The Meaning of Matthew 2:20 Explained

Matthew 2:20

KJV: Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.

YLT: saying, 'Having risen, take the child and his mother, and be going to the land of Israel, for they have died -- those seeking the life of the child.'

Darby: 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.

ASV: Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead that sought the young child's life.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Saying,  Arise,  and take  the young child  and  his  mother,  and  go  into  the land  of Israel:  for  they are dead  which  sought  the young child's  life. 

What does Matthew 2:20 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 2:16-23 - "out Of Egypt Did I Call My Son"
The death of those little children was very pathetic. From the first it seemed as though our Lord's advent would bring not peace, but the sword. Their mothers have long since been comforted, but it was a bitter experience. The little ones were the nucleus of the great attendant crowd "that follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth," Revelation 14:1-4.
They are dead that sought the young child's life. Such is the epitaph that may be written for those who have set themselves to oppose the cause of Christ. Voltaire's house in Geneva is now used as a Bible Society depot. Many of the books that made Christians tremble for the Ark, are to be found on the top shelves of second-hand libraries. There is no permanence in destructive criticism. The young child comes up out of Egypt. There is a sense in which the life of Jesus is the epitome of the story of Israel and the experience of each Christian. See that you do not linger in Egypt, but come up in the pathway of separation and consecration to His high purposes. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 2

1  The wise men from the east enquire after Jesus;
3  at which Herod is alarmed
9  They are directed by a star to Bethlehem, worship him, and offer their presents
13  Joseph flees into Egypt with Jesus and his mother
16  Herod slays the children;
20  himself dies
23  Jesus is brought back again into Galilee to Nazareth

Greek Commentary for Matthew 2:20

For they are dead [τετνηκασιν]
Only Herod had sought to kill the young child, but it is a general statement of a particular fact as is common with people who say: “They say.” The idiom may be suggested by Exodus 4:19: “For all are dead that sought thy life.” [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 2:20

Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures [μη τησαυριζετε υμιν τησαυρους]
Do not have this habit See note on Matthew 2:11 for the word “treasure.” Here there is a play on the word, “treasure not for yourselves treasures.” Same play in Matthew 2:20 with the cognate accusative. In both verses humin is dative of personal interest and is not reflexive, but the ordinary personal pronoun. Wycliff has it: “Do not treasure to you treasures.” [source]
Mark 12:30 Soul [ψυχῆς]
The word is often used in the New Testament in its original meaning of life. See Matthew 2:20; Matthew 20:28; Acts 20:10; Romans 11:3; John 10:11. Hence, as an emphatic designation of the man himself. See Matthew 12:18; Hebrews 10:38; Luke 21:19. So that the word denotes “life in the distinctness of individual existence” (Cremer). See further on ψυχικός , spiritual, 1 Corinthians 15:44. [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 2:20 mean?

saying Having arisen take the Child and the mother of Him go into [the] land of Israel they have died for those seeking life of the Child
λέγων Ἐγερθεὶς παράλαβε τὸ παιδίον καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ πορεύου εἰς γῆν Ἰσραήλ τεθνήκασιν γὰρ οἱ ζητοῦντες ψυχὴν τοῦ παιδίου

λέγων  saying 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
Ἐγερθεὶς  Having  arisen 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Passive, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἐγείρω  
Sense: to arouse, cause to rise.
παράλαβε  take 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: παραλαμβάνω  
Sense: to take to, to take with one’s self, to join to one’s self.
παιδίον  Child 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: παιδίον  
Sense: a young child, a little boy, a little girl.
μητέρα  mother 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: μήτηρ  
Sense: a mother.
αὐτοῦ  of  Him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
πορεύου  go 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Middle or Passive, 2nd Person Singular
Root: πορεύομαι  
Sense: to lead over, carry over, transfer.
εἰς  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: εἰς  
Sense: into, unto, to, towards, for, among.
γῆν  [the]  land 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: γῆ  
Sense: arable land.
Ἰσραήλ  of  Israel 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰσραήλ  
Sense: the name given to the patriarch Jacob (and borne by him in addition to his former name).
τεθνήκασιν  they  have  died 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: θνῄσκω  
Sense: to die, to be dead.
οἱ  those 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ζητοῦντες  seeking 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ζητέω  
Sense: to seek in order to find.
ψυχὴν  life 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ψυχή  
Sense: breath.
τοῦ  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Neuter Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
παιδίου  Child 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Singular
Root: παιδίον  
Sense: a young child, a little boy, a little girl.