How far was it from Nazareth to Egypt and how long did Mary and Joseph stay there?

Answer 1

Well honey, Nazareth to Egypt is about 400 miles as the crow flies, but Mary and Joseph weren't flying. They probably took the scenic route, so who knows how many miles they actually traveled. As for how long they stayed in Egypt, The Bible doesn't give us an exact timeline, but let's just say they got pretty cozy with the pyramids before heading back home.

Answer 2

In Matthew's Gospel, Bethlehem appears to be the home town of Jesus' parents, Joseph and Mary. After Jesus was born, magicame following a star from the east to see the new Messiah, whom they found in a house in Bethlehem. But Herod was afraid that Jesus would become king in his place. Jesus and his family fled immediately to Egypt, while Herod had all the infants killed, in order to remove a supposed rival. After Herod died, the family returned towards Bethlehem but,being warned in a dream, turned aside and migrated to Nazareth in Galilee.

Matthew says that Herod was afraid that Jesus would grow up to usurp his throne. First of all, Herod demonstrated a significant lack of concern as to whether his sons succeeded him, so he must have felt that he himself would be overthrown. As he was quite an old man when he died, Matthew seems to suggest that Jesus was born well before Herod died, when he was still young enough to expect to reign for a few more years. So, Matthew seems to place the birth of Jesus quite a few years before 4 BCE. Herod's son, Archelaus, only ruled until 6 CE, when Judea became a province ruled from Rome. Therefore the return would have been between 4 BCE and 6 CE.

From this analysis, it can not be said just how long Jesus would have stayed in Egypt, other than that it would have to be several years. On hearing of Herod's death, the family began to return to their home in Bethlehem but being warned of danger from King Archelaus, turned aside and travelled northwards to Nazareth in Galilee. They would not have taken the shortest route to Nazareth, since that would have taken them through Samaria, which was hostile territory for Jews. Their only choice would be to travel to the east of the River Jordan. As they had at first headed from Egypt towards Bethlehem, they could have travelled south of the Dead Sea and then north to the Decapolis and cross back at some point to Galilee. Alternatively, they could have crossed the River Jordan somewhere to the north of the Dead Sea and travelled north. The actual distance travelled depends on the route they took.

Luke's Gospel also has a story of the birth of Jesus. However, in this story, Nazareth was the hometown of Joseph and Mary, and they did return home peacefully within just a few weeks of the birth of Jesus. On this account, Jesus never spent time in Egypt.

Answer 3

As they walked slowly and Mary on a donkey, that does not travel fast like a horse they covered 4-to 7 miles a day s. so it took them time a year or two.

Answer 4

I was born yesterday