Matthew 2:1

Matthew 2:1 is the first verse of the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. The previous verse ended with Jesus being named by his father, this verse marks the clear start of a new narrative. This verse deals with the arrival of the Magi at the court of Herod the Great in Jerusalem. This story of the magi continues until Matthew 2:12.

The original Koine Greek, according to Westcott and Hort, reads:

In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

The New International Version translates the passage as:

For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 2:1

The verse contains the full coverage given in Matthew to the birth of Jesus. Unlike Luke, Matthew pays very little attention to this event, focusing far more on what occurred before and after.

This is the first point in the Gospel that Bethlehem is mentioned. That it is specified as being "in Judea" is ascribed by Albright and Mann to the need to distinguish it from another Bethlehem in Zebulun, likely the modern town of Beit Lahna. Other scholars feel it is also to assert that Jesus was born in the heart of Judaism and also a link to the Old Testament figure Judas or Judah.

Jesus being born in Bethlehem is important to both Matthew and Luke, but it links especially closely to the genealogy in Matthew 1. The genealogy focuses on how Jesus was the heir to King David. David was born in Bethlehem and Jesus being born here cemented his role as the Davidic heir. Having him born in Bethlehem was also important as it is believed critics attacked Jesus' origin in the minor and peripheral town of Nazareth.

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