Albert Barnes Commentary Matthew 2

When Jesus was born. See the full account of his birth in Luke 2:1-20.

In Bethlehem of Judaea. Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ, was a small town about six miles south of Jerusalem. The word Bethlehem denotes "house of bread"—perhaps given to the place on account of its great fertility. It was also called Ephratah, a word supposed likewise to signify fertility (Genesis 35:19; Ruth 4:11; Psalms 132:6).

It was called the city of David (Luke 2:4) because it was the city of his birth (1 Samuel 16:1, 18). It was called Bethlehem of Judea to distinguish it from a town of the same name in Galilee (Joshua 19:15). The soil of Bethlehem was noted for its fertility. Ancient travellers frequently spoke of its productions. The town is situated on an eminence, in the midst of hills and valleys.

Currently, it contains about 200 houses, inhabited chiefly by Christians and Muslims, who live together in peace. About 200 paces east of Bethlehem, the place is still shown where our Saviour is supposed to have been born. A church and a convent are there; and beneath the church, a subterranean chapel, lit by thirty-two lamps, is said to be the place of the stable where Jesus was born. However, no reliance is to be placed on this tradition.

Herod the king. Judea, where our Saviour was born, was a province of the Roman empire. It was taken about sixty-three years before by Pompey and placed under tribute. Herod received his appointment from the Romans and had reigned, at the time of the birth of Jesus, thirty-four years. Though he was permitted to be called king, he was in all respects dependent on the Roman emperor.

He was commonly called Herod the Great, because he had distinguished himself in the wars with Antigonus and his other enemies, and because he had demonstrated great talents, as well as great cruelties and crimes, in governing and defending his country, in repairing the temple, and in building and ornamenting the cities of his kingdom.

At this time, Augustus was emperor of Rome. The world was at peace. All the known nations of the earth were united under the Roman emperor. Intercourse between different nations was easy and safe. Similar laws prevailed. The use of the Greek language was general throughout the world.

All these circumstances combined to make this a favourable time to introduce the gospel and to spread it through the earth. The Providence of God was remarkable in preparing the nations in this manner for the easy and rapid spread of the Christian religion among all nations.

Wise men. The original word here is magoi, from which comes our word magician, now used in a bad sense, but not so in the original. The persons here denoted were philosophers, priests, or astronomers. They lived chiefly in Persia and Arabia. They were the learned men of the eastern nations, devoted to astronomy, to religion, and to medicine. They were held in high esteem by the Persian court, were admitted as counsellors, and followed the camps in war to give advice.

From the east. It is unknown whether they came from Persia or Arabia. Both countries might be denoted by the word east—that is, east from Judea.

Jerusalem. This city is the capital of Judea. Jerusalem is frequently referenced in the New Testament, as it was the place of public worship of God, the location of many important events in the Saviour's life, and the place where He died. Because no Sabbath-school teacher can intelligently explain the New Testament without some knowledge of this city, it seems desirable to present a brief description of it.

A fuller description may be seen in Calmet's Dictionary and in the common works on Jewish Antiquities. Jerusalem was the capital of the kingdom of Judah and was built on the line dividing this tribe from the tribe of Benjamin. It was once called Salem (Genesis 14:18; Psalms 76:2) and, in the days of Abraham, was the dwelling place of Melchizedek.

When the Israelites took possession of the promised land, they found this stronghold in the possession of the Jebusites, by whom it was called Jehus or Jebusi (Joshua 18:28). The name Jerusalem was probably compounded from the two, by changing a single letter and calling it, for the sake of the sound, Jerusalem instead of Jebusalem.

The ancient Salem was probably built on Mount Moriah or Acra—the eastern and western mountains on which Jerusalem was later built.

When the Jebusites became masters of the place, they erected a fortress in the southern part of the city, later called Mount Zion, but which they called Jebus. Although the Israelites took possession of the adjacent territory (Joshua 18:28), the Jebusites still held this fortress or upper town until the time of David. He captured it from them (2 Samuel 5:7–9) and then moved his court from Hebron to Jerusalem, which was thereafter known as the city of David (2 Samuel 6:12; 1 Kings 8:1).

Jerusalem was built on several hills—Mount Zion on the south, Mount Moriah on the east (on which the temple was later built; see Barnes on Matthew 21:12), Mount Acra on the west, and Mount Bezetha on the north. Mount Moriah and Mount Zion were separated by a valley called by Josephus the Valley of Cheesemongers, over which there was a bridge, or raised way, leading from one to the other.

On the south-east of Mount Moriah, and between it and Mount Zion, there was a bluff or high rock capable of strong fortification, called Ophel. The city was encompassed by hills. On the west, there were hills that overlooked the city. On the south was the Valley of Jehoshaphat, or the Valley of Hinnom (see Barnes on Matthew 5:22), separating it from what is called the Mount of Corruption. On the east was the valley of the brook Kedron, dividing the city from the Mount of Olives. On the north, the country was more level—though it was a broken or rolling country.

To the south-east, the valleys of the Kedron and Jehoshaphat united, and the waters flowed through the broken mountains in a south-east direction to the Dead Sea, some fifteen miles distant. The city of Jerusalem stands in 30° 50' north latitude and 35° 20' east longitude from Greenwich. It is thirty-four miles south-easterly from Jaffa (the ancient Joppa, which is its seaport) and one hundred and twenty miles south-westerly from Damascus.

The best view of the city of Jerusalem is from the Mount of Olives on the east (see Barnes on Matthew 24:3), the mountains on the east being somewhat higher than those on the west. The city was in ancient times enclosed within walls, a part of which are still standing. The position of the walls has been changed at various times, as the city has been larger or smaller, or as it has extended in different directions.

The wall on the south formerly included the whole of Mount Zion, though the modern wall runs over the summit, including about half of the mountain. In the time of the Saviour, the northern wall enclosed only Mounts Acra and Moriah to the north; though, after his death, Agrippa extended the wall to include Mount Bezetha on the north.

About half of that is included in the present wall. The limits of the city on the east and west, being more determined by the nature of the place, have been more fixed and permanent.

The city was watered in part by the fountain of Siloam on the east (for a description of which, see Barnes on Luke 13:4 and Isaiah 7:3), and in part by the fountain of Gihon on the west of the city, which flowed into the Valley of Jehoshaphat. In the time of Solomon, water was also brought by an aqueduct, part of which still remains, from the vicinity of Bethlehem. The "pools of Solomon," three in number, one rising above another and designed to hold a large quantity of water, still remain in the vicinity of Bethlehem.

The fountain of Siloam still flows freely (see Barnes on Isaiah 7:3), though the fountain of Gihon is commonly dry. A reservoir or tank, however, remains at Gihon. Jerusalem had, perhaps, its highest splendour in the time of Solomon. About four hundred years later, it was completely destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.

It lay utterly desolate during the seventy years of the Jewish captivity. Then it was rebuilt and restored to some degree of its former magnificence, and remained so for about six hundred years, when it was utterly destroyed by Titus in A.D. 70. In the reign of Hadrian, the city was partly rebuilt under the name of Aelia.

The monuments of pagan idolatry were erected in it, and it remained under pagan jurisdiction until Helena, the mother of Constantine, overthrew the memorials of idolatry and erected a magnificent church over the spot supposed to be the place of the Redeemer's sufferings and burial. Julian the Apostate, attempting to destroy the credit of the Saviour's prophecy that the temple should remain in ruins (Matthew 25), endeavoured to rebuild the temple.

His own historian, Ammianus Marcellinus (see Warburton's Divine Legation of Moses), says that the workmen were impeded by balls of fire coming from the earth, and that Julian was compelled to abandon the undertaking. Jerusalem continued in the power of the eastern emperors until the reign of the caliph Omar, the third in succession from Muhammad, who reduced it under his control about the year 640.

The Saracens continued masters of Jerusalem until the year 1099, when it was taken by the crusaders under Godfrey of Bouillon. They founded a new kingdom, of which Jerusalem was the capital, which lasted eighty-eight years under nine kings. At last, this kingdom was utterly ruined by Saladin; and though the Christians once more obtained possession of the city, they were obliged again to relinquish it.

In 1217, the Saracens were expelled by the Turks, who have ever since continued in possession of it. Jerusalem has been taken and pillaged seventeen times, and millions of men have been slaughtered within its walls. At present, there is a splendid mosque—the Mosque of Omar—on the site of the temple.

It is a city with a population variously estimated at 15,000 to 50,000 (though probably around 20,000), comprising Jews, Turks, Arabs, Armenians, Greeks, and Roman Catholics. The Jews have a number of synagogues. The Catholics have a convent and control the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Greeks have twelve convents; the Armenians have three convents on Mount Zion and one in the city; the Copts, Syrians, and Abyssinians each have one convent.

The streets are narrow, and the houses are of stone, most of them low and irregular, with flat roofs or terraces, and with small windows only towards the street, usually protected by iron grates.

The above description has been obtained from a great variety of sources, and it would be useless to refer to the works where the facts have been obtained. As a reference to Jerusalem often occurs in the New Testament, and as it is very important to possess a correct view of the site of the ancient and modern city, a view is annexed to the second volume. It is by Catherwood and is probably the most exact view of the city that has been published.

{*} Now when Jesus was born: This refers to the 4th year before the era commonly called A.D.

Where is he, etc. There was, at this time, a prevalent expectation that some remarkable personage was about to appear in Judea. The Jews were anxiously looking for the coming of the Messiah. By computing the time mentioned by Daniel (Daniel 9:25–27), they knew that the period was approaching when the Messiah should appear. This personage, they supposed, would be a temporal prince, and they were expecting that he would deliver them from Roman bondage. It was natural that this expectation should spread into other countries. Many Jews, at that time, lived in Egypt, in Rome, and in Greece; many, also, had gone to eastern countries, and in every place they carried their Scriptures and diffused the expectation that some remarkable person was about to appear. Suetonius, a Roman historian, speaking of this rumor, says: "An ancient and settled persuasion prevailed throughout the East, that the Fates had decreed some one to proceed from Judea, who should attain universal empire." Tacitus, another Roman historian, says:

"Many were persuaded that it was contained in the ancient books of their priests, that at that very time the East should prevail, and that some one should proceed from Judea and possess the dominion."

Josephus and Philo, two Jewish historians, also mention the same expectation. The fact that such a person was expected is clearly attested. Under this expectation, these wise men came to do him homage and inquired anxiously where he was born?

His star. Among the ancients, the appearance of a star or comet was regarded as an omen of some remarkable event. Many such appearances are recorded by the Roman historians at the birth or death of distinguished men. Thus, they say, that at the death of Julius Caesar a comet appeared in the heavens and shone for seven days.

These wise men also considered this as evidence that the long-expected Prince was born. It is possible that they had been led to this belief by the prophecy of Balaam (Numbers 24:17), There shall come a star out of Jacob, etc. What this star was is not known. There have been many conjectures respecting it, but nothing is revealed concerning it.

We are not to suppose that it was what we commonly mean by a star. The stars are vast bodies fixed in the heavens, and it is absurd to suppose that one of them was sent to guide the wise men. It is most probable that it was a luminous appearance, or meteor, such as we now sometimes see shoot from the sky, or such as appear stationary, which the wise men saw, and which directed them to Jerusalem.

It is possible that the same thing is meant which is mentioned by Luke 2:9—The glory of the Lord shone round about them (see the notes on Luke 2:9)—that is, a great light appeared shining around them. That light might have been visible from afar and have been seen by the wise men in the East.

In the East. This does not mean that they had seen the star to the east of themselves, but that, when they were in the East, they had seen this star. As this star was in the direction of Jerusalem, it must have been west of them. It might be translated, "We, being in the East, have seen his star." It is called his star because they supposed it to be intended to indicate the time and place of his birth.

To worship him. This does not mean that they had come to pay him religious homage, or to adore him. They regarded him as the King of the Jews (Zechariah 9:9). There is no evidence that they supposed he would be Divine. They came to honor him as a prince, or a king, not as God. The original word implies no more than this. It meant to prostrate oneself before another; to fall down and pay homage to another. This was the mode in which homage was paid to earthly kings; and this they wished to pay to the new-born King of the Jews. See the same meaning of the word in Matthew 20:20; Matthew 18:26; Acts 10:25; Luke 14:10 .

The English word worship also meant, formerly, "to respect, to honor, to treat with civil reverence." (Webster.)

Had heard these things. He had heard of their coming, of the star, and of the purpose of their coming.

He was troubled. Herod had obtained the kingdom by great crimes and by shedding much blood. He was, therefore, easily alarmed by any remarkable appearances; and the fact that this star appeared, and that it was regarded as proof that the King of the Jews was born, alarmed him.

Besides, it was a common expectation that the Messiah was about to appear, and he feared that his reign was about to come to an end. He, therefore, began to inquire in what way he might secure his own safety and the permanency of his government.

All Jerusalem. The people of Jerusalem, and particularly the friends of Herod. There were many waiting for the consolation of Israel, to whom the coming of the Messiah would be a matter of joy; but all of Herod's friends would doubtless be alarmed at his coming.

The Chief Priests. By the chief priests here are meant not only the high priest and his deputy, but also the heads or chiefs of the twenty-four classes into which David had divided the priestly families (1 Chronicles 23:6; 1 Chronicles 24:1; 2 Chronicles 8:14; 2 Chronicles 36:14; Ezra 8:24).

Scribes. By the scribes, in the New Testament, are meant learned men, men skilled in the law, and members of the great council. They were probably the learned men, or the lawyers of the nation. They kept the records of the court of justice, the registers of the synagogues, wrote their articles of contract and sale, their bills of divorce, etc. They were also called lawyers (Matthew 22:35) and doctors of the law (Luke 5:17). They were called scribes from the fact of their writing the public records.

These scribes were not, however, a religious sect, but might be either Pharisees or Sadducees. By the chief priests and scribes here mentioned, the Sanhedrin, or great council of the nation, is denoted. This council was composed of seventy-two men who had charge of the civil and religious affairs of the Jews. On this occasion, Herod, in alarm, called them together, professedly to inquire about the birth of the Messiah.

Demanded of them. Inquired, or asked of them. As they were the learned men of the nation, and as it was their business to study and explain the Old Testament, they were presumed to know what the prophecies had declared on that point. His object was to ascertain from prophecy where he was born, that he might strike an effectual blow. He seems not to have had any doubt about the time when he should be born. He was satisfied that the time had come.

By the prophet. The Sanhedrin answered without hesitation. It was settled by prophecy. This prophecy is found in Micah 5:2. In that prophecy, both the place of his birth and the character of the Messiah are so clearly set forth that there was no room for doubt.

It will be observed that there is a considerable difference between the passage as quoted by the Sanhedrin and as it stands in Micah. The main point, however, is retained—the place of his birth. Therefore, we are not concerned with showing how these passages can be reconciled.

Matthew is not responsible for the correctness of the quotation. He affirms only that they gave this answer to Herod, and that Herod was satisfied. Even if we admit that they did not quote the passage correctly, it does not prove that Matthew has not reported their answer as they gave it; and this is all that he claims to provide.

Art not the least. In Micah, though thou be little. Though a small place as far as population is concerned, yet it shall not be small, or least, in honour; for the Messiah shall be born there. His birth gave the place an honour which could not be conferred on the larger cities by all their numbers, their splendour, and their wealth. The birth of a distinguished personage was always supposed to give honour and importance to a city or country. Thus, seven cities contended for the honour of giving birth to Homer; Stratford-upon-Avon is distinguished as the birthplace of Shakespeare; and Corsica as the birthplace of Napoleon.

A Governor. A Ruler. This is one of the characteristics of the Messiah, who is the King of his people (John 18:37). The word rule here means to rule as a shepherd does his flock, in faithfulness and tenderness (Isaiah 40:10–11; Isaiah 9:6).