Other Crap

Facts about The Magi.

• There is no reason to believe they were three in number, except that three gifts were mentioned. Christian art from the first centuries of the Church shows various numbers of Magi, ranging from 2 to 8. The Eastern Church assumes 12. It could have been one rich guy with both gold and frankincense, and several poor guys with nothing but myrrh. Perhaps the Bethlehem gift shop was having a big after Christmas markdown on myrrh.
• There is absolutely no reason to believe they were kings, and there is good reason to believe they were actually priests and astrologers. At the time of the birth of Jesus, the Magi were an ancient priestly caste dwelling within the Parthian empire. In fact, the New English Bible translates the passage as "after the birth astrologers from the east arrived" No early church father held the Magi to be kings.
• The three names we have given them were simply made up as a folk tale in the 5th or 6th century.
• There is no reason to picture them as representing three different races of man. They were probably all from the Middle East! The Parthian Empire was centered in modern day Iran.
• There is no reason to believe they visited a newborn in a stable at the time of Christ's birth. The bible says "when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother". They came into a house, not a stable, and they saw a young child, not a baby.