The Source of the Story of the Killing of the Children in Bethlehem

Chapter III

Section IV

The Texts that were attributed directly to the Old Testament in the Gospels

In this section we will examine the texts of the Old Testament that were attributed directly to it, and the Gospels authors said that they have not been fulfilled, and achieved only in Jesus and his time and his generation, to find out what is the truth and the reality of them, and if the Gospels authors have told the truth or not.

4 - The Source of the Story of the Killing of the Children in Bethlehem

Matthew 2:16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.

Matthew 2:17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

Matthew 2:18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more."

In this text Matthew writes the story of killing the children in Bethlehem by Herod, and says; then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, then he wrote "A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more". And here I will not talk about the reality of this story, especially it was not mentioned by any one of the historians of the first century, such as Flavius Josephus and Philo of Alexandria, but I will talk on the text of Jeremiah subjectively and objectively, to find out if it had been fulfilled at Herod's time as Matthew said or not.

This text is written in chapter thirty-one according to the Old Testament in the King James Version and the Hebrew Version, etc., and in chapter thirty-eight according to the Septuagint Version and this chapter is an extension to the chapter thirty, which begins as follows:

Jeremiah 30:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

Jeremiah 30:2 "Thus speaks the LORD God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you.

Jeremiah 30:3 ‘For behold, the days are coming’, says the LORD, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah’, says the LORD. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it’."

In these paragraphs the Lord asked Jeremiah to write all the words that we will read in the next two chapters, and begins saying that the Lord will bring the children of Israel back from captivity and restore them to the Holy Land, and this indicates that the text talks about a particular time after returning from captivity, and then we read the following text:

Jeremiah 30:8 ‘For it shall come to pass in that day’, Says the LORD of hosts, ‘That I will break his yoke from your neck, And will burst your bonds; Foreigners shall no more enslave them.

Jeremiah 30:9 But they shall serve the LORD their God, And David their king, Whom I will raise up for them.

These paragraphs talk about what will the situation be after the return of the Jews from captivity, and this certainly does not indicate to the Jews in the time of Herod and Jesus, because they were at that time under the Roman Rule, then we read the following text:

Jeremiah 30:10 ‘Therefore do not fear, O My servant Jacob’, says the LORD, ‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel; For behold, I will save you from afar, And your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, And no one shall make him afraid.

This paragraph confirms that the chapter talks about the return of Jews from captivity, and then we read the following text:

Jeremiah 30:18 "Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents, And have mercy on his dwelling places; The city shall be built upon its own mound, And the palace shall remain according to its own plan.

This text also talks about the return of the Jews from captivity, and rebuild Jerusalem, and then we read the following text:

Jeremiah 30:21 Their nobles shall be from among them, And their governor shall come from their midst; Then I will cause him to draw near, And he shall approach Me; For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me’? says the LORD.

This text says that at that time the governor will be from the Jews, and this does not apply to the Jews in the time of the birth of Jesus, because Herod was not a Jew! From these paragraphs, we find that this chapter speaks about the Jews after their return from captivity, then starts the chapter thirty-one, which begins by saying "At the same time", which indicates that this chapter talks about the same period that was talking about it in the chapter thirty, the following is the whole chapter, and then I will discuss the paragraphs one by one to find out if it was talking about the time of Jesus and Herod who killed the children of Bethlehem as Matthew claimed, or was talking about things occurred before hundreds of years of the birth of Jesus.

Jeremiah 31:1 "At the same time," says the LORD, "I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people."

Jeremiah 31:2 Thus says the LORD: "The people who survived the sword Found grace in the wilderness — Israel, when I went to give him rest."

Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

Jeremiah 31:4 Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.

Jeremiah 31:5 You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria; The planters shall plant and eat them as ordinary food.

Jeremiah 31:6 For there shall be a day When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, To the LORD our God’."

Jeremiah 31:7 For thus says the LORD: "Sing with gladness for Jacob, And shout among the chief of the nations; Proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘O LORD, save Your people, The remnant of Israel’!

Jeremiah 31:8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, And gather them from the ends of the earth, Among them the blind and the lame, The woman with child And the one who labors with child, together; A great throng shall return there.

Jeremiah 31:9 They shall come with weeping, And with supplications I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, In a straight way in which they shall not stumble; For I am a Father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.

Jeremiah 31:10 "Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, And declare it in the isles afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, And keep him as a shepherd does his flock’.

Jeremiah 31:11 For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, And ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he.

Jeremiah 31:12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, Streaming to the goodness of the LORD — For wheat and new wine and oil, For the young of the flock and the herd; Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, And they shall sorrow no more at all.

Jeremiah 31:13 "Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, And the young men and the old, together; For I will turn their mourning to joy, Will comfort them, And make them rejoice rather than sorrow.

Jeremiah 31:14 I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD."

Jeremiah 31:15 Thus says the LORD: "A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more."

Jeremiah 31:16 Thus says the LORD: "Refrain your voice from weeping, And your eyes from tears; For your work shall be rewarded, says the LORD, And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.

Jeremiah 31:17 There is hope in your future, says the LORD, That your children shall come back to their own border.

Jeremiah 31:18 "I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself: ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, Like an untrained bull; Restore me, and I will return, For You are the LORD my God.

Jeremiah 31:19 Surely, after my turning, I repented; And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh; I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated, Because I bore the reproach of my youth’.

Jeremiah 31:20 Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For though I spoke against him, I earnestly remember him still; Therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:21 "Set up signposts, Make landmarks; Set your heart toward the highway, The way in which you went. Turn back, O virgin of Israel, Turn back to these your cities.

Jeremiah 31:22 How long will you gad about, O you backsliding daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the earth — A woman shall encompass a man."

Jeremiah 31:23 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: ‘The LORD bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness’!

Jeremiah 31:24 "And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks.

Jeremiah 31:25 "For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul."

Jer 31:26 After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was sweet to me.

Jeremiah 31:27 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast.

Jeremiah 31:28 "And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:29 "In those days they shall say no more: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge’.

Jeremiah 31:30 "But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

Jeremiah 31:31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah —

Jeremiah 31:32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Jeremiah 31:34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD’, for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

Jeremiah 31:35 Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The LORD of hosts is His name):

Jeremiah 31:36 "If those ordinances depart From before Me, says the LORD, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever."

Jeremiah 31:37 Thus says the LORD: "If heaven above can be measured, And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel For all that they have done, says the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:38 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that the city shall be built for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

Jeremiah 31:39 "The surveyor’s line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath.

Jeremiah 31:40 "And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the LORD. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever."

This chapter begins, as we read, with the following paragraph:

Jeremiah 31:1 "At the same time," says the LORD, "I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people."

And this was not the case of the Jews in the time of Herod, as well as later, from the point of view of the churches, for they did not believe in Jesus, and crucified him, as is written in the Gospels.

Jeremiah 31:4 Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.

This verse says that the LORD will build Jerusalem and it shall be rebuilt, and this did not happen in Jesus' time, but has happened opposite of this, because the city was destroyed in 70 A.D, which indicates that the chapter was not talking about Jesus' time.

Jeremiah 31:7 For thus says the LORD: "Sing with gladness for Jacob, And shout among the chief of the nations; Proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘O LORD, save Your people, The remnant of Israel’!

This verse talks about saving the remnant of Israel, which did not happen in the time of Jesus, whether from Romans because he refused to be king to save them from the Romans, (John 6:15), and he asked them to give to Caesar what he wants, (Matthew 22:15-22), or from their sins, because when they crucified him have got sins more than before, and as a result of the crucifixion Jerusalem and the Temple have been destroyed as the churches say, and this refers that the chapter was not talking about Jesus. 

Jeremiah 31:8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, And gather them from the ends of the earth, Among them the blind and the lame, The woman with child And the one who labors with child, together; A great throng shall return there.

This paragraph has not been achieved in the time of Jesus, because the Gospels did not tell us that the Jews came from the North Country, including the blind and the lame, the woman with child and the one who labors with child!

And this indicates that the chapter was not talking about the time of Jesus.

Jeremiah 31:9 They shall come with weeping, And with supplications I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, In a straight way in which they shall not stumble; For I am a Father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.

This paragraph talks on the return of the children of Israel to the Holy Land, which was not achieved in the time of Jesus! And also says that the LORD is a father to Israel, and Ephraim is his firstborn, and this saying will cause problems in the faith of the churches, because it says that Ephraim is firstborn of the LORD, which shows that the saying of the churches about Jesus that he is the firstborn of the LORD is wrong, because Ephraim was before Jesus, whether meant a man or a tribe, and the churches could not say that it refers to Jesus, because Jesus belong to Judah's tribe, which confirms that this chapter was not talking about the time of Jesus.

Jeremiah 31:10 "Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, And declare it in the isles afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, And keep him as a shepherd does his flock’.

Jeremiah 31:11 For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, And ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he.

Jeremiah 31:12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, Streaming to the goodness of the LORD — For wheat and new wine and oil, For the young of the flock and the herd; Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, And they shall sorrow no more at all.

Jeremiah 31:13 "Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, And the young men and the old, together; For I will turn their mourning to joy, Will comfort them, And make them rejoice rather than sorrow.

Jeremiah 31:14 I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD."

These paragraphs say that the LORD will gather Israel and keep them, which have not been achieved in the time of Jesus, and this indicates that the chapter was not talking about Jesus or Herod.

Then we read the paragraphs that cited by Matthew to confirm the truth and the reality of his story, which are as follows:

Jeremiah 31:15 Thus says the LORD: "A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more."

Jeremiah 31:16 Thus says the LORD: "Refrain your voice from weeping, And your eyes from tears; For your work shall be rewarded, says the LORD, And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.

Jeremiah 31:17 There is hope in your future, says the LORD, That your children shall come back to their own border.

In fact, if we read this text carefully, we find it includes to two things. The first is the weeping of Rachel for her children. The second is the return of her children to their own border, and this is true if we say that the text talks about the captivity of the children of Rachel by Assyrians and then return from captivity, which appears clearly in the second paragraph by saying "says the LORD that your children shall come back to their own border", which happened with the children of Rachel, because they have been deported to Assyria and return to the Holy Land (2 Kings 18:9-12). Yet if we say that it talks about Jesus and the killing of the children of Bethlehem by Herod, will face two problems. The first is that those children did not return from the land of the enemy to their border, because the Gospels did not tell us that those children have been resurrected from the dead in the time of Jesus or later. The second is that the text talks about the children of Rachel and the tribe of Ephraim, and this tribe was not living in Bethlehem, because it was inheritance of the tribe of Judah, as Luke mentioned why Joseph the carpenter went to Bethlehem before the birth of Jesus, (Luke 2:1-6), so Rachel has no children at that time to weep them, and what confirms that the talk was on the tribe of Ephraim, not on the tribe of Judah is the next paragraphs, which are as follows:

Jeremiah 31:18 "I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself: ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, Like an untrained bull; Restore me, and I will return, For You are the LORD my God.

Jeremiah 31:19 Surely, after my turning, I repented; And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh; I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated, Because I bore the reproach of my youth’.

Jeremiah 31:20 Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For though I spoke against him, I earnestly remember him still; Therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says the LORD.

These paragraphs talk about Ephraim, and he is dear son, and he returned to the LORD, and repented, and the Lord will surely has mercy on him, and this is a clear evidence that the text talks about the tribe of Ephraim, not as Matthew tried to say that it was talking about the killing of the children of Bethlehem by Herod, which is not mentioned in any historical source in the first century A.D.

Then we read the following paragraphs:

Jeremiah 31:21 "Set up signposts, Make landmarks; Set your heart toward the highway, The way in which you went. Turn back, O virgin of Israel, Turn back to these your cities.

Jeremiah 31:22 How long will you gad about, O you backsliding daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the earth — A woman shall encompass a man."

Jeremiah 31:23 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: ‘The LORD bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness’!

Jeremiah 31:24 "And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks.

Jeremiah 31:25 "For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul."

Jeremiah 31:26 After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was sweet to me.

Jeremiah 31:27 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast.

Jeremiah 31:28 "And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the LORD.

In these paragraphs the Lord says that the children of Israel will return to their cities after the captivity, and they shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when He brings back their captivity: "the LORD bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness", and this was not the case of the Jews at Jesus' time, whether in the time of his birth or during his life, but they were under the Roman Rule, thus these paragraphs certainly do not talk about the time of Jesus.

Then we read the following paragraphs:

Jeremiah 31:29 "In those days they shall say no more: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge’.

Jeremiah 31:30 "But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

These paragraphs show clearly that the text does not talk about the time of Jesus, because it says that man does not bear the iniquity of his father, and since the time of Jesus; began talking that man is born with the sin of his father, i.e., Adam, and here I will not talk about the original sin doctrine in the faith of the churches, but certainly that this doctrine violates this text, which indicates that Matthew's quote was wrong about his story.

Then we read the following paragraphs:

Jeremiah 31:31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah —

Jeremiah 31:32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Jeremiah 31:34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD’, for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

Jeremiah 31:35 Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The LORD of hosts is His name):

Jeremiah 31:36 "If those ordinances depart From before Me, says the LORD, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever."

Jeremiah 31:37 Thus says the LORD: "If heaven above can be measured, And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel For all that they have done, says the LORD.

In these paragraphs we read about a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, and this covenant includes putting the Law in their minds, and writing it on their hearts; and the LORD will be their God, and they shall be His people, and He will forgive their iniquity, and their sin He will remember no more, and all these things have been violated by the churches, both in terms of the covenant, or the fact that the children of Israel is people of God, or the forgiveness of their sins, or to abide the Law, as shown previously in the chapter I, which confirms that the text was not talking about the time of the birth of Jesus and the story of killing the children of Bethlehem, which has not mentioned by anyone of the historians of that time.

And in the end of the chapter we read the following paragraphs:

Jeremiah 31:38 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that the city shall be built for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

Jeremiah 31:39 "The surveyor’s line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath.

Jeremiah 31:40 "And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the LORD. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever."

These paragraphs talk about rebuilding the holy city, and this saying was after its destruction by the Babylonians, and this, i.e., rebuilding the holy city, happened after the return from the captivity, while it was at Jesus' time under Roman Rule, and after a while, the Temple and the city in general were destroyed, and this contrasts with the last paragraph, which says that the city shall not be plucked up or thrown down any more forever, which confirms that the text does not talk about the time of Jesus and the story of children whom were killed in Bethlehem!

Finally there is a note on this story which is the similarity between it and what happened to the children at the time of birth of Moses whom were killed by Pharaoh, and this similarity between Jesus and the Prophets of the children of Israel can be observed in all stories of the Gospels, with the only difference which is that the stories of the prophets have already occurred, while the stories of Jesus as are written in the Gospels contain a lot of contradictions and errors that call into question the truth and the reality of them, as is the case in this story and other stories that will be discussed and studied later.

From this careful reading of the two chapters, appears to us that Matthew was keen to link the story of Jesus' life with the Old Testament, or more precisely, was keen to compose his Gospel according to the Old Testament narratives; even if he was forced to take a paragraph out of its context to say that it has been fulfilled at that time, because his way of writing relied upon the Old Testament texts, regardless the true meaning of those texts and even away from the real historical events to bestow a state of holiness and credibility and reliability on his Gospel, which means that the law "do not accept the lying and false" applies to the story of Matthew.