rth at Bethlehem of Him who was to come, could not
fail to be repeated by _Grotius_ and his supporters, inasmuch as
Zerubbabel was not born at Bethlehem. "Zerubbabel," he says, "is
rightly said to have been born at Bethlehem, because he was of the
family of David which had its origin there." This is, in like manner,
repeated by the Rationalistic interpreters, in order to avoid the too
close coincidence of the prophecy with the actual history of Christ,
_e.g._, by _Paulus_ and _Strauss_ (both, in their "Life of Jesus"), and
by _Hitzig_. It is remarkable, however, that, in order the more
securely to attain this object, some have gone so far even as to follow
the example of several Jews, and of the infamous _Bodinus_ (_de abditis
rerum sublimium arcanis_, l. 5, compare the refutation by _Huetius_,
l.c. p. 701), and to characterize the evangelical account concerning
the birth of Christ at Bethlehem as unworthy of credit. Such has been
the case with _Ammon_ especially.

THE QUOTATION IN MATT. II. 6.

Several interpreters, _Paulus_ especially, have asserted that the
interpretation of Micah which is here given, was that of the Sanhedrim
only, and not of the Evangelist, who merely recorded what happened and
was said. But this assertion is at once refuted when we consider the
object which Matthew has in view in his entire representation of the
early life of Jesus. His object in recording the early life of Jesus is
not like that of Luke, viz., to communicate historical information to
his readers. The historical event which he could suppose to be already
known to _his_ readers, comes into his view only in so far as it served
for the confirmation of Old Testament prophecies. Hence it is that he
touches upon any historical circumstance, just when the mention of it
can serve for the attainment of this purpose. Thus, the design of the
genealogy is to prove that, in accordance with the prophecies of the
Old Testament, Christ was descended from Abraham, through David. Thus
all which he mentions in chap. i. 18-21, serves only to prepare the way
for the quotation of the prophecy of Isaiah, that the Messiah was to be
born of a [Pg 505] virgin, which is subjoined in ver. 22, with the
words: [Greek: touto de holon gegonen hina plerothe.] Even the [Greek:
holon] proves that all which precedes is mentioned solely with a view
to the prophecy. The [Greek: parermeneia] of _Olshausen_ which refers
the [Greek: holon] to the