Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 2:3
When Herod the king had heard [these things,] he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
3. all Jerusalem with him ] Fearing some fresh outbreak of cruelty.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Had heard these things – Had heard of their coming, and of the star, and of the design of their coming.
He was troubled – Herod had obtained the kingdom by great crimes, and by shedding much blood. He was therefore easily alarmed by any remarkable appearances; and the fact that this star appeared, and that it was regarded as proof that a King of the Jews was born, alarmed him. Besides, it was a common expectation that the Messiah was about to appear, and he feared that his reign was about to come to an end. He therefore began to inquire in what way he might secure his own safety and the permanency of his government.
All Jerusalem – The people of Jerusalem, and particularly the friends of Herod. There were many in Jerusalem to whom the coming of the Messiah would be a matter of joy; but all of Herods friends would doubtless be alarmed at his coming.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Mat 2:3
Herod.
Herod
1. Blind.
2. Luxurious.
3. Revengeful.
4. Flattered.
5. An habitual sinner. (J. M. Ashley.)
1. The shortness of kingdoms.
2. The fear of an evil conscience.
3. Various uses of Holy Scripture.
4. The disposition and temper of the world.
5. The conditions of an acceptable offering. The magi offered
(1) their best gifts;
(2) sincerely opened their treasures;
(3) of their own substance,
(4) with humility, without pomp;
(5) their hearts with their gifts;
(6) the care and prudence of God;
(7) the firmness of Gods counsels. (Baring Gould.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 3. When Herod – heard these things, he was troubled] Herod’s consternation was probably occasioned by the agreement of the account of the magi, with an opinion predominant throughout the east, and particularly in Judea, that some great personage would soon make his appearance, for the deliverance of Israel from their enemies; and would take upon himself universal empire.
SUETONIUS and TACITUS, two Roman historians, mention this. Their words are very remarkable:-
Percrebuerat Oriente toto, vetus et constans opinio, esse in fatis, ut eo tempore Judaea profecti rerum potirentur. Id de imperatare Romano, quantum eventu postea predictum patuit, Judaei ad se trahentes, rebellarunt. SUETON. VESP. “An ancient and settled persuasion prevailed throughout the east, that the fates had decreed some to proceed from Judea, who should attain universal empire. This persuasion, which the event proved to respect the Roman emperor, the Jews applied to themselves, and therefore rebelled.”
The words of Tacitus are nearly similar:-
Pluribus persuasio inerat, antiquis sacerdotum literis contineri, eo ipso tempore fore, ut valesceret Oriens, profectique Judaea rerum potirentur. Quae ambages Vespasianum ac Titum praedixerant.
“Many were persuaded, that it was contained in the ancient books of their priests, that at that very time the east should prevail: and that some should proceed from Judea and possess the dominion. It was Vespasian and Titus that these ambiguous prophecies predicted.” Histor. v.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Herod was hardly warm in his kingdom, and had taken Jerusalem by force, and was therefore much concerned to hear that there was a new King born; and supposing him to have been all his life acquainted with the Jewish writings and records, where were prophecies of the Messias under the notion of a King, and not knowing that the kingdom of the Messias was not to be of this world, but being possessed of the ordinary nation of the Jews, that the Messias should restore a temporal kingdom to Israel, he could not but be troubled at the news of one born who was to be the King of the Jews, especially having a confirmation of it by such an extraordinary means, as persons coming from a far country, and being directed to their journey by some extraordinary impulse, upon the sight of a new star, which pointed to Judea, as the place to which it related: Herod upon this might justly think that his newly acquired kingdom would not last long. And though most people are quickly weary of conquerors, yet their former miseries being fresh in their minds, and the renewing of them likely upon a change in the government, it is no wonder if the generality of the people were also troubled.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. When Herod the king had heardthese things, he was troubledviewing this as a danger to hisown throne: perhaps his guilty conscience also suggested othergrounds of fear.
and all Jerusalem withhimfrom a dread of revolutionary commotions, and perhaps alsoof Herod’s rage.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
When Herod the king had heard these things,…. That is, the report made by the wise men of the appearance of an unusual star, and of the birth of the king of the Jews, which they affirmed with all certainty, without any hesitation,
he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Herod was troubled, his mind was disturbed and made uneasy, fearing he should be deposed, and lose his kingdom, to which he knew he had no just right and claim, being a foreigner; and “all Jerusalem”, i.e. all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who heard of this, were also troubled, and showed a concern at it with him; either feignedly, as knowing his jealousy, suspicion and cruelty; or in reality, because of tumults, commotions and wars, they might fear would arise upon this, having lost the true notion of the Messiah, as a spiritual king, saviour and redeemer. And hereby was fulfilled, in part, the famous prophecy in Ge 49:10 according to the sense of one w of the Targumists on it, who paraphrases it after this manner;
“Kings and governors shall not cease from the house of Judah, nor scribes, who teach the law, from his seed, until the time that the king Messiah, the least of his sons, comes, “and because of him”, , “the people shall melt.””
that is, they shall be distressed and troubled, their hearts shall melt like wax within them; which was their present case, though perhaps the paraphrast may design the Gentiles.
w Jonathan ben Uzziel in loc.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him ( ‘ ). Those familiar with the story of Herod the Great in Josephus can well understand the meaning of these words. Herod in his rage over his family rivalries and jealousies put to death the two sons of Mariamne (Aristobulus and Alexander), Mariamne herself, and Antipater, another son and once his heir, besides the brother and mother of Mariamne (Aristobulus, Alexandra) and her grandfather John Hyrcanus. He had made will after will and was now in a fatal illness and fury over the question of the Magi. He showed his excitement and the whole city was upset because the people knew only too well what he could do when in a rage over the disturbance of his plans. “The foreigner and usurper feared a rival, and the tyrant feared the rival would be welcome” (Bruce). Herod was a hated Idumaean.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “When Herod the king had heard these things,” (akousas de ho Basileus Herodes etarachthe) “Then when Herod the king heard this report he was troubled,” disturbed or frustrated. No man has ever “troubled” the hearts of sinful men more than Jesus Christ. The good and the godly have always troubled the bad and the ungodly. The crooked bookkeeper is always troubled by an honest worker in his office. And why was Herod the old man so disturbed? The answer is that he had knowledge of the hope and promise of a ruling Messiah who was to come to Israel.
2) “And all Jerusalem with him.” (kai pasa lerosoluma met’ autou) “And all Jerusalem along with him as well.” Even the Jews of Israel, the religious rulers, Scribes, Sadducees, Pharisees, and the Sanhedrin. Why? The answer is that legally their offices were to be vacated, the law age and form of worship to end. And they were not any more ready or willing for it religiously, than Herod was as king, politically, Joh 1:11-12.
This chapter of Matthew is designed to show how that Jesus was paid honor or homage from true believers afar while shown hostility at home, just as He had a broad acceptance of the Gentiles and rejection by own people, the Jews. Herod himself was not a Jew. Antipater, his father was an Edomite (from Esau), and his mother an Arabian.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
3. Herod the king was troubled Herod was not unacquainted with the predictions, which promised to the Jews a King, who would restore their distressful and ruinous affairs to a prosperous condition. He had lived from a child among that nation, and was thoroughly acquainted with their affairs. Besides, the report was spread everywhere, and could not be unknown to the neighboring nations. Yet he is troubled, as if the matter had been new and unheard of; because he put no trust in God, and thought it idle to rely on the promises of a Redeemer; and particularly because, with the foolish confidence incident to proud men, he imagined that the kingdom was secure to himself and his descendants. But though, in the intoxication of prosperity, he was formerly accustomed to view the prophecies with scorn, the recollection of them now aroused him to sudden alarm. For he would not have been so strongly moved by the simple tale of the Magi, if he had not remembered the predictions, which he had formerly looked upon as harmless, (182) and of no importance. Thus, when the Lord has permitted unbelievers to sleep, he suddenly breaks their rest. (183)
And all Jerusalem with him This may be explained in two ways. Either the people were roused, in a tumultuous manner, by the novelty of the occurrence, though the glad tidings of a king who had been born to them were cordially welcomed. Or the people, accustomed to distresses, and rendered callous by long endurance, dreaded a change which might introduce still greater calamities. For they were so completely worn down, and almost wasted, by continued wars, that their wretched and cruel bondage appeared to them not only tolerable, but desirable, provided it were accompanied by peace. This shows how little they had profited under God’s chastisements: for they were so benumbed and stupified, that the promised redemption and salvation almost stank (184) in their nostrils. Matthew intended, I have no doubt, to express their ingratitude, in being so entirely broken by the long continuance of their afflictions, as to throw away the hope and desire of the grace which had been promised to them.
(182) “ Lusoria;” alluding to the phrase used by Seneca and others, lusoria fulmina , “harmless thunderbolts.”
(183) “ Il les resveille tout soudain, et leur fait bien sentir leur folie.” — “He awakes them all on a sudden, and makes them deeply feel their folly.”
(184) “ Quodammodo foeteret,”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(3) Herod the king.When the Magi reached Jerusalem, the air was thick with fears and rumours, The old king (the title had been given by the Roman Senate in B.C. 40) was drawing to the close of his long and blood-stained reign. Two years before he had put to death, on a charge of treason, his two sons by Mariamne, his best-loved wife, through sheer jealousy of the favour with which the people looked on them. At the time when this history opens, his eldest son, Antipater, was under condemnation. The knowledge that priests and people were alike looking for the consolation of Israel (Luk. 2:25; Luk. 2:38), the whispers that told that such a consolation had come, the uneasiness excited in the people by the taxing in which he had been forced to acquiesce, all these were elements of disquietude prior to the arrival of the Magi, and turned the last days of the Iduman prince (his subjects never forgot his origin) into a time of frenzied and cruel suspicion. The excitement naturally spread throughout the city.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. Herod was troubled It was a bold and alarming question put by these new comers. It would have been treason to the reigning king if there were not some superhuman authority in it. No wonder the reigning house is troubled by the rise of another king, armed with an omnipotent authority! All Jerusalem It was strange that while the Messiah was born not six miles off, Jerusalem gets her first news from strangers coming from, perhaps, a thousand miles distance! And no wonder the city is excited through all its depths.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.’
The arrival of such men in Jerusalem asking questions about a royal birth and speaking of a ‘King of the Jews’ would soon become known to Herod’s informers, and when the bloodthirsty Herod heard the news of the possibility of the birth of a young prince important enough to be heralded by a star, and bearing a title that he saw as his, he was greatly troubled, for he was superstitious enough to believe it. Indeed there were many among both Jews and Gentiles who believed in astrology, even though the Scriptures discouraged it (Isa 47:13-15; Dan 1:20; Dan 2:27 etc.). All his life Herod had fought to keep his throne, and in the process had killed off a number of perceived threats, including some of his own sons and his beloved wife Mariamne. He was totally paranoid, and when it came to keeping the throne, he was completely determined to do so, whatever the cost in bloodshed. And none knew better than he the stories going around about the coming of a promised King to deliver Israel from all their troubles, for he had feared it all his reign. So if such a king was to be born he wanted to know about it as soon as could be.
Jerusalem would also be troubled along with him. Some because they knew that they would lose out by his being replaced, and the majority because of their fear of the way in which such news might cause Herod to behave. They had seen it all before. No one would be safe. It is understandable therefore that the arrival of the Magi with their questions thus produced huge concern throughout the whole city. Both Herod’s friends and Herod’s enemies were upset, for differing reasons.
But Matthew’s purpose in stressing this was in order to bring home the importance of the news, and the reaction of Jerusalem to it. John says a similar thing when he says, ‘He came to His own and His own received Him not’ (Joh 1:11). It is being made apparent that on the whole Jesus was not initially received by the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who were the ones who finally condemned Him. They did not want the status quo upset, except in their favour, although a substantial minority did become more amenable after the resurrection, as we learn from Acts. Jerusalem on the whole, however, was anti-Jesus, as Matthew recognised here, and as their behaviour in Acts 12 demonstrates, and as the martyrdoms of the two James’s were to prove (consider the martyrdom of James the Apostle in Acts 12 and the description of the martyrdom of James the Lord’s brother in Josephus), both occurring in order to please the people of Jerusalem in one way or another, even though many deplored what happened to James, the Lord’s brother.
We should note how this picture of a troubled Jerusalem is in direct contrast with the exceedingly great joy of the Magi (Mat 2:10). The holy city rejects the Holy One, while the unholy Gentiles exalt Him and rejoice in Him. Had they gone out to Him Jerusalem too would have had great joy. It is salutary to recognise that they discovered the truth in the Scriptures, but left it to the Gentiles to seek Jesus. As Paul would later put it, a veil was over their hearts (2 Corinthians 3).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 2:3. He was troubled Alarmed. Our translation suits well to Herod, jealous for his crown, but not to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who were oppressed by him; and (according to their notions of a Messiah) would conceive hopes of their deliverance from the news of his death. The original word signifies only a great emotion, whatever the cause be, whether of joy, or fear, or admiration, Jdt 14:7. See Heylin and Mintert on the word.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 2:3 . Herod was afraid, because he dreaded the overthrow of his throne; the inhabitants of Jerusalem, however, not so much on account of the times of misfortune which were expected to precede the Messiah (Lightfoot on Mar 13:19 ; Bertholdt, Christol . p. 45 f.), but in keeping with their special circumstances, because they dreaded the adoption by the tyrant, in the maintenance of his rule, of measures hostile to the people.
] Feminine form, occurring only here and in Mat 3:5 , and without any various reading in the Codd. It is found also in Latin (Tac. Hist . v. 2; Sueton. Aug . xciii.). To take the name as neuter , and to supply (Wetstein, Grimm, Buttmann, neut. Gr . p. 16 [E. T. 18]), is not grammatically possible. The feminine form must have been in actual use, although the neuter, as in Mat 2:1 , and , were and remained the prevailing forms.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
That Herod should be troubled at this intelligence was natural enough; and from the character which follows in this chapter of this unfeeling man, it is easy enough to discover the cause of his trouble. But that all Jerusalem should be troubled, which one might have thought would have shouted aloud for joy at the account; how strange is this representation. Zec 2:10-11 . But, Reader! such is the reception Jesus meets with from even his own people, until by his grace and Holy Spirit he shews them who he is, and how much they need him. Read Isa 53:1-3 ; Joh 1:10-13 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
3 When Herod the king had heard these things , he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Ver. 3. When Herod the King heard these things he was troubled ] At that wherein the sages and shepherds rejoiced. It is fair weather with the saints when foulest with the wicked. Abraham stands upon the hill, and seeth the smoke of the cities ascend like a furnace. “Behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen,” Isa 65:14-15 . Aelian ( Histor. Animal. ) compareth tyrants to swine, which if a man but touch, they begin to cry, as dreaming of nothing but death; forasmuch as they have neither fleece nor milk, nor anything else, but their flesh only to forfeit. But si praesepe vagientis Herodem tantum terruit, quid tribunal iudicantis? saith one. If Christ in the cratch were so terrible, what will he be on the tribunal?
And all Jerusalem with him ] Perhaps to comply and ingratiate with the tyrant (as the Arabians, if their king be sick or lame, they all feign themselves so); or, as homines ad servitutem parati; so Tiberius called the Romans, who gave public thanks for all, even the wicked acts of their emperors (Tacitus); or as fearing some new stirs in the state, as the burnt child dreads the fire.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
3. ] Josephus, Antt. xvii. 2. 4, represents these troubles as raised by the Pharisees, who prophesied a revolution. . Herod, as a foreigner and usurper, feared one who was born King of the Jews: the people, worn away by seditions and slaughters, feared fresh tumults and wars. There may also be a trace of the popular notion that the times of the Messiah would be ushered in by great tribulations: so Schttgen, ii. p. 512, from the book Sohar, “quo tempore Sol redemptionis ipsis illucescet, tribulatio post tribulationem et tenebr post tenebras venient ipsis: dum vero in his versantur, illucescet ipsis Lux Dei S. B.”
] Here and apparently at ch. Mat 3:5 , used as a feminine singular. Joseph. Bell. Jud 1:6 .10.1, uses . , but none of these instances are decisive: an ellipsis of being possible.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 2:3 . : before the name, not after, as in Mat 2:1 , the emphatic position suggesting that it was as king and because king that Herod was troubled. The foreigner and usurper feared a rival, and the tyrant feared the rival would be welcome. It takes little to put evildoers in fear. He had reigned long, men were weary, and the Pharisees, according to Joseph (A. J. xvii. 2 4), had predicted that his family would were long lose its place of power. His fear therefore, though the occasion may seem insignificant, is every way credible. I., doubtless an exaggeration, yet substantially true. The spirit of the city was servile and selfish. They bowed to godless power, and cared for their own interest rather than for Herod’s. Few in that so-called holy city had healthy sympathies with truth and right. Whether the king’s fears were groundless or not they knew not nor cared. It was enough that the fears existed. The world is ruled not by truth but by opinion. : s feminine here, or is understood? or is it a construction, ad sensum , of the inhabitants? (Schanz).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
When = But.
had heard = on hearing.
was troubled. The enemy used this for another attempt to prevent the fulfillment of Gen 3:15. See App-23.
all Jerusalem. Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Whole), App-6. = most of the people at Jerusalem at that time.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
3. ] Josephus, Antt. xvii. 2. 4, represents these troubles as raised by the Pharisees, who prophesied a revolution. . Herod, as a foreigner and usurper, feared one who was born King of the Jews: the people, worn away by seditions and slaughters, feared fresh tumults and wars. There may also be a trace of the popular notion that the times of the Messiah would be ushered in by great tribulations: so Schttgen, ii. p. 512, from the book Sohar, quo tempore Sol redemptionis ipsis illucescet, tribulatio post tribulationem et tenebr post tenebras venient ipsis: dum vero in his versantur, illucescet ipsis Lux Dei S. B.
] Here and apparently at ch. Mat 3:5, used as a feminine singular. Joseph. Bell. Jud. 6.10.1, uses . , but none of these instances are decisive: an ellipsis of being possible.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 2:3. , was troubled) The king, now seventy years old, might be troubled all the more easily, because the Pharisees, a short time before, had foretold (as we learn from Josephus, Antiquities xvii. 3), that the kingdom was about to be taken from the family of Herod. The trouble of the king is a testimony against the carelessness of the people. If Herod fears, why do not the Jews inquire? why do they not believe?-, all) sc. , the city[79]- , with him) The people, who had been long accustomed to the king, followed his lead. Men are frequently overset by the sudden announcement of even good tidings.
[79] Which had been so long standing in a posture of expectation, awaiting the Messiahs coming.-Vers. Germ.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
he: Mat 8:29, Mat 23:37, 1Ki 18:17, 1Ki 18:18, Joh 11:47, Joh 11:48, Act 4:2, Act 4:24-27, Act 5:24-28, Act 16:20, Act 16:21, Act 17:6, Act 17:7
Reciprocal: 1Sa 24:20 – I know well 2Sa 4:1 – and all 2Ki 6:11 – Therefore Psa 62:4 – consult Pro 12:5 – counsels Pro 29:2 – when the wicked Isa 7:2 – And his heart Dan 5:9 – changed Mat 2:1 – Herod Mat 21:10 – all Mar 12:7 – This Joh 12:10 – General Act 2:6 – confounded Act 17:8 – General Act 21:30 – all Act 23:35 – in Rev 12:4 – the dragon
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2:3
Verse 3. Herod was only half Jew and was appointed to the office of ruler by the Romans. who had acquired control of the country. He was fearful of losing the throne when he heard that a child of Jewish blood had been born and was spoken of as king of the Jews. He was therefore troubled or disturbed in mind. All Jerusalem with him was troubled also, because there were a great many men in the city who depended upon him for the place of dignity that they were permitted to enjoy”
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 2:3. Herod the king; the reigning kingwas troubled, fearing for his throne, as might be expected from his jealous disposition.
And all Jerusalem with him. Either: at the same time with him, or: because of him, knowing his cruelty. Many may have dreaded the Advent of the Messiah, either from stings of conscience or from dread of the troublous times which were expected to attend his coming. If the tyrant tremble, all his surroundings tremble with him. Unbelievers, in times of danger, are often the most superstitious. Those who do not believe in God, believe in ghosts or idols.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, That when Christ came into the world to save men, it cast the world into a consternation, and caused wonderful disturbances. Herod is first concerned, and next all Jerusalem with him; Herod for fear of losing his kingdom, Jerusalem for fear of new commotions. Thus Christ, who was the angel’s song, the wise men’s joy, Israel’s consolation, becomes Herod’s fear and Jerusalem’s terror.
But why was Herod thus disturbed? It is true a king is born, but one whose kingdom is not of this world; it was Herod’s false apprehension that was the cause of this perturbation.
Hence we see, that the greatest enmities and bitterest animosities have arisen from causeless fears and groundless jealousies.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Mat 2:3. When Herod heard, &c. he was troubled Or, alarmed, as Dr. Waterland renders . The word properly signifies a great emotion of mind, whatever the cause thereof be. Being a prince of a very suspicious temper, and his cruelties having rendered him obnoxious to his subjects, he feared losing his kingdom, especially as he had taken Jerusalem by force, and was settled on his throne by the aid of the Romans. Hence it is no wonder that he was concerned to hear of the birth of one that was to be king, and especially to have such an extraordinary confirmation of it, as that of persons coming from a far country, directed by an extraordinary impulse upon the sight of a new star, which pointed to Judea as the seat of his empire. And all Jerusalem with him Fearing he should make it an occasion of renewing some of those tyrannical actions which had lately filled them with so much horror, as is related at large by Josephus. They dreaded likewise, it seems, a change of government, as knowing it does not usually happen without bloodshed, and that the Romans had great power, and would oppose any change in their affairs.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 3
Was troubled. This was old King Herod, the father and founder of the Herod family, of which three generations appear in the sacred history. He was a man of great talents, but distinguished still more for his cruelties and crimes. In the course of his life, he had brought many persons to a violent death, whom he had suspected of conspiring against his reign; and among others, his wife and several of his own sons. And now, though quite an old man, his jealous and suspicious temper was aroused by hearing that an infant king of the Jews had been born,–supposing that he was to be a temporal prince, and of course that his own throne was in danger.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
2:3 When Herod the king had heard [these things], he was {c} troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
(c) Was much moved, for he was a foreigner, and became ruler by force; and the Jews were troubled; for wickedness is mad and raging.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
This news troubled Herod because he was very aware of the Jews’ desire to throw off the Roman yoke and his own rule in particular. Remember Pharaoh’s fear for his throne that also led to infanticide. Herod was an Edomite, a descendant of Esau, and the prospect of a Jewish Messiah’s appearance was one he could not ignore. The rest of Jerusalem’s citizens became disturbed because they realized that this news from the Magi might lead Herod to take further cruel action against them. This is what happened (Mat 2:16). Already we begin to see the opposition of the people of Jerusalem to Jesus that would eventually result in His crucifixion.
Herod assembled Israel’s leaders to investigate the Magi’s announcement further (Mat 2:4). The chief priests were mainly Sadducees at this time, and most of the scribes ("teachers of the law," NIV) were Pharisees. The chief priests included the high priest and his associates. The high priest obtained his position by appointment from Rome. The scribes were the official interpreters and communicators of the law to the people, the lawyers. Since these two groups of leaders did not get along, Herod may have had meetings with each group separately.
"The scribes were so called because it was their office to make copies of the Scriptures, to classify and teach the precepts of the oral law . . ., and to keep careful count of every letter in the O.T. writings. Such an office was necessary in a religion of law and precept, and was an O.T. function (2Sa 8:17; 2Sa 20:25; 1Ki 4:3; Jer 8:8; Jer 36:10; Jer 36:12; Jer 36:26). To this legitimate work the scribes added a record of rabbinical decisions on questions of ritual (Halachoth); the new code resulting from those decisions (Mishna); the Hebrew sacred legends (Gemara, forming with the Mishna, the Talmud); commentaries on the O.T. (Midrashim); reasonings upon these (Hagada); and finally, mystical interpretations which found in Scripture meanings other than the grammatical, lexical, and obvious ones (the Kabbala), not unlike the allegorical method of Origen. In our Lord’s time, the Pharisees considered it orthodox to receive this mass of writing which had been superimposed upon and had obscured the Scripture." [Note: The New Scofield . . ., p. 993. See also Edersheim, 1:93-94.]
The Jews of Jesus’ day regarded the Halekhah (from halakh, "to go," i.e., The Rule of the Spiritual Road) as having greater authority than the Hebrew Scriptures. [Note: Ibid., 1:11.]
Notice that Herod perceived the King the Magi had spoken of as the Messiah (Mat 2:4). Some of the Jews-particularly the Essenes, whom Herod did not consult, but not the Sadducees and Pharisees-were expecting a Messiah to appear soon because of Dan 9:24-27. [Note: Josephus, Antiquities of. . ., 20:8:8; and idem, The Wars . . ., 4:3:9.] Daniel had been a wise man in the East also.
"Matthew adroitly answers Jewish unbelief concerning Jesus Christ by quoting their own official body to the effect that the prophecy of His birth in Bethlehem was literal, that the Messiah was to be an individual, not the entire Jewish nation, and that their Messiah was to be a King who would rule over them." [Note: Walvoord, p. 22.]
"In the original context of Mic 5:2, the prophet is speaking prophetically and prophesying that whenever the Messiah is born, He will be born in Bethlehem of Judah. That is the literal meaning of Mic 5:2. When a literal prophecy is fulfilled in the New Testament, it is quoted as a literal fulfillment. Many prophecies fall into this category . . ." [Note: Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology, p. 843.]
Another writer called this, literal prophecy plus literal fulfillment. [Note: David L. Cooper, Messiah: His Historical Appearance, pp. 174-75.]
Matthew’s rendering of the Mic 5:2 prophecy adds the fact that the Ruler would shepherd the Israelites. This statement, from 2Sa 5:2, originally referred to David. Thus Matthew again showed the connection between the prophecies of Messiah and the Davidic line, a connection he also made in chapter 1. Perhaps the religious leaders put these passages together in their quotation. [Note: See Edersheim, 2:710-41, for a list of Old Testament passages messianically applied in ancient rabbinic writings, and talmucic discussion on the Messiah.] Such seems to have been the case. The quotation is free, not verbatim from either the Hebrew or the Greek (Septuagint) texts.