How did John the Baptist survive the massacre of the innocents?

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How did John the Baptist survive the massacre of the innocents?

I know that the short answer is “we don’t know for sure”, but is there a traditional answer?

The simplest answer would be that John was just over 2 when the massacre happened.
 
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Timidity:
How did John the Baptist survive the massacre of the innocents?

I know that the short answer is “we don’t know for sure”, but is there a traditional answer?

The simplest answer would be that John was just over 2 when the massacre happened.
Click to expand...
Perhaps the simplest answer is that John the Baptist was raised outside the “vicinity” of Bethlehem.

Matt. 2:16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

Luke 1:39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.

That’s like asking, “How did all the people in Idaho survive the 9/11 attack in New York?”

Peace in Christ…Salmon
 
Protoevangelium of St. James states that St. Elizabeth took St. John the Baptist and fled into the wilderness and that’s how he ended up being a desert hermit. Herod’s guards then went into the temple to ask St. Zechariah where his son was, he would not tell them and so they killed him in front of the altar. However this book is non-canonical, so you do not have to believe its testimony.
 
Zacharia and his family didn’t live in Bethlehem. They lived in Jerusalem with the other priestly families. Herod would not have dared to touch any of them without having a big political stink with Rome to whom Herod would have to have answered if he tried killing any of their children.

Besides, the prophecy was a descendant of the House of David would be the Messiah and since the census had brought the Davidic line to Bethlehem, Herod thought he would be sure to eliminate any boy, two and under (the age he calculated by the visit of the Magi), who might lay claim to the throne through his Davidic heritage.
 
The book, “The Cave of John the Baptist” contains some excellent research into the life of John. However, keep in mind that the book was written by an archeologist who is not a christian. But he did some excellent research from a historical perspective.
 
Undoubtedly it was the will of God that John should survive, as much as Jesus calls him the greatest prophet of the Old Testament.

The scripture that has already been cited should serve quite well.
 
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Timidity:
How did John the Baptist survive the massacre of the innocents?

I know that the short answer is “we don’t know for sure”, but is there a traditional answer?

The simplest answer would be that John was just over 2 when the massacre happened.
Click to expand...
Ein Karem is about 15 miles from Jerusalem.
 
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Timidity:
How did John the Baptist survive the massacre of the innocents?

I know that the short answer is “we don’t know for sure”, but is there a traditional answer?

The simplest answer would be that John was just over 2 when the massacre happened.
Click to expand...

No one knows 🙂​

 
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