Knowing The Word in Matthew 2:13-15

Three brief narratives compose Matthew 2:13-23, each based on an important geographical location and prophecy. The other important idea Matthew presents is the parallel of Jesus’ childhood with Moses. This Moses typology, however, is a subplot to the main theme of Jesus as the Son of David and the true Messiah. Yet it does lead to the conclusion that Jesus is the new Moses. Additionally, in non-biblical Jewish traditions, there is story about Pharaoh receiving word from a scribe of the birth of a deliverer of Israel. Alarmed, Pharaoh orders the murder of all young male children. In a dream Moses’ father has a vision of his son being Israel’s deliverer and then saves his son from the massacre. The Jewish readers of Matthew would have been very familiar with this tradition.

The Flight to Egypt

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream [divine initiative to save Jesus] and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt [a place outside Herod’s jurisdiction and an historic haven for Jews in the Old Testament and the place where Israel’s history as the people of God began], and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt [see Exodus 2:15] 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet [Hosea 11:1], “Out of Egypt I called my son.” [In Egypt God kept his Son safe as he had Israel in the time of Joseph. But he called Israel out in the time of Moses to fulfill their role as his people, and now he calls his Son out to fulfill his role as both the people of God and the redeemer of God’s people.]