NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible CBSB_Digital Sampler | Page 34

1610  |  Matthew 2:1 The Magi Visit the Messiah Af­ter ­Jesus was born in Beth­le­hem in Ju­dea,  u dur­ing the time of King Her­ od,  v Magi  a from the east came to Je­ru­sa­ lem 2  and ­asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  w We saw 2 2:1 u  Lk 2:4-7 v  Lk 1:5 2:2 w  Jer 23:5; Mt 27:11; Mk 15:2; Jn 1:49; 18:33-37 x  Nu 24:17 of the groom’s parents. Most people in antiquity supposed that a man and woman together alone for even a short time (less than an hour) would give way to sexual tempta- tion. This would be all the more the case with those who were young; young men were considered particularly prone to passion. On average Jewish men married when about 18 to 20, with their brides in their mid-teens (some- times even as young as 12 to 14). Yet Joseph and Mary abstained from intercourse before J ­ esus’ birth. On the first night of a wedding feast, intercourse would normally rupture the bride’s hymen, and the bloody sheet could be displayed as proof that she had entered marriage as a virgin. By making love on the first night of their wedding, Joseph and Mary could have proved that she had a virgin conception. Yet God’s plan was not merely a virgin con- ception, but a virgin birth (v. 23). Joseph and Mary chose God’s honor above their own. his star  x when it rose and have come to wor­ship him.” 3   When King Her­od ­heard this he was dis­turbed, and all Je­ru­sa­lem with him. 4   When he had c ­ alled to­ geth­ er all the a  1 Traditionally wise men    2:1 – 2  Magi from the east came to Jerusalem. It was com- mon for dignitaries to come and congratulate a new ruler. Magi undoubtedly came with a significant caravan. Magi. These were a famous class of astrologers and dream-inter- preters who served the Persian king. Their title appears in the most common Greek version of the OT only in Daniel, where it applies to Daniel’s enemies; this is not surprising, since astrology, as a form of divination, was forbidden in Scripture. Yet these Magi come to worship the new king (vv. 2,11); as Matthew often emphasizes, God calls followers from unexpected places (cf. 3:9; 8:10 – 12; 12:41 – 42; 21:31). 2:2  star. Some scholars think this is a conjunction of the heavenly sign that Persians associated with Judea together with the one they associated with kingship. Others associate it with other reported celestial anoma- lies about this time. 2:3  he was disturbed. Although Scripture forbade astrol- MATTHEW 2:1 H Herod the Great erod the Great achieved power in Judea with Roman backing; he brutally sup­ pressed all opposition. Herod was a friend of Marc Antony but, unfortunately, an enemy of Antony’s mistress Cleopatra. When Octavian (Augustus) Caesar defeated Antony and Cleopatra, Herod submitted to him. Noting that he had been a loyal friend to Antony until the end, Herod promised that he would now be no less loyal to Caesar, and Caesar accepted this promise. Herod named cities for Caesar and built temples in his honor. Ethnically Herod was an Idumean (an Edomite); his ancestors had been forcibly converted to Judaism, and he built for Jerusalem’s God the ancient world’s largest and most magnificent temple. Politically astute, however, Herod also built temples honor­ ing the divine emperor Augustus and made lavish contributions to Gentile cities in or near his territory. Among his other reported politically savvy acts was the execution of members of the old Sanhedrin who opposed him; he replaced those council members instead with his own political supporters. He did not usually tolerate dissent. When some young disciples of religious teachers took down the golden eagle that Herod had erected on the temple, he had them executed. Most of our sources about Herod focus on his acts in Jerusalem, but the character of Herod that they reveal fits what Matthew says about him. So protective was Herod of his power and so jealous of potential rivals that his more popular brother-in-law, a very young high priest, had a drowning “accident” — ​in a pool that archaeology shows was very shallow. When his favorite wife Mariamne, a Maccabean princess, was falsely accused of adultery he had her strangled, though he later named a tower in his palace in her honor. He executed two of his sons who were falsely accused of plotting against him. Five days before he died he executed another son (the one who had falsely framed the other two). continued on next page