When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they RETURNED to Nazareth

[tonychanyt]

Leviticus prescribed the laws concerning after giving birth to a son, 12:

3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 Then she shall remain in the blood of her purification for thirty-three days; she shall not touch any consecrated thing, nor enter the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Luke 2:

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.

Eight days later:

21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

The period of purification for Mary lasted for forty days from the birth. The distance between Bethlehem and Jerusalem was less than 10 km. The family traveled to Jerusalem,

When Jesus was 40/41 days old:

22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”

39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth

It is about 120 Km from Nazareth to Jerusalem

When Jesus was less than three years old, wise men met King Herod in Jerusalem, Matthew 2

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem

The wise men then met baby Jesus in Bethlehem:

7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

When Jesus was 40 days old, after the ritual in the Jerusalem temple, did the family immediately go to Nazareth as suggested in Luke 2:39?

They could have, and then they moved to Bethelem from Nazareth.

Alternatively, maybe not. for some reason, Luke skipped the account of the wise men and went straight to Nazareth in Luke 2:39.