Matthew 2:21

21 And he arose and took to [him] the little child and its mother, and came into the land of Israel;

Matthew 2:21 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 2:21

And he arose and took the young child and his mother
He exactly conformed in every circumstance to the orders given him, with respect to the persons he took, the place he went to, and the expeditiousness of doing it; and is an example of ready and cheerful obedience to the commands of God, worthy of imitation. We may learn from hence, as well as from some other instances already met with, a reason among others, why, though Mary was a virgin, and even if she was to continue so, yet she must be espoused to Joseph as her husband; that she might have one to take care of her and her young child, and be a means, under God, of preserving, protecting, and providing for them.

Matthew 2:21 In-Context

19 But Herod having died, behold, an angel of [the] Lord appears in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,

20 Arise, take to [thee] the little child and its mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they who sought the life of the little child are dead.

21 And he arose and took to [him] the little child and its mother, and came into the land of Israel;

22 but having heard that 'Archelaus reigns over Judaea, instead of Herod his father,' he was afraid to go there; and having been divinely instructed in a dream, he went away into the parts of Galilee,

23 and came and dwelt in a town called Nazareth; so that that should be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets, He shall be called a Nazaraean.