Gospel of Matthew Chapter 2 Vs. 16

 

Herod Kills the Children

Matthew 2:16 “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 Beth-lehem, 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.”

he was mocked... Greek: empaizo, jeer, deride. This is further proof that they did not obey Herod’s orders to go to Bethlehem. They scorned him, no doubt detecting his purpose in wanting to find the child. The same word is used in Mat. 27:29-31; Luke 18:32.

slew all the... Herod’s act is all the more heinous in light of his full knowledge that the Lord’s Anointed One was the target of his murderous plot.

Herod killed all the male children, not only in Beth-lehem, but in all the villages of that city. Unbridled wrath, armed with an unlawful power, often carries men to absurd cruelties.

two years old... The magi found a "young child" (Greek: paidion, Mat. 2:9), a child older than the newborn "babe" (Greek: brephos) which the shepherds found over a year before at His birth (Luke 2:16).

As soon as Herod learned that the Magi had not complied with his orders to give him the exact location of the newborn King, he put into action a plan to kill all the male children in Bethlehem. The age of two… and under was selected in compliance with the time… the Magi saw “the star” in the East. Perhaps this time reference also indicated that when the Magi visited Jesus, He was under two years of age.

This slaughter of the male children is mentioned only here in the biblical record. Even the Jewish historian Josephus (a.d. 37-?100) did not mention this dastardly deed of putting to death innocent babies and young children. But it is not surprising that he and other secular historians overlooked the death of a few Hebrew children in an insignificant village, for Herod’s infamous crimes were many. He put to death several of his own children and some of his wives whom he thought were plotting against him. Emperor Augustus reportedly said it was better to be Herod’s sow than his son, for his sow had a better chance of surviving in a Jewish community. In the Greek language, as in English, there is only one letter difference between the words “sow” (huos) and “son” (huios).