Matthew 2:10

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
When	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
saw	ἰδόντες idontes	G1492	used only in certain past tenses · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative plural masculine
star	ἀστέρα astera	G792	a star (as strown over the sky) · noun — accusative singular masculine
rejoiced	ἐχάρησαν echarēsan	G5463	to be "cheer"ful · verb — second aorist passive deponent indicative, 3rd person plural
exceeding	σφόδρα, sphodra	G4970	of uncertain derivation) as adverb · adverb
great	μεγάλην megalēn	G3173	big (literally or figuratively · adjective — accusative singular feminine
joy	χαρὰν charan	G5479	cheerfulness · noun — accusative singular feminine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Psalms 105:3 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.
Luke 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
Luke 2:20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
Romans 15:9-13 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing…
Psalms 67:4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
Deuteronomy 32:13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the roc…
Acts 13:46-48 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put i…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 2:9-12

We have here the wise men's humble attendance upon this new-born King of the Jews, and the honours they paid him. From Jerusalem they went to Bethlehem, resolving to seek till they should find; but it is very strange that they went alone; that not one person of the court, church, or city, should accompany them, if not in conscience, yet in civility to them, or touched with a curiosity to see this young prince. As the queen of the south, so the wise men of the east, will rise up in judgment against the men of that generation, and of this too, and will condemn them; for they came from a far country, to worship Christ; while the Jews, his kinsmen, would not stir a step, would not go to the next…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 2:10

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy--The language is very strong, expressing exuberant transport.

John Gill on Matthew 2:10

When they saw the star,.... Which by its appearance, size, brightness, &c. they knew to be the same with that which they had seen, when in their own country; they rejoiced with exceeding great joy; a "pleonasm" or a redundancy of expression frequently used by the Hebrews, see John 4:6 and the Septuagint there; setting forth the rapture, the excess of joy they were in upon the sight of the star. Very probably before this, their hearts were sad, their countenances dejected, and they greatly discouraged, having taken so great a journey, and as yet to so little purpose. They had been at Jerusalem, where they expected to have found him that was born king of the Jews; they had been at court, and…

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John Calvin on Matthew 2:7-12

Matthew 2:7-12 Matthew 2:7-12 7. Then Herod, having secretly called the Magii inquired at them carefully at what time the star had appeared 8. And having ordered them to go to Bethlehem, he said, Go, inquire concerning the young child; and, when ye have found him, bring me back information, that I also may come and worship him. 9. But they, having heard the King, departed; and, lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till, having advanced, it stood above the place in which the child was. 10. And, when they had seen the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11. And, entering the house, they found the young child with Mary his mother, and, falling down, they…

The Church Fathers

Joseph was absent by Divine command, that no wrong suspicions might occur to the Gentiles.
— Rabanus Maurus ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

(Serm. in Epiph. s. 4. 3.) Though in stature a babe, needing the aid of others, unable to speak, and different in nothing from other infants, yet such faithful witnesses, showing the unseen Divine Majesty which was in Him, ought to have proved most certainly that that was the Eternal Essence of the Son of God that had taken upon Him the true human nature.
— Leo the Great ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

And it was not enough to say, They rejoiced, but they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. He adds greatly, showing that men rejoice more over what they have lost than over what they possess. And it is to be known that each did not offer a different gift, but each one the three things, each one thus proclaiming the King, the God, and the man.
— Remigius of Rheims ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Bethlehem — House of bread. (1.) A city in the “hill country” of Judah. It was originally called Ephrath (Gen. 35:16, 19; 48:7; Ruth 4:11). It was also called Beth-lehem Ephratah (Micah 5:2), Beth-lehem-judah (1…
Herod the Great — (Matt. 2:1-22; Luke 1:5; Acts 23:35), the son of Antipater, an Idumaean, and Cypros, an Arabian of noble descent. In the year B.C. 47 Julius Caesar made Antipater, a “wily Idumaean,” procurator of…
Jesus — (1.) Joshua, the son of Nun (Acts 7:45; Heb. 4:8; R.V., “Joshua”). (2.) A Jewish Christian surnamed Justus (Col. 4:11). Je’sus, the proper, as Christ is the official, name of our Lord. To distinguish…
Magi — (Authorized Version wise men).
Magic — The Jews seem early to have consulted the teraphim (q.v.) for oracular answers (Judg. 18:5, 6; Zech. 10:2). There is a remarkable illustration of this divining by teraphim in Ezek. 21:19-22. We read…
Mary — Hebrew Miriam. (1.) The wife of Joseph, the mother of Jesus, called the “Virgin Mary,” though never so designated in Scripture (Matt. 2:11; Acts 1:14). Little is known of her personal history. Her…
Stars — The eleven stars (Gen. 37:9); the seven (Amos 5:8); wandering (Jude 1:13); seen in the east at the birth of Christ, probably some luminous meteors miraculously formed for this specific purpose (Matt.…
Heathen · .The Magi (wise men from the east) — .The Magi (wise men from the east)
Jesus, The Christ · .Magi (the wise men from the east) visit (at Bethlehem) — .Magi (the wise men from the east) visit (at Bethlehem)
Joy · Holy — Exemplified: Wise men — Holy — Exemplified: Wise men
Magi · The wise men from the east who visited Jesus as an infant

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 2:9-12

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 2:10

John Gill on Matthew 2:10

John Calvin on Matthew 2:7-12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 2:9-12

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 2:10

John Gill on Matthew 2:10

John Calvin on Matthew 2:7-12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 2:8-10