Matthew 2:20
He no longer says “flee,” but “go,” hinting at relief after the trial. By speaking of the child’s soul he overturns Apollinaris’s claim that the Lord took flesh without mind and without soul.
In Christ’s economic descent into Egypt and his return from there into Judea, God recapitulates the people’s captivity and redeems them from the plot, leading them home again.
Greek
Ἔστη ὁ ἀστὴρ πῆγμα ἓν ἀκίνη τον, ἵνα οἱ μάγοι μηκέτι προβῶσιν· οὐ μὴν κατελθὼν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἔστη ἐπὶ γῆς, οὔτε ἐπάνω τοῦ οἴκου ἐστήριξεν ἑαυτὸν ἔθος ἔχων οὐ κατὰ τὴν τῶν ἄλλων κίνησιν ποιεῖ σθαι τὴν πορείαν, ἀλλὰ ξένον τινὰ δρόμον ποιούμενος καὶ ἄλλοτε ἐν ἄλλοις φαινόμενος κλίμασιν τότε μόνον ἔστη ἀκίνητος. Ἀκίνητος ἦν ὁ ἀστὴρ καὶ ἑστη κώς, ἀλλ' οὐ τὸν οὐρανὸν κατα λιπὼν πλησίον τῆς γῆς ἐπορεύετο οὐδ' ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκίας ἐστήρικτο· οὐ γὰρ τὴν αὐτὴν κίνησιν τοῖς λοιποῖς ἄστροις ἐποιεῖτο, ἀλλὰ ξένην τινὰ καὶ ἀλλόκοτον.
About this text
Catena fragments on Matthew (CPG 5206). Contents follow Matthew chapter and verse. Edition fragment numbers stay in About this text and under each passage.
English follows the named copy-text (Aegean/khazarzar Migne PG 72 extract). Other prints were checked as noted; no silent merge of recensions.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Migne PG 72 Commentarii in Matthaeum (Aegean Digital Patrologia / khazarzar) (Greek · CPG 5206 catena fragments (290 parsed heads))
- Checked print matia.gr mirror of same Aegean extract (Greek · Byte-identical PDF; integrity check only)
- Checked print Internet Archive PG 72 volume OCR (bim … 1859_72) (Greek (OCR damaged) · Locus confirmation only; not used as reading text)
English is newly prepared for study from the stated edition. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.