In the Eastern Orthodox world, the visitors are 12 in number, perhaps prefiguring the 12 apostles, or - if the Magi are astrologers - corresponding to the number of star signs in the zodiac. Matthew provides no details either about the visitors or their number. But for all we know, they may have arrived on foot. Nothing in the Gospel story says they rode on camels - while camels were used at the time by Arab nomads in Arabia, then a minority in the region, an ancient Syriac or Chaldean depiction shows them arriving on horseback. Matthew's crisp writing style leaves us with no description of how the visitors travelled to Bethlehem.
Their prophetic entrance contrasts with the portrayal of two Magi in later New Testament passages: Simon Magus tried to buy magic powers from the Apostle Peter (Acts 8: 9-24) and at Paphos, in Cyprus, the Apostle Paul rebuked a magus named Bar-Jesus, calling him a "child of the devil" (Acts 13 6-11). While the shepherds are Jews and poor (and arrive hurriedly on foot at the stable), the wise men are gentiles and rich (and arrive long after the birth at the house, by which time the baby has grown into a child). Later portrayals of their majestic arrival stand in sharp contrast to the simple earlier visit of the shepherds. Philo of Alexandria spoke of them as "venomous creatures" and "parasites" who preyed upon the people with charms and incantations, and in the year 19 AD the Emperor Tiberius banished all astrologers because so many people were falling victim to their counterfeits. Their social standing had dropped dramatically by New Testament times. The Greek historian, Herdodotus, described the magoi as a "priestly caste", but they also dabbled in medicine, astronomy, astrology. In Babylon at the time of the Biblical Daniel, they were sometimes looked upon as imposters, and King Nebuchadnezzar decreed their death for failing to interpret his dream. In the journal, Sfinx, Dr Adam BulowJacobsen, Professor of History at Aarhus University, points out that the word magoi also meant charlatan or swindler. In Matthew's Greek, the visitors are called magoi, which could mean wise men, but it could also be translated as magicians, dream readers or bringers of omens. The nativity story appears in only two of the Gospels - Matthew and Luke - and only Matthew tells the story of a visit by an unknown number of men from the east.
However, the New Testament contains virtually none of these details, and most have been added over the years from sources outside the Bible. Traditionally, Christmas comes to an end on January 6th with the arrival of three kings, preferably on camels, having followed a star in the east and bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh for the new-born child in a manger in Bethlehem. The 12 Days of Christmas come to an end today with the celebration of the Epiphany and the last opportunity for singing such carols as We Three Kings of Orient Are.
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