Saint Matthew - Chapter 2
''To get to Egypt, the Holy Family, after leaving Bethlehem, must have gone by way of Hebron or Bersabea where there remains to this day a little mosque dedicated by yhe Mussulmans to 'St Joseph the Carpenter' in memory of the passage of the Holy Family. From it, a distant view can be obtained of the mountain slopes and of the Mediterranean Sesa near Gaza. It was in this direction that the fugitives bent their steps. They must have entered Egypt by way of Pelusium and have reached Heliopolis and then the Egyptian Babylon, where Cairo now stands. We will indicate further on the route taken by the Holy Family on their way back from Egypt.''[Taken from The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by J. James Tissot, Sampson, Low, Marston, London, 1897]
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| The Flight into Egypt. J-J Tissot. |
And after they were departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt:[1] and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him.[2]
[14] Qui consurgens accepit puerum et matrem ejus nocte, et secessit in Aegyptum :[3]
Who arose, and took the child and his mother by night, and retired into Egypt: and he was there until the death of Herod:
[15] et erat ibi usque ad obitum Herodis : ut adimpleretur quod dictum est a Domino per prophetam dicentem :[4]
Ex Aegypto vocavi filium meum.That it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying: Out of Egypt have I called my son.
And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. Note that these things did not happen immediately after the adoration of the Magi. Something must be supplied here from S. Luke (2:22). That is to say, after their departure on the 6th of January, Christ was taken to Jerusalem, and presented in the Temple; this was on the 2nd of February. From thence He returned to His own country, Nazareth, and from thence He fled into Egypt. So Euthymius and Maldonatus, in loc; also Amnion and Tatian, in Harmon. Evangel. Although S. Augustine, and Jansen after him, think that Christ went into Egypt from Judæa, and not from Galilee, because S. Matthew here says (ver. 22), that when Joseph was returning from Egypt, he was minded to go into Judæa, And so they say that he had fled into Egypt from Judæa, But S. Matthew does not say this expressly, but, “When he heard that Archelaus reigned in Judæa in the stead of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go thither.” This, indeed, intimates that he was thinking of going into Judæa, probably to Jerusalem and the Temple, there to give God thanks for his safe return, as pious persons are wont to do.
[1] The reason why Christ fled into Egypt, rather than into Assyria, or any other country is:—1. Because it was near to Judæa, and on account of the streams of the Nile, by which it was surrounded, and the sea, by which it was washed, secure from the attacks of enemies. Hence, when the Jews fled from the Chaldæans and the Assyrians, they went into Egypt.
2. Because Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the children of Israel, from whom Christ was sprung, dwelt in Egypt for two hundred years, and were called forth from thence by God, by the hand of Moses. And this was a type of the calling back of Christ out of Egypt, as S. Matthew adds, That it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet (Hosea 9), saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. Especially because the Hebrews were delivered out of Egypt by the blood of the Paschal Lamb, which was a type of Christ. “That not without that region the sacrament of the one only Victim might be prepared, in which first the safe-giving sign of the slaying of the Lamb, and the Passover of the Lord, had been prefigured,” says S. Leo. (Serm. 3 de Epiph.)
3. Because Egypt was full of idols and superstitions. They worshipped dogs, crocodiles, cats, calves, rams, goats, and what not? Christ entered into Egypt that He might cleanse it from this filthiness, and consecrate it to the true God. Listen to S. Leo (Serm. 2 de Epiph.): “Then also the Saviour was brought to Egypt, in order that a nation given up to ancient errors might now be signed for salvation nigh to come, for hidden grace, and that she which had not yet cast out superstition from her mind might receive truth as her guest.” Whence also Isaiah prophesies mystically of the same thing (19:1), saying: “Behold the Lord shall ascend upon a light cloud, and shall enter into Egypt, and all the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence.” And so S. Jerome and others relate that the idols of Egypt did, in truth, fall down when Christ came into it. (See my comment on this chapter of Isaiah.)
Sozomen (lib. 5, c. 20) relates that there was an ancient tradition that when Christ entered Hermopolis, a city of Egypt, a lofty tree bowed herself down, and worshipped Him as God. Many such-like things are told, but because they are taken from an apocryphal book, called the “Infancy of the Saviour,” and from the Koran, it would seem that they ought to be rejected, as fabulous, or of doubtful credit.
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| Author's print of the Flight. Artist & date unknown. |
[3] When he arose, he took the young child, and his mother by night (mark his prompt obedience) and fled into Egypt—that Christ might sanctify and bless it by His coming. Hence faith and sanctity so flourished in Egypt that it produced the Pauls, the Antonys, the Macarii, and those crowds of monks and anchorites who emulated the life of angels upon earth, as is seen in Eusebius, S. Jerome, Palladius, S. Athanasius, and the lives of the Fathers. Whence S. Chrysostom, in loc., says, that Christ converted Egypt into a paradise. “Heaven does not shine so brightly with the various choirs of the stars as Egypt is illuminated by its innumerable habitations of monks and virgins.” And Trismegistus, quoted by S. Austin (lib. 8, de Civ. Dei, c. 14), says, “Egypt is an image of Heaven, and the temple of the whole world.”
Adrichomius adds out of Brocardus and Saligniac, in his description of the Holy Land (page 47, n. 116), on the word Engaddi, that when Jesus fled out of Judæa into Egypt, He took balsam with Him. For Cleopatra, the friend of Antony, envying Herod the possession of such a treasure, obtained from Antony the privilege of transporting balsam-plants out of Judæa into Egypt. (See Josephus, lib. 5, Bell. Jud. c. 13.) This was a just judgment of an avenging God, that Herod before was the possessor of the balsam, but that when he persecuted the child Jesus, Jesus fleeing into Egypt should, as it were, draw the garden of balsam after Him. For Jesus is the true and pure balsam of the soul, according as it is said, “Thy name is oil poured forth.” (Cant. 1. Vulg.) Adrichomius adds, this garden in Egypt is irrigated by a small fountain, which has, however, a very copious supply of water; and the tradition is, that in it the Child Jesus was often placed by the Blessed Virgin, and that the holy Joseph often drew water from it, for himself and his holy spouse, when they were in Egypt; and that it is therefore held in great veneration by the inhabitants of the country.
Anselm asserts that Christ, when in Egypt, dwelt in a city called Heliopolis, or the city of the sun. In short, this flight of Christ was a mark, not of fear, but of prudence and fortitude. Hear Chrysologus (Serm. 50): “So Christ was born that He might make man anew; and that He might recall the fugitives, He fled. And if He himself wandered, so that He might call back the sheep which was wandering upon the mountains, how shall He not flee to bring again His flying people?” And shortly afterwards, “The refuge of all things fled, the help of all things lies hid, the strength of all things fears, the defence of all things defends not himself.” And again—“When the valiant warrior flies in battle, it is of design, not fear. When God fled from man, it was a mystery, not from dread.”
Tropologically, Christ fled into Egypt that He might teach us to despise exile, and that we, as pilgrims and exiles on the earth, might pant after and strive for heaven as our true country. Whence Peter Chrysologus says (Serm. 115), “Christ fled that He might, make it more tolerable for us, when we have to flee in persecution.” S. Gregory Nazian. (Orat. 28) says—“Every land, and no land is my country.” No land was Gregory’s country, because heaven was his country. Again, every land was his country, because he looked upon the whole world as his country. Thus Socrates, when he was asked what countryman he was, replied, “A citizen of the world.” S. Basil said the same, as Nazian. testifies (Orat. 20)—“In every land the brave man is as much at home as fishes in the sea.”
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| The Sojourn in Egypt. J-J Tissot. |
Tropologically, S. Chrysostom, in loc., says, that God weaves, as it were, a fair and variegated crown out of the prosperous and adverse circumstances of the life of Christ and Christians. When Joseph saw his wife great with child, he was sorely troubled: but forthwith an angel came to him, and put an end to his suspicion, and drove away his fear. Then came the joyful adoration of the Magi, but this was followed by the persecution of Herod, and the flight into Egypt.
It cannot be doubtful that when the Egyptians saw the sanctity of the Blessed Virgin and Joseph, and had had frequent opportunities of converse and intercourse with them, they came to know, worship, and love the true God. The Roman Martyrology assigns the 7th of January to the return of Christ from Egypt. Some say that he was three years in Egypt, some seven, others eight. But nothing is certain.
''The Church of the Copts in Old Cairo (the ancient Egyptian Babylon)is one of the very oldest Christian churches in Egypt. It dates from the sixth century and was built above a cave of kind of natural crypt, which is reached at the present day by a few steps, and in which, according to the tradition, the Holy Family took shelter during their exile.
The little Babylonian colony was a very busy one at the time of which we are writing and there must have been many dahabeahs [1] laden with corn and other produce on the banks of the Nile, with crowds of fellahs[2] occupied about them.
The water of the Nile, though rather muddy, was good, and was used for drinking and other domestic purposes by the inhabitants. At certain hours of the day, the women went in long files to draw water at a very convenient part of the port, and the very spot is still shown where the Virgin often came, carrying the Infant Jesus in her arms. Indeed it seems likely that Mary would be very unwilling, especially in a foreign land, to leave her divine son alone; moreover, Joseph, occupied as he was with his trade of carpenter, would probably be frequently absent. It will be remembered that he was employed, at least so tradition says, in making the woodwork used in Egyptian houses, especially the wainscotting so much in vogue in Egypt.
Beyond this spot just mentioned, and in the background of my picture, can be seen the island of Rhodes, sacred to the memory of Moses, for it is said that it was on it that he was found amongst the flags by the daughter of Pharaoh.
Another goal of pilgrimage, and the most venerated of all the spots connected with the sojourn in Egypt, is near the town of Heliopolis. This is the so-called sanctuary of Matareeh where, according to tradition, the Virgin, weary with her long journey, rested beneath the shade of a sycamore tree. The tree itself is no longer there, but a shoot from it, dating from about the fifteenth century, still marks the spot. Here says the legend, the heat being great, the Virgin was thirsty, and a spring gushed forth for her refreshment; hence the name of matareeh, which signifies clear water, given to the venerated site.
At Heliopolis, if yet another tradition is to be believed, the idols in a temple suddenly fell down when the Holy Family passed.''
[Taken from The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by J. James Tissot, Sampson, Low, Marston, London, 1897]
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| A dahabeah on Nile. 1890s. |
[Kimberlyblaker]
[2] fellah: from the Arabic word for "ploughman" or "tiller"
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