Texts in Conversation
Matthew quotes the Greek Septuagint translation of Jeremiah 38 but makes small changes to harmonize it with its own narrative. It emphasizes the immediacy of Rachel’s grief, which Matthew uses without the hopeful resolution found in the original.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Jeremiah 38:15
Septuagint
13 Then the virgins will rejoice in the assembly of youth, and the old men shall rejoice; and I will turn their mourning into joy, and will make them merry. 14 I will expand and cheer with wine the soul of the priests the sons of Levi, and my people shall be satisfied with my good things. 15 Thus says the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, of lamentation, and of weeping, and wailing; Rachel would not cease weeping for her sons, because they are not. 16 Thus says the Lord; Let your voice cease from weeping, and your eyes from your tears: for there is a reward for your works; and they shall return from the land of your enemies. 17 There shall be an lasting home for your children.
Date: 100–1 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Matthew 2:18
New Testament
16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men to kill all the children in Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men. 17 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud wailing, Rachel weeping for her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because they were gone.” 19 After Herod had died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.”
Date: 70–90 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The model of "fulfilment" reaches its theological limits when the brutal murdering of children is narrated. How can this be part of scriptural witness? The high degree of intertextual auto-reflexivity becomes evident in a small but significant change in the wording of the introductory formula to the quotation from LXX Jeremiah 38:15 (Hebrew Jeremiah 31:15): The narrator uses 'tote' instead of 'ina'. The finality of the narrated events is clearly toned down. By naming the prophet Jeremiah, the narrator probably calls to the mind his character as a "tragic" prophet. The quotation emphasizes the reaction of grief (which is not part of the narrative) and recalls Rachel as a mother-type. This note of despair is not predominant in Jeremiah 31. Again, the knowledge of the pre-text's context can help to "color" the understanding of Matthew 2 with a note of hope ..."
Moisés Mayordomo, "Matthew 1-2 and the Problem of Intertextuality" in Claire Clivaz, et al. (eds.), Infancy Gospels. Stories and Identities (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011), 277.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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