virgin &c.), was fulfilled. The
mother of John the Baptist was [Luke 1.57.]
Elizabeth. The birth-place of
the Messiah had been indicated
[Matt. 2.5, 6.] by the prophecy of Micah (v. 2,
Bethlehem not the least among
the princes of Judah). There
He was born, as the Romans
might learn from the census
taken by Cyrenius the first
_procurator_ [Greek: [Luke 2.1, 2.]
epitropou] _of Judaea_.
His life extended from Cyrenius
to Pontius Pilate. So, in
consequence of this the first census
in Judaea, Joseph went up from
Nazareth where he dwelt to [Luke 2.4.]
Bethlehem _whence he was_, as a
member of the tribe of Judah.
The parents of Jesus could find
no lodging in Bethlehem, so it [Luke 2.7.]
came to pass that He was born
_in a cave near the village_ and
laid in a manger. At His birth [_ibid._]
[Matt. 2.1.] there came Magi _from Arabia_,
who knew by a star that had
appeared in the _heaven_ that a
[Matt. 2.2.] king had been born in Judaea.
Having paid Him their homage
[Matt. 2.11.] and offered gifts of gold, frankincense
and myrrh, they were
[Matt. 2.12.] warned not to return to Herod
[Matt. 2. 1-7.] whom they had consulted on
the way. He however not willing
that the Child should escape,
[Matt. 2.16.] ordered a massacre of _all_ the
children in Bethlehem, fulfilling
[Matt. 2.17, 18.] the prophecy of Jer. xxxi. 15
(Rachel weeping for her children &c.).
Joseph and his wife meanwhile
[Matt. 2.13-15.] with the Babe had fled
to Egypt, for the Father resolved
that He to whom He had
given birth should not die before
He had preached His word
as a man. There they stayed
[Matt. 2.22] until Archelaus succeeded Herod,
and then returned.

By process of nature He grew