LXX Jeremiah 38:15
Septuagint
13 At that time the virgins will rejoice in an assembly of young men, and the aged women will rejoice. And I will turn their grief to joy and make them cheerful. 14 I will magnify and make the souls of the priests drunk, the sons of Levi. And my people will be filled with my good things. 15 This is what the Lord said: “A voice of lamentation and weeping and mourning was heard in Ramah. Rachel, weeping over her sons, was unwilling to desist, because they were no more.” 16 This is what the Lord said: “Let your voice cease from weeping, and your eyes from your tears, because there is a reward for your works, and they will return from the land of their enemies, 17 a stable place for your children.
Date: 1st Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
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 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
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 ..."
Mayordomo, Moisés
"Matthew 1-2 and the Problem of Intertextuality" in Claire Clivaz, et al. (eds.), Infancy Gospels. Stories and Identities
(p. 277) Mohr Siebeck, 2011
* 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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