Matthew

2:1-12

1. Prologue, 1:1-2:23

iii] Wise men worship the king

Magi from the East come to Jerusalem seeking the new-born king of the Jews. Herod intervenes, pointing them toward Bethlehem. Following the star to Bethlehem, the Magi give homage to Jesus, leaving quickly for home to foil Herod's murderous plans.

The coming of Eastern astrologers, reveals the birth of a royal prince, the son of Abraham in whom all the families of the earth will be blessed.

i] Context: See Matthew 1:1-17.

ii] Background: Historical authenticity: We should note that there is a long history of rejecting the historicity of this story. Many scholars see it as a reworked Palestinian legend about Pharaoh's astrologers predicting the birth of Moses, but just because Matthew gives the story a theological edge doesn't mean that it is a fable. In fact, there is evidence of unusual cosmic activity at the time of Jesus' birth: the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on three occasion in 7BC and the appearance of a comet in 12BC. The visit of the Magi is not necessarily related to Jesus' birth, but do Joseph and Mary stay long in Bethlehem?

iii] Structure: Wise men worship the king:

Magi seek the new king, v1-2;

Herod seeks advice on where the Messiah is to be born, v3-6;

Herod instructs the magi and seeks their cooperation, v7-8;

The magi follow the star, v9-10;

The magi worship the newborn kind, v11;

Warned in a dream, the magi flee, v12.

iv] Interpretation:

v] Exposition: A simple exposition of this passage may be found in the linked pew-level Sermon Notes.

The worship of the Magi, v1-12; i] The Magi come seeking the "king of the Jews" in order to worship him, v1-2. There is debate over the date of Herod's death, but 4BC is favored. So, Jesus is born some time before 4BC in Bethlehem, in Judea (rather than Bethlehem in Zebulun). Magi are referred to in Daniel,1:20, 2:2, 4:7, 5:7. The word loosely covers astrologers, magicians and interpreters of dreams. It is possible that they have journeyed from Babylon. In tradition they are named Melkon, Balthasar and Gasper. For Matthew, the importance of this story lies in its fulfillment of scripture - Messiah is "a star" that will "rise out of Israel", Num.23:7. Although the Old Testament denounces astrology, Matthew relates the story, emphasizing that the Magi come to "worship", ie. do obeisance, do homage. The "star" is possibly a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in 7BC. People of the time saw significance in this planetary conjunction.

de "-" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the narrative; "Now, after Jesus was born", ESV.

tou Ihsou gennhqentoV (gennaw) aor. pas. part. "After Jesus was born" - jesus having been born [in bethlehem]. Genitive absolute, usually forming a temporal clause, "when", RSV; "soon after", TEV; "not long after", Phillips.

thV IoudaiaV (a aV) gen. "in Judea" - of judea. The genitive is adjectival, idiomatic / local; "in Bethlehem located in Judea."

en + dat. "during [the time]" - in [days]. Temporal use of the preposition; "during the reign of king Herod."

Hrw/dou gen. "of [king] Herod" - of herod [the king]. The genitive is adjectival, possessive, "king Herod's reign", or idiomatic / temporal, "during the days when Herod reigned." The genitive basilewV, "reigned", stands in apposition to "Herod".

magoi (oV) "Magi" - [behold] magi. Nominative subject of the verb "to appear." A word used of Persian "wise men" able to interpret dreams, read the stars, etc. "Astrologers", "Magicians", Moffatt.

apo gen. "from" - from, out of. Expressing origin / source.

anatolwn (h) "the east" - east [appeared in jerusalem]. Babylon, Persia....

legonteV (legw) pres. part. "and asked" - saying. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "arrived / came", v1, as NIV.

oJ tecqeiV (tiktw) aor. pas. part. "the one who has been born" - [where is] the one having been born. The participle serves as a substantive. The sense is of a child "recently born who will become king.

basileuV (euV ewV) "king" - Complement of the nominative subject "the one having been born, standing in a double nominative construction.

twn Ioudaiwn gen. "of the Jews" - The genitive is adjectival, idiomatic / subordination; "king over the Jews."

gar "-" - for. More reason than cause, explaining the reason for the wise men's question; "for", RSV.

ton astera (hr eroV) "[his] star" - [we saw] the star [of him]. Accusative direct object of the verb "to see." The genitive "his" is possessive. The wise men saw "the astrological sign of the coming king." Davies and Allison suggest that there was a widespread view at the time that a mighty ruler would come out of Judea and that the wise men had recognized a highly significant astrological phenomenon indicating the coming of this king.

en + dat. "in [the east] / when [it rose]" - at [its rising], in [the east]. Probably local, but possibly temporal, "when it came up in the east", TEV. The phrase is probably not saying in what part of the sky the astrological sign can be found, but rather that the wise men saw it at its rising in the sky, "we saw his star when it rose", Moffatt.

proskunhsai (proskunew) inf. "to worship" - [and we came] to fall down before, do obeisance. The infinitive is probably adverbial, conveying purpose, "in order to worship"; "we have come with a single purpose in mind, namely, to worship him." The sense of the word is "adoration" when accusative and "prostrate before" when dative, and must not be confused with other Greek words that mean "perform a service for", eg. latreuw, "I serve", a word often incorrectly translated as "worship".

autw/ "him" - to him. Dative of direct object after the verb "to do obeisance to / worship", in Koine Gk only.

ii] Herod is disturbed by the visit of the Magi and seeks advice, v3-6. In Herod's final years he was quite paranoid and ordered the death of numerous officials, including family members, so the visit of the Magi not only disturbs Herod, but also the populous, who are rightly worried about how he might respond. His initial response it to consult the priestly hierarchy, along with experts on the Old Testament, for the birthplace of the Messiah and is told "Bethlehem in Judea." In v6, Matthew loosely follows the Masoretic text of Micah 5:2 with some words from 2 Samuel 5:2.

de "-" - but/and. Transitional; "now ...."

akousaV (akouw) part. "when [King Herod] heard this" - having heard. Most translations assume that the participle here is adverbial, introducing a temporal clause with the supplied object, "this", "these things." Yet, also possibly forming a consecutive clause expressing result; "the news of this troubled King Herod and all of Jerusalem as well", Moffatt.

etaracqh (tarassw) aor. "he was disturbed" - [king herod] was troubled. The verb is singular, but it applies to both the king and the residents of Jerusalem, so a plural verb may be expected. For the general rules applying to this situation see Olmstead p22, 23, or Wallace, p401. "Alarmed", Barclay.

meta + gen. "[all Jerusalem] with [him]" - Expressing association / accompaniment. Why would "all Jerusalem" be alarmed along with Herod? Jerusalem is alarmed when Jesus enters Jerusalem, 21:10, and so this is probably noting a negative reaction from the residents of the city, the unbelieving crowd, but particularly the religious authorities - a sign of things to come.

sunagagwn (sunagw) aor. part. "when he had called together" - [and] having assembled. The participle is again adverbial, best treated as temporal, "when / after ..."; "he called together", TEV, "he summoned", Phillips.

pantaV adj. "all" - Accusative direct object of the verb "having assembled." Herod is thorough in his investigation.

grammateiV (euV ewV) "[the people's chief priests and] teachers of the law" - [the chief priests and] the scribes [of the people]. A further element of the accusative direct object of the verb "having assembled." The scribes are not part of the ruling elite. As lay ministers they are therefore tou laou, "of the people" - an adjectival genitive, partitive / wholative. Possibly applying to the "chief priests" as well.

epunqaneto (punqanomai) imperf. "he asked" - he inquired. The imperfect tense may carry either an inceptive sense, "he began to inquire", or a tentative sense, so Turner, "he tentatively inquired." These classifications are increasingly questioned given that the imperfect is often used to express supplementary action, eg., backgrounding. In this particular case, Olmstead notes that this verb prefers the imperfect because it points forward to another action.

par (para) + gen. "[them]" - from [them] - Here expressing source.

pou adv. "where" - This interrogative adverb here serves to introduce an object clause / dependent statement of indirect speech / question.

gennatai (gennaw) pres. pas. "was to be born" - [the christ] is being born. The present tense is used to express the tense of the original question, ie., "where is the Christ being born / to be born?"

en + dat. "in [Bethlehem]" - [and they said to him], in [bethlehem]. Local, expressing space.

thV IoudaiaV (a) gen. "in Judea" - of judea. The genitive is adjectival, partitive, or local, "located in Judea."

autw/ dat. pro. "[they replied]" - [they said] to him. Dative of indirect object.

gar "for" - More reason than cause, explaining the grounds on which it is held that the messiah will be born in Bethlehem; "for thus it is written", Moffatt.

dia + gen. "-" - [thus it has been written] through, by means of [the prophet]. Instrumental, agency. The clause properly expresses the sense that the prophets are the instrument of God's revelation.

su Bhqleem voc. "you, Bethlehem" - "God said, 'you people of Bethlehem.'"

gh (h) voc. "land" - in the land. Often meaning "earth", but here obviously "territory". Technically standing in apposition to "Bethlehem" although a dative after en, "in", may have been expected.

Iouda (aV a) "of Judea" - The genitive is adjectival, idiomatic / identification; "the land known as Judah."

oudamwV adv. "by no means" - [you are] certainly not [least]. Emphatic adverb.

elacisth (oV, mikroV) adj. "least" - The superlative of "small/little" serves as a predicate adjective; "you are certainly not least."

toiV hJgemosin (wn onoV) "the rulers" - [in = among] the rulers, governors, chiefs [of judah]. Least among the "leading cities" of Judea seems more likely, but possibly least among the "leaders / rulers" of Judea.

gar "for" - Introducing a causal clause explaining why Bethlehem is not the least of the cities in Judea; "because from you ....."

ek + gen. "out of [you]" - from [you]. Expressing source / origin.

hJgemosin (hJgeomai) pres. part. "a ruler" - a ruler, leader, [will come]. The participle serves as a substantive, as NIV. "From you there shall emerge the leader who will be the shepherd of my people Israel", Barclay.

o{stiV rel. pro. "who" - who [will shepherd the people of me, israel]. Nominative subject of the verb "to shepherd", referring to the antecedent "a ruler." The accusative Israhl, "Israel", stands in apposition to "people".

iii] Herod tries to entangle the magi in his evil plans, v7-8. The Magi obviously came to Jerusalem on the assumption that the new Hebrew king would be born there, but Herod is able to tell them where they must go. Obviously Herod wants to know when the star appeared so he can calculate the child's age and efficiently eliminate any possible contender for his throne. As for the Magi, Herod is able to present himself as a devotee of the newly born king, but of course, he never expected God to intervene.

tote "then" - Used to indicate a temporal step in the narrative. Often just of time past, or time future, but here "to introduce that which follows in time", BAGD.

kalesaV (kalew) aor. part. "called" - having called. Attendant circumstance participle identifying action accompanying the main verb "ascertained", "called ..... and found out ....." "Summoned", NJB.

touV magouV "the Magi" - Accusative direct object of the verb "to call." The anaphoric use of the article, ie. where the article is backward-looking, in this case, looking back to the reference of the Magi in v1 where there is no article. The anaphoric article carries the sense "this / that", so here, "these visitors from the East."

laqra/ adv. "secretly" - privately. Adverb of manner; "in private", NEB.

hkribwsen (akribow) aor. "found out" - inquired diligently. "Ascertained", NEB. Here of diligent inquiry, producing the sense conveyed by the TEV "found out from them the exact time the star appeared."

par (para) + gen. "from [them]" - Here spacial, expressing source / origin, as NIV.

tou fainomenou (fainw) gen. pres. part. "[the star] had appeared" - [the time] of the appearing [of star]. The genitive participle is best treated as adjectival, attributive, "the time of the appearing star". The genitive "of star" is probably also adjectival, idiomatic / temporal "the time when the star appeared; "the time since the star's appearing", Wuest. "Herod ..... carefully questioned them about the date when the star had appeared", Barclay.

poreuqenteV (poreuomai) aor. part. "go" - [having sent them to bethlehem he said] going, journeying, proceeding. Attendant circumstance participle expressing an action accompanying the imperatival verb "search", therefore translated as the imperative "go"; "go and search."

akribwV adv. "[make a] careful [search]" - [inquire] carefully, diligently, accurately. The adverb is modal, expressing manner. "Search for this little child with utmost care", Phillips.

peri + gen. "for [the child]" - concerning [the child]. Reference; "concerning / about / with reference to." "Make careful enquiries about the child", Cassirer.

epan + subj. "as soon as" - [and] whenever [you find him]. Introducing an indefinite temporal clause referring to the future.

moi dat. pro. "[report] to me" - [tell, report, announce] to me. Dative of direct object of the apo prefix verb "to report."

oJpwV + subj. "so that" - that [i also coming may worship]. Introducing a purpose clause. "So that / in order that I may worship him also."

elqwn (ercomai) aor. part. "[I too] may go" - coming. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "worship" and therefore translated in the subjective mood along with "worship", "may go and [may] worship him." "So that I may go myself and pay him homage", NEB.

autw/ dat. pro. "him" - Dative of direct object after the verb "to do obeisance to / worship".

iv] The Magi complete their journey to Bethlehem, v9-10. As the Magi headed toward Bethlehem the star appears overhead, confirming their journey's end.

de "-" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the narrative.

akousanteV (akouw) aor. part. "after [they] had heard" - [they] having heard, listened. The participle is probably adverbial, temporal, as NIV; "when they had heard the king", NRSV.

oiJ "they" - Nominative subject of the verb "to go, depart." The article here is used as a demonstrative pronoun.

tou BasilewV (euV ewV) "the king" - of the king [departed and beheld the star which they saw]. Genitive of direct object after the verb akouw, of persons, lit. "hearing of/from the king." "The wise men listened to the king and ...", Phillips.

en th/ anatolh/ "in the east" - See above.

prohgen (proagw) imperf. "went ahead [of them]" - went before, lead ahead. The sense is that the cosmic sign somehow leads the wise men to Bethlehem; it points the way, guides them.

eJwV "until" - Often with a subjunctive, but here a participle, referring to future time in relation to the verb "went before". The sign of the rising in the east led them "until".

elqwn (ercomai) aor. part. "-" - having come. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "it stood"; "until it came and stopped where the little child was", Barclay.

estaqh (iJsthmi) aor. pas. "it stopped" - it stood. "It stopped", "came to rest over", RSV, is a slight assumption. The language reflects the symbolism of the pillar of cloud and fire that guided the Israelites through the wilderness to the promised land, so Phillips is closer to the mark with his "it shone immediately above the place where the little child lay." Of course, even this literal description may not explain the phenomenon. Whatever happened, the wise men read the sign and understood that Bethlehem was the site of the king's birth.

epanw + gen. "over" - over, above the place. "Coming to a standstill just over the place", Cassirer.

ou| gen. "where" - where [the child was]. The relative pronoun here serves as an adverb, "where".

idonteV (oJraw) aor. part. "when they saw" - [and] seeing, caught sight of [the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy]. A temporal adverbial participle is the choice of the majority of translators, but causal is possible, "because". "They were thrilled and excited to see the star", CEV.

v] The magi worship the king, v11. The Magi track down the family, now living in a home, and "worship him" (They see both Jesus and Mary, but worship Jesus alone). Following Eastern custom, they give gifts to Jesus, in much they same way as gifts would be given to an important dignitary. Opening their treasure boxes, they give gold, frankincense (mixed gums used for incense), and myrrh (a spice for embalming). The ancients suggested that these represent royalty, divinity, and sacrifice, but there is no evidence that the Magi intend this. Three gifts doesn't necessarily mean three visitors (always a good trivia question!).

elqonteV (ercomai) aor. part. "on coming [to the house]" - [and] having come [into the house they saw the child with mary, the mother of him]. The participle is adverbial, best treated as temporal; "and when they came into the house."

pesonteV (piptw) aor. part. "they bowed down" - [and] falling down. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the main verb "worship"; "they knelt down and worshiped him", CEV.

autw/ dat. pro. "[worshiped] him" - [they did obeisance] to him. Dative of direct object after the verb "to do obeisance to / worship".

anoixanteV (anoigw) aor. part. "then they opened" - [and] having opened. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "they offered"; "they unlocked their treasures and offered him gifts", Barclay. Possibly temporal, as NIV, AV, NRSV, ...

touV qhsaurouV (oV) "treasures" - the treasures [of them]. Accusative direct object of the participle "having opened." The reference is probably to the container in which the gifts are stowed and kept safe, therefore "treasure box", "money bag"....

autw/ dat. pro. "[presented] him" - [they brought, offered] to him. Dative of indirect object.

dwra (on) "with gifts" - gifts, [gold and frankincense and myrrh]. Accusative direct object of the verb "to offer." Alluding to Ps.72:10-11, of the nations doing obeisance to the king of Israel, and of the gifts proper, "gold" and "frankincense", within an eschatological context, Isa.60:1-6. "The newborn king is king of all the world, and the appropriate homage shall be paid to him by all the nations", Nolland.

vi] The magi flee, v12. God intervenes and warns the Magi to head home without returning to Jerusalem.

crhmatisqenteV (crhmatizomai) aor. pas. part. "having been warned" - Best translated as an adverbial participle of cause, "because", giving the reason why they went home by another route, "since they were warned", Phillips. Note how Phillips uses the active voice rather than the passive, since the focus in on the wise men not the agent of the warning, presumably angels. Although the verb refers to the business of intercourse it takes here the particular meaning of "impart a divine revelation."

kat (kata) + acc. "in [a dream]" - according to [a dream]. Probably here with a temporal sense, "during a dream", or possibly even manner / means, "by a dream"; "having received warning in the course of a dream", Cassirer.

mh anakamyai (anakamptw) inf. "not to go back to" - not to return [to herod]. The infinitive is used here to introduce an object clause / dependent statement of indirect discourse, expressing what the Magi were warned in the dream, namely that they not return to Herod.

autwn gen. pro. "their [country]" - [they departed through another way to the country] of them. The genitive is adjectival, possessive. Olmstead suggests a more idiomatic sense / identification; "the region from which they came."

di (dia) + gen. "by [another route]" - through. Here spacial, "through (in time or space)".

Matthew Introduction

Exposition

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