When Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go back there. And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee. 23 He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazorean.”'
Herod the Great, the ruler when Jesus was born, died in 4 BCE and his eldest son Archelaus was named King of Judea, Idumaea, and Samaria in Herod’s will. Archelaus had a reputation for oppressing his Jewish subjects. Philip and Herod Antipas, to whom John the Baptist said, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife (Mk. 6:18; Lev. 18:16),” were his brothers. Herod Antipas executed John the Baptist (Mt. 14:3-12).
When Herod died, Joseph received Divine guidance in a dream to return to Israel because there was no longer a threat to Jesus’ life. It is estimated that at least six months passed between Joseph and his family going down to Egypt and their return to Israel. Joseph’s return to Israel is similar to Moses’ return to Egypt (Ex. 4:19) after Pharoah had failed to destroy Israel’s first savior. In returning to Israel as instructed, Joseph fulfilled the words of the prophet Hosea, “Out of Egypt I called my son (Hos. 11:1). Joseph was afraid to go back to Jerusalem when he heard that Archelaus was king so he went to Nazareth instead. Nazareth is in Galilee and the non-Jewish part of Galilee was referred to as “Galilee of the Gentiles (Mt. 4:15).” Jesus, the Messiah, who was born in Bethlehem in Judea, the city of David, was now a resident of Galilee.
Almighty God, you see the trials that await us so in your mercy help us to be obedient to you so that you can lead us safely through all tribulation. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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