2:17–18 Wailing in Ramah
The Grief of Mothers and Children. Anonymous: “A voice was heard in
Ramah.” Ramah was Saul’s city. Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin. Benjamin was
the son of Rachel, whose memorial was near Bethlehem, where these wicked deeds
were done. Therefore, since the babies were killed in Bethlehem, where there is
a monument to Rachel, this is why Rachel is described as weeping.32
… What he meant by “weeping” is revealed as the tears of the infants; what he
meant by “wailing” is shown to be the lamenting of the mothers. For the babies
wept because they were separated from their mothers. The mothers wept because
they were bereft of their children, as if their insides were being torn from
them. And it is possible to see greater grief in the mothers who remained
behind than in the dying babies. For the children suffered a single moment of
grief, because they had been separated from their mothers, not because they
were being led out to death. For they did not yet possess a fear of death. The
mothers, however, experienced twofold suffering: in the first place, they saw
their own babies being killed; in the second place, they were themselves bereft
of their children. For the children, death brought a blessed end to their
grief. For the mothers, however, the memory of their babies continually renewed
their grief. Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 2. (Matthew 1-13,
ed. Manlio Simonetti [Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture; Downers Grove,
Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2001], 35)
