Father Sky

the Star, the Magi April 2, 2011

In this last installment of our quest for better understanding of the Star of Bethlehem I would like to turn our attention to some very interesting characters in this story; the Magi. The account in Matthew is all too brief so we must turn to other sources, limited as they are.

In Herodotus’ The Histories we learn that the Magi were one of six tribes of the Median Empire. Media was situated along the SW shore of what we know of as the Caspian Sea in present day Iran, the province of Azerbaijan. The Median Empire fell under Persian rule around 550 BC, Hellenistic rule around 330 BC and were under the rule of the Parthian Empire from 247 BC to 228 AD, which covers the time of the gospel of Matthew.

Darius of Media Atropatene, 70 AD

(above coin is among the few physical records we have of Media)

Unfortunately we really don’t have much beyond Herodotus’ account of the doings of this specific tribe. Other sources usually only provide the general sequence of rulerships for Media as I shared in the second paragraph.

Please note that Herodotus refers to them as a “tribe”, which would include women, children, artisans, craftsmen, laborers, and so on as well as priests which is what we think of today. He does make a point of saying whenever you need a dream interpreted, it’s a Magus (singular form of Magi) you are going to call. “The Histories” do also portray Magians as normal individuals of a tribe, but it is being dream interpreters for which they are most famous. I should note that dream interpretation and astrology go hand in hand.

In the little bit of  information we have outside of Herodotus we learn that the Magi are one sect of Zoroastrian priests who were primarily responsible for the spread of the Zoroastrian religion. It seems this unique priesthood is endowed with magical powers, the power of divination and the ability to interpret dreams. This seems to be in harmony with what we learn from Herodotus.

Finally, we have a few references to “Rab-Mag’s” in the bible. Are these the same Magi? Some suggest they are. But I ask you to look closer. In Jeremiah we read of Rab-Mags as princes (or is it a single prince?) from Babylon who were present at the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. And then in Acts we run into Barjesus (or Elymas), also a Rab-Mag who is a sorcerer and a false prophet. Not exactly wise men from the east.

Now some modern christian writers suggest that the Magi represent the gentiles. That Jesus was born for Jew and Gentile alike. That here we have some “kings” from another land coming to bow before the new born Jewish king. But considering what we know about the Magi, and what we know of the culture of the time, I’m thinking the writers of Matthew were actually trying to show that even the signs in the heavens acknowledged a king was born and here we have the highest authority on star signs to prove it. The Magi would not be a good representation of gentiles. They do however, provide credibility to that particular interpretation of the sky message and that it is something that everyone would understand.

Adoration of the Magi by Rogier van der Weyden

Numerous painters have given us their artistic “magic” of that event such as this Rogier van der Weyden painting “Adoration of the Magi”, but we may never know exactly what those writers of Matthew were really telling us.

So was the star a guide for esteemed wisemen, a made up story to demonstrate some point, or a portend of a kingly birth? If the story is to be believed at all, we have to acknowledge astrological influences.

I may not have convinced you but I hope you will begin to read these stories with a questioning mind.

Note: If you search Adoration of the Magi you will get numerous hits. I particularly liked the one above with the star just peeking over the stable roof to the left.