Matthew 2. Three Incidents of Christ's Childhood.
Matthew 2:1-12. The Visit of the Magians.The religion of the Magi well deserved the double honour of stimulating the growth of the doctrine of the Future Life in Judaism, and of offering the first homage of the Gentile world to the Redeemer (J. H. Moulton, Magi, HSDB). [See on the relations of this story to Magianism, J. H. Moulton's Early Zoroastrianism, pp. 282- 285. He says, The narrative might have been composed by a Magus for the accuracy with which it portrays Magian ideas. In a Jew the correct colour is interesting. The star was not a planet or conjunction of planets, since the planets were malign for the Magi. He thinks it was a new star, such as occasionally flame out in the sky, dwindling speedily and fading from sight. The stars were connected with the Fravashis, and the quest of the Magi was for an identification of the Fravashi they would associate with it. The Fravashi is a man's spiritual counterpart. An apparition of a bright Nova in the sky would suggest the Fravashi of a great one newly born (ERE, vol. vi., p. 118). See Matthew 18:10 *, Acts 12:15 *. A. S. P.]
The astronomer Kepler regarded the star as a new star combined with a conjunction of Jupiter, Venus, and Mars in the sign pieces, which signified Judæ a, the whole being interpreted by the Chaldæ an astrologers according to the rules of their art. To Mt. it was a fulfilment of Balaam's prediction in Numbers 24:17· Cf. also Test. Levi 18. There is a story that in A.D. 66 Tiridates of Parthia went with a train of three Magi laden with presents to Nero, whom they worshipped as Lord and God, even as Mithras. If the anti-Christ of early Christian belief received such homage, the real Messiah could not have received less. Note that no number is given in Mt. The story has been embellished in later tradition by the addition of a Magus who could not join the others, but sacrificed his life in a deed of kindness and had a vision of Christ. An ancient commentator says that gold is the symbol of kingship, frankincense (Jeremiah 6:20 *) of deity, myrrh of mortification (it was used to anoint the dead).
While Mt. selects this story Lk. supplies its counterpart, the homage of the lowly and simple shepherds. The quotation (Micah 5:2) in Matthew 2:6 nor LXX, but perhaps some Palestinian midrash. (Matthew 1 f. as a whole is a kind of midrash, i.e. not follows neither Heb. history pure and simple, but history with a purpose.) It gives land of Judah for Ephrathah, inserts the negative in no wise, and reads the Heb. consonants as princes or leaders instead of thousands.
For a thorough study of the star in the East, and especially of the word anatolè, by Dr. E. A. Abbott, see Exp., Dec. 1916.