Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the Wise-men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the male children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had exactly learned of the Wise-men.

He is the one about whom it was written [Mal. 3:1], 'Look, I [will] send my messenger on ahead of you. He will prepare the pathway in front of you.'

And if you are willing to accept [this truth], this person [i.e., John] fulfills [the prophecy of] the coming of Elijah. [See Mal. 4:5-6]

And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries (tefillin) wide [to make them more conspicuous] and make their tassels long.