As for the time for the appearance of the Star , most astronomers and Biblical scholars believe that it most likely occurred sometime between the years 7 and 2 B.C. So this is the time frame that we need to explore to determine if there was anything unusual in the sky that might have caught the attention of the Magi .
Magi, singular Magus , also called Wise Men, in Christian tradition, the noble pilgrims “from the East” who followed a miraculous guiding star to Bethlehem, where they paid homage to the infant Jesus as king of the Jews (Matthew 2:1–12).
The Magi have a symbolic role to play in this birth narrative. Coming from the east, they represent the Gentile (non-Jewish) world coming to worship this new king. Also, compared to the humble shepherds, they represent people with a different status in society worshipping Jesus .
In the mountains of ancient Persia, lived Artaban, whose study of the planets and the stars led him to predict the birth of the King of Kings.
Some apocryphal accounts state that at the time of her betrothal to Joseph, Mary was 12–14 years old . According to ancient Jewish custom, Mary could have been betrothed at about 12. Hyppolitus of Thebes says that Mary lived for 11 years after the death of her son Jesus, dying in 41 AD.
To understand the Star of Bethlehem , we need to think like the three wise men. Motivated by this “star in the east,” they first traveled to Jerusalem and told King Herod the prophecy that a new ruler of the people of Israel would be born.
Magi (/ˈmeɪdʒaɪ/; singular magus /ˈmeɪɡəs/; from Latin magus) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word magi is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great , known as the Behistun Inscription.
The wise men brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn king . Gold, of course, was valuable as currency. Frankincense is a valuable perfume. Myrrh is a precious ointment often used in the burial process.
The biblical Magi (/ˈmeɪdʒaɪ/ or /ˈmædʒaɪ/; singular: magus), also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, also the Three Magi (Greek: Οι Τρεις Μάγοι; Hebrew: שלושת האמגושים; Arabic: المجوس الثلاثة) were distinguished foreigners in the Gospel of Matthew and Christian tradition.
Herod had planned to make the Magi tell him of the whereabouts of the Christ child. When he heard of the Magi’s change in course, he grew angry and tried to kill the infant messiah by killing all the young children in the area, an event known as the Massacre of the Innocents.
The magi knelt down for the baby Jesus and “offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Their gifts are possibly an allusion to Isaiah’s vision of nations rendering tribute to Jerusalem: “A multitude of camels shall cover you.
Saint Balthazar; also called Balthasar, Balthassar, and Bithisarea, was according to tradition one of the biblical Magi along with Caspar and Melchior who visited the infant Jesus after he was born. Balthazar is traditionally referred to as the King of Macedonia and gave the gift of myrrh to Jesus.
The Epiphany Holiday, known in Spanish speaking countries as Dia De Los Tres Reyes (Day of The Three Kings), falls annually on January 6th and marks the adoration of baby Jesus by the three Kings, also referred to as Wise Men or Magi.
By the 15th century CE, within Europe, the three kings were regarded as representative symbols of Africa, Asia, and Europe, and they were frequently depicted within Renaissance and Baroque art with Balthazar as a black king.
The story is an addition and expansion of the account of the Biblical Magi, recounted in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament . It tells about a “fourth” wise man (accepting the tradition that the Magi numbered three), a priest of the Magi named Artaban , one of the Medes from Persia.