Rachel mourns her children
Matthew brings Jeremiah's ancestral lament into the mourning for Bethlehem's boys aged two and under killed by Herod.
Historical context
Rachel personifies a mother grieving for children lost to exile. The following verses promise return and hope.
Tradition note
Begin with each Old Testament passage in context, then examine the New Testament's wording and argument. Explicit fulfillment citations, apostolic applications, and typological comparisons carry different kinds of evidence; Protestant approaches to particular passages vary.
Avoid overclaiming
Jeremiah's setting is exile and restoration; the text does not originally name Herod or Bethlehem's massacre. Read the following promise of hope alongside Matthew's use of the lament.
Key points
- Fulfillment citation
- Matthew 2:16–18 (Fulfillment citation) — Matthew explicitly calls the Bethlehem mourning a fulfillment of Jeremiah's lament.
Doctrinal connections
- Matthew explicitly calls the Bethlehem mourning a fulfillment of Jeremiah's lament.
Scripture
- Jeremiah 31:15–17 — Rachel personifies a mother grieving for children lost to exile. The following verses promise return and hope.
- Matthew 2:16–18 — Matthew explicitly calls the Bethlehem mourning a fulfillment of Jeremiah's lament.