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Matthew2:1–12

The Pilgrimage of the Magi

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Matthew 2:1–12 — The Pilgrimage of the Magi. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

1

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Tou Iēsou gennēthentos en Bēthleem tēs Ioudaias en hēmerais tou basileōs Hērōdou idou magoi apo anatolōn paregenonto eis Hierosolyma

Word by word20 · parsed
δὲdeAfterG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ΤοῦTouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ἸησοῦIēsouJesusG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
γεννηθέντοςgennēthentoswas bornG1080
√ γεννάω — to procreate (properly, of the father, but by extension of the mother)VerbAorist Participle PassiveGenitive Masculine Singular
gennaō: to procreate, to be born Aorist passive participle inside a genitive absolute. Matthew opens the chapter with an accomplished, received birth: the child does nothing, the verb is done to him. Note that in verse 2 the magi will use a different birth verb (tiktō), and in verse 4 Herod will use this one again, in the present, as a question of doctrine.
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ΒηθλέεμBēthleemBethlehemG965
√ Βηθλεέμ — Bethleem (iNounDative Feminine Singular
Bēthleem: Bethlehem Dative here, against the vocative of verse 6 and the accusative of verse 8: the same name (rare, in 8 vv) is a location, then an addressee, then a destination. Barnes and Cambridge give the sense, "house of bread"; Gill reports an ancient writer's note that in it was born "the bread which comes down from heaven"; Pulpit states it flatly, "From 'the House of Bread' came forth 'the true Bread.'" Barnes adds it was also Ephrata and the city of David (1 Samuel 16:1), so the village already carried a royal line before it carried this.
τῆςtēsG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
ἸουδαίαςIoudaiasin JudeaG2449
√ Ἰουδαία — the Judæan land (iNounGenitive Feminine Singular
ἐνenduringG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ἡμέραιςhēmerais[the] timeG2250
√ ἡμέρα — day, iNounDative Feminine Plural
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
βασιλέωςbasileōsof KingG935
√ βασιλεύς — a sovereign (abstractly, relatively, or figuratively)NounGenitive Masculine Singular
ἩρῴδουHērōdouHerodG2264
√ Ἡρώδης — heroicNounGenitive Masculine Singular
Hērōdēs: Herod Ellicott, Cambridge, Pulpit and JFB agree he died in A.U.C. 750, and each draws a slightly different date for the Nativity from it (Ellicott: B.C. 5 or 4; Pulpit: the end of B.C. 5 at the latest; Cambridge: the year 3 before our era). JFB adds the theological weight the title carries: an Edomite made king by Rome means "the sceptre departing from Judah" (Ge 49:10).
ἰδοὺidouG2400
√ ἰδού — used as imperative lo!VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
idou: lo! behold The Semitic attention-marker, parsed as an imperative, dropped by most modern English. It occurs again at verse 9 when the star reappears. Both times it marks the intrusion of something the narrative did not arrange for itself.
μάγοιmagoiMagiG3097
√ μάγος — a Magian, iNounNominative Masculine Plural
magos: a Magian The lexicon offers no gloss beyond the transliteration, and the commentators divide. Ellicott: in common Greek usage the word carried "a tone of scorn," yet "With him, as with Plato, the Magi were thought of as observers of the heavens." Cambridge calls them followers of Zoroaster and "the astrologers of the East." Barnes places them in Persia and Arabia. No source in this brief knows their number, names or country; the three kings are, Ellicott and Cambridge both say flatly, apocryphal.
ἀπὸapofrom [the]G575
√ ἀπό — "off," iPreposition
ἀνατολῶνanatolōneastG395
√ ἀνατολή — a rising of light, iNounGenitive Feminine Plural
anatolē: a rising of light Rare in the Greek New Testament (the Verifier records it in 10 verses). Here plural and geographic, in verse 2 singular and joined to the star. Matthew's first named human seekers come from where light comes up.
παρεγένοντοparegenontoarrivedG3854
√ παραγίνομαι — to become near, iVerbAorist Indicative Middle3rd Person Plural
paraginomai: to become near Aorist middle. A public arrival, and the hinge of the plot: their appearance, not the star, is what reaches Herod's ear in verse 3.
εἰςeisinG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
ἹεροσόλυμαHierosolymaJerusalemG2414
√ Ἱεροσόλυμα — Hierosolyma (iNounAccusative Neuter Plural
2

asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

legontes Pou estin ho techtheis basileus tōn Ioudaiōn gar eidomen autou ton astera en tē anatolē kai ēlthomen proskynēsai autō

Word by word20 · parsed
λέγοντεςlegontesaskingG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
ΠοῦPouWhereG4226
√ ποῦ — as adverb of placeAdverb
ἐστινestinisG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ὁhothe [One who]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
τεχθεὶςtechtheishas been bornG5088
√ τίκτω — to produce (from seed, as a mother, a plant, the earth, etcVerbAorist Participle PassiveNominative Masculine Singular
tiktō: to produce, bring forth Aorist passive participle with the article: "the one brought forth." Pulpit notes the difference of stress against verse 4: here "the stress lay on his birth as an accomplished fact," there on his birth "as connected with his origin." The magi are not asking whether, only where.
βασιλεὺςbasileusKingG935
√ βασιλεύς — a sovereign (abstractly, relatively, or figuratively)NounNominative Masculine Singular
basileus: a sovereign Pulpit's observation is sharp: the title is not used of Jesus again "until the Passion, where it is only used by heathen," and the Jews themselves preferred "King of Israel." The first and the last people to call him King of the Jews in this Gospel are Gentiles, and the last will write it on a board over his head.
τῶνtōnof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
ἸουδαίωνIoudaiōnJewsG2453
√ Ἰουδαῖος — Judæan, iAdjectiveGenitive Masculine Plural
γὰρgarG1063
√ γάρ — properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensificationConjunction
εἴδομενeidomenWe sawG3708
√ ὁράω — by extension, to attend toVerbAorist Indicative Active1st Person Plural
horaō: to see, to attend to Aorist, first person plural: one completed sighting, not a long surveillance. Pulpit renders it "we saw" and adds "at home." The whole journey rests on a single past observation that, by verse 9, they have not seen again.
αὐτοῦautouHisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ἀστέραasterastarG792
√ ἀστήρ — a star (as strown over the sky), literally or figurativelyNounAccusative Masculine Singular
astēr: a star Every commentator in this brief admits ignorance of what it was, and they disagree openly: Barnes and JFB favour a luminous meteor, Cambridge the heliacal rising of Sirius, Pulpit lists four theories and settles on the miraculous, Ellicott weighs Kepler's planetary conjunction and rejects it on astronomical grounds. The unanimity is only in the confession of ignorance.
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τῇtētheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
ἀνατολῇanatolēeastG395
√ ἀνατολή — a rising of light, iNounDative Feminine Singular
anatolē: a rising of light Dative singular. Whether this is a place ("in the east") or a moment ("at its rising") is not settled by the parse, and the commentators take both roads.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἤλθομενēlthomenhave comeG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active1st Person Plural
προσκυνῆσαιproskynēsaito worshipG4352
√ προσκυνέω — to fawn or crouch to, iVerbAorist Infinitive Active
proskyneō: to prostrate oneself, do homage The verb of this whole unit. It is on the magi's lips here, on Herod's in verse 8, and enacted in verse 11 with pesontes, "having fallen." Whether it means civil homage or divine worship is the argument the commentators have; that it is the same word in all three mouths is the fact.
αὐτῷautōHimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
3

When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de ho basileus Hērōdēs Akousas etarachthē kai pasa Hierosolyma met’ autou

Word by word11 · parsed
δὲdeWhenG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
βασιλεὺςbasileusKingG935
√ βασιλεύς — a sovereign (abstractly, relatively, or figuratively)NounNominative Masculine Singular
ἩρῴδηςHērōdēsHerodG2264
√ Ἡρώδης — heroicNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἈκούσαςAkousasheard [this]G191
√ ἀκούω — to hear (in various senses)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
akouō: to hear A common verb (the Verifier counts it in 398 verses), and here only a hinge. But it returns in verse 9 of the magi, "having heard the king": the same aorist participle governs both the tyrant's reaction and the seekers' obedience.
ἐταράχθηetarachthēhe was disturbedG5015
√ ταράσσω — to stir or agitate (roil water)VerbAorist Indicative Passive3rd Person Singular
tarassō: to stir, agitate, roil water The one weighted verb in a short verse, and it is passive. Herod is not described as deciding; he is described as being churned. Pulpit supplies the biography that explains it: he had already killed five Maccabean princes, his favourite wife Mariamne, and two of his own sons.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
πᾶσαpasaallG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveNominative Feminine Singular
pas: all, every, the whole The adjective that makes this verse more than court gossip. Pulpit draws the line that the sola reading below must answer: "In this respect Jerusalem was one with Herod ( John 1:11 )."
ἹεροσόλυμαHierosolymaJerusalemG2414
√ Ἱεροσόλυμα — Hierosolyma (iNounNominative Feminine Singular
Hierosolyma: Jerusalem Nominative feminine singular here, accusative neuter plural in verse 1. A grammatical oddity the commentators notice and explain differently; we record it without adjudicating.
μετ’met’withG3326
√ μετά — properly, denoting accompanimentPreposition
αὐτοῦautouhimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
4

And when he had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai synagagōn pantas tous archiereis kai grammateis tou laou epynthaneto par’ autōn pou ho Christos gennatai

Word by word16 · parsed
καὶkaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
συναγαγὼνsynagagōnwhen he had assembledG4863
√ συνάγω — to lead together, iVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
synagō: to lead together Whether this was the Sanhedrin or an ad hoc committee is disputed in the brief: JFB and Barnes say the council, Ellicott, Benson, Poole and Pulpit argue it was an informal summons of experts. We record the disagreement rather than resolve it.
πάνταςpantasallG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveAccusative Masculine Plural
τοὺςtoustheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Plural
ἀρχιερεῖςarchiereischief priestsG749
√ ἀρχιερεύς — the high-priest (literally, of the Jews, typically, Christ)NounAccusative Masculine Plural
archiereus: chief priest The lexicon adds, remarkably, "typically, Christ." Ellicott and JFB agree the plural covers the serving high priest, his deposed predecessors (Rome removed them at will), and the heads of the twenty-four courses. The office that will condemn him is in the room the week he is found.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
γραμματεῖςgrammateisscribesG1122
√ γραμματεύς — scribe, town-clerkNounAccusative Masculine Plural
grammateus: scribe, town-clerk Barnes: "they were called scribes. from the fact of their writing the public records." Geneva: "They that expound the law to the people." The men whose trade is the written word are about to quote it correctly and do nothing with it.
τοῦtouof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
λαοῦlaoupeopleG2992
√ λαός — a people (in generalNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ἐπυνθάνετοepynthanetohe askedG4441
√ πυνθάνομαι — to question, iVerbImperfect Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
pynthanomai: to question, inquire Imperfect, middle. The tense is the whole characterisation: not one royal demand but a patient circuit of questions, which is exactly the method he will use again on the magi in verse 7.
παρ’par’. . .G3844
√ παρά — properly, nearPreposition
αὐτῶνautōnthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ποῦpouwhereG4226
√ ποῦ — as adverb of placeAdverb
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ΧριστὸςChristosChristG5547
√ Χριστός — anointed, iNounNominative Masculine Singular
γεννᾶταιgennataiwas to be bornG1080
√ γεννάω — to procreate (properly, of the father, but by extension of the mother)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
gennaō: to be born Present indicative middle or passive. The same root as verse 1, now timeless: Herod is not asking what happened but what the Scriptures say happens. The narrative fact and the doctrinal formula are one verb apart.
5

“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

En Bēthleem tēs Ioudaias Hoi de eipan autō gar houtōs dia tou prophētou gegraptai

Word by word14 · parsed
ἘνEnInG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ΒηθλέεμBēthleemBethlehemG965
√ Βηθλεέμ — Bethleem (iNounDative Feminine Singular
τῆςtēsG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
ἸουδαίαςIoudaiasin JudeaG2449
√ Ἰουδαία — the Judæan land (iNounGenitive Feminine Singular
ΟἱHoiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
εἶπανeipanthey repliedG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
epō: to speak or say Aorist, third person plural, with no hesitation marked in the text. Gill: "They answer without any hesitation, it being a generally received notion." The knowledge was not rare, and it cost them nothing.
αὐτῷautō. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
γὰρgarforG1063
√ γάρ — properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensificationConjunction
οὕτωςhoutōsthis is whatG3779
√ οὕτω — in this way (referring to what precedes or follows)Adverb
διὰdiaG1223
√ διά — through (in very wide applications, local, causal, or occasional)Preposition
τοῦtoutheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
προφήτουprophētouprophetG4396
√ προφήτης — a foreteller ("prophet")NounGenitive Masculine Singular
prophētēs: a foreteller Singular and anonymous in the Greek; only the commentators name Micah. Matthew's readers are expected to know which prophet says this, which is itself evidence about who the first readers were.
γέγραπταιgegraptaihas writtenG1125
√ γράφω — to "grave", especially to writeVerbPerfect Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
graphō: to grave, to write Perfect passive. The tense of Scripture in this Gospel: an act finished long ago whose standing is not finished. What is about to be produced from that standing text is, by the scribes' own account, a paraphrase of it.
6

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai sy Bēthleem gē Iouda ei oudamōs elachistē en tois hēgemosin Iouda gar ek sou exeleusetai hēgoumenos hostis poimanei ton mou laon ton Israēl

Word by word24 · parsed
ΚαὶKai[But]G2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
σύsyyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 2nd Person Singular
ΒηθλέεμBēthleemBethlehemG965
√ Βηθλεέμ — Bethleem (iNounVocative Feminine Singular
Bēthleem: Bethlehem Vocative: the prophecy is addressed to the town. Barnes and Cambridge both give the etymology, "house of bread," and Pulpit draws the line the Gospel itself will draw at John 6:51: "From 'the House of Bread' came forth 'the true Bread.'" The Verifier counts the name in only 8 verses of the Greek New Testament.
γῆgē[in the] landG1093
√ γῆ — soilNounVocative Feminine Singular
ἸούδαIoudaof JudahG2448
√ Ἰουδά — Judah (iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
εἶeiareG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
οὐδαμῶςoudamōsby no meansG3760
√ οὐδαμῶς — by no meansAdverb
ἐλαχίστηelachistēleastG1646
√ ἐλάχιστος — used as equivalent to G3398 (μικρός)AdjectiveNominative Feminine SingularSuperlative
elachistos: least A superlative used, the lexicon says, as the equivalent of mikros. The word that is denied here is the word Jesus will make his own measure of greatness in this same Gospel. The denial is the whole rhetorical point of the citation: the scribes are not quoting Micah's arithmetic but Micah's verdict.
ἐνenamongG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τοῖςtoistheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Plural
ἡγεμόσινhēgemosinrulersG2232
√ ἡγεμών — a leader, iNounDative Masculine Plural
hēgemōn: a leader Matthew's word for a governor, and the noun he will use of Pilate. The next word but one, ἡγούμενος, is its cognate participle (G2233, "leading"), so the Greek says in effect: among the leaders, one leading. English breaks the pair into "rulers" and "a ruler."
ἸούδαIoudaof JudahG2448
√ Ἰουδά — Judah (iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
γὰρgarforG1063
√ γάρ — properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensificationConjunction
ἐκekoutG1537
√ ἐκ — literal or figurativePreposition
σοῦsouof youG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
ἐξελεύσεταιexeleusetaiwill comeG1831
√ ἐξέρχομαι — to issue (literally or figuratively)VerbFuture Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
ἡγούμενοςhēgoumenosa rulerG2233
√ ἡγέομαι — to lead, iVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveNominative Masculine Singular
hēgeomai: to lead Present participle middle, used substantivally: "one leading." Not a title but an activity. The reign is described before it is named.
ὅστιςhostiswhoG3748
√ ὅστις — which some, iPersonal / Relative PronounNominative Masculine Singular
ποιμανεῖpoimaneiwill be the shepherdG4165
√ ποιμαίνω — to tend as a shepherd of (figuratively, superviser)VerbFuture Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
poimainō: to tend as a shepherd Future indicative, the verb on which the whole Christological weight of the citation rests. JFB: "In the Old Testament, kings are, by a beautiful figure, styled 'shepherds' (Eze 34:1-10, &c.)." Geneva: "for kings are rightly called leaders and shepherds of the people." Barnes: it "means to rule as a shepherd does his flock, in faithfulness and tenderness." The answer handed to a man about to kill children is that the coming king is a shepherd.
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
μουmouof MyG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Singular
λαόνlaonpeopleG2992
√ λαός — a people (in generalNounAccusative Masculine Singular
laos: a people With μου, "my people." The speaker in the quoted line is God, and the possessive is his. Herod is being told, in his own council chamber, whose the nation is.
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ἸσραήλIsraēlIsraelG2474
√ Ἰσραήλ — Israel (iNounAccusative Masculine Singular
7

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and learned from them the exact time the star had appeared.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Tote Hērōdēs kalesas tous magous lathra ēkribōsen par’ autōn ton chronon tou asteros phainomenou

Word by word14 · parsed
ΤότεToteThenG5119
√ τότε — the when, iAdverb
ἩρῴδηςHērōdēsHerodG2264
√ Ἡρώδης — heroicNounNominative Masculine Singular
καλέσαςkalesascalledG2564
√ καλέω — to "call" (properly, aloud, but used in a variety of applications, directly or otherwise)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
τοὺςtoustheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Plural
μάγουςmagousMagiG3097
√ μάγος — a Magian, iNounAccusative Masculine Plural
λάθρᾳlathrasecretlyG2977
√ λάθρα — privatelyAdverb
lathra: privately Pulpit gives the double motive: Herod would neither "publicly commit himself to acknowledging the rights of the new King" nor "give opportunity for others to warn the Child's parents." Gill adds the court politics: lest the Jews, who knew his deceit, tip the strangers off.
ἠκρίβωσενēkribōsen[and] learnedG198
√ ἀκριβόω — to be exact, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
akriboō: to be exact The theological sting of this unit sits in a technical verb. Exactness is not a virtue here; it is the instrument of a massacre. Its cognate adverb akribōs (G199) is what he will command the magi to use in the next verse, and the rare verb exetazō with it.
παρ’par’fromG3844
√ παρά — properly, nearPreposition
αὐτῶνautōnthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
χρόνονchronon{exact} timeG5550
√ χρόνος — a space of time (in general, and thus properly distinguished from G2540 (καιρός), which designates a fixed or special occasionNounAccusative Masculine Singular
chronos: a space of time Distinguished in the lexicon from kairos, the appointed moment. Herod can measure chronos precisely and is blind to the kairos he is standing in. Benson states the calculation plainly: he wanted the child's age, so as "not to destroy more children than the accomplishment of his design appeared to require."
τοῦtoutheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ἀστέροςasterosstarG792
√ ἀστήρ — a star (as strown over the sky), literally or figurativelyNounGenitive Masculine Singular
φαινομένουphainomenouhad appearedG5316
√ φαίνω — to lighten (shine), iVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveGenitive Masculine Singular
phainō: to lighten, shine Present participle, genitive, agreeing with the star. The verb is about giving light, not about being visible; and the light is still, grammatically, shining while Herod does his arithmetic.
8

And sending them to Bethlehem, he said: “Go and search carefully for the Child, and when you find Him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship Him.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai pempsas autous eis Bēthleem eipen Poreuthentes exetasate akribōs peri tou paidiou de epan heurēte apangeilate moi hopōs kagō elthōn proskynēsō autō

Word by word22 · parsed
καὶkaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
πέμψαςpempsassendingG3992
√ πέμπω — to dispatch (from the subjective view or point of departure, whereas (as a stronger form of ) refers rather to the objective point or terminus ad quem, and G4724 (στέλλω) denotes properly, the orderly motion involved), especially on a temporary errandVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
αὐτοὺςautousthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
εἰςeistoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
ΒηθλέεμBēthleemBethlehemG965
√ Βηθλεέμ — Bethleem (iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
εἶπενeipenhe saidG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ΠορευθέντεςPoreuthentesGoG4198
√ πορεύομαι — to traverse, iVerbAorist Participle PassiveNominative Masculine Plural
ἐξετάσατεexetasate[and] searchG1833
√ ἐξετάζω — to test thoroughly (by questions), iVerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Plural
exetazō: to test thoroughly by questions Rare (the Verifier records the lexeme in 3 verses). A word of forensic examination. The only other places it occurs in the Greek New Testament are Matthew 10:11, where the disciples are to find out who is worthy, and John 21:12, where no disciple dared examine the risen Lord. See the thread below.
ἀκριβῶςakribōscarefullyG199
√ ἀκριβῶς — exactlyAdverb
περὶperiforG4012
√ περί — properly, through (all over), iPreposition
τοῦtoutheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Neuter Singular
παιδίουpaidiouChildG3813
√ παιδίον — a childling (of either sex), iNounGenitive Neuter Singular
paidion: a childling Genitive neuter singular, and neuter throughout this chapter. The grammar of the most defenceless thing in the story is the grammar of a thing, not a person, and Matthew keeps it that way from verse 8 to verse 11 while the adults arrange his death and his worship around him.
δὲdeandG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ἐπὰνepanwhenG1875
√ ἐπάν — a particle of indefinite contemporaneousnessConjunction
εὕρητεheurēteyou find [Him]G2147
√ εὑρίσκω — to find (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active2nd Person Plural
ἀπαγγείλατέapangeilatereportG518
√ ἀπαγγέλλω — to announceVerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Plural
apangellō: to announce Aorist imperative. Herod wants a report, that is, intelligence. The magi will instead be given a dream, and the report will never be filed.
μοιmoito meG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounDative 1st Person Singular
ὅπωςhopōsso thatG3704
√ ὅπως — what(-ever) how, iConjunction
κἀγὼkagōI tooG2504
√ κἀγώ — so also the dative case , and accusative case and (or also, even, etcPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 1st Person Singular
kagō: I also A crasis of kai and egō, and the most revealing word in the sentence. The king inserts himself into the strangers' devotion and, in doing so, tells the exact lie that makes the whole plan work.
ἐλθὼνelthōnmay goG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
προσκυνήσωproskynēsō[and] worshipG4352
√ προσκυνέω — to fawn or crouch to, iVerbAorist Subjunctive Active1st Person Singular
proskyneō: to prostrate oneself, do homage The third of this unit's four occurrences, and the false one. Matthew does not gloss it or distance it; he lets the same verb do honest and murderous work within nine verses and trusts the reader to feel the difference.
αὐτῷautōHimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
9

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the Child was.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Hoi de akousantes tou basileōs eporeuthēsan kai idou ho astēr hon eidon en tē anatolē proēgen autous heōs elthōn estathē epanō hou to paidion ēn

Word by word25 · parsed
ΟἱHoiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
δὲdeAfterG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ἀκούσαντεςakousantesthey had heardG191
√ ἀκούω — to hear (in various senses)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
akouō: to hear The verb that divides this chapter. Herod heard and was roiled (v. 3); the scribes heard and answered; these men heard and walked. Matthew uses the identical aorist participle for the first and the last.
τοῦtoutheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
βασιλέωςbasileōskingG935
√ βασιλεύς — a sovereign (abstractly, relatively, or figuratively)NounGenitive Masculine Singular
ἐπορεύθησανeporeuthēsanthey went on their wayG4198
√ πορεύομαι — to traverse, iVerbAorist Indicative Passive3rd Person Plural
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἰδοὺidouG2400
√ ἰδού — used as imperative lo!VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
idou: lo! behold The second and last of the unit. Benson, Gill, Poole, JFB and Pulpit all read the joy of the next verse as evidence the star had been absent since their own country, which is what this behold is doing here: it announces a reappearance, not a continuation.
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἀστὴρastērstarG792
√ ἀστήρ — a star (as strown over the sky), literally or figurativelyNounNominative Masculine Singular
ὃνhonG3739
√ ὅς — the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, thatPersonal / Relative PronounAccusative Masculine Singular
εἶδονeidonthey had seenG3708
√ ὁράω — by extension, to attend toVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τῇtētheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
ἀνατολῇanatolēeastG395
√ ἀνατολή — a rising of light, iNounDative Feminine Singular
προῆγενproēgenwent ahead ofG4254
√ προάγω — to lead forward (magisterially)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
proagō: to lead forward Imperfect. The tense makes the star a companion for the length of the road rather than a signpost at the end of it. Pulpit notes the road itself was almost straight, so "the star need have moved but slightly," and that its office was "Not to show them the way to Bethlehem, for the road was easy, but to assure them of guidance to the Babe."
αὐτούςautousthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ἕωςheōsuntilG2193
√ ἕως — a conjunction, preposition and adverb of continuance, until (of time and place)Conjunction
ἐλθὼνelthōnvvvG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
ἐστάθηestathēit stoodG2476
√ ἵστημι — to stand (transitively or intransitively), used in various applications (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Passive3rd Person Singular
histēmi: to stand, to be caused to stand Aorist passive. The grammar of the whole guidance question sits in this one voice: the star does not station itself. Compare χρηματισθέντες in verse 12, also passive. In both places the magi are on the receiving end of a verb whose subject is not named.
ἐπάνωepanōoverG1883
√ ἐπάνω — up above, iPreposition
οὗhouthe place whereG3757
√ οὗ — at which place, iAdverb
τὸtotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Singular
παιδίονpaidionChildG3813
√ παιδίον — a childling (of either sex), iNounNominative Neuter Singular
paidion: a childling Nominative here, and the last word of the clause: the sentence that began with a king ends with a small child, and the star is positioned over him.
ἦνēnwasG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
10

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great delight.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de idontes ton astera echarēsan sphodra megalēn charan

Word by word8 · parsed
δὲdeWhenG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ἰδόντεςidontesthey sawG3708
√ ὁράω — by extension, to attend toVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ἀστέραasterastarG792
√ ἀστήρ — a star (as strown over the sky), literally or figurativelyNounAccusative Masculine Singular
ἐχάρησανecharēsanthey rejoicedG5463
√ χαίρω — to be "cheer"ful, iVerbAorist Indicative Passive3rd Person Plural
chairō: to be cheerful, rejoice Aorist. The verse is eight Greek words long and four of them are joy, which is the highest concentration of gladness in the chapter, and it is caused by the reappearance of a light, not yet by the sight of the child.
σφόδραsphodravvvG4970
√ σφόδρα — of uncertain derivation) as adverbAdverb
sphodra: exceedingly An adverb, piled on top of an adjective that is already piled on a cognate noun. Greek has no stronger way to say it, and Matthew uses all of it here.
μεγάληνmegalēnvvvG3173
√ μέγας — big (literally or figuratively, in a very wide application)AdjectiveAccusative Feminine Singular
χαρὰνcharanwith great delightG5479
√ χαρά — cheerfulness, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
chara: cheerfulness, joy Accusative, the object of its own verb. Gill supplies the emotional background from the narrative: they had been at court, no one would come with them, and "as soon as they saw the star their spirits revived." Pulpit sets the single note that gives this verse its edge: "Contrast the indifference of the chosen people."
11

On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai elthontes eis tēn oikian eidon to paidion meta tēs autou mētros Marias kai pesontes prosekynēsan autō kai anoixantes tous autōn thēsaurous prosēnenkan autō dōra chryson kai libanon kai smyrnan

Word by word30 · parsed
καὶkai[On]G2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐλθόντεςelthontescomingG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
εἰςeistoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
οἰκίανoikianhouseG3614
√ οἰκία — properly, residence (abstractly), but usually (concretely) an abode (literally or figuratively)NounAccusative Feminine Singular
oikia: residence, abode A plain house. Ellicott and JFB both reason that the census crowds had dispersed, so lodging was available; Benson notes Mary "was now in a house, (though probably a poor one,) and not in a stable." The Christmas tableau that fuses this scene with Luke 2 is a harmonisation, and the commentators here say so.
εἶδονeidonthey sawG3708
√ ὁράω — by extension, to attend toVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
τὸtotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
παιδίονpaidionChildG3813
√ παιδίον — a childling (of either sex), iNounAccusative Neuter Singular
paidion: a childling Accusative. The magi do what Herod ordered, exactly: they went, they searched, they found the paidion. Every term of the commission is fulfilled except the last one, the report.
μετὰmetawithG3326
√ μετά — properly, denoting accompanimentPreposition
τῆςtēsG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
αὐτοῦautouHisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
μητρὸςmētrosmotherG3384
√ μήτηρ — a "mother" (literally or figuratively, immediate or remote)NounGenitive Feminine Singular
ΜαρίαςMariasMaryG3137
√ Μαρία — Maria or Mariam (iNounGenitive Feminine Singular
Maria: Mary Named, and named as mother. Joseph is absent from the Greek. Ellicott calls his absence "accidental"; JFB explains it as "being but the head of the house"; Gill suggests providence, "lest they might have took him to be his proper father." Three explanations, no evidence: the text simply does not mention him.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
πεσόντεςpesontesthey fell downG4098
√ πίπτω — to fall (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
piptō: to fall Aorist participle. Barnes lists the canonical background of prostration (Esther 8:3; Job 1:20; Daniel 3:7; Psalm 72:11), and the debate through this whole unit over whether proskyneō is civil or religious is settled, for JFB and Poole, by this gesture plus the offering that follows.
προσεκύνησανprosekynēsan[and] worshipedG4352
√ προσκυνέω — to fawn or crouch to, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
proskyneō: to prostrate oneself, do homage The fourth and final occurrence in the unit, and the only one that is performed rather than proposed. The magi said it in verse 2, Herod feigned it in verse 8, and here it is done, by foreigners, in a poor house, to a neuter noun.
αὐτῷautōHimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
καὶkaiThenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀνοίξαντεςanoixantesthey openedG455
√ ἀνοίγω — to open up (literally or figuratively, in various applications)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
τοὺςtousG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Plural
αὐτῶνautōntheirG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
θησαυροὺςthēsauroustreasuresG2344
√ θησαυρός — a deposit, iNounAccusative Masculine Plural
thēsauros: a deposit, treasury Accusative plural, the object of having opened. Cambridge quotes Seneca: "No one may salute a Parthian king without bringing a gift," and cites Psalm 68:29 and 72:10. The gifts are court protocol and, the commentators agree, genuinely valuable.
προσήνεγκανprosēnenkan[and] presentedG4374
√ προσφέρω — to bear towards, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
αὐτῷautōHimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
δῶραdōrawith giftsG1435
√ δῶρον — a presentNounAccusative Neuter Plural
χρυσὸνchryson[of] goldG5557
√ χρυσός — goldNounAccusative Masculine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
λίβανονlibanonfrankincenseG3030
√ λίβανος — the incense-tree, iNounAccusative Masculine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
σμύρνανsmyrnanmyrrhG4666
√ σμύρνα — myrrhNounAccusative Feminine Singular
smyrna: myrrh The rarest lexeme in this unit: the Verifier records it in only two verses of the Greek New Testament. Barnes states its chief use, embalming, and cross-references John 19:39. The lexical fact is certain; what the Evangelist meant by including it is exactly where Ellicott, Poole and JFB apply the brakes.
12

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai chrēmatisthentes kat’ onar mē anakampsai pros Hērōdēn anechōrēsan eis tēn autōn chōran di’ allēs hodou

Word by word16 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
χρηματισθέντεςchrēmatisthenteshaving been warnedG5537
√ χρηματίζω — to utter an oracle (compare the original sense of G5530 (χράομαι)), iVerbAorist Participle PassiveNominative Masculine Plural
chrēmatizō: to utter an oracle The unit's last main verb about God is passive, like ἐστάθη in verse 9. Geneva notices what the grammar leaves open and fills it in: "God warned and told them of it, even though they did not ask him." The magi had used every ordinary means, including a palace, and the extraordinary means arrives unrequested and in sleep.
κατ’kat’inG2596
√ κατά — (prepositionally) down (in place or time), in varied relations (according to the case (genitive, dative or accusative) with which it is joined)Preposition
ὄναρonara dreamG3677
√ ὄναρ — a dreamNounAccusative Neuter Singular
onar: a dream Matthew's recurring channel in these chapters, used of Joseph before and after this verse. Here it is given to Gentiles. The nation with the Scriptures gets an accurate text and does nothing; the strangers without it get a dream and obey it that night.
μὴmēnotG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
ἀνακάμψαιanakampsaito returnG344
√ ἀνακάμπτω — to turn backVerbAorist Infinitive Active
anakamptō: to turn back Aorist infinitive, negated by μὴ. The single command of the oracle is a prohibition, and it is the exact reversal of Herod's single command in verse 8 (report back to me). The last word between the king and the magi is a cancelled instruction.
πρὸςprostoG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
ἩρῴδηνHērōdēnHerodG2264
√ Ἡρώδης — heroicNounAccusative Masculine Singular
ἀνεχώρησανanechōrēsanthey withdrewG402
√ ἀναχωρέω — to retireVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
anachōreō: to retire, withdraw Aorist indicative active, and the only thing in this verse the magi do rather than receive. Benson: they departed "Not at all solicitous as to the consequences of Herod's resentment."
εἰςeistoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὴνtēnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
αὐτῶνautōntheirG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
χώρανchōrancountryG5561
√ χώρα — room, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
δι’di’byG1223
√ διά — through (in very wide applications, local, causal, or occasional)Preposition
ἄλληςallēsanotherG243
√ ἄλλος — "else," iAdjectiveGenitive Feminine Singular
ὁδοῦhodourouteG3598
√ ὁδός — a roadNounGenitive Feminine Singular
hodos: a road The closing noun of the unit. Matthew ends the pilgrimage of the magi with a road, which is how it began, and the reader is told nothing further about them. Gill is candid: "we have no account of, either in sacred or profane history."

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. Two kings in one sentence — 2:1-3

Matthew opens with a genitive absolute, Τοῦ Ἰησοῦ γεννηθέντος, and then dates it by a second man's reign: the child is born, and Herod is king, in the same breath. The noun is the same both times, βασιλεύς. JFB hears in Herod's very title, an Edomite made king by Rome, the sign that "the sceptre" was "departing from Judah" (Ge 49:10), and Gill reports a Targum on that verse in which, at Messiah's coming, "the people shall melt." ⚙ Whether or not that paraphrase bears the weight Gill puts on it, the Greek of verse 3 supplies the melting: ἐταράχθη, a passive of a verb the lexicon glosses "to stir or agitate (roil water)." Benson insists "The word properly signifies a great emotion of mind." And the agitation is not confined to the palace: πᾶσα Ἱεροσόλυμα, all Jerusalem. Cambridge accounts for it in five words, "Fearing some fresh outbreak of cruelty," and Pulpit adds the darker possibility, that many "would shrink from the changes which the coming of Messiah could not but bring," before laying beside it the verse that will govern this Gospel's whole argument: "In this respect Jerusalem was one with Herod ( John 1:11 )."

ii. The right answer, promptly given, and nothing done with it — 2:4-6

Herod, says JFB citing Meyer, "convened" the theologians "because it was a theological response that he wanted," and he got one at once. Geneva, Ellicott and Barnes all identify the parties: the chief priests, the heads of Aaron's courses; the scribes, "They that expound the law to the people." Their answer is correct, immediate and paraphrastic. Every voice in the brief admits the citation is not Micah's wording: Ellicott calls it "a free paraphrase" and notes the reversal, Hebrew "thou art little" becoming Greek "thou art not the least"; JFB calls it "a lively turn"; Pulpit itemises four variations and traces "which shall be shepherd of my people Israel" to a silent addition "from 2 Samuel 5:2 (7:7)"; Barnes declines to defend it at all, holding that Matthew "affirms only that the chief priests and scribes gave this answer to Herod," and Gill agrees that the Evangelist "has acted the part of a faithful historian in giving it in the words in which they cited it." ⚙ Two things follow, and only the first is usually said. The first is that the scribes stop short: Ellicott observes that they did not go on to "whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting," and wonders whether they withheld that clause from Herod or from themselves. The second is what they did add. Into a question about a birthplace they inserted, from Samuel, a verb: ποιμανεῖ, he will shepherd. JFB and Geneva both note that Israel's kings are called shepherds; Barnes glosses the verb as ruling "in faithfulness and tenderness." The council told a man who was about to kill infants that the coming king rules like a shepherd, and then went home.

iii. Exactness in the service of murder — 2:7-8

Verses 7 and 8 are held together by one word-family. Herod ἠκρίβωσεν (G198) the time from the magi, and then commands them to ἐξετάσατε ἀκριβῶς (G1833, G199) concerning the child. Cambridge says of the first that "the word is used of scientific exactness"; Ellicott corrects the English to "ascertained exactly"; Pulpit insists "The stress is not upon Herod's careful questioning, but on the exact information that he obtained." ⚙ This is the unit's most uncomfortable fact, and it is grammatical before it is moral: precision here is not a virtue, it is a weapon. Benson supplies the arithmetic behind it, that Herod wanted the child's age so as "not to destroy more children than the accomplishment of his design appeared to require," and Poole says the same from Matthew 2:16. Barnes draws the general rule: "wicked people often cloak their evil designs under the appearance of religion." And Matthew makes the disguise exact too, putting the worshippers' own verb, προσκυνήσω, into the king's mouth with a κἀγὼ in front of it. Pulpit hears it: "I also - I as well as you; I the king."

iv. The star returns, and the caskets open — 2:9-12

JFB's rebuke at verse 9 is the sharpest sentence in the brief: "Ye could tell Herod where Christ should be born... but I do not see you trooping to Bethlehem—I find these devout strangers journeying thither all alone." The star that had not been seen since their own country (Gill, Poole, Benson and JFB all read the joy of verse 10 as proof it had been absent) now προῆγεν, imperfect, kept going before them, and then ἐστάθη, aorist passive, was made to stand. Pulpit asks whether that passive "suggest[s] the unseen hand by which this star was itself guided and stationed." Their joy is recorded in a cognate accusative stacked with two intensifiers, which Benson renders, with an apology for the English, "They joyed a great joy, very much," and which Gill calls a Hebraism. Then verse 11: they fell, they did obeisance, they opened their θησαυροὺς, which Ellicott and Cambridge both take concretely as caskets or chests, and they προσήνεγκαν. JFB presses that verb: it "is in the New Testament employed seven times, and always in a religious sense of offerings to God." On the meaning of the three gifts the sources divide honestly. Poole calls the patristic scheme "the product of luxuriant fancies"; Ellicott finds it "interesting" but says it "cannot be assumed to have been definitely present to the mind of the Evangelist"; Henry takes the plainer providential view, that they were "a seasonable relief to Joseph and Mary in their present poor condition," which JFB also concedes of the gold. The unit ends with a passive verb of revelation, χρηματισθέντες, and a road home that is not the road they came by.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ This is the tool's own fallible reading, offered to be tested against the text and rejected if it fails.

Read the four inquiries of this unit side by side and the chapter turns into a study of what knowledge is for. The magi ask Ποῦ ἐστιν and have almost nothing: one past sighting (εἴδομεν, a single aorist), a guess at what it meant, and a long road. The scribes are asked and have everything: the scroll, the town, the tribe, the verb shepherd, and six miles of good road. Herod asks twice, and he alone gets exactly what he requested, the χρόνος to the day, because he alone has a use for it. Matthew arranges the chapter so that the man with the most precise information is the one furthest from the child, and the men with the least are the ones in the house.

What separates them is not sincerity or intelligence but direction of travel. The scribes' γέγραπται is a perfect tense, a thing standing written; they treat it as a thing standing still. Herod's ἠκρίβωσεν is exactness turned into a weapon. Only the strangers' knowledge moves, and it moves by being spent: they spend the sighting on a journey, the journey on a question, the question on an answer from other men's Scriptures, and then they spend their caskets. Verse 11 puts the sequence in three aorist participles, coming, falling, opening.

Which leaves the harder half. Their guidance is not continuous. The star appears, then is gone through the whole journey and through Jerusalem, and returns only after they have taken human directions from a liar. Benson saw the point: "By its not appearing for a time, occasion was given for their inquiries at Jerusalem." ⚙ So the gap in the sign is not a failure of the sign. In the gap they had to use the ordinary means, ask, read, listen, and the ordinary means in this case ran through a palace. God's mercy at the end (χρηματισθέντες, the passive of being given an oracle) is not that he spared them the palace but that he did not leave them to walk back through it. Under Sola Scriptura this is the pattern the text itself supplies, and the reader who is currently seeing no star should test it: the sign withdrawn is not the guide withdrawn, and the last word about the road home is that it was another one.

The scribes found Bethlehem in a scroll and would not walk the six miles; the strangers who could not read the scroll walked for months, and knelt. (A synthesis line, not Scripture.)

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The word μάγος, and the only other man in the New Testament who wears it verbal / quotation: confirmed

⚙ μάγος (G3097) is rare: the Verifier finds the lexeme in only five verses of the Greek New Testament, three of them in this chapter. The other two are Acts 13:6 and 13:8, where the same noun names Elymas the sorcerer, who opposes the gospel before a Roman proconsul. Ellicott had already warned that in common Greek the word "was commonly applied with a tone of scorn to the impostors who claimed supernatural knowledge, and magic was in fact the art of the Magi... Simon Magus is Simon the sorcerer," and argued that Matthew must mean the nobler sense. Luke, using the identical noun, means the scornful one. ⚙ That is not a contradiction to be smoothed: the New Testament's two uses of this word run in opposite directions, and Matthew's Gentile astrologers are separated from Luke's charlatan by nothing lexical at all, only by what they did with a star.

Acts 13:6 · Acts 13:8

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G3097 μάγος, rare (in 5 vv), Greek to Greek; a genuine verbal link between the only New Testament passages using the noun, not a quotation of one by the other

Myrrh: the cradle and the grave clothes verbal / quotation: confirmed

⚙ σμύρνα (G4666) occurs in only two verses of the Greek New Testament. This is one. The other is John 19:39, where Nicodemus brings a mixture of myrrh and aloes to bury him. Barnes, commenting here, supplies the property without drawing the line: myrrh "was used chiefly in embalming the dead, because it had the property of preserving dead bodies from putrefaction. Compare John 19:39," and Cambridge notes the same use. ⚙ The lexical fact is simply that the word has two homes in this Testament, and they are the house at Bethlehem and the garden tomb. The figural reading built on that (the third gift as a prophecy of burial) is a separate claim, ancient and widely held, but Ellicott and Poole both decline it; see the Christ section and the apparatus.

John 19:39

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G4666 σμύρνα, in 2 vv only, Greek to Greek; the rarest shared lexeme in this unit. The verbal link is certain; the typological inference from it is not, and is tiered separately below

Frankincense on the manifest of a doomed city verbal / quotation: confirmed

⚙ λίβανος (G3030, the incense-tree and its gum) is likewise found in only two verses. Here it is opened out of a casket and offered; at Revelation 18:13 it appears in the inventory of merchandise that no one buys any more when Babylon falls, in a list that ends with the bodies and souls of men. Barnes notes that frankincense "is highly odoriferous or fragrant when burned, and was therefore used in worship, where it was burned as a pleasant offering to God. See Exodus 30:8 ; Leviticus 16:12," and that it comes chiefly from Arabia. ⚙ The same commodity is cargo in one text and worship in the other. We claim no more than the shared rare lexeme and the contrast of setting.

Revelation 18:13

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G3030 λίβανος, in 2 vv only, Greek to Greek; verbal link confirmed, no quotation claimed in either direction

ἐξετάζω: the interrogation Herod ordered, the question no disciple dared ask verbal / quotation: confirmed

⚙ The verb Herod puts in the magi's commission, ἐξετάσατε (G1833, "to test thoroughly by questions"), is found in only three verses. At Matthew 10:11 Jesus sends his own messengers into a town to examine who in it is worthy. At John 21:12 the disciples on the shore, eating with the risen Lord, dared not examine him as to who he was. ⚙ One rare verb of searching inquiry, three missions: a king who wants a location in order to kill, apostles who want a household in order to bless, and men who have stopped needing to ask. Pulpit's note on this verse supplies the motive for Herod's version: "The more details he could obtain, the more easily he could make away with him."

Matthew 10:11 · John 21:12

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G1833 ἐξετάζω, rare (in 3 vv), Greek to Greek; all three New Testament occurrences are gathered here. A verbal link only; the thematic contrast drawn from it is ⚙ synthesis

Micah's Bethlehem, with a clause from Samuel welded in structural / thematic: confirmed

Matthew's own text says the scribes are citing "the prophet," and every commentator in the brief names Micah 5:2. Barnes, Poole, Gill, JFB, Ellicott and Cambridge all record that the Greek here matches neither the Hebrew nor the Septuagint: "little" becomes "by no means least," "thousands" becomes "rulers," and the shepherd clause, Pulpit argues, is "a paraphrastic addition from 2 Samuel 5:2 (7:7), in order to distinctly identify the ruler with Messiah." Cambridge notes the rendering is "evidently independent of the LXX." Pulpit and Gill both add that Jewish interpreters of the period did read Micah 5:2 of Messiah, though Pulpit cautions that they generally took Bethlehem as the home of Messiah's ancestor rather than the place of his own birth. ⚙ So this is an explicit, acknowledged Old Testament citation, and it still cannot be scored as a verbal link here: shared Strong's evidence does not cross between the Greek and Hebrew lexicons, so no lexeme match exists to record. We tier it structural and say so plainly.

Micah 5:2 · 2 Samuel 5:2

basis: Explicit citation named in the text itself ("it is written through the prophet"), with a second source welded into the final clause per Pulpit. A verbal tier cannot be scored because shared Strong's evidence does not cross the Greek and Hebrew lexicons; the wording also departs from both the Hebrew and the LXX, as Ellicott, JFB, Barnes, Poole, Gill and Cambridge all record

The same answer, thirty years later, used to shut him out structural / thematic: confirmed

At John 7:42 a Jerusalem crowd argues that the Christ comes from Bethlehem, the village of David, and uses that very fact to disqualify Jesus. Ellicott notices the recurrence here: "The words of the people in John 7:42 show the same belief thirty years later." ⚙ The identical piece of correct doctrine is produced twice in this Gospel's world, once to locate him and once to reject him. The Verifier's recorded basis is the shared proper name Βηθλεέμ (G965, in 8 verses), which is a real Greek to Greek lexeme match but a weak one: place-names recur for geographic reasons, not literary ones. We therefore decline the verbal tier the frequency would technically allow and call this structural.

John 7:42

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G965 Βηθλεέμ (in 8 vv), Greek to Greek. Deliberately downgraded from verbal: a shared proper noun is weak evidence of a verbal link, and no quotation runs in either direction. The confirmed element is the shared motif of Bethlehem as the agreed answer

The star out of Jacob: a reading the commentators supply, not the Verifier typological

Six of the ten voices in this brief reach for Numbers 24:17 to explain how Gentile astrologers knew what a star meant. Benson: "Many of the ancient fathers answer, that they learned this from the words of Balaam." Gill argues the oracle "might be traditionally handed down" to eastern hands. Barnes calls it possible. JFB says Balaam's prophecy "might have come down to them by tradition; but nothing definite is known of them." Ellicott notes that the language of Balaam "implied the existence of such an association of thoughts then, and tended to perpetuate it," and both he and Cambridge record that the second-century rebel took the name Bar-cochab, Son of a Star. Poole is the dissenter: he thinks these men came from much further off, and that Balaam's star "was not to be understood in a literal sense, but better expounded by Simeon, Luke 2:32." ⚙ We record the link because the sources do, and we record its weakness with them: it is a figural and traditional connection, it is not in the Verifier's candidate list, and Matthew never cites Balaam.

Numbers 24:17

basis: Not a Verifier-scored link: no shared lexeme is computed, and none could be, since the pair crosses the Greek and Hebrew lexicons. The basis is the named testimony of Benson, Gill, Barnes, JFB and Ellicott that the fathers and later Jewish usage read Balaam's star messianically, against Poole's explicit dissent. Ancient and widely held, but Matthew makes no citation, so nothing verbal is claimed

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The ruler who is a shepherd ancient/widely-held

The one Christological word the Sanhedrin volunteers is a verb it did not have to include. Micah asks for a ruler in Israel; the answer handed to Herod says ποιμανεῖ τὸν λαόν μου τὸν Ἰσραήλ, he will shepherd my people Israel, a clause Pulpit traces to 2 Samuel 5:2. JFB gathers the canonical field: "In the Old Testament, kings are, by a beautiful figure, styled 'shepherds' (Eze 34:1-10, &c.)... The pastoral rule of Jehovah and Messiah over His people is a representation pervading all Scripture, and rich in import. (See Ps 23:1-6; Isa 40:11; Eze 37:24; Joh 10:11; Re 7:17)." Geneva: "for kings are rightly called leaders and shepherds of the people." Barnes glosses the verb as ruling "in faithfulness and tenderness," and points to John 10:11 and Isaiah 40:10-11. ⚙ The force of it is situational. This definition of kingship is spoken aloud in the council chamber of a king who is at that moment planning to scatter a flock. The two βασιλεῖς of verses 1 and 2 are told apart here, by a verb, before either has acted.

Micah 5:2 · 2 Samuel 5:2 · Ezekiel 34:1 · John 10:11 · Psalm 23:1

Gold, frankincense and myrrh: an ancient reading, and the sources that refuse it ancient/widely-held

The patristic scheme is old and well attested: gold for kingship, incense for divinity, myrrh for death. Benson reports the fathers holding that "by these gifts which they offered, [they] showed who he was that was worshipped by them," and Gill, Ellicott, JFB and Pulpit all know the tradition. ⚙ Two sourced facts do support at least the last third of it. First, Barnes and Cambridge both state that myrrh's chief use was embalming, and Barnes himself cross-references John 19:39. Second, the Verifier confirms that σμύρνα occurs in only two verses of the Greek New Testament, this one and that burial. But the honest voices in this brief put the brakes on. Ellicott: the patristic interpretation "cannot be assumed to have been definitely present to the mind of the Evangelist." Poole: "the product of luxuriant fancies." JFB lists the allegorical schemes and calls them "at the best, precarious suppositions," while conceding "that much at least admits of no dispute": the gold "would be highly serviceable" for the flight into Egypt, which is Henry's reading too, that Providence sent them "as a seasonable relief." ⚙ We hold both: the lexical link between the gift and the grave is certain, and the allegory built on it is an old and beautiful reading that its own best commentators decline to make a fact.

John 19:39 · Psalm 45:8 · Isaiah 60:6

The first-fruits of the nations, kneeling in a house ancient/widely-held

Ellicott states the Church's settled reading: "Christendom, however, has rightly seen in it a yet deeper significance, and the 'wise men' have been regarded as the first-fruits of the outlying heathen world, the earnest of the future ingathering." Poole says the same of verse 11: "so they were the first fruits of the Gentiles, owning and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ." Pulpit reads the gifts as "fulfilling in germ the predictions of offerings being made to Messiah and Messiah's people by the Gentile nations ( Isaiah 60 ; Haggai 2:7 ; Psalm 72:10 )." Geneva puts the whole chapter in one line: he "receives nonetheless a noble witness of his divinity from heaven, and of his kingly estate from strangers." ⚙ The text supports the reading structurally rather than by quotation: Gentiles ask, Israel's own experts answer correctly, Israel's king tries to kill, and the Gentiles are the ones found in the house. Pulpit's three stages in verse 11 are exact, "vision, submission, consecration," and none of the three is performed by anyone born in Judea. ⚙ Where the prophets stand behind that pattern (Isaiah 60, Psalm 72) the link is thematic, not verbal: no shared lexeme can cross between the Greek of Matthew and the Hebrew of those texts, and Matthew cites neither.

Isaiah 60:6 · Psalm 72:10 · Haggai 2:7 · John 1:11

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Text of the Micah citation. The Greek of verse 6 agrees with neither the Hebrew nor the Septuagint, and the brief's voices say so without flinching: Ellicott calls it "a free paraphrase," Cambridge says the Greek is "evidently independent of the LXX," Pulpit lists four specific variations and identifies the closing clause as an addition from 2 Samuel, and Barnes and Gill both hold that Matthew is reporting the scribes' words rather than vouching for their accuracy. We have recorded the variations and adjudicated none of them.

The star. No source in this brief claims to know what it was, and they contradict each other: Ellicott weighs and rejects Kepler's conjunction on astronomical grounds and concludes "We must be content to remain in ignorance"; Barnes and JFB favour a low luminous meteor; Cambridge argues for the heliacal rising of Sirius on the first of Mesori; Pulpit sets out four theories and says the miraculous view "has been generally accepted in England." Every ⚙ note above about the star's absence and return rests only on the text's own ἰδοὺ in verse 9 and the joy of verse 10, which Benson, Gill, Poole, JFB and Pulpit all read the same way.

Dating. The sources conflict. Ellicott fixes the Nativity at B.C. 5 or 4; Pulpit at the end of B.C. 5 or the very beginning of B.C. 4; Cambridge at the year 3 before our era, on a chronology that also dates Herod's reign to B.C. 36 to B.C. 1, against the B.C. 4 death date the others use. We report the range and do not choose.

Legend. That the magi were three, that they were kings, and that they were named, are called apocryphal by Ellicott and "a mere tradition" by Cambridge; Gill records Ethiopian names and the Cologne relics without endorsing them. None of it is in the text, which never numbers them.

Cambridge on a Hebrew original. Cambridge infers from the independence of verse 6 from the Septuagint "a proof of the Hebrew original of this gospel." That is a contested nineteenth-century argument about Matthew's composition, flagged in the editorial note on the quotation and not adopted here.

One damaged quotation. The Pulpit entry on verse 2 reads, in the public-domain text we hold, "The observation of nature led them to nature's Bond ( Colossians 1:17 )." This is almost certainly a scanning error for "nature's Lord." We quote it as it stands and flag it rather than silently repairing a source.

Thread bases. Every verbal tier above rests on a Verifier-computed shared Strong's lexeme between Greek texts, with the frequency recorded. The Micah and Numbers threads carry no lexeme basis and could not: shared Strong's evidence does not cross the Greek and Hebrew lexicons, so cross-Testament links here are tiered structural or typological however explicit the citation. The John 7:42 thread was deliberately downgraded from verbal, because a shared proper name is weak evidence. We ran no additional Verifier pair checks beyond the supplied candidates.

What is ⚙ and what is not. Everything marked ⚙, including the sola reading, the pullquote and the thematic inferences drawn from confirmed lexical links, is this tool's fallible synthesis and is offered to be tested. The interlinear, the parses, the Strong's glosses, the commentators' words and the thread bases are sourced.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)