Flight into Egypt. The flight into Egypt is a story recounted in the Gospel of Matthew and in New Testament apocrypha.
Soon after the visit by the Magi, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to flee to Egypt with Mary and the infant Jesus since King Herod would seek the child to kill him. The episode is frequently shown in art, as the final episode of the Nativity of Jesus in art, and was a common component in cycles of the Life of the Virgin as well as the Life of Christ.
Within the narrative tradition, iconic representation of the Rest on the Flight into Egypt developed after the 14th century. When the Magi came in search of Jesus, they went to Herod the Great in Jerusalem to ask where to find the newborn King of the Jews.
Herod became paranoid that the child would threaten his throne, and sought to kill him. Herod initiated the Massacre of the Innocents in hopes of killing the child.
But an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and warned him to take Jesus and his mother into Egypt. Egypt was a logical place to find refuge, as it was outside the dominions of King Herod, but both Egypt and Judea were part of the Roman Empire, linked by a coastal road known as the way of the sea, making travel between them easy and relatively safe. After a time, the holy family returned from Egypt. The text states that Herod had died. Herod is believed to have died in 4 BC, and while Matthew does not
Soon after the visit by the Magi, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to flee to Egypt with Mary and the infant Jesus since King Herod would seek the child to kill him. The episode is frequently shown in art, as the final episode of the Nativity of Jesus in art, and was a common component in cycles of the Life of the Virgin as well as the Life of Christ.
Within the narrative tradition, iconic representation of the Rest on the Flight into Egypt developed after the 14th century. When the Magi came in search of Jesus, they went to Herod the Great in Jerusalem to ask where to find the newborn King of the Jews.
Herod became paranoid that the child would threaten his throne, and sought to kill him. Herod initiated the Massacre of the Innocents in hopes of killing the child.
But an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and warned him to take Jesus and his mother into Egypt. Egypt was a logical place to find refuge, as it was outside the dominions of King Herod, but both Egypt and Judea were part of the Roman Empire, linked by a coastal road known as the way of the sea, making travel between them easy and relatively safe. After a time, the holy family returned from Egypt. The text states that Herod had died. Herod is believed to have died in 4 BC, and while Matthew does not
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