The Magi
Kings? Astrologers? Magicians? All of the above. (The Bus 8.24)
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ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED (2.24) 22 December 2022
The Stop
In Christian tradition, the Magi - also known as the Wise Men - followed a miraculous star which guided them to Bethlehem. Upon their arrival in Jerusalem, they went to the palace of King Herod I of Judaea to inquire where they might find the ‘child who has been born king of the Jews.’ Wondering who this upstart might be - he was, after all, the Roman-appointed proxy king of the Jews - Herod sent them on their way, asking them to return and tell him the child’s exact location. Continuing to Bethlehem, the Magi found Jesus, worshipped him and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. As they were warned in a dream to not go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route, a decision which led to Herod’s massacre of Bethlehem’s young male children in an attempt to kill this potential threat to his throne.1
The four New Testament gospels - Mark, Matthew, Luke and John (to put them in chronological order)2 - were written in the 70 years after Jesus’s death. Though for many people the narrative appears to be a single, cohesive story, each gospel is in fact very different. Rather than four parts of the same story or the same story told four different ways, each gospel is organised around specific themes representative of its community’s traditions and specific philosophical/theological interests - and the Magi are a perfect example.
Appearing only in the Gospel of Matthew, the story of the Magi visiting the infant Jesus was included by the author to support his community’s belief in the royal lineage and authority of Jesus. In the two gospels that include a Christmas story,3 the respective community’s themes are reinforced by the authorial decision to include specific events when depicting Jesus’s birth. For example, Luke is keen to show that Jesus was sent by God to preach salvation to the downtrodden, socially-outcast members of society. Throughout the book it is to these people Jesus directs his attention, and to establish this theme from the start Luke sets his version of the birth story in a stable and populates the scene with poor shepherds, mentioning nothing about kings or wise men from the East. Matthew, on the other hand, identifies Jesus with the long-awaited Messiah, and thus portrays even the infant Jesus as worthy to be worshipped not by lowly shepherds, but revered Magi. Plus, he’s important enough to inspire murderous fear in Herod.4
The word ‘magi’ comes from the Greek ‘magus,’ a ‘specific occupational title referring to the Zoroastrian priests of the late Persian Empire’ - individuals who would have been well-versed in astrology. The word is connected to the idea of ‘powerful’ and ‘rich’ and later contains connotations of ‘sacrifice’ and eventually ‘lord priest.’ By the time of the Greek writer Herodotus,5 the word ‘magos’ was used to refer to a person with the ability to interpret dreams, and as Greek thought and culture spread throughout the Ancient Near East, it becomes identified with the idea of ‘magic.’ When ‘magos’ appears in the Bible, it is usually translated as ‘Wise Men,’ but the same word is translated in the Book of Acts6 as ‘sorcerer’ or ‘magician.’ Because the passage in Matthew has the Magi following the star, most scholars conclude the author’s ‘intended meaning’ of the word is ‘astrologer-priests.’
Though unnumbered by the gospel, Western Christianity7 set the Magi’s number at three - more than likely because of the three gifts - though Eastern Christianity8 numbered them at twelve. They are also non-Jews, reinforcing an early Christian tradition that allowed Gentiles as well as Jews to worship him. This tradition is celebrated in the Eastern Church at Christmas, but in the Western Church at Epiphany (6 January). The gospel also does not name the Magi, though in the 8th century C.E., the names Bithisarea, Melchior, and Gathaspa - appeared in the Excerpta latina barbari.9 Over time, these names became established as Balthasar, Melchior and Gaspar (or Caspar) - represented as kings of Arabia (or Ethiopia), Persia and India, respectively. All three have been venerated as saints and martyrs, and though devotion to them was ‘especially fervent’ in the Middle Ages, they still remain the patron saints of travellers.
The Detour
Today’s Detour is related to the Stop in that it is a documentary (6:06) about astrology - in particular, the Astronomicum Cæsareum. This book, published in 1540 by the German mathematician, astronomer and cartographer Petrus Apias was used by rulers as varied as Charles V (of the Holy Roman Empire) and Henry VIII to find guidance in the stars. An interesting documentary showing the importance of astrology at a time when the world was uncertain and long-established beliefs were being challenged.
Using the Astronomicum Cæsareum Book
The Recommendation
Today’s recommendation is Nativity! (2009). Written and directed by Debbie Isitt and starring Martin Freeman, Ashley Jensen, Jason Watkins and a bunch of mostly unknown child actors, Nativity! is a British Christmas musical comedy and the first (and in my opinion best) instalment in the Nativity! film series. Freeman stars as Paul Maddens - a heartbroken primary school teacher who is badgered into producing the year’s nativity play. When to impress a rival he lies and says Hollywood is coming to see the class play and make it into a movie, the entire community gets excited and he finds he can’t extricate himself from the problem he’s created. Plus, he has to deal with a rather intense teaching assistant. It’s a funny, warm-hearted family film we watch every year - and it has some great songs, too.
Nativity! streams on multiple platforms. In the UK, it’s on Netflix - and I’m sure it will be on the television a few times this year.
The Sounds
Today’s playlist is another set of five great Christmas tracks:10 ‘Ain’t No Chimneys in the Projects’ (Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, 2011), ‘Last Christmas’ (Wham!, 1986), ‘Sleigh Ride’ (Ella Fitzgerald, 1960), ‘Run, Run, Rudolph’ (Foghat,11 1978) and ‘Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town’ (Bruce Springsteen, 1975).
The Thought
Today’s Thought is from the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca (ca. 4 BCE - 65 CE):12
‘To face challenges with a calm mind robs misfortune of its strength and burden.’
If you have a thought on this Thought - or any part of today’s issue - please leave a comment below:
And that’s the end of this stop - I hope you enjoyed the diversion!
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Until the next stop …
As we neared Christmas, I used to ask my religion students to tell me ‘which gospel contains the narrative displayed every year at Christmas in a nativity play or scene - the story that ends at a stable with angels, shepherds, Wise Men, sheep, camels, etc. all gathered together looking at Jesus, Mary and Joseph?’ The answer - none of them - was always a surprise. Sources for today’s Stop include Magi (Britannica), Magi (New World Encyclopedia) and class notes from Kaylor, David. REL 230: Jesus and His Interpreters. Davidson College, 27 and 29 August 1990.
The names Mark, Matthew, Luke and John were attributed by the Church to the individual texts centuries after they were written. It’s best to see the gospels as the products of different communities of believers rather than the thoughts of individuals, much less eye-witnesses: the Markan, Matthean, Lukan and Johannine communities.
Mark and John have no Christmas story. In Mark, Jesus appears on the scene fully grown, whereas in John - written 100 years or so after the events it narrates - Jesus is identified as the incarnation of the Logos, the ‘Word’ - the divine organising logic of the universe (and a Stoic idea, interestingly). Something for a later issue.
There’s also little of the Lukan emphasis on where he was born - no stable, manger, etc. The Wise Men arrive at the ‘place’ where he was born and enter the ‘house.’
Herodotus (ca. 484 BCE - ca. 420 BCE) was the Greek author of the first narrative history in the ancient world. For more information, see: Herodotus (Britannica).
Written by the same author/community as the Gospel of Luke, Acts is considered the second part of Luke.
E.g., Roman Catholic and its Protestant spin-offs, etc.
E.g., Greek Orthodox, Cyrillic, etc.
This was a Latin translation (literally ‘The Barbarian’s Latin Excerpts’) of a Greek text from the 4th century written in Alexandria, Egypt. The Alexandrine Church at this time was locked in a dispute with the Antiochene Church, based in Antioch (in modern-day Turkey) over very different interpretation of Christian theology. In the end the Antiochene Church - largely for political reasons - prevailed. A topic for another day!
WARNING: If you’re the only person left who’s not yet been Wham!ed this month (my son and I were out on day 3), THAT track is number two - so be sure to skip it.
Yes! Foghat!
For more information on Seneca, see: Seneca (Britannica).
Your piece is timely. I'll explain:
My Jewish girlfriend is the one who pushes me to decorate for Christmas. She's primarily a food Jew - she knows nothing about either old or new testament stories. Last night while driving home she wanted to hear Celine Dion's version of, "Oh Holy Night." This prompted the following exchange.
I asked her what she knew about the nativity story. She said, "I know that Jesus was found in a basket in the river but I don't understand why his mom put him in the basket."
God!! I do love her!
So we covered a little bit of the nativity story and a bit of the Passover story. I'm pointing her to your narrative above.
Oh.. and your Foghat footnote was my favorite part of this piece. It made me laugh because when I read Foghat, I thought, "Foghat?" My stoner brain was pleased.