Genesis 6:2

6:2 the sons of God ¹  saw that the daughters of humankind were beautiful. Thus they took wives for themselves from any they chose.

Job 31:1

Job Vindicates Himself

31:1 “I made a covenant with ²  my eyes;

how then could I entertain thoughts against a virgin? ³ 

Psalms 119:37

119:37 Turn my eyes away from what is worthless! ⁴ 

Revive me with your word! ⁵ 

Ezekiel 23:5-6

23:5 “Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was mine. ⁶  She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians ⁷  – warriors ⁸  23:6 clothed in blue, governors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.

Ezekiel 23:12-16

23:12 She lusted after the Assyrians – governors and officials, warriors in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. 23:13 I saw that she was defiled; both of them followed the same path. 23:14 But she increased her prostitution. She saw men carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans carved in bright red, ⁹  23:15 wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, the image of Babylonians ¹⁰  whose native land is Chaldea. 23:16 When she saw them, ¹¹  she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ¹² 

Matthew 5:28

5:28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 5:2

5:2 Then ¹³  he began to teach ¹⁴  them by saying:

Matthew 2:14

2:14 Then he got up, took the child and his mother during ¹⁵  the night, and went to Egypt.

Matthew 2:1

The Visit of the Wise Men

2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem ¹⁶  in Judea, in the time ¹⁷  of King Herod, ¹⁸  wise men ¹⁹  from the East came to Jerusalem ²⁰ 

Matthew 2:16

2:16 When Herod ²¹  saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men ²²  to kill all the children in Bethlehem ²³  and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men.

¹ sn The Hebrew phrase translated “sons of God” (בְנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים, bÿne-ha’elohim) occurs only here (Gen 6:2, 4) and in Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7. There are three major interpretations of the phrase here. (1) In the Book of Job the phrase clearly refers to angelic beings. In Gen 6 the “sons of God” are distinct from “humankind,” suggesting they were not human. This is consistent with the use of the phrase in Job. Since the passage speaks of these beings cohabiting with women, they must have taken physical form or possessed the bodies of men. An early Jewish tradition preserved in 1 En. 6-7 elaborates on this angelic revolt and even names the ringleaders. (2) Not all scholars accept the angelic interpretation of the “sons of God,” however. Some argue that the “sons of God” were members of Seth’s line, traced back to God through Adam in Gen 5, while the “daughters of humankind” were descendants of Cain. But, as noted above, the text distinguishes the “sons of God” from humankind (which would include the Sethites as well as the Cainites) and suggests that the “daughters of humankind” are human women in general, not just Cainites. (3) Others identify the “sons of God” as powerful tyrants, perhaps demon-possessed, who viewed themselves as divine and, following the example of Lamech (see Gen 4:19), practiced polygamy. But usage of the phrase “sons of God” in Job militates against this view. For literature on the subject see G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:135.

² tn The idea of cutting a covenant for something may suggest a covenant that is imposed, except that this construction elsewhere argues against it (see 2 Chr 29:10).

³ tn This half-verse is the effect of the covenant. The interrogative מָה (mah) may have the force of the negative, and so be translated “not to pay attention.”

⁴ tn Heb “Make my eyes pass by from looking at what is worthless.”

⁵ tn Heb “by your word.”

⁶ tn Heb “while she was under me.” The expression indicates that Oholah is viewed as the Lord’s wife. See Num 5:19-20, 29.

⁷ tn Heb “Assyria.”

⁸ tn The term apparently refers to Assyrian military officers; it is better construed with the description that follows. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:738.

⁹ tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew term is in Jer 22:14.

¹⁰ tn Heb “the sons of Babel.”

¹¹ tn Heb “at the appearance of her eyes.”

¹² sn The Chaldeans were prominent tribal groups of Babylonia. The imagery is reminiscent of events in the reigns of Hezekiah (2 Kgs 20:12-15) and Jehoiakim (2 Kgs 23:34-24:1).

¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹⁴ tn Grk “And opening his mouth he taught them, saying.” The imperfect verb ἐδίδασκεν (edidasken) has been translated ingressively.

¹⁵ tn The feminine singular genitive noun νυκτός (nuktos, “night”) indicates the time during which the action of the main verb takes place (ExSyn 124).

¹⁶ map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.

¹⁷ tn Grk “in the days.”

¹⁸ sn King Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

¹⁹ sn The Greek term magi here describes a class of wise men and priests who were astrologers (L&N 32.40).

²⁰ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²¹ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Note the fulfillment of the prophecy given by the angel in 2:13.

²² tn Or “soldiers.”

²³ map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.