peo ple’ s chief priests and teach ers of the law, he asked them where the Mes si ah was to be born. 5“ In Beth le hem y in Judea,” they re plied,“ for this is what the prophet has written:
2:5 y Jn 7:42
6“‘ But you, Bethlehem, in the land of |
2:6 z 2Sa 5:2; |
|
Judah, |
Mic 5:2 |
a 6 Micah 5:2,4 |
Matthew 2:7 | 1611
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ a” z
7 Then Her od called the Magi se cret ly and found out from them the ex act time ogy, most of the ancient world had come to believe in astrology from the east, considered the“ science” of its day. Jewish people generally doubted that the stars controlled Israel’ s future, but they granted that the stars predicted the Gentiles’ future. It was also widely believed that comets and other heavenly signs predicted the demise of rulers; for this reason some rulers reportedly executed other members of the elite, so that the other deaths, rather than their own, could fulfill the predicted demise. Herod undoubtedly respected foreign ideas. Besides honoring Israel’ s God, Herod built temples for Caesar in Gentile cities. 2:4 – 6 where the Messiah was to be born... in Judea... Bethlehem. If the star specified a king born in Judea, the Magi naturally expected to find him in Jerusalem’ s palace. But it is Scripture that specifies the new king’ s exact birthplace, and for this Herod consults his own wise men.( There is a parallel to this in one Jewish tradition, in which a scribe warned Pharaoh about the birth of Moses, Israel’ s deliverer.) Probably most of the“ chief priests and teachers of the law”( v. 4) Herod gathered were members of the Sanhedrin, Jerusalem’ s municipal aristocracy. Herod had reportedly killed members of the Sanhedrin that opposed him and replaced them with his own political supporters. These Bible experts know precisely where the expected king should be born: in David’ s hometown of Bethlehem, as prophesied in Mic 5:2. Although everyone knows the Magi’ s mission( vv. 2 – 3), there is no indication that the Bible experts join them in their quest. Knowing the Bible is not always the same thing as obeying it.
So much did Herod crave honor it is said that when he was on his deathbed he ordered many nobles arrested. He thought that if many people were executed on the day that he died, he could ensure that there would be mourning rather than celebration at the time of his death. When he died, however, the nobles were released and the people celebrated. ◆
A model of Herod’ s palace in Jerusalem. The towers were named after important people in Herod’ s life: Hippicus( a friend), Phasael( Herod’ s brother), and Mariamne( Herod’ s wife).
© 1995 by Phoenix Data Systems