The Return to Nazareth

After Herod dies, Joseph is told in a dream to return from Egypt to the land of Israel. Fear of Archelaus in Judea redirects the family to Galilee, where they settle in Nazareth and the prophets’ word is fulfilled.

A¹⁹fter Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. ²⁰“Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those seeking the Child’s life are now dead.” ²¹So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and went to the land of Israel. ²²But when he learned that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, ²³and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”