What Does Matthew 2:1 Mean in the King James?
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The verse places a king’s birth in the “house of bread” and the travelers’ arrival in Jerusalem, whose name carries the sound of wholeness.
THE MEANING
A new life begins in a place whose name means “house of bread,” while travelers come from far away and arrive in Jerusalem. The verse holds a beginning and a journey in the same frame: what comes into being can become a point of orientation beyond the place where it begins.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A king’s significance must begin in the capital. Here the birth is in Bethlehem, while the travelers arrive in Jerusalem.
THE ROOT
γεννηθέντος
gennēthentos
GROWS FROM
γεν-
Beget or give birth; come into a line of generation.
The Greek γεννηθέντος (gennēthentos), “having been born,” comes from γεννάω (gennáō), “to beget or give birth.” Its γεν- word family links birth with γένεσις (génesis), “origin, birth, generation,” so the verse presents this arrival as a new point in a line of becoming.
ALSO GROWS
gennáō: To beget or give birth.
γεννάω
This is the verb behind “was born,” linking the verse’s arrival to the act of bringing life forth.
génesis: Origin, birth, or generation.
γένεσις
The same γεν- word family appears in Matthew’s opening “generation,” joining this birth to a line of origins and descendants.
génos: Family, lineage, kind, or stock.
γένος
This related word carries the sense of a people or lineage, widening birth into belonging and descent.
בֵּית לֶחֶם
Bēt Leḥem
GROWS FROM
ב־י־ת
House, household, or dwelling.
Bethlehem is the Hebrew compound בֵּית לֶחֶם (Bēt Leḥem), “house of bread.” Its first element, בֵּית (bēt), is the construct form of בַּיִת (bayit), “house”; לֶחֶם (leḥem) means “bread.” The birthplace itself carries an image of provision.
ALSO GROWS
bayit: House, household, or dwelling.
בַּיִת
This is the full form behind the name’s first element, giving the birthplace the sense of a house or home.
bēt: House of; the construct form used in compounds.
בֵּית־
It joins “house” to “bread,” making the place-name a phrase rather than only a label.
יְרוּשָׁלַיִם
Yerushalayim
GROWS FROM
ש־ל־ם
Whole, complete; the related word shalom carries the sense of wholeness.
“Jerusalem” in this verse is Yerushalayim. The name Yerushalayim carries the sound of שָׁלוֹם (shalom), “wholeness.” The travelers arrive in a city whose name echoes completeness, while the verse places the king’s birth in the “house of bread.”
ALSO GROWS
shalom: Wholeness.
שָׁלוֹם
This related word gives the city-name its resonance of wholeness as the travelers arrive.
shalem: Whole or complete.
שָׁלֵם
This adjective shares the ש־ל־ם root and makes the connection between the name and completeness audible.
THE PATTERN
The arrival of God’s ruler draws recognition across distances and from beyond the place where the story begins.
But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.THE THREAD
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.“Generation” translates γένεσις (génesis), “origin or birth,” from the same γεν- word family as γεννηθέντος (gennēthentos), “having been born,” here. Matthew’s opening links birth with lineage; this verse places that coming-to-be in Bethlehem.
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