“We Three Kings” (original title: “Three Kings of
Orient”) is a Christmas carol written in 1857 by John henry Hopkins, an
Episcopal rector in Pennsylvania. It is based on Matthew 2:1.
The Bible never says that three kings visited
Jesus in a manger on the night of his birth. John and Mark do not
mention the incident at all because they talked about Jesus as an adult. Luke
talks of the shepherds but not the magi. Only Matthew, in 2:1-16,
relates the event, saying that during the time of Herod, who died in 4 BC/BCE,
that magi “from the rising of the sun” (the east) arrived to see and worship
the king of the Jews, whose star they had seen.
Several questions come to mind:
1. Who
were the magi and how many of them were there?
No
one knows exactly who these men were but many later traditions say that they
were possibly astrologers from a learned priestly Zoroastrian caste in Persia.
They were not occultists but were considered to be masters of the then current
understanding of science.
The
idea that there were three wise men possibly derives from the fact that they
brought three gifts: gold. Frankincense, and myrrh. Some Christian traditions
say that there were twelve magi.
2. What
was the star?
No
one really knows. Was it a supernaturally moving star that settled over Jesus’
location? (Matthew 2:9). Was it an otherwise unknown comet? Was it a
conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn (7 BC/BCE) or of Saturn and Venus (6 BC/BCE)?
Was it a transient astronomical event like a distant supernova? (The first
historically documented supernova observation did not occur until 1006 AD/CE).
3. Where
did the magi visit Jesus?
The
wise men came to see Jesus in a house “oikian” (οἰκίαν, Matthew
2:11), not in a manger “phatne” (φάτνῃ, Luke 2:7).
4. How
old was Jesus when the magi arrived?
Luke
2:1-16 describes how, on the night of Jesus’ birth, angels appeared to announce
the birth to shepherds who ran to the stable to see the “brephos” (βρέφος).
A “brephos” was an unborn child, newborn child, or an infant.
Matthew
2:1-18 relates that that the magi visited the “paidion” (παιδίον) in a
house. A “paidion” is a young one, a little one, or a child.
After
a message from God warned them about Herod the magi returned home by a
different route. Matthew 2:16-18 tells how Herod, in a fit of anger, jealousy,
and insecurity about losing his position as king of Judea, ordered what is now
known as the massacre of the Innocents. All boys under two years old and
younger living in the area in or near Bethlehem were to be slaughtered.
Matthew
2:13-16 tells how God warned Joseph of Herod’s evil plan to kill Jesus. Joseph
left for Egypt with Jesus and Mary.
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