Matthew 2:3-6

Matthew 2:3-6

[3] When  Herod  the king  had heard  these things, he was troubled,  and  all  Jerusalem  with  him.  [4] And  all  the chief priests  and  scribes  of the people  together,  he demanded  of  them  where  Christ  should be born.  [5] And  they said  unto him,  In  Bethlehem  of Judaea:  for  thus  it is written  by  the prophet,  [6] And  thou  Bethlehem,  in the land  of Juda,  not  the least  among  the princes  of Juda:  for  out of  shall come  a Governor,  that  shall rule  people  Israel. 

What does Matthew 2:3-6 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

This news troubled Herod because he was very aware of the Jews" desire to throw off the Roman yoke and his own rule in particular. Remember Pharaoh"s fear for his throne that also led to infanticide. Herod was an Edomite, a descendant of Esau, and the prospect of a Jewish Messiah"s appearance was one he could not ignore. The rest of Jerusalem"s citizens became disturbed because they realized that this news from the Magi might lead Herod to take further cruel action against them. This is what happened ( Matthew 2:16). Already we begin to see the opposition of the people of Jerusalem to Jesus that would eventually result in His crucifixion.
Herod assembled Israel"s leaders to investigate the Magi"s announcement further ( Matthew 2:4). The chief priests were mainly Sadducees at this time, and most of the scribes ("teachers of the law," NIV) were Pharisees. The chief priests included the high priest and his associates. The high priest obtained his position by appointment from Rome. The scribes were the official interpreters and communicators of the law to the people, the lawyers. Since these two groups of leaders did not get along, Herod may have had meetings with each group separately.
"The scribes were so called because it was their office to make copies of the Scriptures, to classify and teach the precepts of the oral law ..., 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 ( 2 Samuel 8:17; 2 Samuel 20:25; 1 Kings 4:3; Jeremiah 8:8; Jeremiah 36:10; Jeremiah 36:12; Jeremiah 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. In our Lord"s time, the Pharisees considered it orthodox to receive this mass of writing which had been superimposed upon and had obscured the Scripture." [1]
The Jews of Jesus" day regarded the Halekhah (from halakh, "to go," i.e, The Rule of the Spiritual Road) as having greater authority than the Hebrew Scriptures. [2]
Notice that Herod perceived the King the Magi had spoken of as the Messiah ( Matthew 2:4). Some of the Jews-particularly the Essenes, whom Herod did not consult, but not the Sadducees and Pharisees-were expecting a Messiah to appear soon because of Daniel 9:24-27. [3] Daniel had been a wise man in the East also.
"Matthew adroitly answers Jewish unbelief concerning Jesus Christ by quoting their own official body to the effect that the prophecy of His birth in Bethlehem was literal, that the Messiah was to be an individual, not the entire Jewish nation, and that their Messiah was to be a King who would rule over them." [4]
"In the original context of Micah 5:2, the prophet is speaking prophetically and prophesying that whenever the Messiah is born, He will be born in Bethlehem of Judah. That is the literal meaning of Micah 5:2. When a literal prophecy is fulfilled in the New Testament, it is quoted as a literal fulfillment. Many prophecies fall into this category ..." [5]
Another writer called this, literal prophecy plus literal fulfillment. [6]
Matthew"s rendering of the Micah 5:2 prophecy adds the fact that the Ruler would shepherd the Israelites. This statement, from 2 Samuel 5:2, originally referred to David. Thus Matthew again showed the connection between the prophecies of Messiah and the Davidic line, a connection he also made in chapter1. Perhaps the religious leaders put these passages together in their quotation. [7] Such seems to have been the case. The quotation is free, not verbatim from either the Hebrew or the Greek (Septuagint) texts.