Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 2:1

"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, Wise-men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying," — Matthew 2:1 (ASV)

Bethlehem, the place near which Jacob buried Rachel (Genesis 35:19) and Ruth met Boaz (Ruth 1:2–22:6), was preeminently the town where David was born and reared. For Christians it has become the place where angelic hosts broke the silence and announced Messiah’s birth .

Unlike Luke, Matthew offers no description of Jesus’ birth or the shepherds’ visit; he specifies the time of Jesus’ birth as having occurred during the reign of King Herod the Great . Traditionally some have argued that Herod died in 4 B. C.; so Jesus must have been born before then. Though this has been challenged, most favor this date. The “Magi” (GK 3407) cannot be identified with precision. By NT times, the term loosely covered a wide variety of men interested in dreams, astrology, magic, books thought to contain mysterious references to the future, and the like. Apparently these men came to Bethlehem spurred on by astrological calculations. But they had probably built up their expectation of a kingly figure by working through assorted Jewish books.