Matthew 2:16 (WEB)
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent out and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under, according to the exact time which he had learned from the wise men.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Matthew 2:16 (KJV)
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.
Key words
- ἀνεῖλεν πάντας τοὺς παῖδαςaneilen pantas tous paidas · Greek
- 'slew all the children' — the massacre of the infants of Bethlehem.
- ΒηθλέεμBēthleem · Greek
- 'Bethlehem' — the birthplace of the Messiah and the burial place of Rachel (Genesis 35:19).
Why it matters
Herod slaughters the male children of Bethlehem, and Matthew immediately quotes Jeremiah's Rachel weeping for her children (v. 18). Pitre asks why Matthew places Rachel's lament here: because Rachel's tomb stands at Bethlehem and because Mary, the mother from Bethlehem, now takes up Rachel's role of weeping for and interceding for her children.