Smoodock's Blog

In my previous study we considered the authenticity of Matthew’s record of the slaughter of the innocence, and concluded that Macrobius’ account of it in the early 5^th century AD should be considered a separate record from Matthew’s account. Matthew’s mention of the deaths of the children is very short and not nearly as detailed as that of Macrobius, who mentions the slaughter only as part of a larger story about Augustus and Herod. Therefore, the two should be considered separate records, neither dependent upon the other.

So, if this is logical and true, how does all this work out in history? If what I’ve concluded, about the Magi meeting Jesus in the Temple (House) of God, is logical and true, then Joseph and Mary were still residing in Judea, and possibly Bethlehem, forty days after Jesus’ birth, when Mary would have come to the Temple to be purified according to the Law. It isn’t plausible that Joseph would have gone to Nazareth immediately after the Magi left Jerusalem, because he wouldn’t have had any protection on the journey to Egypt, nor would he have, if he intended to return to Nazareth. Therefore, two things become important. First, Herod didn’t react immediately to the Magi leaving Judea without first telling him of the whereabouts of the new born Messiah. He did so later, possibly when his paranoia was at its peak, when he slew his wife and three of his sons. The slaughter of the babes around Bethlehem would more likely have come at this point, which is also implied in the account of the event written by Macrobius.[1]

Secondly, the angel’s appearance to Joseph in a dream would more probably have come later, too, or about the time of the Chanukah celebration, when Joseph could have journeyed with the pilgrims on their way back to Egypt after the feast days.[2] This seems to be a more likely time-frame for Jesus’ exile to Egypt, and the delay may also imply that Joseph intended to make Judea his permanent residence instead of returning to Nazareth, where Mary’s pregnancy was under suspicion.

If these things are logical and true, then it may have been up to two years after Jesus’ exile to Egypt that Herod went on a rampage to slay everyone, whom he suspected to have conspired against his throne, vis-à-vis his wife, Mariamne, and three of his sons, because it was according to the time he inquired of the Magi (Matthew 2:7) that he slew the babies in and around Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).

Interestingly, Matthew interprets the slaughter of the innocents to be the fulfillment of what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet: “In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not” (Matthew 2:17-18; cp. Jeremiah 31:15). What is Matthew’s point?

According to Genesis 35:16, after leaving Bethel Rachel went into hard labor, probably at Rama, which was a small town about 5 miles north of Jerusalem and about 11-12 miles from Bethlehem (Ephrath in the citation) in the land, which would be later inherited by the tribe of Benjamin. There she delivered her babe and named him Benoni, meaning son of my sorrow, but Jacob renamed him Benjamin, meaning son of my right hand (Genesis 35:17-18). At the time of Benjamin’s birth Rachel was mourning for Joseph, whom she presumed to be dead.[3] Yet, Joseph is only one person, and Jeremiah puts Rachel’s sons in the plural. What can we say of this?

Later, after Jacob was reunited with Joseph in Egypt, he adopted Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, saying they would be his, and Joseph would in this manner inherit the firstborn’s right of a double portion. Any children afterward would be Joseph’s as far as inheritance would be concerned (cp. Genesis 48:5-6, 22). So, Jeremiah was mourning the exile of Ephraim and Manasseh and the northern kingdom of Israel in Jeremiah 31:15 and looking forward to coming out of exile and into a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34). So, in the presumed death of Joseph (Genesis 35:17-18), Rachel mourned for her children, Ephraim and Manasseh (Genesis 48:5-6), and Matthew picks up on this to show a parallel fulfillment in the death of the innocents, as Jesus goes into exile in Egypt, just as Joseph was sent into exile (Genesis 37:28) and had a parallel fulfillment in Jeremiah 31:15.

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[1] See my previous study: Slaying the Innocents at Bethlehem.

[2] This would also have been the best time to return to Nazareth, if he originally intended to do so.

[3] See three of my earlier studies in Genesis: The Death of Rachel and The Final Record of the Book of Genesis and Mourning Joseph’s Death.