Is this a Thomas Dydimus discussion?
Dost thous mean
moi?
My input:
Bethlehem indeed was not a large place, and the 'Massacre of the Innocents', if it took place, which I personally believe did, scholars say would involve numbers somewhere between 5-25 children. Certainly not the thousands that apocryphally accrue to the legend.
John the Baptist would have escaped because he was not in Bethlehem.
Whilst Josephus, for example, makes no record of such an act, he and others describe Herod as being so cruel and vindictive, especially when perceived a personal slight, that the murder of even 50-odd children is small fry by comparison to some of the things he got up to ...
The flight into Egypt was simply because Egypt had become the common place to flee the Hasmodian menace, it was beyond Herod's jurisdiction, but within Roman rule, it was no great distance away, and travel was relatively safe. It always seemed to me to beg the question 'why Egypt, of all places?', but apparently such was not uncommon ... better the devil you know, I suppose...
The salient point is what did the author of Matthew have in mind?
It is apparent that the author wanted to present Jesus as the fulfilment of the promise of Scripture, something he does constantly. The whole narrative account refers to the realisation of prophecy, which is why some claim the massacre of the innocents and the flight into Egypt are both figurative devices drawn from the Hebrew scriptures. Others. of course, say they are true, and that they were prophesied, and therefore the prophecies are true...
Thomas