Matthew 2:12

2:12 After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, ¹  they went back by another route to their own country.

Matthew 2:19

The Return to Nazareth

2:19 After Herod ²  had died, an ³  angel of the Lord ⁴  appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt

[2:12]  ¹ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[2:19]  ² sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. When Herod the Great died in 4 b.c., his kingdom was divided up among his three sons: Archelaus, who ruled over Judea (where Bethlehem was located, v. 22); Philip, who became tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis (cf. Luke 3:1); and Antipas, who became tetrarch of Galilee.

[2:19]  ³ tn Grk “behold, an angel.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[2:19]  ⁴ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20.