Matthew 1:24

24 And Joseph, [when he]^[a] woke up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and he took his wife

Matthew 1:24 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 1:24

Then Joseph being raised from sleep
That is, being awaked out of sleep, (tou upnou) "that sleep", into which he either naturally fell, whilst he was meditating on the affair of Mary's being with child; or rather into which he was cast by the Lord, on purpose that he might have a revelation of the will of God to him in a dream; and rising up from his bed or place where he was, immediately and without any delay,

did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him;
firmly believing that it was a messenger of God that was sent to him, and that this matter was of the Lord. Wherefore he

took unto him his wife,
that is, he publicly married her, whom he had before espoused, took her to his house, or continued her there, lived with her as his wife, and owned her to be such, and henceforwards had no more thoughts of putting her away.

Matthew 1:24 In-Context

22 Now all this happened in order that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,

23 "Behold, the virgin {will become pregnant} and will give birth to a son, and they will call his name Emmanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

24 And Joseph, [when he] woke up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and he took his wife

25 and {did not have sexual relations with} her until she gave birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Footnotes

• [a]. *Here "when" is supplied as a component of the participle ("woke up") which is understood as temporal