HEBREW GOSPEL OF MATTHEW - CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 2 (Part 3) — Section 005 [MT 2:16–23]

פרק חמישי

Note on Textual Divisions & Concordance Markers

The section titles (פרק ראשון, פרק שני, etc.) follow the authentic internal layout of Shem-Tob's Hebrew text, which organizes the Gospel of Matthew into 116 structural pericopes. The traditional 28-chapter and verse divisions ([MT 2:16–23]) did not exist in ancient manuscripts; they were devised centuries later by Western scholars (Stephen Langton in 1205 and Robert Estienne in 1551) to build Latin concordances. The standard chapter/verse citations are included in brackets solely as a concordance reference for readers navigating standard printed Bibles.

#	Shem-Tob Hebrew Text	Literal Translation
16	אז ראה הורודוס שראו אותו הקוסמים וירע אליו מאד ויתעצב אל לבו ויצו וישלח לכל שריו להרוג לכל הילדים אשר בבית לחם ובגבוליה הנולדים מזמן אשר אמרו לו הקוסמים שנולד הנער׃	Then Hordos saw that the diviners looked upon him, and it was very evil unto him, and he grieved unto his heart; and he commanded and sent unto all his princes to kill unto all the children that were in Beit Lechem and in her borders, who were born from the time that the diviners said to him that the youth was born.
17	אז נשלם הדבר מה שאמר ירמיה הנביא	Then was completed the word that Yirmeyah the prophet spoke:
18	קול ברמה נשמע נהי בכי תמרורים רחל מבכה על בניה וכו׃	"A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing, weeping of bitterness; Rachel weeping over her sons, etc."
19	ויהי כאשר מת הורוד״וס המלך ומלאך ה״ נראה בחלום אל יוסף במצרים׃	And it came to pass when Hordos the king died, and a messenger of the Name appeared in a dream unto Yosef in Mitzrayim,
20	לאמר קום קח את הנער ואת אמו ולך אל א״י כי מתו המבקשים את הנער להמית׃	saying: "Arise, take the youth and his mother, and walk unto the Land of Yisra'el, for they are dead who were seeking the youth to cause [him] to die."
21	ויקם ויקח את הנער ואת אמו וישובו אל א״י׃	And he arose and took the youth and his mother, and they returned unto the Land of Yisra'el.
22	וישמע כי הורקנוס שמו ארגי״לאס מלך ביהודה תחת הורודוס אביו׃ וירא ללכת שם ויזרוהו המלאך בחלום ויפן אל ארץ הגלגל׃	And he heard that Horkanos [Hyrcanus]—his name [is] Archelaos—reigned in Yehudah instead of his father; and he feared to walk there, and the messenger warned him in a dream, and he turned unto the land of the Gilgal [the Wheel/Circuit].
23	ויבא וישכון בעיר הנקראת נאזרית לקיים מה שאמר הנביא נאזרת יקרא׃	And he came and dwelt in a town called Nazrit, to confirm that which the prophet spoke: "Nazrat [Girded] shall one call [him/it]."

Consonantal & Paleographic Notes

• פרק חמישי (Fifth Section): Preserves the authentic internal Hebrew division heading designating this narrative as Section 5 of the 116 units. It concludes the entirety of standard Western Chapter 2 (MT 2:16–23).
• Hebrew Idioms of Emotion & Reaction (Verse 16):
  • שראו אותו הקוסמים: Literally "that the diviners looked upon him" / "mocked/saw him" (root ראה).
  • וירע אליו מאד ויתעצב אל לבו: Distinct physical/spatial phrasing: "and it was evil unto him exceedingly, and he grieved unto his heart" (matching the ancient Semitic phrasing in Genesis 6:6).
  • לכל שריו: Directly rendered as "unto all his princes/commanders" (root שרר), rather than soldiers.
• Verse 18 (רחל מבכה על בניה וכו): The quotation from Jeremiah 31 terminates on the parchment with the scribal abbreviation וכו׳ (v'kholei — "and so forth" / "etc."), indicating that the scribe wrote the incipit of the known passage and assumed the reader’s memory of the rest of the prophetic line.
• Geographical & Titular Scribal Abbreviations:
  • הורוד״וס (Verse 19): Written with scribal primes (Gershayim).
  • מלאך ה״ (Verse 19): Hey with double primes for HaShem ("The Name").
  • א״י (Verses 20 & 21): Standard Hebrew abbreviation: Alef-Yod with double primes for ארץ ישראל (Eretz Yisra'el — "the Land of Yisra'el").
• Verse 22 (הורקנוס שמו ארגי״לאס, תחת & אל ארץ הגלגל):
  • הורקנוס שמו ארגי״לאס: The Hebrew text reads ki Horkanos shemo Argeilas. Matthew identifies/names him Archelaos.
  • תחת הורודוס אביו: Rendered in its authentic royal succession sense as "instead of his father" (preposition תחת with the suffixed noun אביו).
  • ארגי״לאס: Transliterated with Gimel and marked with internal double primes.
  • ויזרוהו: From the kinetic root זהר (zahar — to warn, admonish, shine light upon).
  • אל ארץ הגלגל: Written strictly with the consonants ה-ג-ל-ג-ל (Ha-Gilgal / Ha-Galgal — "the Wheel / the Rolling Circuit"), preserving the ancient Semitic place name rather than the Greek-derived form *Galil*.
• Verse 23 (נאזרית vs. נאזרת יקרא):
  • נאזרית: The town name is spelled on the manuscript with Zayin and Yod: נ-א-ז-ר-י-ת (Nazrit).
  • נאזרת יקרא: The prophecy line intentionally drops the Yod, reading strictly נ-א-ז-ר-ת יקרא (Nazrat / Ne'ezret yiqra — "Nazrat / Girded shall one call [him/it]"), establishing an exact consonantal wordplay directly on the Hebrew root אזר (to gird / bind / equip) or נזר (to crown / separate).