Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 2:4

"And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born." — Matthew 2:4 (ASV)

The chief priests and scribes — The chief priests were likely the heads of the twenty-four courses into which the sons of Aaron were divided (2 Chronicles 23:8; Luke 1:5), though the term may have also included those who had held the office of high priest, even if only for a time. The “scribes” were interpreters of the Law, casuists, and collectors of the traditions of the elders; for the most part, they were Pharisees.

This meeting was not necessarily a formal session of the Sanhedrin, or Great Council, but may have been only a committee of notable leaders called together for a special purpose. With characteristic subtlety, as if trying to gauge the strength of their Messianic hopes, Herod acted as if he himself shared them. He then asked where the Christ—the expected Messiah, the “anointed” of the Lord (Psalms 2:2; Psalms 45:7; Psalms 89:20)—was to be born.