Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

Matthew 2:3

ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἡρώδης ἐταράχθη : βασιλεὺς before the name, not after, as in Matthew 2:1, the emphatic position suggesting that it was as king and because king that Herod was troubled. The foreigner and usurper feared a rival, and the tyrant feared the rival would be welcome. It takes little to put evildoers in fear. He had reigned long, men were weary, and the Pharisees, according to Joseph (A. J. xvii. 2 4), had predicted that his family would were long lose its place of power. His fear therefore, though the occasion may seem insignificant, is every way credible. καὶ πᾶσα I., doubtless an exaggeration, yet substantially true. The spirit of the city was servile and selfish. They bowed to godless power, and cared for their own interest rather than for Herod's. Few in that so-called holy city had healthy sympathies with truth and right. Whether the king's fears were groundless or not they knew not nor cared. It was enough that the fears existed. The world is ruled not by truth but by opinion. πᾶσα : s Ἰεροσόλυμα feminine here, or is ἡ πὀλις understood? or is it a construction, ad sensum, of the inhabitants? (Schanz).

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Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

Matthew 2:3

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