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Matthew 2:14-15 (NLT)
14 That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, 15 and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.” [1]

[1]
Hosea 11:1.

DRAWING NOTES:

TIME OF DAY:
I have set this scene in the very early morning.

LIGHTING NOTES:
The glow in the sky to the right shows that the sun has not yet risen above the horizon. Shadows fall away from the pre-dawn sun, to the left & below figures & objects.

CHARACTERS PRESENT:
Mary with Jesus on the donkey, Joseph hurrying out of the house they have been staying in, in the town of Bethlehem.

RESEARCH/ADDITIONAL NOTES:
There are two versions of this scene:
01) (This page) Matthew 02 – The Nativity SET 02 – Scene 12 – Escape to Egypt (Baby version). This version shows Jesus as a baby, strapped closely to Mary his mother as they prepare to journey to Egypt.

02) (Next page) Matthew 02 – The Nativity SET 02 – Scene 12 – Escape to Egypt (Toddler version). This version shows Jesus as a toddler of approximately 2 years old, held in his mother’s arms on the back of their donkey.

Verse 14 informs us that Joseph, Mary & Jesus set out for Egypt at night. I imagine travelling at night would be extremely hazardous, most especially with the steep ravines that surrounded Bethlehem on 3 of it’s 4 sides! I have shown the trio (with their donkey) setting out in the very early morning instead.

The background is the same drawing I used for Scene 10 – The wise men return home (Toddler version), but I have darkened the colours to better represent pre-dawn night time. Notice there is a dark storm approaching from the north (which is towards Jerusalem), this is a visual pathetic fallacy [1], (or perhaps simply a personification in nature?) which I have employed on occasion in my drawings.

Here’s the scene without the figures.

Background of Matthew 02 – The Nativity SET 02 – Scene 12 – Escape to Egypt (Baby version)

Click on the colour bar below to view/buy this Background:
Background of Matthew 02 – The Nativity SET 02 – Scene 12 – Escape to Egypt (Baby version)

I thought I would use the same colours for the donkey & luggage which I used in “Matthew 02 – The Nativity SET 01 – Scene 12 – Flight to Egypt” (which I created in Nov 2012), to give consistency between the sets of Nativity cartoons.

[1]
The pathetic fallacy is a figure of speech in which the natural world (or some part of it) is treated as though it had human emotions. The phrase “weeping willow” is an example of the pathetic fallacy, since it suggests that this tree is sad or dejected, which of course is not true – it just looks that way to our eyes. This is also a kind of personification, or describing non-human objects in human ways.

In the strictest sense, the pathetic fallacy can only be applied to nature – animals, trees, weather patterns, etc. However, it is also sometimes used more loosely to refer to an emotional metaphor regarding everyday objects that aren’t typically thought of as “natural.”

When used figuratively, the pathetic fallacy is not a logical fallacy (i.e. an error of reasoning), but rather a simple image or figure of speech. However, if taken literally it definitely constitutes a fallacy.

The term comes from the Greek word pathos, meaning “emotion,” and is only distantly related to the usual meaning of the word “pathetic.”
[Source: https://literaryterms.net/pathetic-fallacy/]