When Did Jesus Go to Egypt?

[Wick Stick]

Is there a contradiction in the story of Jesus as a child?
One story says they fled to Egypt after the Magi left. Another story says they took Jesus
to the Temple in Jerusalem to be circumcised on the eighth day. ???

Matthew 2:7-15 NIV
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them
the exact time the star had appeared.
8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child.
As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way,
and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them
until it stopped over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
11 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod,
they returned to their country by another route.
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.
“Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.
Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,
15 where he stayed until the death of Herod.
And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet:
“Out of Egypt I called my son.”[a]

Luke 2:21-23 NIV
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child,
he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses,
Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord,
“Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”[a]),

[

As nearly as I can figure, the Magi showed up at the Jewish capital because that's where they expected the newborn king to be. Can you imagine how awkward that conversation was?

Guard: Sire, there are 3 magicians requesting an audience
Herod: Ok, show them in
Melchior: Greetings, O King, and let me offer my congratulations!
Herod: Uh... thank you? (confused)
Balthazar: Sire, we have brought gifts to celebrate the birth of the new king
Herod: What new king?!?
Gaspar: Why, the one foretold in the stars themselves! Is not your son here in your palaces?
Herod: (long awkward silence)
Balthazar: (nervous laughter) Do you know where the heir might be?
Herod: Our prophecies foretell a Messiah to be born in Bethlehem... perhaps you should seek him there. (glances around furtively) And when you find him... come tell me, so that I can mu... worship him.
All 3 Magi: (look at each other in horror)
Gaspar: Yes, your majesty, we'll be sure to do... that.
[Magi exit Herod's court]
Melchior: So, to Bethlehem, then?
Balthazar: Perhaps we should follow the star instead.

 

[Jack]

Is there a contradiction in the story of Jesus as a child?
One story says they fled to Egypt after the Magi left. Another story says they took Jesus
to the Temple in Jerusalem to be circumcised on the eighth day. ???

Matthew 2:7-15 NIV
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them
the exact time the star had appeared.
8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child.
As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way,
and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them
until it stopped over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
11 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod,
they returned to their country by another route.
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.
“Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.
Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,
15 where he stayed until the death of Herod.
And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet:
“Out of Egypt I called my son.”[a]

Luke 2:21-23 NIV
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child,
he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses,
Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord,
“Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”[a]),

[

Is attacking the Bible just like the Devil, the only thing you have to do with your life?

 

[David Lamb]

As nearly as I can figure, the Magi showed up at the Jewish capital because that's where they expected the newborn king to be. Can you imagine how awkward that conversation was?

Guard: Sire, there are 3 magicians requesting an audience
Herod: Ok, show them in
Melchior: Greetings, O King, and let me offer my congratulations!
Herod: Uh... thank you? (confused)
Balthazar: Sire, we have brought gifts to celebrate the birth of the new king
Herod: What new king?!?
Gaspar: Why, the one foretold in the stars themselves! Is not your son here in your palaces?
Herod: (long awkward silence)
Balthazar: (nervous laughter) Do you know where the heir might be?
Herod: Our prophecies foretell a Messiah to be born in Bethlehem... perhaps you should seek him there. (glances around furtively) And when you find him... come tell me, so that I can mu... worship him.
All 3 Magi: (look at each other in horror)
Gaspar: Yes, your majesty, we'll be sure to do... that.
[Magi exit Herod's court]
Melchior: So, to Bethlehem, then?
Balthazar: Perhaps we should follow the star instead.

I agree that they arrived at Jerusalem because that is where they expected a new-born king to be. This shows that God didn't guide them by the star all the way from their home in the East. They said to Herod, "We have seen His star in the East," not "We have followed His star from the East." So their conversation would not have included, "Perhaps we should follow the star instead." The star only went before them after they had left Herod's palace:

“When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.” (Mt 2:9 NKJV)

The bible does not tell us how many wise men there were, or their names.

 

[St. SteVen]

I wonder what kind of star can be followed and how it could point to a specific location.

[

 

[quietthinker]

Is attacking the Bible just like the Devil, the only thing you have to do with your life?

Having sacralised the Bible Jack, you have made yourself an idol....no different than Muslims do with the Koran.
Inability to see intent creates a spot focus on literal.
You must live in perpetual fear as you know you do not measure up. I am sorry for that.

 

[Jack]

Having sacralised the Bible Jack, you have made yourself an idol....no different than Muslims do with the Koran.
Inability to see intent creates a spot focus on literal.
You must live in perpetual fear as you know you do not measure up. I am sorry for that.

So you're still upset because I pointed out YOUR Bible attacks on Jesus?

 

[Behold]

Is attacking the Bible just like the Devil, the only thing you have to do with your life?

Its not the only thing He does.
One of the other things he does, is lie to unbelievers, by tellihg them that everyone is saved in the end.
And this way he can lead then into Hell. as that is what His false Gospel of "UNIVERSALISM"....does to unbelievers who believe it.

 

[Jack]

Its not the only thing He does.
One of the other things he does, is lie to unbeliever, by tellihg them that everyone is saved.
And this way he can lead then into Hell. as that is what His false Gospel of "UNIVERSALISM"....does to unbelievers who believe it.

He seems to LOVE attacking the Christian Bible. Just like the Devil.

 

[Behold]

I wonder what kind of star can be followed and how it could point to a specific location.

What kind of star can be followed, and how could it point to a specific location. ????

A.) "with God all things are possible".

So, even you can perhaps realize that if God created the Cosmos... .hung the stars, created our planet and every living thing on it, originally, then pasting one specific star in the Sky. as a beacon of light.....is really not a big deal for God.

You're not a student of the bible, having "read it once" you told us.........but had you paid attention that one time.....then you would have read that God led the Jews out of Egypt with a sign in the sky.

 

[quietthinker]

So you're still upset because I pointed out YOUR Bible attacks on Jesus?

It is unfortunate Jack that your narrative takes the above line.....but I guess that's what delusion does. It distorts by misplacing the focus.

 

[Jack]

It is unfortunate Jack that your narrative takes the above line.....but I guess that's what delusion does. It distorts by misplacing the focus.

Oh you don't want to talk about your Bible attacks on Jesus?

 

[quietthinker]

Oh you don't want to talk about your Bible attacks on Jesus?

When Jesus said to the Pharisees, 'destroy this temple and I will raise it in three days' their deliberate short sighted attitude disabled their ability to see beyond their erroneous conclusions. This pronouncement of Jesus was then used to to accuse Jesus.
See to it you don't join their ranks!

 

[St. SteVen]

When Did Jesus Go to Egypt?​

Is there a contradiction in the story of Jesus as a child?
One story says they fled to Egypt after the Magi left. Another story says they took Jesus
to the Temple in Jerusalem to be circumcised on the eighth day. ???

Matthew 2:7-15 NIV
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them
the exact time the star had appeared.
8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child.
As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way,
and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them
until it stopped over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
11 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod,
they returned to their country by another route.
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.
“Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.
Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,
15 where he stayed until the death of Herod.
And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet:
“Out of Egypt I called my son.”[a]

Luke 2:21-23 NIV
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child,
he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses,
Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord,
“Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”[a]),

 

[Jack]

When Jesus said to the Pharisees, 'destroy this temple and I will raise it in three days' their deliberate short sighted attitude disabled their ability to see beyond their erroneous conclusions. This pronouncement of Jesus was then used to to accuse Jesus.
See to it you don't join their ranks!

Nice evasion!

 

[David Lamb]

When Did Jesus Go to Egypt?​

Is there a contradiction in the story of Jesus as a child?
One story says they fled to Egypt after the Magi left. Another story says they took Jesus
to the Temple in Jerusalem to be circumcised on the eighth day. ???

Matthew 2:7-15 NIV
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them
the exact time the star had appeared.
8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child.
As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way,
and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them
until it stopped over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
11 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod,
they returned to their country by another route.
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.
“Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.
Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,
15 where he stayed until the death of Herod.
And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet:
“Out of Egypt I called my son.”[a]

Luke 2:21-23 NIV
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child,
he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses,
Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord,
“Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”[a]),

No contradiction. The circumcision took place on the 8th day after His birth. The visit of the wise men took place up to 2 years after His birth, which is why we read:

“Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.” (Mt 2:16 NKJV)

 

[shepherdsword]

A good thread for this time of year. I haven't read the entire thread so my opinion may have been already been expressed. I think Jesus was close to two years old when he was taken to Egypt.

Mt 2:10-14
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

The greek uses "παιδίον" which can be translated as "infant" or young child. I go with the "young child" translation because Herod murdered all children two years and younger.

 

[Jack]

No contradiction. The circumcision took place on the 8th day after His birth. The visit of the wise men took place up to 2 years after His birth, which is why we read:

“Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.” (Mt 2:16 NKJV)

STV said he doesn't trust the Bible. So he sees lots of contradictions that aren't there.

 

[Wick Stick]

When Did Jesus Go to Egypt?​

Is there a contradiction in the story of Jesus as a child?
One story says they fled to Egypt after the Magi left. Another story says they took Jesus
to the Temple in Jerusalem to be circumcised on the eighth day. ???

Matthew 2:7-15 NIV
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them
the exact time the star had appeared.
8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child.
As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way,
and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them
until it stopped over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
11 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod,
they returned to their country by another route.
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.
“Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.
Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,
15 where he stayed until the death of Herod.
And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet:
“Out of Egypt I called my son.”[a]

Luke 2:21-23 NIV
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child,
he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses,
Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord,
“Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”[a]),

According to the Infancy Gospel of James (yes, yes, not a canonical book), the Magi found Jesus while He was still at Bethlehem:

21. And, behold, Joseph was ready to go into Judaea. And there was a great commotion in Bethlehem of Judaea, for Magi came, saying: Where is he that is born king of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him. And when Herod heard, he was much disturbed, and sent officers to the Magi. And he sent for the priests, and examined them, saying: How is it written about the Christ? where is He to be born? And they said: In Bethlehem of Judaea, for so it is written. And he sent them away. And he examined the Magi, saying to them: What sign have you seen in reference to the king that has been born? And the Magi said: We have seen a star of great size shining among these stars, and obscuring their light, so that the stars did not appear; and we thus knew that a king has been born to Israel, and we have come to worship him. And Herod said: Go and seek him; and if you find him, let me know, in order that I also may go and worship him. And the Magi went out. And, behold, the star which they had seen in the east went before them until they came to the cave, and it stood over the top of the cave. And the Magi saw the infant with His mother Mary; and they brought forth from their bag gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned by the angel not to go into Judaea, they went into their own country by another road.

Infancy Gospel of James, or Protevangelium (Roberts-Donaldson translation)

 

[St. SteVen]

And, behold, the star which they had seen in the east went before them until they came to the cave,

Thanks for your post.
I have always been curious about how one could follow a star to an exact location.

 

[quietthinker]

Thanks for your post.
I have always been curious about how one could follow a star to an exact location.

The Star.....a band of angels? It clearly must be in closer proximity to earth to get a precise visual fix than other heavenly bodies.
Is it even those self same band of angels that appeared and sang to the shepherds?