Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on Matthew 2:1
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
Now when Jesus was born, etc.] Several things are here related respecting the birth of Christ, as the place where he was born, in Bethlehem of Judea; so called to distinguish it from another Bethlehem in the tribe of Zabulon, (<061915>Joshua 19:15). Here Christ was to be born according to a prophecy hereafter mentioned, and accordingly the Jews expected he would be born here, (<400204>Matthew 2:4-6 <430741>John 7:41,42) and so Jesus was born here, (<420204>Luke 2:4-7) and this the Jews themselves acknowledge; “Such a year, says a noted f59 chronologer of theirs, Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem Juda, which is a “parsa” and a half, i.e. six miles, from Jerusalem.” Benjamin f60 Tudelensis says it is two parsas, i.e. eight miles, from it; and according to Justin Martyr f61 it was thirty five furlongs distant from it. Yea even they own this, that Jesus was born there, in that vile and blasphemous book f62 of theirs, written on purpose to defame him; nay, even the ancient Jews have owned that the Messiah is already born, and that he was born at Bethlehem; as appears from their Talmud f63, where we meet with such a passage. “It happened to a certain Jew, that as he was ploughing, one of his oxen bellowed; a certain Arabian passed by and heard it, who said, O Jew, Jew, loose thy oxen, and loose thy ploughshare, for lo, the house of the sanctuary is destroyed: it bellowed a second time; he said unto him, O Jew, Jew, bind thy oxen, and bind thy ploughshare, for lo ajyçm aklm dyly “the king Messiah is born”. He said to him, what is his name? Menachem (the comforter); he asked again, what is his father’s name? Hezekiah; once more he says, from whence is he? He replies hdwhy µjltyb aklm tryb ˆm “from the palace of the king of Bethlehem Judah”; he went and sold his oxen and his ploughshares, and became a seller of swaddling clothes for infants; and he went from city to city till he came to that city, (Bethlehem,) and all the women bought of him, but the mother of Menachem bought nothing.” Afterwards they tell you, he was snatched away by winds and tempests. This story is told in much the same manner in another f64 of their writings. Bethlehem signifies “the house of bread”, and in it was born, as an ancient writer f65 observes, the bread which comes down from heaven: and it may also signify “the house of flesh”, and to it the allusion may be in (<540316>1 Timothy 3:16) “God manifest in the flesh”. The time of Christ’s birth is here expressed, in the days of Herod the king. This was Herod the great, the first of that name: the Jewish chronologer f66 gives an account of him in the following manner. “Herod the first, called Herod the Ascalonite, was the son of Antipater, a friend of king Hyrcanus and his deputy; him the senate of Rome made king in the room of Hyrcanus his master. This Herod whilst he was a servant of king Hyrcanus (so in the f67 Talmud Herod is said to be anwmçj tybd adb[ a servant of the family of the Asmonaeans) king Hyrcanus saved from death, to which he was sentenced by the sanhedrim of Shammai; that they might not slay him for the murder of one Hezekiah, as is related by Josephus, l. 6. c. 44. and Herod took to him for wife Miriam, the daughter of Alexander the son of Aristobulus, who was the daughter’s daughter of king Hyrcanus.” This writer tacitly owns afterwards f68 that Jesus was born in the days of this king; for he says, that in the days of Hillell and Shammai (who lived in those times) there was one of their disc…
This public page shows a contextual excerpt from the locally available source text.
How to use this source
This excerpt is attributed to its named commentary. It is included as a historical study resource and should be evaluated in light of Scripture and other relevant evidence.
