When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” 14 Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. 15 He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” 16 When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi. 17 Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet: “18 A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.”
When the Magi departed, an angel warned Joseph in a dream to flee to Egypt with his family because Herod was going to try to locate Jesus and kill him. It would have taken Joseph and his family five or six days to make the journey to Egypt. In the Old Testament, Egypt was both a place of refuge from oppression in Palestine (1 Kgs. 11:40; 2 Kgs. 25:26) and a place of bondage (Ex. 1:8-14). The angel’s repeated guidance—warning the Magi, Joseph, and later directing the return to Israel—demonstrates God’s providence and care in protecting Jesus. Theologically, Jesus relives the history of Israel, entering Egypt as Israel once did (Gen. 46:1–7) and later returning as a sign of deliverance. Joseph trusted God and immediately departed for Egypt with his family by night, highlighting the imminent danger.
The Holy Family remained in Egypt until Herod’s death. Afterward, God instructed Joseph to return to Israel with his family and they eventually settled in Nazareth, fulfilling the prophecy that the Messiah would be called a Nazarene (Mt. 2:23). Matthew connects Jesus' time in Egypt to the prophecy in Hosea 11:1, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” This foreshadows the New Exodus led by Christ, a greater Moses, who liberates humanity from the ultimate bondage of sin and death. While this verse originally referred to Israel's escape from Egypt during the Exodus, Matthew sees it as pointing to Jesus, who inaugurates the restoration of Israel and fulfills its mission to be the faithful Son bringing salvation to the world. In this typology*, Jesus embodies the true and faithful Son, fulfilling Israel’s destiny where it had failed. Where Israel failed in fidelity (Ex. 32:1), Jesus remains faithful, establishing a new and everlasting covenant.
When Herod realized that the Magi had not returned to report the location of the newborn “King of the Jews,” in his anger he reacted violently in an effort to ensure the child’s death. His order to kill all boys "two years old and under" in Bethlehem and its surrounding areas is based on the timeline he had determined from the Magi (Mt. 2:7). The “Massacre of the Innocents” parallels Pharaoh’s decree to kill all male Hebrew infants in Ex. 1:15-22. From a theological point of view, just as Moses was spared to deliver Israel from physical slavery, Jesus is spared to deliver humanity from spiritual bondage.
There is no historical record that confirms or refutes that Herod ordered the massacre of the innocents. Historical and archaeological evidence suggests that small villages had a limited number of families and the Bethlehem area had an estimated population of approximately 1,000 people during the time of Jesus’ birth. If the event did occur the number of children that would have been killed was estimated to be no more than 20. However, the small-scale nature of the event does not diminish its significance within the Gospel narrative or its place in salvation history. The massacre aligns with Herod’s reputation for brutality, including the execution of his own sons.
Matthew connects Herod’s atrocity to Jeremiah 31:15, presenting it as a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. While Jeremiah’s verse originally referred to the sorrow of the Babylonian exile, Matthew reinterprets it typologically, linking the grief of Israel’s past to the mourning in Bethlehem. By doing so, Matthew emphasizes that Jesus’ mission is deeply rooted in Israel’s history, showing that even in the midst of suffering, God’s redemptive plan is at work.
Almighty God, in the midst of sorrow and suffering, You guide and protect, bringing hope and salvation through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Help us to trust in Your providence as Joseph did, to recognize Your hand in our trials, and to follow Your call with faith and courage. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
*Typology is the study of how people, events, or things in the Old Testament foreshadow and find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus and the New Testament. For example, Moses leading Israel out of slavery points to Jesus leading humanity out of sin.
Sources
- McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
- Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.
Comments