Summary
In Bethlehem, wise men from the East arrive in Jerusalem seeking the newborn King of the Jews, guided by a star. Herod, alarmed, questions the priests and asks them where Christ will be born, receiving the answer that He is in Bethlehem. The Magi are deceived into searching for Jesus in Bethlehem, where they find Him, worship Him, and give gifts, but God warns them in a dream not to return to Herod. Joseph is instructed by an angel to flee with Mary and the child to Egypt, where they stay until Herod dies, fulfilling the prophetic promise that the Messiah would be called from Egypt. When Herod, enraged by the Magi’s deflection, orders the slaughter of all children in Bethlehem, an angel again warns Joseph to leave Egypt. After Herod’s death, Joseph is directed to bring his family to Israel, but fearing the new ruler Archelaus, he settles instead in Nazareth, where Jesus will be called a Nazarene.