Why Did the Magi Bring Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh?
Medicinal uses of frankincense may help explain the gifts of the magi
Were the gifts of the magi meant to save Jesus from the pain of arthritis? It’s possible, according to researchers at Cardiff University in Wales who have been studying the medical uses of frankincense.
Since the early days of Christianity, Biblical scholars and theologians have offered varying interpretations of the meaning and significance of the gold, frankincense and myrrh that the magi presented to Jesus, according to the Gospel of Matthew (2:11). These valuable items were standard gifts to honor a king or deity in the ancient world: gold as a precious metal, frankincense as perfume or incense, and myrrh as anointing oil. In fact, these same three items were apparently among the gifts, recorded in ancient inscriptions, that King Seleucus II Callinicus offered to the god Apollo at the temple in Miletus in 243 B.C.E. The Book of Isaiah, when describing Jerusalem’s glorious restoration, tells of nations and kings who will come and “bring gold and frankincense and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord” (Isaiah 60:6). Although Matthew’s gospel does not include the names or number of the magi, many believe that the number of the gifts is what led to the tradition of the Three Wise Men.
The traditional gifts of the magi—gold, frankincense and myrrh—may have had symbolic as well as practical value. Researchers believe the medicinal uses of frankincense were known to the author of Matthew’s gospel.
In addition to the honor and status implied by the value of the gifts of the magi, scholars think that these three were chosen for their special spiritual symbolism about Jesus himself—gold representing his kingship, frankincense a symbol of his priestly role, and myrrh a prefiguring of his death and embalming—an interpretation made popular in the well-known Christmas carol “We Three Kings.”
Still others have suggested that the gifts of the magi were a bit more practical—even medicinal in nature. Researchers at Cardiff University have demonstrated that frankincense has an active ingredient that can help relieve arthritis by inhibiting the inflammation that breaks down cartilage tissue and causes arthritis pain. The new study validates traditional uses of frankincense as an herbal remedy to treat arthritis in communities of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, where the trees that produce this aromatic resin grow. Did the magi “from the East” know of frankincense’s healing properties when they presented it to young Jesus?
Based on Strata, “The Magi’s Gifts—Tribute or Treatment?” Biblical Archaeology Review, January/February 2012.
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This Bible History Daily feature was originally published in December 2011.
Related reading in Bible History Daily
Frankincense and Other Resins Were Used in Roman Burials Across Britain
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How are the rocks used
More likely these items were used in consideration of the need for the family to flee the country due to a madly evil Kings
Gold. Frankincense and Myrrh are readily transportable and highly transferrabkevwealth that would allow a refugee family to survive for an extended period in a foreign land.
Divine providence or just plain luck it’s a matter of faith.
Be well
“…….frankincense has an active ingredient that can help relieve arthritis by inhibiting the inflammation……” (BAS)
Exodus 30:34-38 shows that frankincense was an additive in incense
Leviticus 2:1,2 frankincense was used in the grain offering
Leviticus 24:7 it was used on the showbread
frankincense is also found mentioned in several other scriptures.
Both frankincense, or olibanum, and myrrh came from resinous gum that was obtained by making incisions in the bark of small trees or thorny shrubs.
The frankincense tree grew along the southern coast of Arabia, and the myrrh bush thrived in the semidesert countries of present-day Somalia and Yemen. Both spices were highly esteemed for their fragrance. Jehovah himself chose them in connection with his worship—myrrh was a component of the holy anointing oil, and frankincense of the holy incense. (Exodus 30:23-25, 34-37) But they were used differently.
Frankincense, commonly used as incense, had to be burned to release its fragrance. The resin extracted from myrrh, on the other hand, was used directly. Myrrh is mentioned three times in accounts about Jesus: as a gift when he was a baby (Matthew 2:11), as an analgesic offered with wine when he was hanging on the stake (Mark 15:23), and as one of the spices used in the preparation of his body for burial (John 19:39).https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2015172#h=27:0-31:420
Possibly in relation to this prophecy in Isaiah (Jeshajah) chapter 60:
Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow,
For the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.
Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the Lord.
And all the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered,
and the rams of Nabaeoth shall come;
and acceptable sacrifices shall be offered on my altar,
and my house of prayer shall be glorified.
Zoroastrianism wasn’t invented until LONG after Abraham and Moses. Zoroastrianism was developed by the Persians, which didn’t exist until 600BC, which is almost 1,000 years after Moses.
“Researchers at Cardiff University have demonstrated that frankincense has an active ingredient that can help relieve arthritis by inhibiting the inflammation that breaks down cartilage tissue and causes arthritis pain.” (BAS)
Hebrews 5:9 and several other scriptures indicate that Jesus Christ when on earth as a human was perfect, sinless and undefiled………which would mean that he would have had no need for medication of any sort………Jesus had to be a perfect human so that he could offer his perfect life as a ransom to offset the sin of Adam and Eve, which God required to fulfill his own laws, that he had given to Moses and the Israelite nation and of course that Law was also perfect.
“These three Kings…..”
They were not three kings, first they were not kings they were astrologers and secondly nowhere does it say that there were three astrologers.
These astrologers had three gifts for the young child (NOT baby).
tradition says what you say,but, tradition is not supported by the Bible (Colossians 2:8)
Yes, Abraham as he left Ur still believed in Mesopotamian mithology. Bible as it exist now wasn’t until 400BCE
Can we please stop reflecting on the past now?
✌️???? Do we know enough to set sites on the presence of nobility, humility and humanity? Do we hold people accountable to their character in our own lives? To we even think about what makes us who we are? It seems that we are so busy looking at what’s wrong that we’ve overseen the simplicity and sacredness of what’s right. We’ve allowed this idea of segregation to divide us instead of seeing our differences and embracing what feels right in our heart. It’s new years day, 2018 and I am emotionally optimistic that a time has come- we will witness, understand & unite in his ideal and begin to hold each other accountable, to learn to love and care.
Perhaps totally unrelated – Ie: I was just searching through a bag of 30 essential oils, ruminating on what I’d just read in this article, wondering how it can help my life… When I was done I had selected 4 that I put on the table but I had 2 in my left hand that I had unknowingly picked up to make room to sort were Frankense & Myrrh. I have no idea how it happened or what it means except those two essences feel like a messenger to me today that I followed here to this page, this consideration and this comment which adds to my sense of how the spirit of Jesus lives in me, and that is equivalent to a third gift– gold.
Happy New Year ???? from Toronto, Canada