January 6th is Epiphany. It so happens that two events in the Gospels are associated with this day in the Christian calendar. One is the arrival of the magi as recounted in the Gospel of Matthew. The other is Jesus\u2019 baptism by John the Baptist. Both interest me, for different reasons. I wrote a short story, \u201cWe Three Spies of Parthia Are,\u201d<\/a> offering a subversive account of the visit of the magi and the motives behind it, which you can read for free in AcademFic<\/em><\/a>. John the Baptist is a focus of my current research as I bring my work on the Mandaeans into the picture working on a figure in the New Testament. The Mandaean sources, used critically and with appropriate caution, have something to offer that is of potential historical value, as I hope to demonstrate in my Enoch Seminar conference paper next week<\/a>.<\/p>\n Elsewhere,\u00a0Jim Davila<\/a> drew attention to a Zoom lecture about the Dead Sea Scrolls<\/a>, the blurb for which mentions John the Baptist. He also drew attention<\/a> to the insightful and provocative article by\u00a0Tam\u00e1s Visi, \u201cJohn the Baptist \u2013 A Jewish Preacher Recast as the Herald of Jesus.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Also on Epiphany\/Magi\/John the Baptist:<\/p>\n Bob Cornwall on Matthew 2<\/a><\/p>\n Baptism of the Beloved<\/a><\/p>\n The more powerful one who is coming (Mark 1; Advent\u00a02B)<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n