Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ would be born.
Parallel Translations
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Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ would be born.
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and he gathered all the chefe Prestes and Scribes of the people and axed of them where Christ shulde be borne.
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And gathering together all the chiefe Priestes and Scribes of the people, hee asked of them, where Christ should be borne.
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Cross-references (28)
Passages linked to Matthew 2:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Matthew 7:29 for he taught them with authority, and not like the scribes.
- Matthew 21:23 When he had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority do you do these things? Who gave you this authority?”
- Acts 6:12 They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and came against him and seized him, then brought him in to the council,
- Acts 23:9 A great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ part stood up, and contended, saying, “We find no evil in this man. But if a spirit or angel has spoken to him, let’s not fight against God!”
- Jeremiah 8:8 “ ‘How do you say, “We are wise, and Yahweh’s law is with us?” But, behold, the false pen of the scribes has made that a lie.
- Luke 20:19 The chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that very hour, but they feared the people—for they knew he had spoken this parable against them.
- Luke 23:10 The chief priests and the scribes stood, vehemently accusing him.
- John 3:10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and don’t understand these things?
- John 7:32 The Pharisees heard the multitude murmuring these things concerning him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.
- John 8:3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman taken in adultery. Having set her in the middle,
- John 18:3 Judas then, having taken a detachment of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
- Acts 4:5 In the morning, their rulers, elders, and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem.
- 1 Chronicles 24:4-19 There were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and they were divided like this: of the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen, heads of fathers’ houses; and of the sons of Ithamar, according to their fathers’ houses, eight. Thus they were divided impartially by drawing lots; for there were princes of the sanctuary, and princes of God, both of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar. Shemaiah the son of Nethanel the scribe, who was of the Levites, wrote them in the presence of the king, the princes, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the priests and of the Levites; one fathers’ house being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar. Now the first lot came out to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez, the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel, the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul, the twenty-third to Delaiah, and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah. This was their ordering in their service, to come into Yahweh’s house according to the ordinance given to them by Aaron their father, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, had commanded him.
- 2 Chronicles 34:13 Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and directed all who did the work in every kind of service. Of the Levites, there were scribes, officials, and gatekeepers.
- 2 Chronicles 34:15 Hilkiah answered Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the book of the law in Yahweh’s house.” So Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.
- 2 Chronicles 36:14 Moreover all the chiefs of the priests, and the people, trespassed very greatly after all the abominations of the nations; and they polluted Yahweh’s house which he had made holy in Jerusalem.
- Ezra 7:6 this Ezra went up from Babylon. He was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which Yahweh, the God of Israel, had given; and the king granted him all his request, according to Yahweh his God’s hand on him.
- Ezra 7:11-12 Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, even the scribe of the words of Yahweh’s commandments, and of his statutes to Israel: Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the perfect God of heaven. Now
- Ezra 10:5 Then Ezra arose, and made the chiefs of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. So they swore.
- Nehemiah 12:7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the chiefs of the priests and of their brothers in the days of Jeshua.
- Psalms 2:2 The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his Anointed, saying,
- Malachi 2:7 For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of Yahweh of Armies.
- Matthew 13:52 He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things.”
- Matthew 21:15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children who were crying in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the son of David!” they were indignant,
- Matthew 26:3 Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas.
- Matthew 26:47 While he was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people.
- Matthew 27:1 Now when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
- Mark 8:31 He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain The chief priests, that is, such as were of…
The chief priests, that is, such as were of Aaron’s family, which were divided into four and twenty orders, 1 Chron. 14:5 and 2 Chron. 36:14.
They that expound the Law to the people, for the Hebrews take this word of another, which signifieth as much as to expound and declare.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 4 And when he had gathered all the chief…
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
Ver. 4. And when he had gathered all the chief priests] The true picture of Popish councils, who propound grave questions as this was, Where Christ should be born? and pretend to worship Christ, but intend to worry him: the Council of Trent was carried, against the simplicity of Christ, with such infinite guile and craft, as that themselves will even smile in the twiumphs of their own wits (when they hear it but mentioned) as at a master stratagem. It passed in France in manner of a proverb, That the modern council had more authority than that of the apostles, because their own pleasure was a sufficient ground for the decrees, without admitting the Holy Ghost. (Hist. of Council of Trent.)
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain In this perplexity the king Herod calleth a synod…
In this perplexity the king Herod calleth a synod or convocation, which was made up of the chief priests and scribes; the single question which he propounds to them was to resolve him
where Christ should be born. It is most likely this was an extraordinary convention of such of these persons as the king thought fit, who were best skilled in the law, and other revelations of holy writ, not any orderly meeting of the sanhedrim; for the question propounded to them was of mere ecclesiastical concern, and to be resolved from the prophecies and writings of the Old Testament. The stating of the question to them, not where the King of the Jews, but where Christ should be born, makes it manifest, that although (that we read of) the wise men said nothing of Christ, yet Herod presently conceived that this King of the Jews, that was born, must be the Messiah prophesied of Psa 2:1-12 and in Dan 9:1-27; he therefore desired to know of them the place in which, according to their received tradition, and sense of the prophecies of holy writ, the Messiah whom they expected (that is, Christ) should be born.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Herod being in great perplexity, convened a council of…
Herod being in great perplexity, convened a council of the chief priests and scribes, and demands of them the place where Christ, the promised Messiah was to be born. They readily reply, out of the prophet Micah, Mic 5:2. that Bethlehem was the place; this was the city of David’s birth, and of Christ’s the son of David. Bethlehem signifies the house of bread, and was so called from its fertility and fruitfulness, and as some think with reference to Christ, the true bread of life, born there. Bethlehem was a mean and contemptible place in itself, but being honoured with Christ’s presence, how great is it!
Learn thence, that the presence of Christ dignifies and exalts a place, how mean soever in itself. Bethlehem, though a little city in itself, yet is not the least among the cities of Judah, because Christ is born there.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And when he had gathered all the chief priests,....…
And when he had gathered all the chief priests,.... Here we have an account of Herod's conduct at this juncture; he calls a council, assembles the sanhedrim, gathers together the more learned persons in the city to consult with them upon this matter,
the chief priests, all of which he gathered together, and which seem to be many; and were not only the then present high priest and his substitutes, but all the principal persons of the priesthood, who were chosen from the rest, into the great sanhedrim, or council: and by
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the scribes of the people are meant a sort of letter learned men, whose business it was to keep and write out copies of the law, and other things, for "the people"; they were the fathers of the traditions, and interpreters of the law to them; and therefore are called "the scribes of the people": as well also, because they were chosen from among the people, from any other tribe, and not from the tribe of Levi, from whom the priests were; so that one seems to design the "clergy", and the other the laity, in this assembly. The Septuagint render "the officers of the people", by this same word the scribes, and scribes of the people, in Num 11:16 Jos 1:10. The learned Dr. Lightfoot (x) conjectures, that the persons of note, who were present at this time, were Hillell the president of the council, Shammai the vice president, the sons of Betira, Judah and Joshua, Bava ben Buta, Jonathan ben Uzziel, the Chaldee paraphrast, and Simeon the son of Hillell.
He demanded of them, or asked them with authority, as the chief captain did, Act 21:33 "where Christ", , the Christ, the Messiah
should be born? that is, where was the place of his birth as fixed in their prophecies, where, accordingly, they believed and expected he would be born. Herod's pretence, no doubt, in putting this question was, that he might be able to satisfy the wise men of the East about this matter; though the true reason within himself was, that he might know where this new born king was, in order to destroy him.
(x) Vol. II. p. 111.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The chief priests - That is, not only the…
The chief priests - That is, not only the high priest and his deputy, with those who formerly had born that office: but also the chief man in each of those twenty-four courses, into which the body of priests were divided, 1 Chron. xxiv, 6-19. The scribes were those whose peculiar business it was to explain the Scriptures to the people. They were the public preachers, or expounders of the law of Moses. Whence the chief of them were called doctors of the law.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. The chief priests] Not only the high…
Verse 4. The chief priests] Not only the high priest for the time being, called כהן הראש cohen ha-rosh, 2Kg 25:18, and his deputy, called כהן משנה cohen mishneh, with those who had formerly borne the high priest's office; but also, the chiefs or heads of the twenty four sacerdotal families, which David distributed into so many courses, 1Ch 24. These latter are styled סרי הכהנים sarey ha-cohanim, chief of the priests, 2Ch 36:14; Ezr 8:24; and ראשי הכהנים roshey ha-cohanim, heads of the priests, Ne 12:7. Josephus calls them by the same name as the writers of the New Testament. In his Life, sect. 8, he mentions πολλους - των αρχιερεων, MANY of the chief priests. The word is used in the singular in this last sense, for a chief of the priests, Ac 19:14.
Scribes] The word γραμματευς, in the Septuagint, is used for a political officer, whose business it was to assist kings and civil magistrates, and to keep an account in writing of public acts and occurrences. Such an officer is called in Hebrew ספר המלך seper hamelech, ὁ γραμματευς του βασιλεως, the king's scribe, or secretary. See LXX. 2Kg 12:10.
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The word is often used by the LXX. for a man of learning, especially for one skilled in the Mosaic law: and, in the same sense, it is used by the New Testament writers. γραμματευς is therefore to be understood as always implying a man of letters, or learning, capable of instructing the people. The derivation of the names proves this to be the genuine meaning of the word γραμμα: a letter, or character, in writing: or γραμματα, letters, learning, erudition, and especially that gained from books. The Hebrew ספר or סופר sopher, from saphar, to tell, count, cypher, signifies both a book, volume, roll, c., and a notary, recorder, or historian and always signifies a man of learning. We often term such a person a man of letters.
The word is used Ac 19:35, for a civil magistrate at Ephesus, probably such a one as we would term recorder. It appears that Herod at this time gathered the whole Sanhedrin, in order to get the fullest information on a subject by which all his jealous fears had been alarmed.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Mat 2:4. And when he had gathered all the…
Mat 2:4. And when he had gathered all the chief priests — This expression must be intended to comprehend not only the high priest for the time being, and his deputy, with those who had formerly borne that office, but also the heads of the twenty-four courses, as well as any other persons of peculiar eminence in the priesthood, in which sense Josephus uses the word, Antiq. lib. 20. cap. 8. (al. 6,) § 8, p. 973. The scribes of the people — It would seem, from Ezr 7:11-12; 1Ch 24:6; 2Ch 34:13, that they were of the tribe of Levi only, and so were either priests or Levites. As their office was to transcribe and prepare fair copies of the law of Moses, and other parts of the Old Testament, (a very necessary work before printing was invented,) they became, of course, well acquainted with the Scriptures, and were ordinarily employed in explaining them to the people: whence the chief of them were called doctors of the law. They, or at least some of them, together with the chief priests and elders, constituted the sanhedrim, or great council of the nation. But in this place, when no public business was to be done, but only the predictions of the ancient prophets were to be searched into by those who were thought to excel others in the knowledge of them, it does not appear that any fixed and legal council was summoned; but only that an extraordinary meeting of learned men was called by the king, that they might judge of the question of the wise men. He demanded of them where Christ, i.e, the promised Messiah, was to be born. The wise men had said nothing about Christ, or the Messiah, but only about a king, or, the king of the Jews. But Herod presently conceived that this king of the Jews that was born must be the Messiah promised Psalms 2.; Daniel 9.; and therefore desired to know of them the place of his birth, according to their received traditions, and sense of the prophecies of Scripture. But it is to be well observed, that we must understand Herod as inquiring, not concerning an event considered by him as already come to pass, but concerning a matter yet future and uncertain. For although he understood from the wise men that the birth of the Messiah had even now taken place, yet he concealed his knowledge of this, and his whole design, from the Jews. It is easy to observe how strongly all this story implies that a general expectation of the Messiah now prevailed: and it is plain Herod, in a sense, both believed the Jewish Scriptures, and that the birth of the Messiah was foretold in them. And yet, which discovered the height of madness, as well as of impiety and cruelty, he was contriving to destroy him! to destroy him whose birth, and reign, and glory, God in his word, he believed, had infallibly foretold!
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The chief priests - By the chief priests here…
The chief priests - By the chief priests here are meant not only the high priest and his deputy, but. also the heads or chiefs of the 24 classes into which David had divided the sacerdotal families, 1Ch 23:6; 24; 2Ch 8:14; Ezr 8:24.
Scribes - By the scribes, in the New Testament, are meant learned men; men skilled in the law, or the lawyers of the nation. They kept the records of the Courts of justice, the registers of the synagogues, wrote articles of contract and sale, bills of divorce, etc. They were also called lawyers, Mat 22:35, and doctor’s of the law, Luk 5:17. They were called scribes. from the fact of their writing the public records. They were not, however, a religious sect, but might be either Pharisees or Sadducees. By the chief priests and scribes here mentioned is denoted the Sanhedrin or great council of the nation. This was composed of 72 men, who had the charge of the civil and religious affairs of the Jews. On this occasion Herod, in alarm, called them together, professedly to make inquiry respecting the birth of the Messiah.
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Demanded of them - Inquired, or asked of them. As they were the learned men of the nation, and as it was their business to study and explain the Old Testament, they were presumed to know what the prophecies had declared on that point. His object was to ascertain from prophecy where he was born, that he might put him to death, and thus calm the anxieties of his own mind. He seems not to have had any doubt about the time when he would be born. He was satisfied that the time had come.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain And when he had gathered all the chief priests…
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together--The class of the "chief priests" included the high priest for the time being, together with all who had previously filled this office; for though the then head of the Aaronic family was the only rightful high priest, the Romans removed them at pleasure, to make way for creatures of their own. In this class probably were included also the heads of the four and twenty courses of the priests. The "scribes" were at first merely transcribers of the law and synagogue readers; afterwards interpreters of the law, both civil and religious, and so both lawyers and divines. The first of these classes, a proportion of the second, and "the elders"--that is, as LIGHTFOOT thinks, "those elders of the laity that were not of the Levitical tribe"--constituted the supreme council of the nation, called the Sanhedrim, the members of which, at their full complement, numbered seventy-two. That this was the council which Herod now convened is most probable, from the solemnity of the occasion; for though the elders are not mentioned, we find a similar omission where all three were certainly meant (compare Mat 26:59; Mat 27:1). As MEYER says, it was all the theologians of the nation whom Herod convened, because it was a theological response that he wanted.
he demanded of them--as the authorized interpreters of Scripture.
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where Christ--the Messiah.
should be born--according to prophecy.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 4. All the chief priests and scribes — The…
4. All the chief priests and scribes — The deep alarm of Herod is manifested by the greatness of the convocation he calls. The chief priest was properly but one; but the title is extended to include his deputy and the heads of the twenty-four courses. Scribes — The word scribe signifies a writer, and was originally used to designate one of the class in the tribe of Levi who performed the office of secretary, recorder, roll-keeper, or transcriber. Seraiah was scribe or secretary to King David. 2Sa_8:17. Elihoreph and Ahiah were secretaries to King Solomon. 1Ki_4:3. Under Uzziah, king of Judah, Jeil, the scribe, kept the muster-roll of the army. 2Ch_26:11. So Ezra was a ready scribe in the law of Moses. Ezr_7:6.
The scribes of the New Testament belonged to the class of which Ezra was the model. They were transcribers of the text of the Mosaic law, and students and doctors of its principles. They were the same as the lawyers.
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A select number of these scribes, as well as of the Pharisees, was associated with the high priests to constitute the Sanhedrim, or supreme legislative body of the Jewish nation.
Where Christ should be born — By Christ here is meant not a proper name, but a title — the Christ or the Messiah. See note on Mat_1:1. It is a profound, theological question, therefore, which King Herod puts to his spiritual advisers: Where, according to the prophecies of the Old Testament, is the Messiah to be born? In the answer then given by this illustrious body, we have the decision of the Jewish nation on this point. Hence Tacitus, the celebrated Pagan historian, says: “With the masses the opinion was prevalent that it was predicted IN THE BOOKS OF THE PRIESTS, that the East should at that time grow strong.” Which Suetonius, another Pagan Roman, confirms and makes even more pointed: “Through all the East there prevailed an ancient and constant opinion that it was contained in the fates that at that time those arising from Judea should become masters of human things.”
These testimonies prove, 1. That the expectations of an arising prodigy from Judea were then prevailing through the East. 2. That these expectations were founded on prophecy in the sacred books. 3. That the time for his coming was believed to be nigh at hand, the prophetic period being about accomplished. Finally, Herod, through his great Sanhedrim, has immediate access to these very sacred books which predict the very village where the Christ was to be born; just where our Jesus was born, in Bethlehem of Judea.
As a singular illustration of this whole subject, we quote the following: “So vivid was their (the Chinese’s) expectation of the Messiah — ‘the Great Saint who,’ as Confucius says, ‘was to appear in the West’ — so fully sensible were they not only of the place of his birth, but of the TIME of his coming, that about sixty years after the birth of our Saviour they sent their envoys to hail the expected Redeemer. These envoys encountered on their way the missionaries of Boodhism coming from India — the latter announcing an incarnate God were taken to be the disciples of the true Christ, and were presented as such to their countrymen by the deluded ambassadors. Thus was this religion introduced into China.” (Schlegel’s Philosophy of History, 1:176.)
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. gathered all the chief priests and scribes of…
4. gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together] i. e. summoned a meeting of the Sanhedrin, a body often indicated in this way. Others contend that this was an irregular meeting of all the chief priests and learned men.
The chief priests were those who had served the office of high priest, and also the heads of the courses into which the priests were divided. Scribes were those who transcribed or copied the law and who expounded it. They are called lawyers in St Luke’s gospel.
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where Christ should be born] Lit. where the Christ or Messiah is born. Where do your sacred writings represent him to be born? For a similar use of the indicative cp. Joh_7:52.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (4) The chief priests and scribes.—The chief priests were…
(4) The chief priests and scribes.—The chief priests were probably the heads of the twenty-four courses into which the sons of Aaron were divided (2Ch_23:8; Luk_1:5), but the term may have included those who had, though only for a time, held the office of high priest. The “scribes” were the interpreters of the Law, casuists and collectors of the traditions of the Elders, for the most part Pharisees. The meeting thus convened was not necessarily a formal meeting of the Sanhedrim or Great Council, and may have been only as a Committee of Notables called together for a special purpose. With a characteristic subtlety, as if trying to gauge the strength of their Messianic hopes, Herod acts as if he himself shared them, and asks where the Christ, the expected Messiah, the “anointed” of the Lord (Psa_2:2; Psa_45:7; Psa_89:20) was to be born.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And when he had gathered... together (kai sunagagwn). The…
And when he had gathered... together (kai sunagagwn). The Revised Version, and gathering together, suggests that there was no delay. All the chief priests and scribes of the people (pantav tou grammateiv tou laou). In the absence of the article before grammateiv we must take the words, "of the people," as belonging to both terms. The addition helped to bring out the evangelist"s thought that the representatives of the chosen people (1Pe_2:10) were fully informed of the coming of Christ. The chief priests (cf. also Mat_16:21, note) represented the ecclesiastical and Sadducean part, the scribes the more literary and probably the Pharisaic part, of the nation. The width of the term "all," and the double classification, seem to point to this not being a meeting of the Sanhedrin as such. Herod called an informal and perhaps the more comprehensive meeting of those who could assist him. He demanded of them; Revised Version, in quired, for "demand" is, in modern English, too strong for epunyaneto . The tyrant could be courteous when it served his purpose. Does the imperfect mark his putting the question to one after another? (cf. Act_1:6; and contrast Joh_4:52) Where Christ (the Christ, Revised Version) should be born (gennatai). In ver. 2 ( o tecyeiv) the stress lay on his birth as an accomplished fact. Here on his birth as connected with his origin The present is chosen, not the future, because Herod is stating a theological question without reference to time. Observe, in Herod"s inquiry and subsequent action, the combination of superstition and irreligion. He was willing to accept the witness of stars and of prophecies, but not willing to allow himself to be morally influenced by it. His attempt to kill this Child was the expression of a desire to destroy the Jewish nationality so far as this was severed from himself, and perhaps with it to uproot at the same time a fundamental part of the Jewish religion.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Priests and scribes.
Mat_2:4
Priests and scribes.
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Near in privilege, far from piety
Some that are best acquainted with the gospel are practical strangers to it. They are like one who should pore over a map, mastering its geography; marking each sea, lake, river; understanding the position of every range of mountains; learning the names of all the localities indicated, but never visiting them. A living author, describing his journey to the falls of Niagara, says: I met with a gentleman who told me that he had walked from Boston, a distance of seven hundred miles, to see Niagara. When within seven miles, he heard what he thought might be the roar of the torrent, and asked a man who was at work on the road if this was so. The man replied that he didnt know; it might be, but he had never been there himself. Yet he had lived within sound of it all his life! Wonderful stupidity, this! Who does not reprobate such folly? Nevertheless, it is nothing-absolutely nothing-compared with the direr folly which may be witnessed any day that we choose to look around us. Numbers are within sound of the river of the water of life without an actual, personal experience of its benefit. (Rev. T. R. Stevenson.)
Like in this to those who built the ark for Noah, providing others with a refuge, themselves perished in the flood; or like to the stones by the road that show the miles, but themselves are not able to move. (Augustine.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 4. And when he had gathered all the chief…
4. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes together. Literally, “high priests.” The high priests, and perhaps the heads of the twenty-four courses of priests, are included. See 1 Chron. 24:1–19. The “scribes” were the successors of Ezra, the official copyists of the Scripture, who naturally became its expounders, and were the theologians of the time of Christ. The priests, as the head of the Jewish religion, and the scribes, as the chief expounders of the Scriptures, were the proper persons to answer Herod's question. Where Christ should be born. This demand concedes: 1. That the Jews expected a Messiah; 2. That the Scriptures had foretold his coming; 3. That the very place of his birth had been pointed out.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain (Greek - "ἀπόλλυμι" = "writer") Heb. "spherim," "to write,"…
Scribes
(Greek - "ἀπόλλυμι" = "writer") Heb. "spherim," "to write," "set in order," "count." The scribes were so called because it was their office to make copies of the Scriptures; to classify and teach the precepts of oral law (See Scofield "Mat 3:7") and to keep careful count of every letter in the O.T. writings. Such an office was necessary in a religion of law and precept, and was an O.T. function 2Sa 8:17; 2Sa 20:25; 1Ki 4:3; Jer 8:8; Jer 36:10; Jer 36:12; Jer 36:26. To this legitimate work the scribes added a record of rabbinical decisions on questions of ritual (Halachoth); the new code resulting from those decisions (Mishna); the Hebrew sacred legends (Gemara, forming with the Mishna the Talmud); commentaries on the O.T. (Midrashim); reasonings upon these (Hagada); and finally, mystical interpretations which found in Scripture meanings other than the grammatical, lexical, and obvious ones (the Kabbala); not unlike the allegorical method of Origen, or the modern Protestant "spiritualizing" interpretation. In our Lord’s time, to receive this mass of writing superposed upon the Scriptures was to be orthodox; to return to the Scriptures themselves was heterodoxy--our Lord’s most serious offence.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain Herod’s measures to meet the emergency:
Herod’s measures to meet the emergency:
v. 4. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
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Not the entire Sanhedrin, or Great Council of the Jewish people,—for that included also the elders, many of whom Herod had put to death,—but the chief priests, the present incumbent of the office as well as former high priests; and the scribes, who were also political officers, assisting the civil magistrates in the role of confidential secretaries and statisticians. All of these were men of letters. Here again was a political move planned to strengthen Herod’s tottering prestige: to be summoned to a secret meeting might be thought a rare distinction by the Jewish leaders. And Herod, accustomed as he was to commanding, in this instance was very careful about couching his request in polite, though urgent, terms. The question he submitted was a theological one: Where, according to the transmitted records, according to the accepted tradition, is the birthplace of the Christ?
The answer of the Jewish theologians savors of a hidden satisfaction:
v. 5. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea; for thus it is written by the prophet,
v. 6a. And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah.
Their opinion was given without hesitation; it reflected the current opinion and agreed with Talmudic tradition. In their Scriptural proof they do not quote the Old Testament passage literally, but combine the words of the prophet, Mic 5:2, with 2Sa 5:2. Incidentally, their answer was shaped by some interpretation due to rabbinical teaching. "Art not thou the least?" the text inquires. Bethlehem may be little in size and influence, especially as compared with its metropolitan neighbor, but it is by no means the least in dignity and distinction. It may have been considered small and insignificant among the thousands of Judah, the cities that could boast a population of a thousand or more families, but it still had the best-founded claim for excellence among the princes of Judah. Here is indisputable evidence:
v. 6. For out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule My people Israel.
Out of the despised village One should come forth, should regard it as His native town, who would combine the qualities of a Ruler with those of a tender, loving Friend and watchful Guardian. He whose birth was to distinguish Bethlehem-Judah, would be a Prince and Leader, who would make the shepherd’s sleepless devotion for those entrusted to him His life’s object.
Herod was convinced that the information he received was reliable. He resolved, therefore, to remove a possible rival by a speedy and thorough, though cruel method. But he must have more information:
v. 7. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
It was a secret conference, just fitting in with his political trickery. Had he made his inquiries in a public reception, his own courtiers might have become suspicious, but the unsuspecting visitors could be coaxed to talk freely in a private interview and would not become alarmed. The exact time of the star’s first appearance was what Herod wanted, assuming probably that the birth of the child had occurred at the same time. All of which was an especially loathsome form of hypocrisy, an affectation of a kind interest in all that related to the Child in whose destinies the very stars seemed involved.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
In verse 6, the chief priests and scribes of the people quote the prophet Micah to show that the Christ would be born in Bethlehem.
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In Bethlehem of Judea
"In the town of Bethlehem in the province of Judea"
this is what was written by the prophet
This can be stated in active form. AT: "this is what the prophet wrote long ago" (See: Active or Passive)
you, Bethlehem, ... are not the least among the leaders of Judah
Micah was speaking to the people of Bethlehem as if they were with him but they were not. Also, "are not the least" can be translated with a positive phrase. AT: "you, people of Bethlehem, ... your town is among the most important towns in Judah" (See: Apostrophe and Litotes)
who will shepherd my people Israel
Micah speaks of this ruler as a shepherd. This means he will lead and care for the people. AT: "who will lead my people Israel as a shepherd leads his sheep" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
Herod the Great
chief priests
scribe
Christ
Bethlehem
Judea
prophet
shepherd
Israel
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 2:4 The leading priests had political and religious clout…
2:4 The leading priests had political and religious clout and ministered predominantly in the Temple (see 21:23). Herod gathered the teachers of religious law because they were trained to know Old Testament prophecies and were often influential Pharisees.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.