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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Mat C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28
Mat 2 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V23
OET (OET-LV) But having_heard that Arⱪelaos is_reigning the over_Youdaia instead_of Haʸrōdaʸs the father of_him, he_was_afraid to_go_away there, and having_been_warned in a_dream, he_withdrew into the districts of_ the _Galilaia/(Gālīl),
OET (OET-RV) But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Yudea instead of his father Herod, and also having been warned in a dream, he left Yudea and went to the Galilee area.
In this section, Matthew showed another way that scripture was fulfilled. When Joseph moved Mary and Jesus back to Israel, he intended to live in the district of Judea. But God warned him in a dream not to live there. So he went to the district of Galilee and lived in the town of Nazareth. In that way, the scripture was fulfilled that said that Jesus would be a Nazarene.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The Return from Egypt (GNT)
The Return to Nazareth (NET)
Jesus fulfills scripture by living in Nazareth
But when he learned that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod,
¶ But when Joseph heard that Archelaus had taken the place of his father Herod as the king of Judea,
¶ But then Joseph learned that Herod’s son Archelaus had succeeded his father as ruler of the province of Judea.
But: When Joseph returned to Israel, he probably intended to live in Bethlehem in the district of Judea. So there is a contrast between 2:21 and 2:22. The contrast is between Joseph’s original intentions and then his fear of actually going there when he heard that Archelaus was the king of Judea. Joseph probably thought that Archelaus would want to harm Jesus as Herod had wanted to.
Most English versions indicate this contrast with the conjunction But, as the BSB does. Translate this contrast in a way that is natural in your language.
Archelaus: The word Archelaus is the name of Herod’s son. When Herod died, Archelaus became king of Judea.
was reigning in Judea: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as was reigning refers to ruling as the highest authority/leader over a province.
Here are some other ways to translate this verb:
was now ruler (CEV)
was ruling (NRSV)
was the king
in place of his father Herod: The phrase in place of his father Herod means that Archelaus became the king after his father Herod died.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
took his father Herod’s place
replaced his father Herod
succeeded his father Herod (GNT)
he was afraid to go there.
he was afraid to go live there.
So he was afraid to return to that area.
he: The pronoun he refers to Joseph.
was afraid to go there: Joseph was probably afraid that King Archelaus would be as cruel a ruler as his father Herod was. He feared that Archelaus would want to kill Jesus as Herod had.
to go there: Joseph, Mary, and Jesus had already returned to Israel. Joseph may have been planning to live in Bethlehem, which was in Judea. In some languages, it may be more natural to include some implied information here. For example:
to go and stay/live there
And having been warned in a dream,
Then he was warned in a dream not to go there.
Then God told him in a/another dream that he must not go to Judea.
having been warned in a dream: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as having been warned is passive. The Greek text does not mention who warned Joseph. It was God acting either directly or through an angel.
Here are some ways to translate this verb:
Use a passive verb. For example:
being warned in a dream (RSV)
Then he was warned in a dream
Use an active verb. For example:
God warned him in a dream
As he was dreaming, God told him
warned: Here are some other ways to translate this word:
told/instructed what to do
advised not to go there
This same verb occurs in 2:12.
In some languages, it may be necessary to say what God warned Joseph about. If that is the case in your language, you can say:
warned him not to go there
warned him not to go to Judea
he withdrew to the district of Galilee,
So he went instead to the region of Galilee with the child and his mother
So he continued with his family to the province of Galilee
withdrew: The Greek verb that the BSB translates here as withdrew is the same word translated as “withdrew” in 2:14.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
went (GNT)
continued
The verb is singular, indicating that Joseph left. But, of course Mary and Jesus went with him. In some languages, it will be more natural to include Mary and Jesus. For example:
went with Mary and Jesus
to the district of Galilee: The Greek word that the BSB translates as district refers to a “region” or “province.” Galilee was the name of a province/district of the Roman Empire. It was located in the northern part of what is currently the nation of Israel.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
the province of Galilee (GNT)
the region of Galilee (NJB)
Note 1 topic: translate-names
Ἀρχέλαος
Archelaus
The word Archelaus is the name of a man. He began to rule after his father Herod died.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations
ἀκούσας & ὅτι Ἀρχέλαος βασιλεύει τῆς Ἰουδαίας ἀντὶ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ Ἡρῴδου, ἐφοβήθη
˓having˒_heard & that Archelaus ˓is˒_reigning ¬the ˱over˲_Judea (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀκούσας Δέ ὅτι Ἀρχέλαος βασιλεύει τῆς Ἰουδαίας ἀντί τοῦ πατρός αὐτοῦ Ἡρῴδου ἐφοβήθη ἐκεῖ ἀπελθεῖν χρηματισθείς δέ κατʼ ὄναρ ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς τά μέρη τῆς Γαλιλαίας)
It may be more natural in your language to have a direct quotation here. Alternate translation: [having heard, ”Archelaus is reigning over Judea in the place of his father Herod,” he was afraid]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
χρηματισθεὶς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀκούσας Δέ ὅτι Ἀρχέλαος βασιλεύει τῆς Ἰουδαίας ἀντί τοῦ πατρός αὐτοῦ Ἡρῴδου ἐφοβήθη ἐκεῖ ἀπελθεῖν χρηματισθείς δέ κατʼ ὄναρ ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς τά μέρη τῆς Γαλιλαίας)
Matthew implies that Joseph was warned against living in Judea. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [having been warned about living in Judea]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
χρηματισθεὶς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀκούσας Δέ ὅτι Ἀρχέλαος βασιλεύει τῆς Ἰουδαίας ἀντί τοῦ πατρός αὐτοῦ Ἡρῴδου ἐφοβήθη ἐκεῖ ἀπελθεῖν χρηματισθείς δέ κατʼ ὄναρ ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς τά μέρη τῆς Γαλιλαίας)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who did the action, it is clear from the context that it was God, probably speaking through an angel. Alternate translation: [God having warned him] or [an angel of the Lord having warned him]
2:22 Archelaus, like his father, governed brutally, immorally, and tyrannically.
• Joseph fulfilled prophecy in moving to Galilee to avoid Archelaus’s jurisdiction (cp. 4:12-16).
OET (OET-LV) But having_heard that Arⱪelaos is_reigning the over_Youdaia instead_of Haʸrōdaʸs the father of_him, he_was_afraid to_go_away there, and having_been_warned in a_dream, he_withdrew into the districts of_ the _Galilaia/(Gālīl),
OET (OET-RV) But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Yudea instead of his father Herod, and also having been warned in a dream, he left Yudea and went to the Galilee area.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.