“When Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.
Parallel translations
- WEB “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
- KJV When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
- BSB When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.
- NASB When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.
- NLT “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God recalls his tender love for Israel as a son whom he called out of Egypt. It reveals the Lord's fatherly heart toward his people from the beginning.
Overview
This verse looks back to the Exodus, when God claimed Israel as his son and redeemed them from slavery. Matthew 2:15 applies this language to Jesus, the true and faithful Son called out of Egypt, showing that Israel's history finds its fulfillment in Christ. The Father's electing love sets the tone for the chapter's astonishing mercy.
Cross-references & the web
Fulfillment
- Matt 2:15and was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Cross-references · 10
- Matt 2:15and was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
- Exod 4:22You shall tell Pharaoh, ‘Yahweh says, Israel is my son, my firstborn,
- Hos 13:4“Yet I am Yahweh your God from the land of Egypt; and you shall acknowledge no god but me, and besides me there is no savior.
- Jer 2:2“Go, and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “I remember for you the kindness of your youth, the love of your weddings; how you went after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
- Hos 2:15I will give her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she will respond there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
- Ezek 16:6“‘“When I passed by you, and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you, ‘Though you are in your blood, live!’ Yes, I said to you, ‘Though you are in your blood, live!’
- Deut 7:7Yahweh didn’t set his love on you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all peoples:
- Hos 12:13By a prophet Yahweh brought Israel up out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved.
- Mal 1:2“I have loved you,” says Yahweh. Yet you say, “How have you loved us?” “Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?” says Yahweh, “Yet I loved Jacob;
- Hos 12:9“But I am Yahweh your God from the land of Egypt. I will yet again make you dwell in tents, as in the days of the solemn feast.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
God's relentless love for an unfaithful bride dramatizes the gospel: 'Out of Egypt I called my son' is fulfilled in Jesus, who redeems an adulterous people at his own cost.
How Hosea 11:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.