Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

Matthew 2:22

Matthew 2:22. Archelaus. Four sons of Herod (the Great) are mentioned in the New Testament. (He had ten wives and fourteen children.) (1) Herod Antipas, the murderer of John the Baptist (frequently mentioned in Gospels and Acts 4:27; Acts 13:1), and (2) Archelaus, were sons of Malthace the fourth wife of Herod; (3) Herod Philip I. (‘Philip,' Mark 6:17) was the son of Mariamne, the third wife, and lived a private life, having been excluded from all share in his father's possessions; (4) Herod Philip II. (‘Philip the tetrarch,' Luke 3:1), was the son of Cleopatra, the fifth wife of Herod, and the husband of Salome, the daughter of Herodias (Matthew 14:6; Mark 6:22), and his half-brother Philip. The name, ‘Archelaus,' means ‘ruler of the people.' Herod excluded Archelaus by will from any share in his dominions, but afterward bequeathed him ‘the kingdom.' The Emperor Augustus allowed him to be ‘Ethnarch' over Judea, Idumea, and Samaria. He was actually reigning at the time referred to in this verse. He was afterward summoned to Rome and banished into Gaul. Herod Agrippa I. (‘Herod the King,' Acts 12:1, etc.) and Herod Agrippa II. (‘King Agrippa,' Acts 25-26) his son, were descendants of Aristobuius, the murdered son of Herod the Great.

Was afraid to go thither. Hearing this, probably, on the way, he turned aside before reaching Judea. The word go, strictly means ‘go away,' as if he would naturally have gone somewhere else, i.e., to Nazareth his home.

And. The rendering of the E. V. (‘notwithstanding') has misled many into the notion that Joseph acted contrary to the revelation he received on his return from Egypt, an idea of which there is no trace in the original.

Warned, even more than in Matthew 2:12, implies a previous inquiry.

Withdrew, as in Matthew 2:12; Matthew 2:14.

The parts of Galilee, i.e., the country itself, the northernmost province of Palestine. The name is derived from a word signifying a ring or circle. The Galileans, though Jews in religion, were looked down upon by inhabitants of Judea (Jews in the strict sense), probably because provincials, and living more closely allied with the heathen. Samaria lay between Judea and Galilee.

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Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

Matthew 2:22

Old Testament

New Testament