The Flight to Egypt #78

The flight to Egypt is the episode in Matthew 2 in which Joseph, Mary, and the young Jesus escape to Egypt to avoid King Herod’s attempt to kill the newborn king of the Jews. It follows the visit of the Magi and explains how Jesus came to grow up in Nazareth of Galilee.

Biblical Account

After the Magi left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and to stay there until told otherwise, since Herod was about to search for the child in order to destroy him. Joseph rose in the night, took them, and departed for Egypt, where they remained until Herod’s death. Matthew adds that this was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, out of Egypt I called my son (Matthew 2:13-15; Hosea 11:1).

When Herod saw that the Magi had deceived him, he was furious and sent soldiers to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its surrounding district who were two years old or under, based on the time he had learned from the Magi. Matthew connects this with a line from Jeremiah about Rachel weeping for her children, who are no more (Matthew 2:16-18; Jeremiah 31:15).

After Herod died, the angel again appeared to Joseph in Egypt and told him to return to the land of Israel. Hearing that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, Joseph was afraid to go there and, warned in a dream, withdrew to the district of Galilee. He settled in a town called Nazareth, and Matthew says this fulfilled what was said by the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene (Matthew 2:19-23).

Theological Significance

Matthew shapes the story so that Jesus reenacts the experience of Israel. Hosea’s line about God calling His son out of Egypt originally refers to the Exodus, and Matthew applies it to Jesus, presenting him as the one in whom Israel’s story is summed up. Like Moses, who was also saved from a ruler’s slaughter of infants, Jesus escapes a tyrant and is later called out of Egypt. The passage also portrays God as protecting the child through Joseph’s obedience to dreams.

The mourning at Bethlehem shows that the birth of the Messiah took place in a world of violence. The text does not soften the cost borne by others. Egypt, which was once the place of Israel’s bondage, becomes in this story a place of refuge, and it had long been a home to Jewish communities.

Historical and Archaeological Notes

No ancient source outside Matthew mentions the killing of the infants of Bethlehem. Some scholars take this as a reason for doubt, while others note that Bethlehem was a small village, so the number of victims may have been small, and that Herod’s cruelty is well documented by Josephus, who reports that he executed members of his own family. Herod died around 4 BC.