Return from Egypt and Childhood in Nazareth

The event

With Herod the Great dead, an angel again instructs Joseph in a dream to bring Mary and Jesus back from Egypt. Learning that Herod's son Archelaus now ruled Judea with a reputation nearly as ruthless as his father's, Joseph is warned once more and steers the family north to Galilee, settling in Nazareth — the same small, unremarkable town Mary had called home before the annunciation.

Nazareth was no center of religious or political importance; it doesn't even appear in the Old Testament or in Josephus, which is part of why Nathanael later scoffs, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Yet Matthew sees providence here too, connecting the family's obscure hometown to the prophetic theme that Messiah would be despised and considered ordinary. Luke simply tells us the boy "grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him" — a childhood of quiet, faithful obedience within Joseph's carpentry trade rather than public ministry.

Dating

Spans from the family's return after Herod's death (4 BC) through Jesus's childhood years to about AD 6, when Judea came under direct Roman rule; no precise dates are given in the text for this quiet period.

Scripture references

• Matthew 2:19-23
• Luke 2:39-40