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Matthew

About this book
Chapter 2

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the time of King Herod, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem 2 saying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”⁠ 3 When King Herod heard this he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.⁠ 5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they said, “for it is written this way by the prophet: 6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are in no way least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”⁠ 7 Then Herod privately summoned the wise men and determined from them when the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well.” 9 After listening to the king they left, and once again the star they saw when it rose led them until it stopped above the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star they shouted joyfully. 11 As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back by another route to their own country.⁠ 13 After they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to look for the child to kill him.” 14 Then he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and went to Egypt. 15 He stayed there until Herod died. In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”⁠ 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.” 21 So he got up and took the child and his mother and returned to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the regions of Galilee. 23 He came to a town called Nazareth and lived there. Then what had been spoken by the prophets was fulfilled, that Jesus would be called a Nazarene.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare LXX Jeremiah 38:15 and Matthew 2:18

Septuagint · New Testament

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Summary

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.

Passages

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.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Jeremiah

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.”
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

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.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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LXX Jeremiah 38:15 and Matthew 2:18

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