Probably several years following the desperate pre-dawn escape to Egypt, the angel returned and bid Joseph to travel back to Israel. To his credit, Joseph obeyed once again, leaving the temporary material security enjoyed in Egypt. Joseph and Mary’s expectations were rooted in submission to God’s plan: that was their basis for hope. 

When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod… After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

Matthew 2:13-15, 19-21

Soon after the Magi visited and offered their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, Joseph was warned of impending catastrophe for his young family. King Herod, known for his efficient ruthlessness, had ascertained the general location of the Christ child and was preparing death squads to eliminate a potential rival to his throne. That Herod had the capacity to kill mercilessly was well-known: he had murdered his way to the Jewish throne and was responsible for the execution of many high-ranking Jews as well as his own wife Mariamne and some of his sons.

Joseph responded immediately, waking Mary, gathering their few belongings, and hastening into the night, bound for Egypt as directed by the angel. The night into which they vanished was both real and figurative. Herod was left in the dark, stymied in his effort to kill the babe. The Light of the World, the hope of humanity, had left Israel, as Joseph shielded the new baby from the world’s attention.

They were directed southward to Egypt, an entirely separate jurisdiction that had only recently been made part of the Roman Empire. Egypt has rich biblical connotations as a place of hope and succor. It was also historically a place of temptation for the Jews—a place where they might forget the Promised Land of their forefathers and the unique spiritual devotion to which they were called.

Many Old Testament figures found refuge in Egypt. Abram went there with his wife Sarai and left with a fortune. Abram later turned to an Egyptian servant girl in order to sire an heir. Decades later his grandson Jacob found relief from famine in Egypt and Jacob’s son Joseph rose to the prime minister’s position, saving Egypt and its people from seven years of deadly famine. Moses became a prince of Egypt when lost to his parents, and the Jewish nation thrived for four centuries in the incubator of Egypt prior to the events leading to the Exodus. Solomon cemented his grandest political alliance by marrying Pharaoh’s daughter and built his army around 12,000 of Egypt’s finest steeds. Later kings would side with Egypt in regional power politics, and Egypt became a haven for Jewish refugees fleeing Assyrians, Babylonians, and Seleucids over the centuries.

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