Matthew 2:3-6

KJV
3When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

All of Jerusalem was troubled. Why?

I like that image: troubled Jerusalem. I could imagine writing a poem called Troubled Jerusalem.

Troubled Jerusalem

The roads turn into clouds
through which
the corners of homes
are nervous elbows.

4And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

Very clever. Have the smart people tell you where the Messiah will be born before he has become the Messiah. Create a false sense of consensus. In reality, consensus is the hardest thing to find or to build.

I'll never forget when Asimov showed me how Daniel's prophecies are more vivid than the descriptions of his own period (Asimov's Guide to the Bible). Why? Because of course they wrote of Daniel's prophecies after they had already occurred. What better way to make sure they're correct?

There's something more going on here than just prophecy-making, though. It's also history-making. The writer of this gospel is picking a ruler who reigned at about the time he wants or believes his Jesus to have been born. This sort of wishful approximation leads to difficulties for historians later, when they try to think about who ruled what when and then tie it to other events. The gospel writers were not as sophisticated as the historians who would come after them, at least, not as historically sophisticated. Of course, they did create a compelling story. I mean, here we have the powerful king getting nervous about the birth of a little baby. It's like a male version of Snow White.