Characters
- King Herod
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Magi
Places
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References
- Micah 5 verse 2
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2 Samuel 5 verse 2
Topics
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2.1-12
France Matthew Commentary
- "King of the Jews" used only by non-Jews in Matthew (Magi and Herod)
- Visit from foreign dignitaries reminds the reader of the Queen of Sheba and her visit to Solomon.
- References
- 1 Kings 10 verse 10
- Psalm 72, 10-11, 15
- Isaiah 60, 5-6
- These references are attached to the 3rd century Xtian tradition that the Magi were kings (when in fact they were only representatives or servants of kings)
- Balaam may be in mind as a model for the Magi. He, like them, was a non-Israelites holy man and visionary from the East.
- Numbers 23 verse 7 in the LXX refers to Balaam coming ap' anatolon "from the East."
- Herod and the killing of the innocents has echos of Pharaoh and the infanticide in Exodus
- Part of the larger Matthew theme of Jesus as New Moses and all New Exodus typology.
- France notes many apocryphal connections to the Exodus story and Matthew 2.
- he notes that 2 years need not be a precise time for when the Magi arrived
- Remarkable that Matthew does not hint any disapproval
- The fact they're not Jews fits with Matthew's universalist agenda.
- The King of the Jews is recognized and honored first not by his people but by representatives of "the many" who were later to come from the east in the west, Matthew 8, verse 11
- Great reversal of the world's values. Magi bow at a child in an ordinary house in an insignificant town.