Joseph and Mary return from Egypt
Life of Jesus · Draft · BSB
Content revision: eff693bba2537046 · No editorial review date recorded
Date: Birth and childhood. A guided comparison of Gospel accounts, not a measured calendar or a claim that every parallel follows the same sequence.
After Herod dies, Joseph is told to return from Egypt. On learning that Archelaus rules Judea, he is afraid to go there and is directed toward Galilee.
Herod the Great and Archelaus are different rulers. This card and the Nazareth card divide one return account for reading; they do not represent two separate journeys from Egypt.
Primary Scripture
2:19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.
2:20 “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those seeking the Child’s life are now dead.”
2:21 So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and went to the land of Israel.
2:22 But when he learned that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,
Related Scripture
Moses’s return after the death of those seeking his life provides a narrative comparison.
Location evidence
Matthew describes departure from Egypt, concern about Judea and withdrawal toward Galilee. These are regional endpoints, not a known border crossing or reconstructed road.
Event map marker: Approximate region; [longitude, latitude] = [35.35, 32.85]. This is a teaching marker, not an exact event venue.
Egypt · illustrative region: Approximate region. Coordinates [longitude, latitude]: [31, 29.5]. Classification source: editorial.
Illustrative regional extent: [[29,27],[32.5,31.5]]; not a measured confidence interval.
Gospel setting; extent is an editorial illustration, not a boundary
Galilee: Approximate region. Coordinates [longitude, latitude]: [35.35, 32.85]. Classification source: editorial.
Illustrative regional extent: [[35.1,32.55],[35.68,33.15]]; not a measured confidence interval.
Gospel setting; extent is an editorial illustration, not a boundary
Judea: Approximate region. Coordinates [longitude, latitude]: [35.08, 31.63]. Classification source: editorial.
Illustrative regional extent: [[34.7,31.25],[35.5,32]]; not a measured confidence interval.
Gospel setting; extent is an editorial illustration, not a boundary
Gospel setting; extent is an editorial illustration, not a boundary
For the class
How does the account portray guidance amid continuing danger?
Interpretation and reuse
Narrative order is a reading arrangement, not a proven chronology. Dates retain their stated uncertainty. An identified locality does not establish the exact venue or prove an event. Region extents and routes are illustrative, not surveyed boundaries or ancient roads. Draft material has not completed editorial review.
Record source: theographic (260)
Record source: editorial
Events and places adapted from Theographic Bible Metadata (github.com/robertrouse/theographic-bible-metadata), CC BY-SA 4.0. This adapted data is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Place coordinates from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, CC BY 4.0.
Teaching stops, summaries and regional extents are original editorial content of this atlas.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain. https://berean.bible/licensing.htm