John 7:41-42<\/a>)<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Greek term often rendered as \u201cwise men\u201d in Matthew 2:1 and 2:7 is \u03bc\u03ac\u03b3\u03bf\u03b9\u00a0(magoi<\/em>), which is sometimes Anglicized as magi<\/em>. \u00a0It entered into English\u00a0ca. 1200 AD with the meaning of \u201cmagicians\u201d or \u201castrologers,\u201d from Latin\u00a0magi<\/span><\/em>, the plural of\u00a0magus<\/span><\/em>\u00a0(\u201cmagician,\u201d \u201clearned occultist\u201d), from the Greek word\u00a0magos<\/span><\/em>, which was used for the Persian learned and priestly class. \u00a0The Old Persian term\u00a0magush<\/span><\/em>\u00a0meant \u201cmagician.\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
These \u201cwise men\u201d came rather vaguely\u00a0\u1f00\u03c0\u1f78 \u1f00\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u1ff6\u03bd, \u201cfrom the East,\u201d which doesn\u2019t tell us a great deal about their land of origin.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Matthew 2:2 reports the magi as saying that they had \u201cseen his star in the East\u201d (\u1f10\u03bd \u03c4\u1fc7 \u1f00\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u1fc7). \u00a0In his recently published volume The New Testament: A Translation for Latter-day Saints: A Study Bible<\/em>, Thomas Wayment has them saying that they had \u201cseen his rising star.\u201d \u00a0He argues in justification of this rendering in a note to the passage.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Matthew 2:11, the magi bestow upon the infant Jesus three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. \u00a0The first, of course, would have been appropriate to a king. \u00a0The second, frankincense, was used in the liturgy of the ancient temple. \u00a0The third, myrrh, was used during the preparation of bodies for burial. \u00a0Many have thought that the specific identity of these three gifts is significant, prefiguring or symbolizing aspects of Christ\u2019s life, nature, and mission. \u00a0The three gifts have also probably given rise to the notion that there were three magi. \u00a0However, we don\u2019t actually know how many there were, and we certainly don\u2019t know that they were named Gaspar, Balthasar, and Melchior. \u00a0By the era of koin\u00e9<\/em> (or \u201cNew Testament\u201d) Greek, the older Greek dual form was basically gone, so we can\u2019t say that the use of the plural\u00a0\u03bc\u03ac\u03b3\u03bf\u03b9\u00a0(magoi<\/em>) proves that there were at least<\/em> three. \u00a0But there were certainly at least two, and there could theoretically have been four, or twenty-four, or forty. \u00a0Or, for that matter, six hundred and sixty-six.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Note that, at Luke 2:13, the gospel reports the \u201cheavenly host\u201d as \u201csaying,\u201d<\/em> not actually as \u201csinging,\u201d<\/em> their message.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The proper translation of the message of the angelic chorus in Luke 2:14 has been a matter of some disagreement:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u0394\u03cc\u03be\u03b1 \u1f10\u03bd \u1f51\u03c8\u03af\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b8\u03b5\u1ff7 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f10\u03c0\u1f76 \u03b3\u1fc6\u03c2 \u03b5\u1f30\u03c1\u03ae\u03bd\u03b7 \u1f10\u03bd \u1f00\u03bd\u03b8\u03c1\u03ce\u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2\u00a0\u03b5\u1f50\u03b4\u03bf\u03ba\u03af\u03b1\u03c2.<\/p>\n
King James Version: \u00a0\u201cGlory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.\u201d<\/p>\n
Revised Standard Version, 2d ed.: \u00a0\u201cGlory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas Wayment, The New Testament: A Translation for Latter-day Saints: A Study Bible:\u00a0<\/em>\u201cGlory to God in the highest, and on the earth peace to men and women with whom he is pleased.\u201d<\/p>\nS. Kent Brown, The Testimony of Luke<\/em>, Brigham Young University New Testament Commentary (Provo: BYU Studies, 2015): \u201cGlory in the highest places to God, and peace on earth among men of good favor.\u201d<\/p>\n(The Greek plural \u1f04\u03bd\u03b8\u03c1\u03c9\u03c0\u03bf\u03b9, often translated as \u201cmen,\u201d has that meaning not in the sense of \u201cmales\u201d but in the sense of \u201chumans.\u201d \u00a0Hence Professor Wayment\u2019s somewhat paraphrastic expanded translation above.)<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The explanation at Luke 2:19, that \u201cMary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart,\u201d is vintage Luke, and suggests, once again, that he may have interviewed Mary or somebody who knew her. \u00a0Certainly, along with the story of the common shepherds of Bethlehem, it is consistent with his interest in the voices of women and of relatively ordinary people. \u00a0Matthew\u2019s account, by contrast, manifests his focus on Jesus as the royal messiah, with even aristocratic foreigners bringing him offerings of gold and other precious gifts.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 Matthew 2:1-12 Luke 2:8-20 (John 7:41-42) \u00a0 The Greek term often rendered as \u201cwise men\u201d in Matthew 2:1 and 2:7 is \u03bc\u03ac\u03b3\u03bf\u03b9\u00a0(magoi), which is sometimes Anglicized as magi. \u00a0It entered into English\u00a0ca. 1200 AD with the meaning of \u201cmagicians\u201d or \u201castrologers,\u201d from Latin\u00a0magi, the plural of\u00a0magus\u00a0(\u201cmagician,\u201d \u201clearned occultist\u201d), from the Greek word\u00a0magos, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3172,2517,2974,3166,2977,2971,2625,3007,3175,3169],"class_list":["post-69724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bethlehem","tag-christmas","tag-luke","tag-magi","tag-matthew","tag-nativity","tag-new-testament","tag-new-testament-commentary","tag-shepherds","tag-wise-men"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>