Out of Egypt I Called My Son

Understanding the Use of Hosea 11:1 in Matthew 2:15

After the magi visited Jesus, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream and told him to depart with his family: “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him” (Matt. 2:13).

According to Matthew 2:14–15, Joseph obeyed the directive. Right after Matthew tells of Joseph’s obedience, the biblical author makes a statement about fulfillment: “This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’”

Matthew is claiming that what we read about in 2:14–15 is a fulfillment of earlier Scripture, specifically Hosea 11:1, “the prophet” whom Matthew quoted.

When you read books about the New Testament use of the Old Testament, a classic example that you find is the use of Hosea 11:1 in Matthew 2:15. This connection is fruitful for our thinking as we learn more about how later biblical authors used earlier texts and how these authors saw those texts in light of the coming of Christ.

How does Matthew understand Hosea 11:1 to be about Christ?