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Matthew 2:20-22
New Catholic Bible
Matthew 2:20-22
New Catholic Bible
20 and said, “Arise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought to kill the child are dead.”[a] 21 He got up, took the child and his mother, and returned to the land of Israel.
22 But when Joseph learned that Archelaus[b] had succeeded his father Herod in Judea, he was afraid to go there. After he had been warned in a dream concerning this, he withdrew to the region of Galilee.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 2:20 For those who sought to kill the child are dead: another subtle reference to the Moses-Christ parallel. After fleeing from Egypt because the Pharaoh sought to kill him, Moses was told to return in similar words: “for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead” (Ex 4:19).
- Matthew 2:22 Archelaus: son of Herod who ruled Judea and Samaria for ten years (4 B.C. to A.D. 6) and was deposed because of his cruelty. After him Judea became a Roman province administered by “procurators” appointed by the Emperor. Galilee: the northern part of Palestine, whose principal cities were: Capernaum, Cana, Nazareth, and Tiberias. Its people were not very highly esteemed by the Jews of Jerusalem and Judea (see Jn 1:46; 7:52) probably because of the strong Hellenization of the region and the mixed (Jew-Gentile) population there. It was the primary region of Jesus’ public ministry and is viewed as a providential indicator of his Messianic mission to the Gentiles (see Isa 66:18f; Am 9:11f).
