Matthew 2:4 NIV: When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.

Matthew 2:4

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◄ Matthew 2:4 ►

New International Version (© 2011)
When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.

King James Bible
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

American Standard Version
And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born.

Young's Literal Translation
and having gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he was inquiring from them where the Christ is born.

Matthew 2:4 Additional Translations
Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

The chief priests - Not only the high priest for the time being, called כהן הראש cohen ha-rosh, 2 Kings 25:18, and his deputy, called כהן משנה cohen mishneh, with those who had formerly borne the high priest's office; but also, the chiefs or heads of the twenty four sacerdotal families, which David distributed into so many courses, 1 Chronicles 24. These latter are styled סרי הכהנים sarey ha-cohanim, chief of the priests, 2 Chronicles 36:14; Ezra 8:24; and ראשי הכהנים roshey ha-cohanim, heads of the priests, Nehemiah 12:7. Josephus calls them by the same name as the writers of the New Testament. In his Life, sect. 8, he mentions πολλους - των Αρχιερεων, Many of the chief priests. The word is used in the singular in this last sense, for a chief of the priests, Acts 19:14.

Scribes - The word Γραμματευς, in the Septuagint, is used for a political officer, whose business it was to assist kings and civil magistrates, and to keep an account in writing of public acts and occurrences. Such an officer is called in Hebrew ספר המלך seper hamelech, ὁ γραμματευς του βασιλεως, the king's scribe, or secretary. See Lxx. 2 Kings 12:10.

The word is often used by the Lxx. for a man of learning, especially for one skilled in the Mosaic law: and, in the same sense, it is used by the New Testament writers. Γραμματευς is therefore to be understood as always implying a man of letters, or learning, capable of instructing the people. The derivation of the names proves this to be the genuine meaning of the word γραμμα: a letter, or character, in writing: or γραμματα, letters, learning, erudition, and especially that gained from books. The Hebrew ספר or סופר sopher, from saphar, to tell, count, cypher, signifies both a book, volume, roll, etc., and a notary, recorder, or historian; and always signifies a man of learning. We often term such a person a man of letters.

The word is used Acts 19:35, for a civil magistrate at Ephesus, probably such a one as we would term recorder. It appears that Herod at this time gathered the whole Sanhedrin, in order to get the fullest information on a subject by which all his jealous fears had been alarmed.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

the chief.

Matthew 21:15,23 And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying...

Matthew 26:3,47 Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, to the palace of the high priest...

Matthew 27:1 When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:

1 Chronicles 24:4-19 And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar, and thus were they divided...

2 Chronicles 36:14 Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen...

Ezra 10:5 Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word...

Nehemiah 12:7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chief of the priests and of their brothers in the days of Jeshua.

Psalm 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,

John 7:32 The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him...

John 18:3 Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees...