“Then Herod,
when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent
forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts
thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had
diligently enquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken
by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation,
and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not
be comforted, because they are not”. (Mt. 2:16-18)
There are
Bible critics who make the claim that Herod could not have massacred the baby
boys of Bethlehem because the Jewish Historian Josephus failed to make
reference to King Herod committing this particular evil. But Josephus is not
the only first century historian, or source of what happened in first century
Judah. Matthew, the author of the gospel by his name, gives us a historical
account of the slaughter of the innocents by King Herod. The Holy Spirit
inspired Evangelist Matthew is much more trustworthy than a Jewish historian
writing 100 years after the said event. There was, by the way, a Roman
historian, Macrobius (c.a. 400 A.D.), that writes about Herod’s slaughter of
the Innocents.
THE SCOPE OF THE SLAUGHTER OF
INNOCENTS
Some
historians, even Christian historians, say that only a few children were slain
by King Herod because Bethlehem probably only had a population of about 1000
people, and therefore would have only had 10 to 30 two year old and under
children that could have been slain. But the scope of the slaughter appears
from the text of Matthew that it was not just the children in the little town
of Bethlehem that were in danger of King Herod’s edict. The text states that
the slaughter was not limited to the “little town of Bethlehem”, because it
bluntly reads that Herod “slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, AND in
all the coasts thereof” (KJV, 1599 Geneva, Wycliffe). In other translations we
read, “and the borders” (Young’s, Douay-Rheims, ASV, Aramaic Bible in Plain
English, Jubilee 2000, Darby, Webster’s); “and in the environs” (NASB, NAS
1977, ); “and in the region” (RSV, ISV ); “and in the vicinity” (NIV); “and in
all the districts” (NKJV, Phillips). We can see from these translations that
the massacre was not limited to the town of Bethlehem, but included a far
greater territory, as far as the coasts and/or borders of Judah.
“There appears
to be a hint in verse 18 as to what is being spoken of when we read, “AND in
all the coasts thereof”, or “AND in all the borders thereof”. Ramah, the city
of Jeremiah’s prophecy is located 5 miles north of Jerusalem (10 Miles north of
Bethlehem). Ramah is the city where Rachel lamented from. She was buried in
Bethlehem (Gen. 35:19). Ramah is a border town situated on the northern border
of the kingdom of Judah, and the southern border of the kingdom of Israel. Judah’s
borders ran from the east along the shores of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea
to the west at the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, some 30 miles; in the south
in the desert, and borders in the north, Samaria, some 55 miles. We also have a
hint from the prophecy of Micah as to the scope of Herod’s slaughter; “But
thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah…”
(Micah 5:2). Let us take note that the prophecy that Herod was made aware of by
the chief priests (Mt. 2:4-8) references Judah as the greater territory in
which the Messiah-King would be born. Micah, of course, names the very birthplace
of the Messiah, the little town of Bethlehem, and its 1000’s of villages
(hyperbolic or not). So it appears from the textual evidence that the slaughter
was not limited to “the little town of Bethlehem”, but spread all the way north
to Ramah on the border with the kingdom of Israel and quite possibly to the
remaining borders; west, south, and east.
An
interesting note is that Ramah was the city where Jewish captives were gathered
for deportation to Babylon (Jeremiah 40:1). Rachel, the wife of Jacob-Israel,
was the mother of Benjamin, whose tribe became part of the southern kingdom,
Judah. The city of Ramah was given to Benjamin by lots. So Rachel’s
descendants, her beloved children, after much suffering as captives, are now
suffering the slaughtering of Herod’s soldiers. Rachel weeps for her children.
So, exactly
how many children were slaughtered? According to the Tradition of the Ancient
Church, 14,000 children were slain. They are commemorated every year on
December 29. For me, this number is far more likely than the 6 or 10 children
as the modern scholars seem to prefer.
Luke 16:19-31 At death the soul and the body separate > The body sleeps in the grave, the soul is awake in its place - Here we see the reality of the departed, one in Paradise, the other in torment. > Christ slept the sleep of death!!! > Christ's promise to the thief on the cross!
Ephesians 4:9,10 St Paul reveals the mystery of what was happening with Christ between "the Cross and the Throne". There was 40 days between the Resurrection of Christ, where he raised up the Old Testament Saints from the graves(Matthew 27:52,53), and the Ascension of Christ where he ascended on high taking the saints with Him. Acts 1:2,3
Acts 2:22-32 St Peter's sermon on Pentecost Sunday reveals that Christ fulfilled the Old Testament Messianic prophecies. Jesus divine body did not, could not, see corruption(Acts 13:37). And Jesus soul could not, was not, left in Hades(Psalm 16:10) The Lord's body would undo the laws of corruption and would prove death powerless. 
