--- title: "Matthew 2 - Study King James Bible with clarkes commentary" description: "Read Matthew 2 with clarkes commentary commentary. 1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/matthew/2" --- [ Read](/kjv/matthew/2)[ Commentary](/study/matthew/2)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/matthew/2) Audio 1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 3 When Herod the king had heard *these things*, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 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. 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, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. 7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found *him*, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11 ¶ And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. 13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. 16 ¶ Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, 18 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. 19 ¶ But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life. 21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: 23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene. [Matthew 1](/study/matthew/1) [Matthew 3](/study/matthew/3) ## Commentary To verse 1 Verse [Matthew 2:1](/kjv/matthew/2/1). ***Bethlehem of Judea*** — This city is mentioned in [Judges 17:7](/kjv/judges/17/7), and must be distinguished from another of the same name in the tribe of Zebulon, [Joshua 19:15](/kjv/joshua/19/15). It is likewise called *Ephrath*, [Genesis 48:7](/kjv/genesis/48/7), or *Ephratah*, [Micah 5:2](/kjv/micah/5/2), and its inhabitants Ephrathites, [Ruth 1:2](/kjv/ruth/1/2); [1 Samuel 17:12](/kjv/1-samuel/17/12). It is situated on the declivity of a hill, about six miles from Jerusalem. בית לחם *Beth-lechem*, in Hebrew, signifies *the house of bread*. And the name may be considered as very properly applied to that *place* where Jesus, the Messiah, the true bread that came down from heaven, was manifested, to give life to the world. But לחם *lehem* also signifies *flesh*, and is applied to that part of the sacrifice which was burnt upon the altar. See [Leviticus 3:11-16](/kjv/leviticus/3/11-16); [Leviticus 21:6](/kjv/leviticus/21/6). The word is also used to signify a *carcass*, [Zephaniah 1:17](/kjv/zephaniah/1/17). The Arabic version has [Arabic] *Beet lehem*, and the Persic [Persic] *Beet allehem*: but [Arabic] *lehem*, in Arabic, never signifies *bread*, but always means *flesh*. Hence it is more proper to consider the name as signifying *the house of flesh*, or, as some might suppose, *the house of the incarnation*, i.e. the place where *God was manifested in the flesh* for the salvation of a lost world. ***In the days of Herod the king*** — This was HEROD, improperly denominated the GREAT, the son of Antipater, an Idumean: he reigned 37 years in Judea, reckoning from the-time he was created-king of that country by the Romans. Our blessed Lord was born in the last year of his reign; and, at this time, the sceptre had literally departed from Judah, a *foreigner* being now upon the throne. As there are several princes of this name mentioned in the New Testament, it may be well to give a list of them here, together with their genealogy. *Herod*, the *Great*, married ten wives, by whom he had several children, Euseb. l. i. c. 9. p. 27. The first was *Doris*, thought to be an Idumean, whom he married when but a private individual; by her he had *Antipater*, the eldest of all his sons, whom he caused to be executed five days before his own death. His second wife was *Mariamne*, daughter to *Hircanus*, the sole surviving person of the *Asmonean*, or Maccabean, race. Herod put her to death. She was the mother of *Alexander* and *Aristobulus*, whom Herod had executed at Sebastia, (Joseph. Antiq. l. xvi. c. 13.-De Bello, l. i. c. 17,) on an accusation of having entered into a conspiracy against him. *Aristobulus* left three children, whom I shall notice hereafter. His third wife was *Mariamne*, the daughter of *Simon*, a person of some note in Jerusalem, whom Herod made high priest, in order to obtain his daughter. She was the mother of *Herod Philippus*, or Herod Philip, and Salome. Herod or Philip married *Herodias*, mother to *Salome*, the famous dancer, who demanded the head of John the Baptist, [Mark 6:22](/kjv/mark/6/22). Salome had been placed, in the will of Herod the Great, as second heir after Antipater; but her name was erased, when it was discovered that Mariamne, her mother, was an accomplice in the crimes of Antipater, son of Herod the Great. Joseph de Bello, lib. i. c. 18,19,20. His fourth wife was *Malthake*, a Samaritan, whose sons were *Archelaus* and *Philip*. The first enjoyed half his father's kingdom under the name of *tetrarch*, viz. Idumea, Judea, and Samaria: Joseph. Antiq. l. xvii. c. 11. He reigned nine years; but, being accused and arraigned before the Emperor Augustus, he was banished to Vienna, where he died: Joseph. Antiq. l. xvii. c. 15. This is the Archelaus mentioned in [Matthew 2:22](/kjv/matthew/2/22). His brother *Philip* married *Salome*, the famous dancer, the daughter of Herodias; he died without children, and she was afterwards married to Aristobulus. The fifth wife of Herod the Great was *Cleopatra* of Jerusalem. She was the mother of Herod surnamed Antipas, who married Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, while he was still living. Being reproved for this act by John the Baptist, [Matthew 14:3](/kjv/matthew/14/3); [Mark 6:17](/kjv/mark/6/17); [Luke 3:19](/kjv/luke/3/19), and having imprisoned this holy man, he caused him to be beheaded, agreeable to the promise he had rashly made to the daughter of his wife Herodias, who had pleased him with her dancing. He attempted to seize the person of Jesus Christ, and to put him to death. It was to this prince that Pilate sent our Lord, [Luke 13:31-32](/kjv/luke/13/31-32). He was banished to Lyons, and then to Spain, where both he and his wife Herodias died. Joseph. Antiq. l. xv. c. 14.-De Bello, l. ii. c. 8. The sixth wife of Herod the Great was *Pallas*, by whom he had Phasaelus: his history is no ways connected with the New Testament. The seventh was named *Phoedra*, the mother of *Roxana*, who married the son of *Pheroras*. The eighth was *Elpida*, mother of *Salome*, who married another son of *Pheroras*. With the names of two other wives of Herod we are not acquainted; but they are not connected with our history, any more than are *Pallas, Phoedra*, and *Elpida*, whose names I merely notice to avoid the accusation of inaccuracy. ARISTOBULUS, the son of Herod the Great by Mariamne, a descendant of the Asmoneans, left two sons and a daughter, viz. *Agrippa, Herod*, and *Herodias*, so famous for her incestuous marriage with *Antipas*, in the life-time of his brother *Philip*. AGRIPPA, otherwise named *Herod*, who was imprisoned by Tiberius for something he had inconsiderately said against him, was released from prison by Caligula, who made him king of Judea: Joseph. Antiq. l. xviii. c. 8. It was this prince who put St. James to death, and imprisoned Peter, as mentioned in xii. of Acts. He died at Caesarea, in the way mentioned in the Acts, as well as by Josephus, Antiq. l. xix. c. 7. He left a son named Agrippa, who is mentioned below. HEROD, the *second* son of Aristobulus, was king of Chalcis, and, after the death of his brother, obtained permission of the emperor to keep the ornaments belonging to the high priest, and to nominate whom he pleased to that office: Joseph. Antiq. l. xx. c. 1. He had a son named Aristobulus, to whom Nero gave Armenia the lesser, and who married *Salome*, the famous dancer, daughter to Herodias. AGRIPPA, son of Herod Agrippa, king of Judea, and grandson to Aristobulus and Mariamne; he was at first king of Chalcis, and afterwards tetrarch of Galilee, in the room of his uncle Philip: Joseph. Antiq. l. xx. c. 5. It was before him, his sister *Berenice*, and *Felix*, who had married *Drusilla*, Agrippa's second daughter, that St. Paul pleaded his cause, as mentioned [Acts 26:0](/kjv/acts/26/0). HERODIAS, the daughter of Mariamne and Aristobulus, is the person of whom we have already spoken, who married successively the two brothers *Philip* and *Antipas*, her uncles, and who occasioned the death of John the Baptist. By her first husband she had *Salome*, the dancer, who was married to *Philip*, tetrarch of the Trachonitis, the son of Herod the Great. Salome having had no children by him, she was married to Aristobulus, her cousin-german, son of Herod, king of Chalcis, and brother to Agrippa and Herodias: she had by this husband several children. This is nearly all that is necessary to be known relative to the race of the Herods, in order to distinguish the particular persons of this family mentioned in the New Testament. See *Basnage*, *Calmet*, and *Josephus*. ***There came wise men from the east*** — Or, *Magi came from the* *eastern countries*. "The Jews believed that there were prophets in the kingdom of *Saba* and *Arabia*, who were of the posterity of *Abraham* by *Keturah*; and that they taught in the name of God, what they had received in tradition from the mouth of *Abraham*." - WHITBY. That many Jews were mixed with this people there is little doubt; and that these eastern *magi*, or philosophers, astrologers, or whatever else they were, might have been *originally* of that class, there is room to believe. These, knowing the promise of the Messiah, were now, probably, like other believing Jews, waiting for the consolation of Israel. The Persic translator renders the Greek μαγοι by [Persic] *mejooseean*, which properly signifies a *worshipper of fire*; and from which we have our word *magician*. It is very probable that the ancient Persians, who were considered as *worshippers of fire*, only honoured it as the symbolical representation of the Deity; and, seeing this unusual appearance, might consider it as a sign that the God they worshipped was about to manifest himself among men. Therefore they say, We have seen his *star*- and are come to worship *him*; but it is most likely that the Greeks made their μαγοι *magi*, which we translate *wise men*, from the Persian [Persian] *mogh*, and [Persian] *moghan*, which the *Kushuf ul Loghat*, a very eminent Persian lexicon, explains by [Persian] *atush perest*, *a worshipper of fire*; which the Persians suppose all the inhabitants of *Ur* in Chaldea were, among whom the Prophet Abraham was brought up. The Mohammedans apply this title by way of *derision* to *Christian monks* in their *associate* capacity; and by a yet stronger *catachresis*, they apply it to a *tavern*, and the *people that frequent it*. Also, to ridicule in the most forcible manner the Christian *priesthood*, they call the *tavern-keeper* [Arabic], *peeri Mughan*, the *priest*, or *chief of* *the idolaters*. It is very probable that the persons mentioned by the evangelist were a sort of astrologers, probably of Jewish extraction, that they lived in Arabia-Felix, and, for the reasons above given, came to worship their new-born sovereign. It is worthy of remark, that the Anglo-saxon translates the word μαγοι by [Anglo-Saxon], which signifies *astrologers*, from [Anglo-Saxon] a *star* or *planet*, and [Anglo-Saxon], to *know* or *understand*. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/matthew/2#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","width":672,"height":448,"caption":"Real Bible Believers"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/matthew/2#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/matthew/2","name":"Matthew 2 - Study King James Bible with clarkes commentary","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/matthew/2#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read Matthew 2 with clarkes commentary commentary. 1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/matthew/2#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/matthew/2"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/matthew/2#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","name":"Study Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary","name":"clarkes commentary"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/matthew","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/matthew","name":"Matthew"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/matthew/2","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/matthew/2","name":"2"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]} ```