Luke 1:80

Verse 80. Saint John remained in the desert till the 30th year of his age. The reason why he concealed himself so long was because he feared the cruelty of Herod; for, though he was not under his jurisdiction, not being on the confines of Bethlehem, yet on account of the remarkable events that took place at his birth, by which he was declared the precursor of the Messias, he had reason to dread the cruelty of the jealous and suspicious Herod. Peter of Alexandria, Nicephorus, Baronius, and others, say, that when he was yet in his mother’s arms, he was conveyed into the desert, and there concealed in the caves and fissures of the rocks, where people concealed themselves on the approach of their enemies. Cedrinus adds, that 40 days after their flight, the mother of Saint John died; after which, an angel is said to have undertaken the care of the Baptist; but most probably this office was performed by some attendant on S. Elizabeth. Tirinus.—The Baptist remained in the desert till he began his public ministry, which by a law of the Jews could not be much before he had attained his 30th years. He is styled by antiquity the first hermit. See S. Jerom in Vita Pauli.