THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM AND THE THREE MAGI

Barbara Thiering:

 When ‘a star guided the wise men’ to the birthplace of Jesus, there was no real star. It was Joseph, his father, who was the Star of David, leading the Magians, his political associates, to witness the fact that an heir to his dynasty had been born.” [1] 

See: The Gospel of Saint Matthew 2. 1-12:

 V.I.J. Flint:

 “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men (Vulgate, "magi") from the East to Jerusalem, saying, where is he that is born king of the Jews) for we have seen his star in the East, and are come to worship him. . . and, lo, the star which they saw in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. . . and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts: gold and frankincense, and myrrh.

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    We might note that the magi in the gospel are not royal, and nor in the West did they immediately become royal. Nor were they invariably thought to be three in medieval sources. 83 In their earliest form, the magi seem simply to have been authoritative and learned persons of generous disposition and with access to Christian supernatural direction. And they may have been "scientific" astrologers.” [2]

L. Thorndike: 

The three Magi – 

     In the course of the foregoing digression Michael inserted an account of the Magi and the star that appears to be based in part but with variations on the spurious homily of Chrysostom. He makes them three in number, one from Europe, Asia, and Africa respectively; and states that forewarned by Balaam's prophecy they met together annually for worship on the day of Christ's nativity, which they appear to have known beforehand. They stood in adoration for three days continuously on Mount Victorialis until on the third day they saw the star in the form of a most beautiful  boy with a crown on his head. Then they followed the star upon dromedaries which, Michael explains, can go further in a day than horses can in two months.  Beside the star three suns arose that day at equal distances apart and then united in token of the Trinity; and Octavianus, emperor of the Romans, saw the Virgin holding the Child in the centre of the sun’s disk. As for the word magus, Michael explains that it has a threefold meaning, - which, however, has nothing to do with the Trinity, - namely: trickster, sorcerer, and wise man, and that the Magi who saw the star were all three of these until their subsequent conversion to Christianity. [3]

THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM     by David Plant