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Wesley's New Testament
Matthew 2:4
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
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So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Christ would be born.
And when he had gathered all the chiefe Priests and Scribes of the people together, hee demanded of them where Christ should be borne.
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
Herod called a meeting of all the leading priests and teachers of the law and asked them where the Christ would be born.
So he called together all the chief priests and scribes of the people and [anxiously] asked them where the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) was to be born.
And gathering together all the chiefe Priestes and Scribes of the people, hee asked of them, where Christ should be borne.
Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he was inquiring of them where the Christ was to be born.
When he had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired where the Christ was to be born.
Herod brought together the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses and asked them, "Where will the Messiah be born?"
He called together all the head cohanim and Torah-teachers of the people and asked them, "Where will the Messiah be born?"
and, assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born.
Herod called a meeting of all the leading Jewish priests and teachers of the law. He asked them where the Messiah would be born.
So he gathered together all the high priests and the scribes of the people, and he kept asking them, where the Christ would be born?
He called together all the chief priests and the teachers of the Law and asked them, "Where will the Messiah be born?"
and after calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired from them where the Christ was to be born.
And having gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked of them where the Christ was to be born.
And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born.
And he got together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, questioning them as to where the birth-place of the Christ would be.
Gathering together all the chief Kohanim and Sofrim of the people, he asked them where the Messiah would be born.
He called together all the high priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Christ[fn] was to be born.2 Chronicles 34:13; 36:14; Malachi 2:7;">[xr]
And he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, and anxiously inquired of them where the Meshicha should be born.
And he assembled all the chiefs of the priests and the scribes of the people, and inquired of them, Where is the birthplace of the Messiah?
And when he hadde gathered all the chiefe Priestes and Scribes of the people together, he demaunded of them where Christe shoulde be borne.
And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born.
Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ would be born.
So he assembled all the High Priests and Scribes of the people, and anxiously asked them where the Christ was to be born.
And he gaderide to gidre alle the prynces of prestis, and scribis of the puple, and enqueride of hem, where Crist shulde be borun.
And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born.
And when he had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where Christ should be born.
After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, "Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?"
He called together all the religious leaders of the Jews and the teachers of the Law. Herod asked them where Christ was to be born.
and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
and, assembling all the high-priests and scribes of the people, he was enquiring of them - Where is, the Christ, to be born?
And assembling together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where Christ should be born.
and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
and he gathered all ye chefe Prestes and Scribes of the people and axed of them where Christ shulde be borne.
and having gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he was inquiring from them where the Christ is born.
and he gathered all the hye Prestes and Scribes of ye people, & axed of them, where Christ shulde be borne.
and having assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he enquired of them where Christ was to be born.
He gathered up every person who worked around there had a lick of sense and asked 'em where the Christ was to be born.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
the chief: Matthew 21:15, Matthew 21:23, Matthew 26:3, Matthew 26:47, Matthew 27:1, 1 Chronicles 24:4-19, 2 Chronicles 36:14, Ezra 10:5, Nehemiah 12:7, Psalms 2:2, John 7:32, John 18:3
scribes: Matthew 7:29, Matthew 13:52, 2 Chronicles 34:13, 2 Chronicles 34:15, Ezra 7:6, Ezra 7:11, Ezra 7:12, Jeremiah 8:8, Mark 8:31, Luke 20:19, Luke 23:10, John 8:3, Acts 4:5, Acts 6:12, Acts 23:9
he demanded: Malachi 2:7, John 3:10
Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 6:2 - called 2 Kings 6:13 - spy where 2 Chronicles 15:3 - a teaching Psalms 62:4 - consult Matthew 22:42 - What
Cross-References
John to the seven churches which are in Asia; Grace be unto you, and peace from him who is, and who was, and who cometh, and from the seven Spirits that are before the throne,
Yea. Amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who cometh, the Almighty.
Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who is, and who was, because thou hast taken thy great power, and hast reigned.
And I heard the angel of the waters saying, Righteous art thou, who art, and who wast, the Gracious one, because thou hast judged thus.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And when he had gathered all the chief priests,.... Here we have an account of Herod's conduct at this juncture; he calls a council, assembles the sanhedrim, gathers together the more learned persons in the city to consult with them upon this matter,
the chief priests, all of which he gathered together, and which seem to be many; and were not only the then present high priest and his substitutes, but all the principal persons of the priesthood, who were chosen from the rest, into the great sanhedrim, or council: and by
the scribes of the people are meant a sort of letter learned men, whose business it was to keep and write out copies of the law, and other things, for "the people"; they were the fathers of the traditions, and interpreters of the law to them; and therefore are called "the scribes of the people": as well also, because they were chosen from among the people, from any other tribe, and not from the tribe of Levi, from whom the priests were; so that one seems to design the "clergy", and the other the laity, in this assembly. The Septuagint render שוטרים "the officers of the people", by this same word the scribes, and scribes of the people, in Numbers 11:16 Joshua 1:10. The learned Dr. Lightfoot x conjectures, that the persons of note, who were present at this time, were Hillell the president of the council, Shammai the vice president, the sons of Betira, Judah and Joshua, Bava ben Buta, Jonathan ben Uzziel, the Chaldee paraphrast, and Simeon the son of Hillell.
He demanded of them, or asked them with authority, as the chief captain did, Acts 21:33 "where Christ", ο χριστος, the Christ, the Messiah
should be born? that is, where was the place of his birth as fixed in their prophecies, where, accordingly, they believed and expected he would be born. Herod's pretence, no doubt, in putting this question was, that he might be able to satisfy the wise men of the East about this matter; though the true reason within himself was, that he might know where this new born king was, in order to destroy him.
x Vol. II. p. 111.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
The chief priests - By the chief priests here are meant not only the high priest and his deputy, but. also the heads or chiefs of the 24 classes into which David had divided the sacerdotal families, 1 Chronicles 23:6; 1 Chronicles 24:0; 2 Chronicles 8:14; Ezra 8:24.
Scribes - By the scribes, in the New Testament, are meant learned men; men skilled in the law, or the lawyers of the nation. They kept the records of the Courts of justice, the registers of the synagogues, wrote articles of contract and sale, bills of divorce, etc. They were also called lawyers, Matthew 22:35, and doctor’s of the law, Luke 5:17. They were called scribes. from the fact of their writing the public records. They were not, however, a religious sect, but might be either Pharisees or Sadducees. By the chief priests and scribes here mentioned is denoted the Sanhedrin or great council of the nation. This was composed of 72 men, who had the charge of the civil and religious affairs of the Jews. On this occasion Herod, in alarm, called them together, professedly to make inquiry respecting the birth of the Messiah.
Demanded of them - Inquired, or asked of them. As they were the learned men of the nation, and as it was their business to study and explain the Old Testament, they were presumed to know what the prophecies had declared on that point. His object was to ascertain from prophecy where he was born, that he might put him to death, and thus calm the anxieties of his own mind. He seems not to have had any doubt about the time when he would be born. He was satisfied that the time had come.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Matthew 2:4. The chief priests — Not only the high priest for the time being, called כהן הראש cohen ha-rosh, 2 Kings 25:18, and his deputy, called כהן משנה cohen mishneh, with those who had formerly borne the high priest's office; but also, the chiefs or heads of the twenty four sacerdotal families, which David distributed into so many courses, 1 Chronicles 24:0. These latter are styled סרי הכהנים sarey ha-cohanim, chief of the priests, 2 Chronicles 36:14; Ezra 8:24; and ראשי הכהנים roshey ha-cohanim, heads of the priests, Nehemiah 12:7. Josephus calls them by the same name as the writers of the New Testament. In his Life, sect. 8, he mentions πολλους - των αρχιερεων, MANY of the chief priests. The word is used in the singular in this last sense, for a chief of the priests, Acts 19:14.
Scribes — The word γραμματευς, in the Septuagint, is used for a political officer, whose business it was to assist kings and civil magistrates, and to keep an account in writing of public acts and occurrences. Such an officer is called in Hebrew ספר המלך seper hamelech, ὁ γραμματευς του βασιλεως, the king's scribe, or secretary. See LXX. 2 Kings 12:10.
The word is often used by the LXX. for a man of learning, especially for one skilled in the Mosaic law: and, in the same sense, it is used by the New Testament writers. γραμματευς is therefore to be understood as always implying a man of letters, or learning, capable of instructing the people. The derivation of the names proves this to be the genuine meaning of the word γραμμα: a letter, or character, in writing: or γραμματα, letters, learning, erudition, and especially that gained from books. The Hebrew ספר or סופר sopher, from saphar, to tell, count, cypher, signifies both a book, volume, roll, c., and a notary, recorder, or historian and always signifies a man of learning. We often term such a person a man of letters.
The word is used Acts 19:35, for a civil magistrate at Ephesus, probably such a one as we would term recorder. It appears that Herod at this time gathered the whole Sanhedrin, in order to get the fullest information on a subject by which all his jealous fears had been alarmed.
