Difference between revisions of "Matt 2:1-5"

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The New Testament > Matthew > Chapter 2

Questions

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Lexical notes

• In verse 1, the Greek word translated as "wise men" is magi, the plural of magus, a Persian word that originally referred to a member of the Zoroastrian priesthood caste of the Medes and Persians. It came to refer more broadly to those in the Persian culture who were astrologers, physicians, dream intepreters and the like.
• In verse 2, the Greek words translated as "his star in the east" could also be translated "his star as it rose" or "his star in its rising."

Exegesis

Verses 1-16: The Story of the Wise Men

At the time, new kings were often given gifts by emmissaries of foreign regimes (see related links). The gifts of the wise men can therefore be seen as the trappings of an official recognition of Christ's kingship. No wonder Herod was so threatened.

Verse 1

As noted in the lexical notes above, the magi were most likely pagan worshippers. As has been pointed out many times by commentators, readers of Matthew's gospel in the first century would certainly have understood pagans to be signified by the term. Some scholars have tried to read into the term a reference to Jews residing still in Babylon, but this seems, in the end, unlikely. In fact, if one regards the wise men as pagans, then the story of Jesus' life begins and ends with pagans, though in opposing ways: at the beginning, the pagans come to Jesus to worship Him, in the end (Matt 28:19), Jesus sends the apostles to the pagans to convert them. The poetic appeal of this reading perhaps strengthens it.

Verse 2

One has the picture here of the wise men wandering about Jerusalem (or other towns) asking about the King of the Jews. Their mention of the star and their intent to worship the newborn Messiah would have raised quite a stir in the volatile political atmosphere of the time. It is no surprise that Herod is troubled in the next verse. Perhaps an interesting aspect of the way the question is phrased in the verse here is that the wise men apparently assume that the Jews would be well apprised of the situation: it does not occur to them that the Jews would have missed the occurrence of such an event.

Verse 3

This verse is worded in such a way that it might be an allusion to Isa 7:2: the king and the people are suddenly quite afraid, but because they misunderstand the doings of God.

Verse 4

Herod consults with the (apparently subordinate) priests and scribes in order to sort things out before confronting himself the wise men on the subject. The point is interesting because it presents Herod as in absolute control, and it presents the priests and scribes as more knowledgeable than one might otherwise guess from the gospel narratives.

Related links

• The Oxford Annotated Bible (ISBN 0-19-528485-2) points out in reference to this story that "Foreign regimes often sent emmissaries to greet and give gifts to new kings or rulers" (p. NT10).