Section III.

[1, 2] 160    Matt. ii. 1b.And after that,161    On the substitution of this general phrase for Matt. ii. 1a, see the remarks of Harris in Fragments, etc., p. 37 ff. the Magi came from the east to Jerusalem, 162    Matt. ii. 2.and said, Where is the King of the Jews which was born?  We have seen his star in the east, and have [3] come to worship him.  163    Matt. ii. 3.And Herod the king heard, and he was troubled, and all [4] Jerusalem with him.  164    Matt. ii. 4.And he gathered all the chief priests and the scribes of the [5] people, and asked them in what place165    This periphrasis for where is very characteristic of this work. the Messiah should be born.  166    Matt. ii. 5.They said, In Bethlehem of Judæa:  thus it is written in the prophet,

[6] 167    Matt. ii. 6.Thou also, Bethlehem of Judah,

Art not contemptible among the kings of Judah:

From thee shall go forth a king,

And he shall be a shepherd to my people Israel.

[7] 168    Matt. ii. 7.Then Herod called the Magi secretly, and inquired of them the time at which [8] the star appeared to them.  169    Matt. ii. 8.And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said unto them, Go and search about the child diligently; and when ye have found him, come and [9] make known to me, that I also may go and worship him.  170    Matt. ii. 9.And they, when they [Arabic, p. 11] heard the king, departed; and lo, the star which they had seen in the east went before them, until it came and stood above the place where the child [10, 11] was.  171    Matt. ii. 10.And when they beheld the star, they rejoiced with very great joy.  172    Matt. ii. 11.And they entered the house and beheld the child with Mary his mother, and fell down worshipping him, and opened their saddle-bags and offered to him offerings, gold and [12] myrrh and frankincense.  173    Matt. ii. 12.And they saw in a dream174    So in later Arabic and some Arabic versions.  According to classical usage the word means sleep. that they should not return to Herod, and they travelled by another way in going to their country.

[13] 175    Matt. ii. 13.And when they had departed, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, and said unto him, Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I speak to thee; for Herod is determined to seek the child [14] to slay him.  176    Matt. ii. 14.And Joseph arose and took the child and his mother in the night, and [15] fled into Egypt, 177    Matt. ii. 15.and remained in it until the time of the death of Herod:  that that might be fulfilled which was said by the Lord in the prophet, which said, From [16] Egypt did I call my son.  178    Matt. ii. 16.And Herod then, when he saw that he was mocked of the Magi, was very angry, and sent and killed all the male children which were in Bethlehem and all its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time [17] which he had inquired from the Magi.  179    Matt. ii. 17.Then was fulfilled the saying in Jeremiah the prophet, which said,

[18] 180    Matt. ii. 18.A voice was heard in Ramah,

Weeping and much lamentation;

Rachel weeping181    Or, is weeping, and so in next line is not willing. for her children,

And not willing to be consoled for their loss.

[19] 182    Matt. ii. 19.But when Herod the king died, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to [20] Joseph in Egypt, 183    Matt. ii. 20.and said unto him, Rise and take the child and his mother, and [Arabic, p. 12] go into the land of Israel; for they have died who sought the child’s life.  [21] 184    Matt. ii. 21.And Joseph rose and took the child and his mother, and came to the land [22] of Israel.  185    Matt. ii. 22.But when he heard that Archelaus had become king over Judæa instead of Herod his father, he feared to go thither; and he saw in a dream that he should [23] go into the land of Galilee, 186    Matt. ii. 23.and that he should abide in a city called Nazareth:  that the saying in the prophet might be fulfilled, that he should be called a Nazarene.

[24] 187    Luke ii. 40.And the child grew, and became strong in spirit, becoming filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him.

[25] 188    Luke ii. 41.And his kinsfolk189    A general word (cf. Syr. versions). used to go every year to Jerusalem at the feast of the passover.  [26] 190    Luke ii. 42.And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to their custom, [27] to the feast.  191    Luke ii. 43.And when the days were accomplished, they returned; and the child [28] Jesus remained in Jerusalem, and Joseph and his mother knew not:  192    Luke ii. 44.and they supposed that he was with the children of their company.  And when they had gone one day’s journey, they sought him beside their people and those who knew them, [29] and they found him not; 193    Luke ii. 45.so they returned to Jerusalem and sought him again.  [30] 194    Luke ii. 46.And after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, [31] hearing them and asking them questions; 195    Luke ii. 47.and all who heard him wondered at [32] his wisdom and his words.  196    Luke ii. 48.And when they saw him they wondered, and his mother said unto him, My son, why hast thou dealt with us thus? behold, I and thy father [33] have been seeking for thee with much anxiety.  197    Luke ii. 49.And he said unto them, Why were [34] ye seeking me? know198    Or, knew. ye not that I must be in the house of my Father?  199    Luke ii. 50.And they [35] understood not the word which he spake unto them.  200    Luke ii. 51.And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth; and he was obedient to them:  and his mother used to keep all these sayings in her heart.

[36] [Arabic, p. 13] 201    Luke ii. 52.And Jesus grew in his stature and wisdom, and in grace with God and men.

[37] 202    Luke iii. 1.And in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, when Pontius Pilate was governor in Judæa, and one of the four rulers, Herod, in Galilee; and Philip his brother, one of the four rulers, in Ituræa and in the district of Trachonitis; and [38] Lysanias, one of the four rulers, in Abilene; 203    Luke iii. 2.in the chief-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the command204    There is a very rare use of this Arabic word in the Hebrew sense of saying. of God went forth to John the son of Zacharias in the [39] desert.  205    Luke iii. 3.And he came into all the region which is about Jordan, proclaiming the [40] baptism of repentance unto206    So Vat. ms.  The Borg. ms. has with. the forgiveness of sins.  207    Matt. iii. 1b.And he was preaching in the [41] wilderness of Judæa, and saying, 208    Matt. iii. 2.Repent ye; the kingdom of heaven is come near.  [42] 209    Matt. iii. 3a.This is he that was spoken of in Isaiah the prophet,

The voice which crieth in the desert,

[43] 210    Luke iii. 4b.Prepare ye the way of the Lord,

And make straight in the plain, paths for our God.

[44] 211    Luke iii. 5.All the valleys shall become filled,

And all the mountains and hills shall become low;

And the rough shall become plain, And the difficult place, easy;

[45] 212    Luke iii. 6.And all flesh shall see the salvation213    See note on § 1, 78. of God.

[46] 214    John i. 7.This man came to bear witness, that he might bear witness to the light, that [47] every man might believe through his mediation.  215    John i. 8.He was not the light, but that he [48] might bear witness to the light, 216    John i. 9.which was the light of truth, that giveth light to [49] every man coming into the world.  217    John i. 10.He was in the world, and the world was made [50] by him, and the world knew [51] him not.  218    John i. 11.He came unto his own, and his own received him not.  219    John i. 12.And those who received him, to them gave he the power220    Or, authority. that they might [52] be sons of God,—those which believe in his name:  221    John i. 13.which were born, not of blood, [53] nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.  222    John i. 14.And the Word became flesh, and took up his abode among us; and we saw his glory as the glory [54] of the only Son from the Father, which is full of grace and equity.223    In Syr. this word also means truth.  224    John i. 15.John bare witness [Arabic, p. 14] of him, and cried, and said, This is he that I said cometh after me and [55] was before me, because he was before me.225    Or, earlier than I.  226    John i. 16.And of his fullness received [56] we all grace for grace.  227    John i. 17.For the law was given through the mediation of Moses, but truth and grace were228    i.e., came to be. through Jesus Christ.