ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Matthew 2.1

Book: Matthew · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV (ASV)

1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, Wise-men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

  1. Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we saw his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 3. And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. (Matthew 2:1-3, ASV)
WEB (WEB)

1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

  1. “Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.” 3. When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. (Matthew 2:1-3, WEB)
KJV (KJV)

1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

  1. Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 3. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. (Matthew 2:1-3, KJV)
YLT (YLT)

1. And Jesus having been born in Beth-Lehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, lo, mages from the east came to Jerusalem,

  1. saying, 'Where is he who was born king of the Jews? for we saw his star in the east, and we came to bow to him.' 3. And Herod the king having heard, was stirred, and all Jerusalem with him, (Matthew 2:1-3, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: the narrator (no direct speech in this verse)
  • Audience: Matthew's readers, a largely Jewish-Christian audience attentive to Old Testament fulfillment
  • Location: Bethlehem of Judea, and Jerusalem
  • Time period: the closing years of Herod the Great, c. 6 to 4 BC

Theological reading

The fathers drew sharp contrasts from the verse. Remigius notes its three markers: the person ("when Jesus was born"), the place ("in Bethlehem of Judaea"), and the time ("in the days of Herod the king"). Augustine sees in the magi "the first fruits of the Gentiles" (Sermon 202), the nations coming to worship Israel's king, while Rabanus identifies them as "the philosophers of the Chaldaeans," students of the nature of things rather than kings. Pseudo-Chrysostom explains Herod's fear: he "was troubled" at news of a King born of Jewish lineage, "lest he himself be expelled." The verse thus stages the meeting of the true Davidic king, born at Bethlehem as Micah 5:2 foretold, with Gentile worship on one side and threatened worldly power on the other.

Key words

  • Jesus (Iesous, G2424).
  • In the verse but not yet hubbed: magos (G3097, "magus, wise man," a Persian or Babylonian astronomer-priest, not a king) and Bethleem (G965), candidates for new lexicon entries.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.

Quoted in

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