This painting has long been identified as Flight into Egypt, derived from the episode in Matthew 2:13-15, in which Joseph takes Mary and the infant Jesus from Israel to Egypt in order to protect the baby from Herod's  anger. It may be that the painting depicts the Return from Egypt, since the couple's smiles and Joseph's wave seem to reflect the happier occasion of the return to their homeland.

 

The scene is derived from a painting by Martin de Vos (1532–1603) and engraved by Joan Baptiste Barbe (1579–1649). Partridge, however, has painted a brick house in the background, typical of the Dutch houses constructed in New York, rather than a thatch-roofed cottage that appears in Barbe's print.