A.T. Robertson Commentary Matthew 2:15

"and was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt did I call my son." — Matthew 2:15 (ASV)

Until the death of Herod (εως της τελευτης Hηρωιδου). The Magi had been warned in a dream not to report to Herod and now Joseph was warned in a dream to take Mary and the child along (μελλε ζητειν του απολεσα gives a vivid picture of the purpose of Herod in these three verbs). In Egypt Joseph was to keep Mary and Jesus till the death of Herod the monster. Matthew quotes Ho 11:1 to show that this was in fulfilment of God's purpose to call his Son out of Egypt. He may have quoted again from a collection of testimonia rather than from the Septuagint. There is a Jewish tradition in the Talmud that Jesus "brought with him magic arts out of Egypt in an incision on his body" (Shabb. 104b). "This attempt to ascribe the Lord's miracles to Satanic agency seems to be independent of Matthew, and may have been known to him, so that one object of his account may have been to combat it" (McNeile).