Watoto wa Bethlehemu

Watoto wa Bethlehemu (waliuawa 5 KK hivi) ni watoto wa kiume wa chini ya miaka 2 waliopatikana Bethlehemu na kuuawa kwa agizo la mfalme Herode Mkuu ili kati yao afe mtoto Yesu pia (Math 2:16-18)https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/221506.

Sababu ni kwamba mamajusi kutoka mashariki walikuwa wamefika Yerusalemu ili kumtafuta mfalme wa Wayahudi aliyezaliwa na hatimaye wamuabudu na kumzawadia. Habari hiyo ilimshtusha Herode na kumfanya atake kumuua.

Aliposikia kwamba mamajusi walirudi kwao kutoka Bethlehemu bila kumpa taarifa kamili juu ya mtoto, aliagiza wauawe watoto wote wa kiume wa kijiji hicho wenye umri chini ya miaka 2.Matthew 2:17: "Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 'A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more.'"

Imekadiriwa kwamba watoto hao waliweza kuwa 20-40 hiviRaymond E. BrownDonald A. Hagner, World Biblical Commentary, Matthew 1-13, page 37. 

Hata hivyo, mlengwa mwenyewe, Yesu, alinusurika kwa wazee wake kutoroka naye hadi Misri, waliposhi kama wakimbizi mpaka baada ya kifo cha Herode.

Kwa kuwa watoto hao waliuawa kwa niaba ya Yesu, kama malimbuko ya wale wote watakaomwaga damu yao kwa ajili ya Mungu na ya Mwanakondoo wake, tangu kale wanaheshimiwa na Wakristo wa madhehebu mengi kama wafiadiniBill Doggett, Gordon W. Lathrop, New Proclamation Commentary on Feasts, Holy Days, and Other Celebrations, (Fortress Press, 2007) page 43..

Sikukuu yao inaadhimishwa tangu karne ya 5, hasa tarehe 27 Desemba na 28 DesembaMartyrologium Romanum.

Ingawa habari hiyo haipatikani nje ya Injili, tabia ya Herode ilikuwa ya namna hiyo, hata aliua watoto wake 3, mke wake mmojawapo na mama-mkweJosephus, Antiquities of the Jews,  (at Wikisource)R. T. France, addressing the story's absence in Antiquities of the Jews, argues that "the murder of a few infants in a small village [is] not on a scale to match the more spectacular assassinations recorded by Josephus". R. T. France, "The Gospel of Matthew", NICNT (2007).

Tazama pia
Watakatifu wa Agano la Kale
Orodha ya Watakatifu Wakristo
Orodha ya Watakatifu wa Afrika
Orodha ya Watakatifu Wafransisko

Tanbihi

Marejeo ya Kiswahili
 Masomo ya Breviari - Sikukuu za Bwana, za Bikira Maria na za Watakatifu - Ndanda Mission Press 1978, uk 481-483
 John Kabeya na wengine - Maisha ya Watakatifu – ed. T.M.P. Book Department – Tabora 1965, 1989, uk. 469-470
 Pd. Leandry Kimario, O.F.M.Cap. - Mfahamu Mtakatifu Somo Wako - Maisha ya Watakatifu wa Kila Siku pamoja na Watakatifu Wafransisko - Toleo la pili - Dar es Salaam 2021, uk. 406-407
 Maurice Soseleje, Kalendari yetu – Maisha ya Watakatifu – Toleo la pili – ed. Benedictine Publications Ndanda Peramiho – Peramiho 1986 – ISBN 9976-63-112-X, uk. 97

 Marejeo ya lugha nyingine
Albright, W. F. and C. S. Mann. "Matthew." The Anchor Bible Series. New York: Doubleday & Company, 1971.
Clarke, Howard W. The Gospel of Matthew and its Readers: A Historical Introduction to the First Gospel. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003.
Robert Eisenman, 1997. James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Viking/Penguin.
Goulder, M. D. Midrash and Lection in Matthew. London: SPCK, 1974.
Jones, Alexander. The Gospel According to St. Matthew. London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1965.
Schweizer, Eduard. The Good News According to Matthew. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1975.

Viungo vya nje

Catholic Encyclopedia: "Holy Innocents"
Images of the "Massacre of the Innocents"
The Holy Martyred 14,000 Infants
The Massacre of the Innocents by H. Colombo from the De Verda Collection

Category:Waliofariki 5 KK
Category:Watu wa Biblia
Category:Wafiadini Wakristo
Category:Watakatifu wa Israeli
Jamii:Yesu Kristo