expanded Bible Comments
| And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. | |
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| Question | Answer |
| How long were Joseph and his family in Egypt? | Until King Herod died. |
| What Scripture was being fulfilled by them remaining in Egypt? | Hos. 11:1 |
| What is the meaning of Hos. 11:1? | C316:1; R1681:15 |
[16] Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. [17] Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, [18] In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
What the above diagrams demonstrate is that Jesus was born in the autumn of 2 BC. Since King Herod died in 1 BC (apparently a little before Passover, i.e., in the Spring of the year) there would have been about 6-7 months between the time of Jesus birth and the death of Herod. Allowing for a little time to elapse between the wise men having their audience with King Herod and the time when Herod realized they were not coming back to him, it leaves, perhaps, as much as about 5 months before Herod's death (approximately March 1, B.C. 1) for the slaughter of the newborns in Bethlehem to take place.
Verse 16 Expanded Bible Comments
| Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. | |
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| Question | Answer |
| Why was Herod upset? | Because he felt mocked by the wise men. Kings do not generally respond well to being mocked. |
| What did he do? | He had all the young children from two and under killed. |
| Why did he choose 'from two years old and under?' | The babe was probably only a few months old (at most) when this took place. Considering the vicious nature of King Herod it was likely an over-reaction. He wanted to make sure that he killed the child. |
Verse 17, 18 Expanded Bible Comments
| Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, [18] In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. | |
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| Question | Answer |
| What Scripture was fulfilled by Herod's action? | Jer. 31:15 |
| Is there a record of any other King ever taking such a terrible action? | Yes. See Exo. 1:22. |
| Of what significance is the answer to the previous question? | This is a further extension of the fact that Moses was a type of Christ. Consider Deut. 18:15, 17-19; Acts 3:20-23 |
[19] But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, [20] Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life. [21] And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. [22] But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: [23] And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
Verses 19, 20 Expanded Bible Comments
| But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, [20] Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life. | |
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| Question | Answer |
| What caused Joseph, Mary and Jesus to leave Egypt? | The news that King Herod was dead. |
| How did the news of Herod's death reach Joseph's family? | Joseph received a word by an angel of the Lord in a dream. |
| Since it was King Herod who wanted Jesus dead, why did the angel tell Joseph "they are dead which sought the young child's life?" | "Herod had a son whose name was Antipater. Antipater was of the same cruel disposition as his father. He would doubtless have been every bit as much of a threat to the Lord as his evil sire, had he succeeded his wicked father to the throne. In fact, Antipater was a rival to the throne. As Herod's oldest son, he had complained that his father's life was dragging on so long that he would be an old man by the time he became king.
When he mistakenly thought that Herod had died, he evidenced great joy. When word of that rejoicing reached the ailing king, he had his son killed immediately. This was only five days before Herod himself expired (Josephus, Wars 1.23.7)" - Christian Courier |
Verse 21 Expanded Bible Comments
| And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. | |
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| Question | Answer |
| What did Joseph do after receiving the news of Herod's death? | He took his family back to Israel. |
Verse 22 Expanded Bible Comments
| But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: | |
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| Question | Answer |
| What news altered Joseph's plans? | Two things. 1) He heard that Archelaus was now reigning. 2) He was warned by God in a dream. |
| What did he do next and why did he do it? | He avoided going into Judea because he was afraid (for his family.) |
| Into what region did Joseph take his family? | "The parts of Galilee." |
Verse 23 Expanded Bible Comments
| And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene. | |
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| Question | Answer |
| Where did Joseph, Mary and Jesus finally settle? | Nazareth. |
| What prophet foretold of this? | Possibly Isaiah 11:1. The following is from Jerome: "In the place where we read and translate, 'There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots,' in the Hebrew idiom it is written thus, 'There shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse and a Nazarene shall grow from his root.'" |