Bible Scholar Brent Landau Asks “Who Were the Magi?”
Revelation of the Magi text gives wise men’s view of the Christmas story
A lost Syriac manuscript, the Revelation of the Magi, translated into English by Bible scholar Brent Landau, may help answer that key question from the Christmas story: “Who were the magi?” Photo: Ms Vaticanus Syriacus 163, © 2011 Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
Who were the magi, those gift-bearing wise men from the east who are so central to the traditional telling of the Christmas story? Bible scholar Brent Landau believes he has found at least one answer to this age-old question.
The Bible tells us very little about the magi. Their story appears but once, in the Gospel of Matthew (2:1–12), where they are described as mysterious visitors “from the east” who come to Jerusalem looking for the child whose star they observed “at its rising.” After meeting with King Herod, who feigns an intention to worship the child but actually plans to destroy him, the magi follow the same star to Bethlehem. There, upon seeing the baby Jesus and his mother Mary, the magi kneel down and worship him, presenting him with their three famous gifts—gold, frankincense and myrrh. Then, without reporting to Herod, they depart for their homeland, never to be heard from again.
For early Christians, the seemingly pivotal yet unexplained background of the mysterious magi provided abundant room to shape new narratives around the question “Who were the magi?” One of the most compelling, recently translated into English by Bible scholar Brent Landau, is the so-called Revelation of the Magi, an apocryphal account of the traditional Christmas story that purports to have been written by the magi themselves.
The account is preserved in an eighth-century C.E. Syriac manuscript held in the Vatican Library, although Brent Landau believes the earliest versions of the text may have been written as early as the mid-second century, less than a hundred years after Matthew’s gospel was composed. Written in the first person, the Revelation of the Magi narrates the mystical origins of the magi, their miraculous encounter with the luminous star and their equally miraculous journey to Bethlehem to worship the child. The magi then return home and preach the Christian faith to their brethren, ultimately being baptized by the apostle Thomas.
The earliest known depiction of the magi is this mid-third-century C.E. fresco decorating the Catacomb of Priscilla, one of Rome’s oldest Christian cemeteries. Photo: Scala/Art Resource.
According to Brent Landau, this dramatic account not only answers the question “Who were the magi?” but also provides details about how many they were, where they came from and their mysterious encounter with the star that led them to Bethlehem. In the Revelation of the Magi, there are not just three magi, as often depicted in early Christian art (actually, Matthew does not tell us how many there were), nor are they Babylonian astrologers or Persian Zoroastrians, as other early traditions held. Rather from Brent Landau’s translation it is clear the magi (defined in this text as those who “pray in silence”) are a group—numbering as few as 12 and as many as several score—of monk-like mystics from a far-off, mythical land called Shir, possibly China. They are descendants of Seth, the righteous third son of Adam, and the guardians of an age-old prophecy that a star of indescribable brightness would someday appear “heralding the birth of God in human form.”
When the long-prophesied star finally appears, the star is not simply sighted at its rising, as described in Matthew, but rather descends to earth, ultimately transforming into a luminous “star-child” that instructs the magi to travel to Bethlehem to witness its birth in human form. The star then guides the magi along their journey, miraculously clearing their path of all obstacles and providing them with unlimited stamina and provisions. Finally, inside a cave on the outskirts of Bethlehem, the star reappears to the magi as a luminous human child—the Christ child—and commissions them to become witnesses to Christ in the lands of the east.
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It’s a fascinating story, but does it actually bring us any closer to understanding who the actual magi of the Christmas story might have been? Unfortunately, the answer is no, says Landau, although it may provide insight into the beliefs of an otherwise unknown Christian sect of the second century that identified with the mysterious magi.
“Sadly, I don’t think this is actually written by the historical wise men,” said Landau in an interview with National Public Radio’s Diane Rehm. “In terms of who wrote it, we have no idea. [But] the description of the magi and [their religious practices] is so remarkably detailed and I’ve often wondered whether it’s reflecting some actual community out there that practiced and kind of envisioned themselves in the role of the magi.”
Based on Strata, “Lost Syriac Text Gives Magi’s View of the Christmas Story,” Biblical Archaeology Review, November/December 2011.
This Bible History Daily feature was originally published on November 29, 2011.
Related reading in Bible History Daily
Frankincense and Other Resins Were Used in Roman Burials Across Britain
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Justin Martyr, Origen, and Tertullian, all equated these magi with astrologers from the East and Babylon was in the past, and at this particular time, a “hot bed” of magic, astrology, divination, etc……..as a matter of fact the term magi was used as a “generic” term for astrologers of the East………the circumstantial evidence is that these magi who visited Jesus with gifts, were, as translated in several Bibles as astrologers.
The Magi were ‘wise men’ that were schooled in the Old Testament prophecies, as well as having knowledge of the natural world (both heavens and earth); and they put together these ‘specialties’ to come to the conclusion that something special was taking place in Israel–the birth of the ‘King of the Jews’. It is credible that if they came from ‘the East’, that they may have been from Babylon, where the Jewish people were taken captive around the year 600 B.C. If Daniel were a highly placed official in the Babylonian government and was highly respected; why wouldn’t the other Babylonian ‘wise men’ not be interested in studying where Daniel got his wisdom from?
I believe the Magi to be Tibetan monks, if you have any understanding of their beliefs you may understand their knowledge of life.
The Bible tells us that these “three wise men” Tibetan monks are trained in the art of developing wisdom, of the ages.
The Bible tells us that theses “Three Wise men” Traveled from the East, If you place a ruler on a world map at Bethlehem and Tibet you will find that ruler is exactly due East, of Bethlehem.
The Tibetan Monks are the wisest people of this world, as far as I can ascertain, they were fulfilling a prophecy that was handed down from Dalai Lama to Dalai Lama. Cheers.
Agreed..the three wisemen r tibetian monks..
(Hebrews 6:20) says, where a forerunner has entered in our behalf, Jesus, who has become a high priest in the manner of Mel·chizʹe·dek forever.
(Hebrews 7:17) 17 For it is said in witness of him: “You are a priest forever in the manner of Mel·chizʹe·dek.”
ACCURATE knowledge is far better; God’s Word is far more reliable than that of so called scholars………in light of the 2 scriptures above we can see that Jesus is likened to Melchizedek, in that he was a priest and king, and Jesus will also fulfill the role of high priest and king of God’s Kingdom……….and certainly NOT to be aligned with the magi or astrologers
The Greek word maʹgoi at Matthew 2:1 is translated in several Bible translations as astrologers………..it wasn’t until about the 6th century that these three magi were called kings…….and they were certainly not led to Herod the Great in Jerusalem by a sign (star) from God.
Interesting background story (and stories), but someone ought to say something in behalf of the more straightforward explanation relating to Zoroastrian magi ( singular or plural, depending on language in which encountered).
Were it not for the account at the beginning of the NT and Matthew, the term magi would have remained rather obscure. But since it is there, it should be understood as well that the documentation in its behalf can be traced to the writing of Darius I King of Persia on the monument at Behistun – and also the commentaries of Herodotus in his Histories, evidently as passing references to Zoroastrian priests. In the former instance, the Rosetta-stone like inscriptions on Behistun cliff wall, carved during the reign of Darius I, refer to tribal Medes or perhaps Zoroastrian priests in the ancient Persian – and presumably translated into the other two languages (Elamite and Babylonian cuneiform).
Herodotus uses the term “magi” twice in the Histories (Book.paragraph:1.101 and 1.132). He speaks of the magi as one of the tribes/peoples (ethnous) of the Medes. Later (1.132), Herodotus uses the term “magi” to generically refer to a “sacerdotal caste”. Elsewhere, “we hear of Magi not only in Persia, Parthia, Bactria, Chorasmia, Aria, Media, and among the Sakas, but also in non-Iranian lands like Samaria, Ethiopia, and Egypt. Their influence was also widespread throughout Asia Minor. It is, therefore, quite likely that the sacerdotal caste of the Magi was distinct from the Median tribe of the same name.”[ Zaehner, Robert Charles (1961), The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism, New York: MacMillan]
Xenophon, in his early 4th century BCE Cyropaedia, depicts the magians as authorities for a depicts the magians as authorities for all religious matters (8.3.11).
Subsequently, in Roman times, “magikos” was associated with Zoroaster and Zoroastrianism with writers such as Pliny the Elder remarking on Greek fascination with it. And all this is quite difficult to summarize here and would require examining a whole host of writings about magic and deciding which ones were related to Zoroastrians directly – or just assumed.
While we are familiar in the Bible with the Proclamation of Cyrus that ended the Babylonian captivity ( in Chronicles II and Ezra), it should also be noted that there was a universal version of this proclamation, i.e., the Cyrus Cylinder. How many other peoples beside the people of Judea were carried into captivity and then released is another story or controversy, but the Cylinder is the basis for the claims. When the document is examined, one notes that while Cyrus disparages Nabonidus, he pays homage to traditional Babylonian beliefs and the god Marduk. But yet only a few decades later with Darius I, there is a significant contrast. At Behistun ( in old Persian “Begastan” or “place of God”) the royal inscription speaks in terms of the deity in other terms. Repeatedly, Darius declares that “by the grace of Ahuramazda”, I became king. Yet at the same time, his path to ascendancy was blocked by “the Magian” Gaumata, despite the best efforts of both Persians and Medes. Mede and Magi are not equivalent.
So admittedly there are riddles and discrepancies about the explanation for what is a magi even with the testimony of many Greeks, Romans and Darius himself. He was a Zoroastrian who quarreled with a rebellious magi? Was his predecessor a Zorastrian or a believer of something else? But altogether, I find it likely that Matthew was referring to Zoroastrians.
The idea that the magi came to Bethlehem is not biblical. In fact, the Bible claims that Herod inquired the magi carefully about when they had seen the star. Based on that he ordered the killing of all babies up to two years, all the way down to Rama. Upon which Joseph, Mary with their baby fled to Egypt. After they had returned from Egypt to Nazareth, the magii saw the start above the house (not stable) where they lived (not visited).
The way I read the Bible is in a spiritual manor. What we need to get from this band of men is “they were wise men”. As opposed to foolish. We when we look up verses that refer to wise and foolish, we see people doing what they are supposed to be doing “wise”, and others NOT WATCHING for the return of Jesus “foolish”.
IMO, these were Jews living in Babylon, but they knew about the prophesy of the star. They watched the sky’s, so you might say they were astrologers, but they could be called astronomers. If you read your Bible and are watching for the return of Jesus, you are wise. If you are not watching for His return, He will come at a time you are not aware. Leviticus 23 establishes He will return on some Feast of Trumpets, at the Last Trump. The day no one knows the day or the hour is Rosh Hashanah.
The wise virgins of Mat 25 were ready to go, but the foolish weren’t prepared. Yet they were all virgins. Virgins are eligible to marry the High Priest, (Deut) and Jesus is the High Priest forever.
Just as Rabbi’s know He would be born of a virgin, they also knew there would be a star over Bethlehem. Whatever the “star” was, they knew it was not normally in the sky. Knowing these things is neat to know, but what application is it for our lives? We are told we will be at the wedding feast on Trumpets. We will be hidden away to hide from God’s wrath as Noah was put in a room in the Ark while God judged the world. God’s wrath will fall for 7 years instead of 10 because no flesh would survive 10 years. We will be judged on Atonement, and return to live with Jesus for 1000 years on earth. Then the earth will burn and the eighth day will represent eternity with God.
Leviticus 23 speaks of His first coming with Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits. Pentecost is the birth of the church, and the Fall Feasts teach us of His second coming.
Do a word search for the word “watch”. 99% will deal with the Rapture and Jacob’s trouble beginning. God took Noah out 7 days before the Flood and took Lot out 3 days before the fire fell. He does NOT judge without warning. We have been warned. “As it was in the days of Noah and the days of Lot”, He will return.
Look UP, your redemption draweth nigh. Watch therefore that you are not overtaken as a thief. That’s real “wise”.
Somewhere recently in BAR I read where they were determined to be natives of Shiraz in Iran, a good sturdy rug-weaving town; I believe that I own one.
If these Magi were from Persia and the star was in the east they would end up in India so either the star was in the west or the Magi came from the west. You cannot have itboth ways so the famous star in the east means the Magi came from egypt or further west.
Or Matthew was written by an author west of Judea, someone in today’s Italy/Libya or further west. It is well known that the gospels were NOT actually written by their attributed writers.