In Christianity, the Biblical Magi ( or ; singular: ), also known as the Three Wise Men, Three Kings, and Three Magi, are distinguished foreigners who visit the infant Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. In Western Christianity, they are commemorated on the feast day of Epiphany—sometimes called "Three Kings Day"—and commonly appear in the nativity celebrations of Christmas; in Eastern Christianity, they are commemorated on Christmas day.
The Magi appear solely in the Gospel of Matthew, which states that they "saw his star in the east" and came to worship the "one who has been born king of the Jews". Their names, origins, appearances, and exact number are unmentioned and derive from the inferences or traditions of later Christians. In Western and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, they are usually assumed to have been three in number, corresponding with each gift;Geza Vermes, The Nativity: History and Legend, London, Penguin, 2006, p. 22 in Syriac Christianity, they often number twelve.Metzger, 24 Likewise, the Magi's social status is never stated: although some biblical translations describe them as astrologers, they were increasingly identified as kings by at least the third century, which conformed with Christian interpretations of Old Testament prophecies that the messiah would be worshipped by kings.
The mystery of the Magi's identities and background, combined with their theological significance, has made them prominent figures in the Christian tradition; they are venerated as saints or even martyrs in many Christian communities, and are the subject of numerous artworks, legends, and customs. Both secular and Christian observers have noted that the Magi popularly serve as a means of expressing various ideas, symbols, and themes. Many scholars regard the Magi as legendary rather than historical figures.Marcus Borg, 'The Meaning of the Birth Stories' in Marcus Borg, N T Wright, The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions (Harper One, 1999) page 179: "I (and most mainline scholars) do not see these stories as historically factual."
Biblical account
Traditional nativity scenes depict three "wise men" visiting the infant Jesus on the night of his birth, in a manger accompanied by the shepherds and angels, but this should be understood as an artistic convention allowing the two separate scenes of the Adoration of the Shepherds on the birth night and the later Adoration of the Magi to be combined for convenience.Schiller, 114 The single biblical account in simply presents an event at an unspecified point after Jesus's birth in which an unnumbered party of unnamed "wise men" () visit him in a house (), not a stable. The New Revised Standard Version of Matthew 2:1–12 describes the visit of the Magi in this manner:
The text specifies no interval between the birth and the visit, and artistic depictions and the closeness of the traditional dates of December 25 and January 6 encourage the popular assumption that the visit took place the same winter as the birth, but later traditions varied, with the visit taken as occurring up to two winters later. This maximum interval explained Herod's command at Matthew 2:16–18 that the Massacre of the Innocents included boys up to two years old. Some more recent commentators, not tied to the traditional feast days, suggest a variety of intervals.Schiller, I, 96; The New Testament by Bart D. Ehrman 1999 p. 109
The wise men are mentioned twice shortly thereafter in verse 16, in reference to their avoidance of Herod after seeing Jesus, and what Herod had learned from their earlier meeting. The star which they followed has traditionally become known as the Star of Bethlehem.
Description
The Magi are popularly referred to as wise men and kings. The word is the plural of Latin , borrowed from Greek (),Oxford English Dictionary, Third edition, April 2010, s.v. magus as used in the original Greek text of the Gospel of Matthew (in the plural: ). The Greek itself is derived from Old Persian maguš, which in turn originated from the Avestan magâunô, referring to the Iranian priestly caste of Zoroastrianism.Yasna 33.7: "ýâ sruyê parê magâunô" = "so I can be heard beyond Magi"Mary Boyce, A History of Zoroastrianism: The Early Period (Brill, 1989, 2nd ed.), vol. 1, pp. 10–11 online; Mary Boyce, Zoroastrians: their religious beliefs and practices (Routledge, 2001, 2nd ed.), p. 48 online; Linda Murray, The Oxford Companion to Christian Art and Architecture (Oxford University Press, 1996), p. 293; Stephen Mitchell, A History of the Later Roman Empire, AD 284–641: The Transformation of the Ancient World (Wiley–Blackwell, 2007), p. 387 online. Within this tradition, priests paid particular attention to the stars and gained an international reputation for astrology, which was at that time highly regarded as a science. Their religious practices and astrological abilities caused derivatives of the term Magi to be applied to the occult in general and led to the English term magic.
The King James Version translates "magi" as wise men; the same translation is applied to the wise men led by Daniel of earlier Hebrew Scriptures (). The same word is given as sorcerer and sorcery when describing "Elymas the sorcerer" in , and Simon Magus, considered a heretic by the early Church, in . Several translations refer to the men outright as astrologers at Matthew Chapter 2, including New English Bible (1961); The New Testament in Modern English (J.B.Phillips, 1972); Twentieth Century New Testament (1904 revised edition); Amplified Bible (1958, New Testament); An American Translation (1935, Goodspeed); and The Living Bible (K. Taylor, 1962, New Testament).
Although the Magi are commonly referred to as "kings", there is nothing in the Gospel of Matthew that implies they were rulers of any kind. The identification of the Magi as kings is linked to Old Testament prophecies that describe the Messiah being worshipped by kings in Isaiah 60:3, Psalm , and , which reads, "Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations serve him." (King James Version)"Magi". Encyclopædia Britannica.s.v. magi. Oxford English Dictionary (Third ed.). April 1910. Early readers reinterpreted Matthew in light of these prophecies and elevated the Magi to kings, which became widely accepted by at least 500 A.D.Drum, Walter. "Magi." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 24 Dec. 2016. Later Christian interpretation stressed the adoration of the Magi and shepherds as the first recognition by humans of Christ as the Redeemer. However, the Protestant reformer John Calvin was vehemently opposed to referring to the Magi as kings, writing: "But the most ridiculous contrivance of the Papists on this subject is, that those men were kings... Beyond all doubt, they have been stupefied by a righteous judgment of God, that all might laugh at [their] gross ignorance."Ashby, Chad. "Magi, Wise Men, or Kings? It's Complicated ." Christianity Today, December 16, 2016. Quote from Commentary on Matthew 2:1–6
Identities and background
The names and origins of the Magi are never given in scripture, but have been provided by various traditions and legends.See Metzger, 23–29 for a lengthy account
Among Western Christians, the earliest and most common names are: Melchior (; also Melichior). Caspar ( or ; also Gaspar, Jaspar, Jaspas, Gathaspa,Hugo Kehrer (1908), Vol. I, p. 70 Online version Kehrer's commentary: "Die Form Jaspar stammt aus Frankreich. Sie findet sich im niederrheinisch-kölnischen Dialekt und im Englischen. Note: O. Baist p. 455; J.P.Migne; Dictionnaire des apocryphes, Paris 1856, vol I, p. 1023. ... So in La Vie de St. Gilles; Li Roumans de Berte: Melcior, Jaspar, Baltazar; Rymbybel des Jakob von Märlant: Balthasar, Melchyor, Jaspas; ein altenglisches Gedicht des dreizehnten oder vierzehnten Jahrhunderts (13th century!!) Note: C.Horstmann, Altenglische Legenden, Paderborn 1875, p. 95; ... La Vie des trois Roys Jaspar Melchior et Balthasar, Paris 1498" and other variations). Balthazar ( or ; also Balthasar, Balthassar, and Bithisarea).
These names first appear in an eighth-century religious chronicle, Excerpta Latina Barbari, which is a Latin translation of a lost Greek manuscript probably composed in Alexandria roughly two centuries earlier.Excerpta Latina Barbari, page 51B: "At that time in the reign of Augustus, on 1st January the Magi brought him gifts and worshipped him. The names of the Magi were Bithisarea, Melichior and Gathaspa". Another eighth century text, Collectanea et Flores, which was likewise a Latin translation from an original Greek account, continues the tradition of three kings and their names and gives additional details.Hugo Kehrer (1908), Die Heiligen Drei Könige in Literatur und Kunst (reprinted in 1976). Vol. I, p. 66. Online version. Quote from the Latin chronicle: primus fuisse dicitur Melchior, senex et canus, barba prolixa et capillis, tunica hyacinthina, sagoque mileno, et calceamentis hyacinthino et albo mixto opere, pro mitrario variae compositionis indutus: aurum obtulit regi Domino. ("the first [magus], named Melchior, was an old white-haired man, with a full beard and hair, [...]: the king gave gold to our Lord.") Secundum, nomine Caspar, juvenis imberbis, rubicundus, mylenica tunica, sago rubeo, calceamentis hyacinthinis vestitus: thure quasi Deo oblatione digna, Deum honorabat. ("The second, with name Caspar, a beardless boy, [... gave incense].") Tertius, fuscus, integre barbatus, Balthasar nomine, habens tunicam rubeam, albo vario, calceamentis inimicis amicus: per myrrham filium hominis moriturum professus est. ("The third one, dark-haired, with a full beard, named Balthasar, [... gave myrrh].") Omnia autem vestimenta eorum Syriaca sunt. ("The clothes of all [three] were Syrian-style.")Collectanea et Flores in Patrologia Latina. XCIV, page 541(D) Online version
One candidate for the origin of the name Caspar appears in the apocryphal Acts of Thomas, which gives the account of Thomas the Apostle's visit to the Indo-Parthian King Gondophares I (AD 21– ), also known as Gudapharasa, from which "Caspar" might derive as corruption of "Gaspar". Gondophares had declared independence from the Arsacids and ruled a kingdom spanning present-day Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. According to Ernst Herzfeld, his name is perpetuated in the name of the Afghan city Kandahar, which he is said to have founded under the name Gundopharron.Ernst Herzfeld, Archaeological History of Iran, London, Oxford University Press for the British Academy, 1935, p. 63.
Within Eastern Christianity, the Magi have varied names. Among Syrian Christians, they are Larvandad, Gushnasaph, and Hormisdas,Witold Witakowski, "The Magi in Syriac Tradition", in George A. Kiraz (ed.), Malphono w-Rabo d-Malphone: Studies in Honor of Sebastian P. Brock, Piscataway (NJ), Gorgias Press, 2008, pp. 809–844. which are approximations of typical Zoroastrian names, in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, they are Hor, Karsudan, and Basanater, while Armenian Catholics have Kagpha, Badadakharida and Badadilma.Acta Sanctorum, May, I, 1780.Concerning The Magi And Their Names .
The list given by Michael the SyrianJ.-.B. Chabot (translator). 1899. Chronique de Michel le Syrien vol. 1, p. 141-142 in his chronicle has these eleven names: Dahdnadur, son of Artaban Waštaph, son of Gudpir Aršak, son of Mahduq Zerwand, son of Warudud Ariwah, son of Khosrow Arṭaḥšišt, son of Ḥōlīṭ Eštanbuzan, son of Šišrawan Mahduq, son of Hawahm Aḥšireš, son of Ṣaḥban Ṣardanaḥ, son of Baladan Marduk, son of Bīl