Magi

The Three Magi. Romanesque mosaic from the Basilica of St Apollinarius in Ravenna, Italy.

In Christianity, the Magi or Three Wise Men, are Zoroastrian astrologer-priests who according to the New Testament, came "from the East to Jerusalem", following a bright star, to worship the Infant Jesus (Gospel of Matthew 2: 1). Among their gifts were gold, frankincense, and myrrh, which they offered to Jesus in recognition of his royal status as the "King of the Jews." Although they were Gentiles, the Magi were the first people to acknowledge Jesus as a King. Their journey is still commemorated today in naitivity scenes and Christmas carols, and they are seen as personifications of both generosity and dedication. The word Magi is also the origin of the English words magic and magician.

Etymology

Magi is a transliteration of the Greek magos (μαγος pl. μαγοι), which is a deravative from Old-Persian maguš. The term is a specific occupational title referring to the Zoroastrian priests of the late Persian Empire. The Greek word is attested from the 5th century B.C.E. as a direct loan from the term maguš, which is a Persian u-stem adjective from an Indo-Iranian root *magh "powerful, rich." This root (*magh-) appears to have expressed ability, which is also see in Attic Greek mekhos (cf. mechanics) and in Germanic magan (English may), magts. The original significance of the name for the Magi thus seems to have been "the powerful". Avestan has the related terms maga, magauuan, meaning "sacrifice" and "sacrificer" and the modern Persian Mobed is derived from an Old Persian compound magu-pati "lord priest".

According to the Greek writer Herodotus, the word magos was held by aristocrats of the Median nation and specifically to Zoroastrian astronomer-priests. In Herodotus' writings, the term magos usually refered to a member of the tribe of the Medes (1.101) who could interpret dreams (7.37). However , with the spread of Hellenism, magos started to be used as an adjective, meaning "magical", as in magas techne "ars magica" (e.g. used by Philostratus).

Some translations of the Bible, such as the King James Version and the New Revised Standard Version, render magos as "Wise Men". Yet, the same Greek word is rendered as "sorcerer" or magician in the account of "Elymas" the sorcerer in Acts 13. [1] The term is also used to identify Simon Magus in Acts 8.

Since the passage in Matthew implies that they were observers of the stars, most conclude that the intended meaning of magos is "astrologer-priests." Indeed, Wycliffe's translation of the Gospel reads not "wise men" but "astrologers" because in ancient times "astrology" encompassed both astrology and astronomy. Ludolph of Saxony (died 1378) thus wrote:

"The three pagan kings were called Magi not because they were magicians but because of the great science of astrology which was theirs. Those whom the Hebrews called scribes and the Greeks, philosophers, and the Latins, wise men, the Persians called Magi. And the reason that they were called kings is that in those days it was the custom for the philosophers and wise men to be rulers." — Vita Christi.

Historical Background

The Magi were the sacred caste of the Medes from ancient Media, (inhabitants of Persia)[2], who were responsible for the religious and funerary practices, and who eventually accepted the Zoroastrian religion.

The Magi organized Persian society after the fall of Assyria and Babylon. However, their power was curtailed by Persian Emperor Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire, and by his son Cambyses II; the Magi revolted against Cambyses and set up a rival claimant to the throne, one of their own, who took the name of Smerdis. Smerdis and his forces were defeated by the Persians under Darius I. The sect of the Magi continued in Persia, though its influence was limited after this political setback.

During the Classical era (555 B.C.E.- 300 C.E.), some Magi migrated westward[3], settling in Greece, and then Italy. For more than a century, Mithraism, a religion derived from Persia, was the largest single religion in Rome. The Magi were likely involved in its practice.

The Book of Jeremiah (39:3, 39:13) gives a title rab mag "chief magus" to the head of the Magi, Nergal Sharezar. It is also believed by Christians that the Jewish prophet Daniel was "rab mag" and entrusted a Messianic vision (to be announced in due time by a "star") to a secret sect of the Magi for its eventual fulfillment (Daniel 4:9; 5: 11).

After invading Arabs succeeded in taking Ctesiphon in 637, Islam largely superseded Zoroastrianism, and the power of the Magi faded. Many (but not all) of the Magi fled the advent of Islam in Persia by emigrating to India, settling in western principalities which form the modern states of Gujarat and Maharastra. As one can only be Zoroastrian by birth, the number of Parsis and Zoroastrians in the world is shrinking. Suffice to say Parsis are very rare, and Magi are even rarer.

Accounts of the Magi in Christianity

According to the Gospel of Matthew, the Magi were the first religious figures to worship Christ. It is said the Magi travelled from the east following a bright star which lead them to Jerusalem. They first visited Herod (appointed as a vassal king of Judea by the Roman Empire), asking him where the new King could be found. Herod, showing his knowledge of local prophesy, sent them to Bethlehem, and asked that they return when they had found him (Matthew 2:1–Matthew 2:8). There, they appeared before the infant Jesus, and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11). Of these three gifts, the last is the most important: Myrrh was an herb that was mixed with oil to make a chrism, that is the ointment marking Jesus as a royal figure, a King. Accordingly, the three gifts are interpreted as prophetic emblems of Jesus' identity: 1) Frankincense, was an incense used in temple worship, and speaks of Jesus' priesthood. 2) Gold speaks of Jesus' kingship. 3) Myrrh, was a spice or balm used in preparing bodies for burial, speaks of Jesus' atoning death.

After offering the gifts, the Magi were warned in a divine dream not to go back to Herod, and so returned to Persia by another route. This infuriated Herod and resulted in his massacre of the Holy Innocents (Matthew 2:12, and 16-18).

As judicial astrologers, the Magi were known for the respect of spiritual light and rejection of spiritual darkness. The star that was rising in the East, was interpreted by hearers of Matthew as the fulfillment of the "Star Prophecy" from the Book of Numbers 24:17:—There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth." However, the Star Propecy was not alone in identifying Bethlehem as the natal place for a coming king: an interpretation of the Book of Isaiah presented before Herod also identified Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Jewish Messiah, who would be a descendant or "son" of King David. Yet, again, the clearest prophecy of Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Messiah is found in Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." (Book of Micah.)

Traditional Names for the Three Magi

The traditional names of the Magi in the West are Caspar (or Gaspar), Melchior and Balthasar (or Balthazar). Caspar is sometimes given as Gaspar, a variant of the Persian Jasper - "Master of the Treasure" - from which the name of the mineral Jasper is derived. However, other cultures have different names for the Magi. For example, the Syrian Christians use Larvandad, Hormisdas, and Gushnasaph, and in Ethiopian Christianity the Magi are named, Karsudan, Hor and Basanater.

The names of the Magi do not appear anywhere in the New Testament nor do the Gospels state specifically that the Magi were three in number. According to Christian tradition, it is generally accepted that there were three Magi because three gifts were given to the infant Jesus; however, many gifts were given to the child that night as well as gold, frankincense and myrrh. These last three gifts, because of their price and significance, became worthy of note.

The Magi depicted in Art

Adoration of the Magi by Fra Angelico and Filippo Lippi

The Three Wise Men most frequently appear in European art in the Adoration of the Magi; less often The Journey of the Magi. More generally they appear in popular Nativity scenes and other Christmas decorations that have their origins in the Neapolitan variety of the Italian presepio or Nativity crèche; they are featured in Menotti's opera Amahl and the Night Visitors, and in several Christmas carols, of which the best-known English one is "We Three Kings".

An early Anglo-Saxon picture survived on the Franks Casket, probably a pagan king’s hoard-box (early 7th century C.E., whalebone carving); or rather the pagan king’s hoard-box survived because of that picture.[4] In its composition it follows the oriental style, which renders a courtly scene with the Virgin and Christ facing the spectator, while the Magi devoutly approach from the (left) side.*

Artists have also allegorized the theme to represent the three ages of man. Since the Age of Discoveries, the Kings also represent three parts of the world. Balthasar is thus represented as a young African or Moor and Caspar may be depicted with distinctive Oriental features.

In the film Donovan's Reef, a Christmas play is held in French Polynesia. Instead of the traditional correspondence of continents and Magi, the version for Polynesian Catholics features the "king of Polynesia", the "king of America" and the "king of China".

Further sentimental narrative detail was added in the novel and movie Ben-Hur, where Balthasar appears as an old man, who goes back to Palestine to see the former child Jesus become an adult.

Commemoration of Magi in Different Cultures

Most Christain celebrations of the birth of Christ often depict the Magi in their festivities, but around the world they take on their own distinct cultural flair. In the Roman Catholic Church the visit of the Magi to Jesus as a child is commemorated on the Christian observance of Epiphany, January 6. This visit is frequently treated in Christian art and literature as The Journey of the Magi. The Epiphany, is also called the last of the "twelve days of Christmas".

In Spain and throughout the Spanish-speaking world, the three kings (Sp. "los Reyes Magos de Oriente", also "Los Tres Reyes Magos", receive wish letters from children and magically bring them gifts on the night before Epiphany. Spanish cities organize cabalgatas in the evening, in which the kings and their servants parade and throw sweets to the children (and parents) in attendance. The cavalcade of the three kings in the city of Alcoi claims to be the oldest in the world; the participants who portray the kings walk through the crowd, giving presents to the children directly. It is told that the Wise Men come from the Orient on their camels to visit the houses of all the children; like the Northern European Santa Claus with his reindeer, they visit everyone in one night. In some areas, children prepare a drink for each of the kings, it is also traditional to prepare food and drink for the camels, because this is the only night of the year when they eat.

Adoration of the Magi by Bartolomé Estéban Murillo

In Garmany, the Shrine at Cologne-A Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral, according to tradition, contains the bones of the Three Wise Men. Reputedly they were first discovered by Saint Helena on her famous pilgrimage to Palestine and the Holy Lands. She took the remains to the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople; they were later moved to Milan, before being sent to their current resting place by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I in 1164. The Milanese celebrate their part in the tradition by holding a medieval costume parade every 6th of January.

However, there are different views about the tombs of the Magi. Accortding to Marco Polo, he claimed that he was shown the three tombs of the Magi at Saveh south of Teheran in the 1270s: :"In Persia is the city of Saba, from which the Three Magi set out and in this city they are buried, in three very large and beautiful monuments, side by side. And above them there is a square building, beautifully kept. The bodies are still entire, with hair and beard remaining." (Book i). And, of whom Marco Polo wrote that he had seen their graves in what is today the district of Saveh, in Tehran, Iran. In English, the term may refer to a shaman, sorcerer, or wizard;

A version of the detailed elaboration familiar to us is laid out by the 14th-century cleric John of Hildesheim's Historia Trium Regum ("History of the Three Kings"). In accounting for the presence in Cologne of their mummified relics, he begins with the journey of Saint Helena, mother of Constantine the Great to Jerusalem, where she recovered the True Cross and other relics:

"Queen Helen...began to think greatly of the bodies of these three kings, and she arrayed herself, and accompanied by many attendants, went into the Land of Ind...after she had found the bodies of Melchior, Balthazar, and Casper, Queen Helen put them into one chest and ornamented it with great riches, and she brought them into Constantinople...and laid them in a church that is called Saint Sophia."

Today, the best known Magi are the "Wise Men from the East", in the Bible. And, of whom Marco Polo wrote that he had seen their graves in what is today the district of Saveh, in Tehran, Iran. In English, the term may refer to a shaman, sorcerer, or wizard; it is the origin of the English words magic and magician.

Christmas Carols familiar in the carol "We Three Kings" (John Henry Hopkins, Jr., 1857). In the 20th century, T. S. Eliot wrote a poem entitled "The Journey of the Magi". The poem was written after Eliot's conversion to Christianity and confirmation in the Church of England in 1927 and published in Ariel Poems in 1930. The poem is an account of the journey from the point of view of one of the magi. The text of the poem is widely printed on the world wide web.

Furthermore, many references to the three magi can be found in various games and shows. In modern times, the term Magi has been appropriated in the genre of fantasy novels, role playing games, and movies. The mage character is popularly used in fantasy settings that involve magic. magic-user characters in role-playing games and fantasy fiction. Mages are sometimes in computer role-playing games as playable character classes and/or NPCs such as Ultima, Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, Diablo, World of Warcraft and Everquest.

Controversial Issues and Debates

Even though the journey of the Magi is a well known story in Christanity, narrated in the Gospel of Matthew, the percise sequence of events has been challenged by biblical scholars. In particular, there is considerable controversy concerning when the Magi first saw Jesus. Holidays celebrating the arrival of the Magi traditionally recognize a distinction between the date of their arrival and the date of the birth. The Gospel of Matthew is the only source recording the event but it's claims are not necesarily consistent with the other Gospels. For example, the Gospel of Luke does not mention the Magi as being present during the night of the birth, and several details are recorded by Luke and Matthew that strongly indicate the Magi did not arrive until sometime after the birth of Jesus. For example Luke mentions that Jesus flew to Egypt while only eight days old, therefore if the Magi did not visit him while an infant, they could visit him only after his return.

1. Matthew 2:1-8 Even if one ignored Herod's estimate, and supposed that the magi had been able to anticipate the rising of this star that marked the event of the birth, had travelled from the east in advance of the birth, and had gained admittance into the city of Jerusalem after dark and only shortly after the birth of Jesus that same night, there remains the problem that Matthew's account includes a series of events that would be difficult to fit into a single night. The magi began by asking questions (but who is still awake and available, if it is after the birth the same night?). Word spread to the extent that "all of Jerusalem became troubled". After hearing about the magi, King Herod assembled "all the chief priests and scribes of the people" to research the matter. He summons the magi secretly, consults with them and sends them to Bethlehem. Since Matthew gives no encouragement to the idea that the magi were present on the birth night, a more straight forward reading of the text would suggest these events transpired over a reasonable period of time, and much of it probably during daylight hours.
2. Matthew 2:11a "And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother..." By the time the magi saw Jesus and Mary, Jesus was no longer lying in an animal's feeding trough (manger) in the temporary location of the birth. Rather, the magi found them in a house.
3. Matthew 2:11b "...Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh." These are expensive gifts. By contrast, Luke 2:24 records that when Joseph and Mary presented Jesus at the temple, they were at that time still too poor to offer the normal sacrifice, and instead had to offer "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons” — the sacrifice of the poor (Leviticus 12:2-8). This is one of the indications that the visit of the magi would have taken place sometime after this sacrifice during the presentation in the temple in Jerusalem.
4. Matthew 2:12-22 It would not have taken long after the magi's departure for Herod to learn that he had been tricked and to take action against the child. Matthew records that "when they [the magi] had departed" Joseph was warned by an angel in a dream to flee with his family to Egypt, and he did so. If the magi's arrival had been on the night of the birth, they would not have been able to remain in Judea long enough to have Jesus circumcised there and later still to present him in the temple in Jerusalem. Yet Luke 2:22 records "when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord" which means they were in Jerusalem 40 days after the birth. This is another indication that the visit of the magi took place sometime after the presentation in the temple.

The collective weight of evidence from both Matthew and Luke makes a visit by the magi on the night of the birth implausible. Neither Luke nor Matthew provide any positive support for the idea that the magi were present on the night of the birth and both provide details that conflict with that idea. On the other hand, those same details are consistent with a visit sometime after the presentation in the temple.

The chief objection to a visit by the magi sometime after the presentation of Jesus in the temple is that Luke's gospel indicates only that after this "they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth" (Luke 2:39) with no mention of either the magi or a trip to Egypt prior to moving to Nazareth.

Astronomer Michael R. Molnar and others have taken the view that Matthew's statements that the star "went before" and "stood over" are terms that refer respectively to the retrogradation and stationing of the royal wandering "star" Jupiter. If Molnar's research is correct, the original and unusual event marking the birth of a great Jewish king took place April 17, 6 B.C.E. Later that same year, Jupiter would have reversed direction starting August 23 and would have stationed December 19, which could suggest that the magi arrived at or after that time. The interval of at least eight months since the birth could reasonably accommodate a journey from the east by the magi to see the unusual king.

Contemporary skepticism

While a well known and popular story and a feature of Christmas carols and crèches, the story of the magi visiting Jesus has attracted some skepticism. Roman Catholic Biblical scholar Raymond E. Brown in The Birth of the Messiah lists several reasons he does not believe the Biblical account:

• A star behaving as the Star of Bethlehem might have been the most notable astrological event of the period, but despite fairly good records is mentioned nowhere.
• The arrival of the magi in a village like Bethlehem would have been a major event, everyone in town would have known who they had visited making it easy for Herod to later find out which family the messiah was born to.
• None of it is mentioned in Luke or the other Gospels. Some scholars, such as Robert H. Gundry, speculates that the author of Matthew transformed the shepherds that appear in Luke into the magi. According to Mark Allan Powell, Upon this kernel of information Christians embroidered many circumstantial details about the magi. One of the most important changes was their rising from astrologers to kings. The general view is that this is linked to Old Testament prophesies that have the messiah being worshipped by kings in Isaiah 60:3, Psalm 72:10, and Psalm 68:29. Early readers reinterpreted Matthew in light of these prophecies and elevated the magi to kings. Mark Allan Powell rejects this view. He argues that the idea of the magi as kings arose considerably later in the time after Constantine and the change was made to endorse the role of Christian monarchs. By 500 C.E. all commentators adopted the prevalent tradition of the three were kings, and this continued until the Protestant Reformation.

Nevertheless, a number of celestial events would have attracted the interest and fascination of anyone who followed the stars. "Historical records and modern-day computer simulations indicate that there was a rare series of planetary groupings, also known as conjunctions, during the years 3 B.C.E. and 2 b.c.e....The crowning touch came on June 17, when Jupiter seemed to approach so close to Venus that, without binoculars, they would have looked like a single star." (Mosley posted on MSNBC: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3077385/)

In the New Testament of the Bible, the birth of Jesus was attended by a new star. Some "magi" followed the star, which they saw as indicating a new king in the astrological house of the Jews, and came to pay homage. These men are assumed to be three in number, because they brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. According to Herodotus, the word "magi" refers to a sacred sect of astrologers in Medes who provided the priests of Persia. Only Matthew provides an account of the veneration by the magi.

The account of the visit, in Matthew 2, has been a popular topic for Christian art and literature. The scene has been found in the earliest Christian pictorial art, and it was a popular tableau in the Renaissance. While the number of magi is indefinite in Matthew, tradition settled on three (as the three would mirror the trinity and because of the gifts) and gave them names (see Magus for more).

Finally, there are Christian groups who do not honour the Magi. For example, the views held by Jehovah's Witnesses [5], who do not see the arrival of the Magi as something to be celebrated. These views stress the Biblical condemnation of sorcery and astrology in such texts as Deuteronomy 18:10, 11, Leviticus 19:26, Isaiah 47:13, 14. They also point to the fact that the star seen by the Magi led them first to a hostile enemy of Jesus, Herod, and only then to the child's location - the argument being that if this was an event from God, it makes no sense for them to be led to a ruler with intentions to kill the child before taking them to Jesus.

Astrology and related arts were forbidden in the Jewish religion with death as the penalty for these acts. The "star" that the Magi followed did not behave like a true celestial body since according to the Magi's own description, the star moved in such a way as to first lead them to Herod and then it lead them to the house where Jesus and Mary were.Mathew 2:9,10

Due to the activity of this star, Herod (King of the Jews), received warning that a child was born who would eventually become "King of the Jews". This perceived threat to his throne is what motivated Herod to want to seek out Jesus and destroy him. Mathew 2:13

It now became necessary for God to intervene directly to save the child's life. That very same night, the Magi received a message in a dream not to return to Herod and they withdrew to their country by another way. This was not enough to deter Herod and further divine intevention came in the form of an angel that appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to "Get up, take the young child and its mother and flee into Egypt and stay there until I give you word...". Mathew 2:13

Why would God send a "star" to notify astrologers (who did not have God's approval in accordance with the Scriptures) that the child was born and have this "star" first take them to Herod knowing this would cause Herod to want to kill the child? Why send a star in the first place and then have to intervene with the Magi and with Joseph so that the child's life would be spared? Why would God send this star knowing that once Herod's plan of locating the child had been foiled, that there would be a slaughter of innocents two years old and under? Mathew 2:16e nativity, the text itself does not state it for certain. Some have interpreted it as that they visited Jesus when he was grown due to the word 'house' in Matthew 2:11.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Albright, W.F. and C.S. Mann. "Matthew." The Anchor Bible Series. New York: Doubleday & Company, 1971.
• Brown, Raymond E. The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke. London: G. Chapman, 1977.
• Alfred Becker: “Franks Casket. Zu den Bildern und Inschriften des Runenkästchens von Auzon (Regensburg, 1973) pp. 125 – 142, Ikonographie der Magierbilder, Inschriften
• Clarke, Howard W. The Gospel of Matthew and its Readers: A Historical Introduction to the First Gospel. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003.
• France, R.T. The Gospel According to Matthew: an Introduction and Commentary. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1985.
• Powell, Mark Allan. "The Magi as Wise Men: Re-examining a Basic Supposition." New Testament Studies. Vol. 46, 2000.
• Gundry, Robert H. Matthew a Commentary on his Literary and Theological Art. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982.
• Hill, David. The Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981
• Schweizer, Eduard. The Good News According to Matthew. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1975

See also

• Jesus
• Zoroastrianism
• Astrology
• Mitraism
• Gospel of Matthew
• Star of Bethlehem

External links

• Mark Rose, "The Three Kings & the Star": the Cologne reliquary and the BBC popular documentary
• John of Hildesheim, "History of the three Kings" modernized in English by H. S. Morris
• Alfred Becker, Franks Casket
• Caroline Stone, "We Three Kings of Orient Were"
• Catholic Encyclopedia article
• Documentary proofs: The census of Augustus and the first census (and taxes) of Publius Sulpicius Quirinius in the year 8 B.C.E. (in german)
• The Majoos (Persian)
• The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

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