Matthew 2:16 - 18

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.”

Herod was not a happy camper, he had planned to kill one child, the one which could grow up and replace him and his family.

Since the wise-men did not report back and identify the child king. Herod could not assassinate one competitor. He decided to eliminate all of the possible children. The scripture says male children in the NKJV, but Zerr says the word for which children is translated from according to Thayer means “a child. Boy or girl;...plural infants. Children.” So Herod killed all children from the age of two down to newborn.

Remember, Herod had interrogated the wise-men to find out when they first saw the star. This was approximately 2 years earlier. It may have been a little earlier, but Herod wanted to make sure he eliminated all possibilities.

This slaughter of the innocents fulfilled the prophecy written by Jeremiah in chapter 31 verse 15.

Rama was near Jerusalem, and Rachel was buried in the area. Rachel was an important “mother in Israel” and her name is used to represent the mothers of the children who were grieving for the slain children.

Matthew, being inspired knew of the prophecy written by the inspired writer, Jeremiah, so he quoted the prophecy and cited the writer.