Epiphany: where within the Orient did the sensible men come from?

Many people associate the sensible men with Christmas, but January 6 is traditionally the day within the Church calendar that commemorates their visit to the infant Jesus. They got here from the East to seek out Jesus, however the Bible doesn’t tell us exactly where they got here from. There are, nonetheless, some good theories. This is the story …

Where did they arrive from?

The story of the sensible men visiting Jesus is told only in Matthew 2:1–12. The story of the visit of the Magi will need to have come not less than partly from the recollections of Mary herself. Where the Magi got here from has long been a mystery, but there are perhaps clues within the Bible.

The Bible says that the Magi got here “from the east”. In the Christian carol We Three Kings, the lyrics have them from the “Orient”, which means the eastern world, in contrast with the Occident, which implies the western world. Depending on the context, “east” could mean beyond the River Jordan, or, on the time of the New Testament, “east” sometimes meant beyond the Roman Empire, beyond the River Euphrates, which was the eastern boundary of the Roman Empire.

Gaps in biblical knowledge are sometimes replaced by tradition. Indeed, different theories and legends place the origin of the Magi in Armenia, or Jordan, or Arabia, or Babylonia, or Persia. Other, probably less likely, suggestions also include Central Asia, India, or China. Good cases could be made for Persia, Babylon, southern Arabia, and Petra.

Magi from Persia

Many people suggest that, because the word Magi is Persian in origin, perhaps the sensible men got here from Persia (now Iran), and maybe they were Medes or Zoroastrian priests. Certainly, each the Medes and the Zoroastrians had an ideal repute in precedent days for astronomy and astrology. Zoroastrianism is one in every of the world’s oldest religions and was the faith of Persia before it was overwhelmed by Islam.

In his book about his travels, Marco Polo says that he was shown the tombs of the three Magi at Saba (now Saveh), south of Tehran, which might have been within the 1270s. However, Cologne Cathedral also claims to have their relics. Ancient fourth-century depictions of the Magi within the Middle East do seem to point out them in Persian costume, but whether that was based on knowledge, or since the more exotic dress simply made higher illustrations, shouldn’t be known.

Magi from Babylon

In precedent days, Magi were a category of Medes who wielded influence on the court of the Emperor of the Medes, and later on the Babylonian court in what’s now Iraq. Certainly, the Babylonians had an ideal repute in precedent days for astronomy and astrology. The word Magi appears within the book of Daniel in the traditional Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures called the Septuagint.

After the Jews returned from exile, the realm retained a small Jewish population who would have been waiting for the Messiah. Therefore, some people suggest that Matthew was implying that the Magi got here from Babylon (now in Iraq), which will be the case.

Magi from Arabia

Some people suggest that, since the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh are all present in Arabia, the sensible men brought gifts from their region. In fact, some verses within the Old Testament, if interpreted as prophecies, could be applied to the story.

In Isaiah 60:1–6, it talks concerning the Gentile kings paying homage:
“The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and incense; and so they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord.” (Isaiah 60:6, KJV)

In Psalm 72, we read that “the kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts” (Psalm 72:10).

The likely area is what’s today Yemen, which on the time had a big Jewish community who may have had sensible men searching for a coming Messiah. It can be the realm that the Queen of Sheba probably got here from. It will be the case that the king sent his sensible men with examples of local produce, although gold, frankincense, and myrrh would have been available from markets all around the Middle East.

Magi from Petra

Some people think that the sensible men got here from much closer to Bethlehem, from Petra. The idea is that they were from the court of the Nabatean king Aretas IV at Petra. Strong links existed between the courts of Nabatea and King Herod. This kingdom had grown wealthy in gold through controlling the trade in frankincense and myrrh, so this might explain the gifts.

This idea has been well argued in Mystery of the Magi: The Quest to Identify the Three Wise Men by Rev Dwight Longenecker. If they got here from Petra, then it was just over 100 miles away, and the Magi would have set off north after which travelled west to Bethlehem. In that case, they probably saw the star formation not long before they found Jesus.

Did they arrive from the identical place?

Through the centuries, artists like Botticelli, Rubens, and Bosch have painted the Magi and helped to strengthen the image in the favored imagination of them as a various group of men. The idea of three sensible men from different lands is probably an early try and show the range of the races, and to echo the speculation that after the Flood, mankind stems from Noah’s three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

In the Historia Trium Regum (The History of the Three Kings), written by John of Hildesheim within the 14th century, it says that Balthasar, Melchior, and Caspar were from India, Persia (now Iran), and Chaldea (now Iraq). Other traditions imagine that Caspar (or Gaspar) was from India, Melchior was from Persia, and Balthasar (or Balthazar) was from Arabia.

It is a pleasant idea to assume this ethnic and cultural diversity however it seems more likely that it was one group of Magi who all got here from one place. If that they had all seen the star and set off from separate places at concerning the same time, then it’s unlikely that they’d have arrived together.

The gifts

It was actually the custom to take gifts of gold and incense when visiting royalty. We read that when the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon, “She got here to Jerusalem with a really great retinue, with camels bearing spices and really much gold and precious stones” (2 Chronicles 9:1, ESV). Sheba is mostly thought to be being in south-west Arabia, in the realm generally known as Yemen today.

In Isaiah, it says, “The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense …” (Isaiah 60:6, KJV).

Did they ride camels?

Images of the sensible men normally show them riding camels. Camels will not be mentioned within the story, but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t there. In Arabia, people rode horses, which were swifter, and camels were used as pack animals to hold goods. Wealthy travellers may have preferred horses. If they got here from Arabia or Sheba, they may have come by camel, but the tactic of transport shouldn’t be mentioned within the text.

Summary

There are many various theories, but we have no idea of course where they got here from or how they travelled. However, certain features of the story give it credibility. Magi were a feature of eastern lands. People visiting kings did bring gifts like gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and the entire story has deep biblical echoes.

The Magi are remembered every Christmas in readings and carols. Luke tells of homage to Jesus by Jewish shepherds, and Matthew tells of homage from the Magi. We have no idea their nationality, however the text implies they were Gentiles who didn’t know the Scriptures. The intriguing aspect of the story is that Matthew tells us that the primary people to come back and worship Jesus were quite likely from a unique faith.