Flight of Jesus Christ

FLIGHT of Jesus Christ into Egypt. After the Purification of Mary, and the Presentation of Jesus Christ at the Temple, the Angel of the Lord appeared in a Dream to Matth. ii. 13.Joseph, and said to him, Take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. Joseph immediately obeyed, and fled into Egypt. Herod some days after put to death all the male children in Bethlehem and its liberties, which were under two years old; and himself died five or six months afterwards, about the feast of the Passover. Then the Angel warned Joseph to return into Judæa, and told him, that they who sought the Child’s destruction were dead. Thus according to our Chronology, which fixes the Flight of Jesus Christ into Egypt to the third or fourth of February, and his return into Judæa about the second of April, his retreat was only for about two months.

The spurious Gospel concerning the Infancy of Jesus is filled with supposed miracles, and wonderful circumstances, which happened, as it is pretended, in his journey into Egypt; but we have no regard to these fictions, which are more proper to do harm than good. The Fathers¹ have told us, that at the arrival of Jesus Christ in Egypt, the Idols fell down; and that he went as far as Hermopolis in the Thebais. There is a fountain still at this day shewn within two miles of Cairo, which was produced, as some believe, by the infant Jesus, and that the Blessed Virgin washed his clouts in it. This is what we read likewise in the spurious Gospel of Christ’s Infancy, and in some of the Ancients.

D’Herbelot Bibl. Orient.The Egytians, both Christians and Mahometans, have a tradition importing, that Jesus Christ built the city of Bahana in the lower Thebaïs near Fioum, as the Patriarch Joseph built this latter place; that it was at Bahana that our Saviour called his Apostles, who preached upon the river Nile; that he reigned there in person, and left his Apostles there to be his successors in this state. The Jews were a long time in possession of this town, as pretended successors to our Lord’s Disciples. It is seated upon a lake formed by the discharge of water from the Nile; which lake by the people of the country is called Joseph’s Sea. It is so covered with fruit-trees, that there is no perceiving it, till you come very near.

Evang. infantiæ apud Fabric. t. 1. Apoc. N. T. p. 175, 176. Eufeb. demonstr. Evang. l. 6. c. 20. & l. 9. c. 2. Athanaf. de Incarnat. Verbi. t. 1.Others are of opinion, that Jesus Christ retired during his Flight to Matharæa. See MATHARÆA. In the Gospel intitled, Of the Infancy of Jesus, it is said, that at our Saviour’s arrival, the Idol of the city which he came to, fell of itself, and that the Devil published the news of his being there. Eusebius and St. Athanasius, and many of the Ancients after them, have affirmed, that all the Idols of Egypt were at that time overthrown. The following passage of Isaiah is applied to this Event: Isaiah xix. 1. Behold the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence. And Jeremiah xliii. 13. He shall break also the images of Bethshemesh that is in the land of Egypt, and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall be burn with fire.

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