Out of the house of David, Christ is born and escapes Herod
A “netzer” is a branch (“Branch”, Isaiah 1:11), that grows out of a (apparently) dead olive tree trunk, and comes out of the ground several feet away from the tree trunk that has been sawed off.
Since the clan of David moved away from Bethlehem, and established a new town, the name of “Natzeret” was given. Also, since the people of Natzeret were ostracized and ridiculed, the phrase “can anything good come out of Natzeret” was often cited.
Therefore, Matthew 2:23 should say “He shall be called a Netzer”.
With his wife about nine months pregnant, Joseph has to leave Natzeret and travel six days to Bethlehem, arriving about Monday, September 23rd, 3 BC.
Since the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) was approaching, many men of the David line had traveled to Bethlehem, and secured rooms for their wives at inns while the men would build a sukkah (mistranslated as “manger”) to eat and live in for the eight days of the feast.
By the time that Joseph arrived (he had to travel slowly), there were “no more rooms” for Mary to stay in. So Joseph built his sukkah, which is a temporary hut to commemorate Israel’s sojourn of forty years in the desert before crossing the Jordan River. Both he and Mary had to stay in it.
Joseph finished the hut in time for the feast of Sukkot. After sundown, on Thursday, September 26th of 3 BC, Mary gives birth to Yeshua, which is the 15th day of the seventh month (Tishri), fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 14:16-19.
Every year, after Yeshua sets up His kingdom on Earth, all nations will send representatives to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, to celebrate His human birthday. If they fail to do so, their nation shall have no rain for a year. If they fail to do so the second year, their nation shall have the plague.
In the meantime, Yeshua was circumcised on the eighth day, on October 3rd, 3 BC. It was the 22nd day of Tishri, also known as “the Last Great Day”.
Remember the prophecy spoken by Zacharias?
People at the time mistakenly felt that his son Yochanan, having a known miraculous birth, would probably be the Messiah. It is now
Sunday, December 21st of 2 BC. It’s the 23rd day of the ninth month (Kislev). The band of astronomers (12?) from Babylon finds the house of Joseph in Bethlehem.
The guardian and the parent of Yeshua had decided to stay in Bethlehem. The astronomers give the bequeathed wealth of Daniel to the family, and return to Babylon by another route, bypassing King Herod.
On the 24th day of Kislev, December 22nd, Joseph is warned in a dream to flee to Egypt.
The gospels fail to tell us that Zacharias was also warned, but could not flee because he had to report for duty in the Temple for Hanukkah, which started on the 25th day of Kislev.
Yochanan was about twenty months old, and Yeshua was fourteen months. Elizabeth fled to the dessert with Yochanan, not having enough money to live elsewhere.
With the wealth supplied by Daniel (the coming of the Messiah had been revealed to him), the “poor” family of Joseph was able to live comfortably in Egypt. It also supported Yeshua during His seventy week ministry.
Continue reading to part 3 – click here
