Revelation of the Magi: The Lost Tale of the Wise Men's Journey to Bethlehem

by Brent Landau

  104. The phrase “the sons of our mysteries” (as opposed to “our sons” at 5:1) seems to indicate, along with 5:9 and 5:11, that the order of the Magi does not perpetuate strictly through biological succession (as 5:10 might imply) but is open to “converts.”

  105. The tradition that the star of the Magi was visible only to them is a definite minority position in ancient Christian exegesis. It is, however, one of several striking agreements between the Revelation of the Magi and Infancy Gospel X. Because these two texts agree on what is such an unusual interpretation of the Star of Bethlehem, it is very likely that there is some sort of literary relationship between them.

  106. Cf. Jn 1:51; Gn 28:12.

  107. Cf. 4:2 and corresponding note.

  108. Cf. 20:1.

  109. Cf. 4:8. Latin and Irish witnesses to Infancy Gospel X also describe the birth of Christ as a mass of light that gradually dissipates until it assumes the form of an infant.

  110. Cf. Lk 24:36; Jn 20:19, 21, 26.

  111. Cf. 19:1, 21:2, 25:1, 31:1.

  112. Cf. Jn 1:14.

  113. Cf. Jn 3:16.

  114. Cf. Jn 19:30.

  115. Cf. Phil 2:8.

  116. Cf. Gal 4:4.

  117. Cf. Rom 1:20, 2:1.

  118. This idea that Christ can be both in the presence of the Father and on earth at the same time may be related to a variant reading in Jn 3:13, which states that the Son of Man, who has ascended into and descended from heaven, is (currently) in heaven. Regardless of the origin of the idea, however, the Revelation of the Magi is evidently very invested in the ability of Christ to appear in multiple locations and forms simultaneously.

  119. Cf. Col 3:11; Gospel of Thomas 77.

  120. This sentence contains an intriguing theological concept: that Christ is the underlying reality of all systems of religious belief in the world. Although other early Christian writings admit the possibility of revelation through non-Christian channels (e.g., Acts 14:15–17, 17:22–31), the Revelation of the Magi demonstrates a novel “theology of world religions,” the precise form of which is found nowhere else, to my knowledge, in ancient Christian sources.

  121. Cf. Ez 3:9.

  122. Cf. Gospel of Philip 57:28–58:10.

  123. The idea that those involved in the killing of Christ have come to an evil end appears in numerous early Christian writings (e.g., 1 Thes 2:15; Mt 27:25).

  124. The final phrase of this sentence is rather difficult to understand. It may mean that there were letters that the Magi were to open only at the time of the star’s coming, giving specific instructions for the gifts to be brought. However, the more likely sense is that the gifts, whatever they were, were housed in some kind of sealed container(s), here called “letters.” This is the probable meaning, based upon the statement in 18:7 that the Magi had brought their treasures to Bethlehem “sealed.”

  125. The series of statements that follow demonstrate Christ’s polymorphous ability, a tradition that appears in a number of other ancient Christian texts. This concept seems to derive from the account of Jesus’s transfiguration (Mk 9:2–8) and from the Resurrection appearance stories, but it undergoes considerable development in the second and third centuries, where it appears in the Acts of John 88–94, the Acts of Thomas 143, and the Acts of Peter 20–21. In some traditions about the Magi, including the Armenian Infancy Gospel and a legend told to Marco Polo in Iran in the twelfth century, Jesus appeared to each of the three Magi in correspondence to their ages: as young, middle-aged, and old. In another impressive parallel to the Revelation of the Magi, the best Latin witness of Infancy Gospel X has the infant Jesus change his form as the shepherds are viewing. A unique aspect of the polymorphic vision in the Revelation of the Magi, not seen in other texts, is that its individual pieces in sequence tell the story of Christ’s birth, growth, and death, culminating with his descent into Sheol and his heavenly ascent. A polymorphic appearance of Christ also occurs later in the Revelation of the Magi, this time for the inhabitants of Shir after they have eaten of the food brought back by the Magi (28:1–3).

  126. Regarding Christ’s ugliness, see note at 4:8.

  127. Cf. Jn 1:29.

  128. Cf. 10:4 and corresponding note.

  129. Cf. 12:3; Ps 24:7.

  130. Cf. Ps 91:12.

  131. Cf. Jn 14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7; 1 Jn 2:1.

  132. Cf. Mt 13:17; Lk 10:24.

  133. Cf. Acts 9:3, 22:6, 26:13.

  134. Cf. Mt 11:27; Lk 10:22.

  135. Cf. Jn 1:18, 10:38. This verse of the Revelation of the Magi uses several terms—singleness, thought, voice—that are relatively rare in early Christian literature and have their closest parallels in the Gnostic Christian writings from Nag Hammadi (see also the frequent references to “error” at 13:3, 13:5, 14:8, 17:9, 18:1, 21:9, 21:10, 30:4, 32:2). Some scholars have considered the Revelation of the Magi to be a “Gnostic” text; however, despite this strange terminology, the Revelation of the Magi lacks any traces of the most common doctrines found in the Nag Hammadi literature, such as a negative evaluation of the material world or an evil creator (cf. 21:9).

  136. Cf. Jn 1:3.

  137. Cf. Rom 8:38–39; Col 1:16.

  138. Cf. 2:2.

  139. Cf. Mk 1:11, 9:7.

  140. Cf. 1:5.

  141. Cf. Col 1:15.

  142. Cf. Jn 1:14, 1:18, 3:16, 3:18; 1 Jn 4:9.

  143. Cf. Jn 3:19.

  144. In the Syriac tradition, the terminology of “putting on a body” is a very typical description of the Incarnation.

  145. Cf. Mk 16:17.

  146. Cf. Jn 14:6.

  147. Cf. Jn 10:9.

  148. Cf. Phil 2:9.

  149. Cf. Jn 6:35, 48, 51. Also note that the pronoun me provides the first indication of who is speaking this discourse: the Father himself, as will become completely clear with the final words of the passage in 15:10.

  150. Cf. Mk 4:14.

  151. Cf. Jn 10:11.

  152. Cf. Heb 4:14.

  153. Cf. Jn 6:55.

  154. Cf. Jn 15:1, 5.

  155. The use of encampment here and at several places in the rest of the narrative is peculiar, since it does not suggest a relatively small group of travelers. It is a word used in the New Testament almost exclusively for large assemblies of people (e.g., Acts 21:34; Heb 11:34, 13:11). Because of this typical usage, this terminology in the Revelation of the Magi may reflect a more archaic belief that the group of the Magi numbered more than twelve (cf. the list of names in 2:3, which is possibly an independent accretion grafted onto the Revelation of the Magi). If this is indeed the case, then this would be another similarity between the Revelation of the Magi and Infancy Gospel X, whose witnesses all portray the Magi as a large group of people.

  156. The ambiguity of this verb does not specify whether the group of the Magi is being upheld in the sense of “being sustained” or actually “carried” off the ground. Evidence for both interpretations appears in 16:6, as the Magi are relieved of their fatigue and cross rivers by foot.

  157. Cf. Is 60:19; Rv 21:23, 22:5.

  158. A reference to the lack of fatigue experienced by the Magialso occurs in an Irish witness to Infancy Gospel X. It is also possible that this passage from the Revelation of the Magi alludes to Is 40:31.

  159. I.e., the star.

  160. Cf. 26:5, 27:9. This food that is generated by the star will later figure prominently in the conversion of the people of Shir, since it produces visions of Christ for those who eat it (28:1–4). While the multiplication of food has some parallels in early Christian literature (cf. Mk 6:32–44, 8:10; Jn 6:5–13; Infancy Gospel of Thomas 12), the ability of food to facilitate visionary experience is far more unusual. Several similar concepts are the eating of a scroll as a sign of prophetic commission in Ez 2:8–3:3 and Rv 10:8–10 and the eating of a heavenly honeycomb by Aseneth as a kind of proto-Eucharist in Joseph and Aseneth 16; but even in these cases, there is no indication that what is ingested produces a visionary experience.

  1
61. Cf. Is 40:4.

  162. Cf. Gn 3:15; Ps 91:13; Lk 10:19; Rom 16:20.

  163. I.e., in April (Nisan; cf. 11:6). Clement of Alexandria also knows of Christians who state that Jesus was born in April (24–25 Pharmuti, equivalent to April 20–21); see Miscellanies 1.21. The information that the Magi arrived in “the month of flowers” also appears in Theodore bar Konai (Mimra 7.17). Because of such similar language, it is very likely that Theodore was acquainted with the Revelation of the Magi. Moreover, Theodore was writing in central Arabia at roughly the same time that the Chronicle of Zuqnin was produced, which indicates that the Revelation of the Magi was in fairly wide circulation at the end of the eighth century.

  164. Cf. Mt 2:3.

  165. This statement by the inhabitants of Jerusalem and theexplanatory comments of the Magi that follow are noteworthy on several levels. First of all, there is again a remarkable parallel with Infancy Gospel X, where Joseph (not the inhabitants of Jerusalem) regards the Magi as astrologers because they are constantly looking up at the sky. More precisely, in both texts the Magi are watching their guiding star, which neither the inhabitants of Jerusalem nor Joseph is able to see (cf. 11:7). Beyond this, however, there is a more problematic issue. The use of the term Magianism occurs only here in the Revelation of the Magi; their religious system is elsewhere called mysteries, custom, or faith. Moreover, this is also the only instance of the word Magi within the first-person-plural narration that makes up the bulk of the document, and its connotation is apparently negative. Because the inhabitants of Jerusalem refer to the actions of the visitors as “Magianism,” do not understand the mysteries of these visitors, and reckon these visitors to be “Magi,” the entire implication of this passage is that these visitors are not who the inhabitants of Jerusalem think they are, and are not Magi—a difficult conclusion given that the central figures of the narrative are obviously the Magi. Perhaps a solution lies in the earlier statements that the Magi are called by this name because of their silent prayer (1:2, 2:1), which may be intended in part to differentiate these figures from the more common connotation of Magi as astrologers.

  166. Cf. 15:7 and accompanying note.

  167. Cf. 13:10 and corresponding note.

  168. Cf. Mt 2:4.

  169. Cf. Mt 2:10.

  170. The statement that the scribes did not believe that which was written in their sacred writings, when coupled with the Magi’s reliance on their own books of prophecy, sharply contrasts the two groups and goes beyond the implicit critique already present in Matthew.

  171. Perhaps this is an allusion to Gn 1:3.

  172. It is possible to understand this sentence as an indictment of the Jewish people since the time of Herod: “They are (still) dwelling in darkness (as they have done) from the days of Herod. …”

  173. Cf. Mt 2:8.

  174. Cf. Mt 2:12.

  175. Cf. Jn 8:12, 9:5.

  176. The Syriac term used here can also mean a court, a space enclosed by a fence, or a sheepfold. I have chosen the translation “homestead” because of the immediate appearance of Mary and Joseph as the Magi are leaving the cave (22:2), an indication that they do not live far away from the cave.

  177. Although in Mt 2:11 the Magi visit the infant Jesus in his parents’ house, here the Revelation of the Magi places the birth in a cave, a locale mentioned in several other ancient sources. While Lk 2:7 has Jesus laid in a “manger” because there was no room in the “inn,” many scholars believe that this verse is describing a very rudimentary shelter for travelers, not the sort of inn found, for example, in Luke’s parable of the Good Samaritan (cf. Lk 10:34, which uses a different Greek word for “inn”). It is therefore possible that the primitive structure that Luke describes evolved into the belief that Jesus was born in a cave. The cave tradition also appears in the Protevangelium of James 18.1; the Syriac Testament of Adam 3:6; Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho 78; and a number of other early Christian writers.

  178. The sequence of events in 18:3–5 is practically identical to the initial manifestation of the star to the Magi atop the Mountain of Victories.

  179. This is the first of several statements, which occur at various places in the narrative, indicating that the mysteries of the Magi have been accomplished or fulfilled (cf. 19:2, 21:4, 24:2, 31:1).

  180. Cf. 11:4.

  181. Cf. 12:3.

  182. Cf. 12:4.

  183. Cf. 12:5.

  184. This is the only reference in the first-person-plural section of the Revelation of the Magi that implies that the Magi are kings. Cf. 1:2, 2:3–5.

  185. Cf. Mt 6:13, though this part of the Lord’s Prayer does not appear in the earliest Greek manuscripts.

  186. Cf. Rom 14:11; Phil 2:10.

  187. Cf. Mt 19:28–29; Mk 10:30; Lk 18:29–30.

  188. Cf. 13:1, 21:1, 25:1, 31:1.

  189. How the fathers of the Magi are able to see the light of the star is not clear, since 5:10 implies that their sons would be initiated into the Magi’s mysteries only when their fathers had died; perhaps the text means only that they were worthy to see it, even if it did not appear in their lifetimes.

  190. Cf. Mt 28:20.

  191. Cf. the appearance of Judas Thomas in 29:1, but there is never any indication in the final portion of the Revelation of the Magi that more than one disciple preaches in the homeland of the Magi.

  192. Cf. Jn 17:5.

  193. Cf. 13:9.

  194. Cf. Mk 15:33.

  195. Cf. Mt 27:51–52. This prediction of events, which in the New Testament occurs in conjunction with the death of Jesus, is problematic in that it is never again mentioned in the Revelation of the Magi. If the Judas Thomas episode is judged to be an interpolation, then it is possible that its insertion may have obliterated the fulfillment of this prophecy.

  196. Cf. Mk 14:62, 16:19; Acts 7:55–56.

  197. Cf. 12:4.

  198. The Latin and Irish witnesses to Infancy Gospel X also state that the Christ child received praise from invisible heavenly beings at the moment of his birth.

  199. Cf. Jn 1:3.

  200. Cf. 2 Cor 1:20.

  201. Cf. Col 1:16.

  202. Cf. 2:2.

  203. The Magi falling on the ground like dead men in 21:1 and the child putting his right hand on them in 21:2 very strongly resemble Rv 1:17.

  204. Cf. 13:1, 19:1, 25:1, 31:1.

  205. It is not clear what these “great things” to come are. It is possible that this refers back to the prophecy spoken by the child in 19:7–9 regarding the events at his death and his ascension to heaven.

  206. I.e., Shir, where the light of the star first appeared.

  207. Cf. 29:5.

  208. Cf. 27:10.

  209. Cf. Col 1:15.

  210. Cf. 1 Cor 1:24.

  211. Cf. Jn 10:38; 14:11.

  212. Cf. 13:10; Jn 5:46.

  213. Cf. Gospel of Thomas 50.