Matthew 2:22

But then somebody told him that Herod’s son Arkelayus was the new big boss over the part of Israel called Judea, and Joseph was too frightened to go there. Then he had another dream. God told him, “Go to Galilee country.”

Plain English Version

In The King James Version

But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:

In Context

21So Joseph did what God’s angel messenger told him. He got up, and he got Mary and Jesus, and they started to go back to Israel country.

23So he took his family up north to Galilee. He got to the town called Nazareth, and he stayed there. A long time before that, one of God’s men wrote about this, and it is in God’s book. He wrote, “People will say that God’s special man is from Nazareth.” And that happened after Joseph took his family to live at Nazareth.

Read all of Matthew 2

Cross References

Genesis 19:17As soon as the angels took Lot and his family out of the town, one of the angels told them, “Run away quickly to save your life. Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the flat country, but keep going until you get to the hill country. If you don’t do that, you will die, like all the people in Sodom are going to die.”

Matthew 1:20While Joseph thought about that, he went to sleep and had a dream. He saw an angel messenger from God. The angel said, “Joseph, you are from the family of David. Look, you can go ahead and marry Mary. Don’t be too frightened to do that. You see, her baby is from the Holy Spirit, not from another man.

Matthew 2:19Some time later, Herod died. Then, in Egypt, Joseph had another dream. He heard God’s angel messenger say,

Matthew Henry on Matthew 2:20-23

Christ's Return from Egypt. 19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 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. 21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Matthew 2:22