Book Review: Mystery of the Magi by Dwight Longenecker

Mystery of the Magi: The Quest to Identify the Three Wise Men by Dwight Longenecker

The story of three camel-riding kings from distant lands following a moving star into Bethlehem where they worship an infant in a stable is both popular to the general public and scoffed at by historians and biblical scholars. It sounds too fantastic and theatrical. Is it just a fun story to make Jesus look more divine, like Santa Claus lets us give presents to each other or the Easter bunny lets us eat lots of chocolate?

The original text in Matthew's Gospel is very spartan, with few details about who these men were and what motivated them. Longenecker's book is an investigation of the story of the Magi, trying to find the kernel of truth buried under layers of elaboration and fabrication. He describes how the story had details misconstrued or added. For example, the Magi are simply described as "from the East" which for Israel would mean Arabia. As the center of Christianity moved north, "The East" was more naturally Persia, which had a strong tradition of astrologers and sages. Of course, astrologers and sages could be found at virtually any court of any country at that time. Also, the Magi are never numbered in the Gospel, only that they brought three gifts. It might be natural to assume three gifts meant three gift-givers but the text doesn't say that. The text doesn't mention camels either though it does mention the Magi meeting the mother and Child in a house, not a stable.

After identifying the source of the many elaborations around the Magi story, Longenecker digs into the economic and political history of the time to search for a more plausible explanation of the Gospel text. Relatively recent archaeology (the last hundred years or so) has uncovered the Nabatean kingdom based out of Petra. The ruins of Petra are not very far from Jerusalem (100 miles in a straight line). The Nabatean trade routes ran through Judea, so they would be wise to have good relations with the neighboring kingdom. King Herod was a prickly fellow, who had played both sides of the Caesar vs. Antony and Cleopatra war and was certainly willing to betray anyone who had betrayed him. The king of Nabatea probably wouldn't go to celebrate a new king of the Jews (just to be safe) but surely he'd send envoys with gifts. When the Magi found out their mistake (i.e. the new king was not from Herod's line), they wisely went home by another route to avoid an awkward and possibly life-threatening encounter.

Longenecker goes into more detail that is fascinating and persuasive. The most persuasive part is how Longenecker acknowledges his work is speculative, i.e. it's based on both facts and logical guesses based on those facts, so new information could change things. He insists on the importance of getting facts because the gospels do record actual history (though that is not their intended aim) and the historicity of the New Testament is part of the truth of the Christian faith.

The book is a quick read (about 200 pages, including the notes, index, and bibliography) and is written for a non-academic audience. Reading this is well worth the time and especially good for the Christmas season.

Highly recommended.