Matthew 2:7 is the seventh verse of the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. The magi have informed King Herod that they had seen portents showing the birth of the King of the Jews. Herod has consulted with the leading Jewish religious figures who reported he was to be born in Bethlehem. In this verse Herod again questions the magi.
Content
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
:Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men,
:enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
The World English Bible translates the passage as:
:Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned
:from them exactly what time the star appeared.
The Novum Testamentum Graece text is:
:Τότε Ἡρῴδης λάθρᾳ καλέσας τοὺς μάγους
:ἠκρίβωσεν παρ’ αὐτῶν τὸν χρόνον τοῦ φαινομένου ἀστέρος,
For a collection of other versions see BibleHub Matthew 2:7
Analysis
Brown notes that the phrase translated as "enquired of them diligently" is in Greek a single technical astrological word with no direct translation.
Holding the meeting in secret shows Herod's closed and suspicious nature, however it also raises the question of how the author Matthew knows what took place. France believes the specific question about time is part of Herod's attempt to determine when the child was born, and would later lead to his timing decision for the Massacre of the Innocents.
Commentary from the Church Fathers
Pseudo-Chrysostom: As soon as Herod had heard the answer, though doubly authenticated, both by the authority of the Priests, and the passage from the Prophets, he yet turned not to worship the King that was to be born, but sought how he might put Him to death by subtilty. He saw that the Magi were neither to be won by flattery, nor awed by threats, nor bribed by gifts, to consent to this murder; he sought therefore to deceive them; he privily called the wise men; that the Jews, whom he suspected, might not know of it. For he thought they would incline the rather to a King of their own nation.