Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

INNOCENTS, MASSACRE OF THE

A brief episode of male infanticide at Bethlehem recorded in the Infancy narrative in Matthew (Matt. 2:16-18). King Herod, duped by the astrologers from the East who are searching for the newborn king of the Jews, goes into a rage and kills all male children two years old and under in Bethlehem and the surrounding region. The 1st-century Jewish historian Josephus does not mention this specific incident, but does recount similar instances of Herod’s violence and paranoia (Ant. 16.11.7; 17.2.4; 6.5-6). Although there are strong OT antecedents (e.g., Pharaoh’s slaughter of the Hebrew male infants, Exod. 1:15-22; Rachel’s traditional burial ground in Bethlehem, Gen. 35:19; her strong matriarchal role in Israelite history as reflected in Matthew’s quote from Jer. 31:15; and Israel’s forced gathering point and deportation from Ramah into exile in Babylon, Jer. 31:15), no other Gospel writer includes this story.

Various Christian traditions claim that from 14 thousand to 144 thousand children were killed. Historians suggest, however, that because of the probable population of Bethlehem at the time, the resulting annual birthrate, and a high infant mortality rate, the total number could not have been more than 20 boys under the age of two. That figure makes the act no less heinous. The Feast of the Holy Innocents, celebrated on 28 December, celebrates the massacred baby boys as Christian martyrs and saints. The story has been useful to scholars in setting Jesus’ birth at 6 b.c.e., two years before Herod’s death. For Matthew’s purpose, the impending massacre prompts Joseph’s decision to flee to Egypt with Mary and Jesus, thus satisfying a theme of OT prophecy, i.e., “Out of Egypt I have called my son” (Matt. 2:15; Hos. 11:1; Exod. 4:22).

Bibliography. R. E. Brown, The Birth of the Messiah, rev. ed. (New York, 1993); U. Luz, Matthew 1-7 (Minneapolis, 1989).

Glenna S. Jackson

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

INNOCENTS, MASSACRE OF THE

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)