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Revelation of the Magi: The Lost Tale of the Wise Men's Journey to Bethlehem
“Astonishing, delightful, and theologically sophisticated.” —Marvin Meyer, Griset Professor of Religious Studies, Chapman University
Theologian Brent Landau presents the ancient account of Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar, the three “wise men” who journeyed to Bethlehem to greet the birth of Jesus. The Revelation of the Magi offers the first-ever English translation of an ancient Syriac manuscript written in the second to third century after the birth of Christ and safeguarded for generations in the Vatican Library. Following in the footsteps of Elaine Pagels and her exploration of the Gnostic Gospels, including the controversial Gospel of Judas, Landau delivers an invaluable source of information to a world interested in learning more about the Nativity and the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
Theologian Brent Landau presents the ancient account of Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar, the three “wise men” who journeyed to Bethlehem to greet the birth of Jesus. The Revelation of the Magi offers the first-ever English translation of an ancient Syriac manuscript written in the second to third century after the birth of Christ and safeguarded for generations in the Vatican Library. Following in the footsteps of Elaine Pagels and her exploration of the Gnostic Gospels, including the controversial Gospel of Judas, Landau delivers an invaluable source of information to a world interested in learning more about the Nativity and the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
176 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 2, 2010
267 people are currently reading
380 people want to read
About the author
Brent Landau
5 books9 followersBrent Landau is a lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his Th.D and M.Div from Harvard University, and a B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Iowa. Prior to coming to UT in 2013, he was Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Oklahoma; he has also held visiting positions at Boston University and Harvard Divinity School.
Brent’s chief research is on ancient Christian apocryphal writings. Among this literature, he is particularly interested in traditions about Jesus’ birth and childhood and in fragments of Christian Apocrypha preserved on papyri.
Brent’s chief research is on ancient Christian apocryphal writings. Among this literature, he is particularly interested in traditions about Jesus’ birth and childhood and in fragments of Christian Apocrypha preserved on papyri.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
April 28, 2011
This is a fascinating translation of an ancient text purportedly written by the original Magi. And by fascinating, I mean, I couldn’t put it down. So much of this text, translated for the first time into English, rings true to me, including a powerful passage on the mission of Jesus Christ spoken to the Magi by the Father. The only part that felt like it was a later addition (and an odd, disjointed one at that) was the final passages about the visit of the Apostle Thomas to the land of the Magi. The author of the book and the record’s translator, Brent Landau, points out this part doesn’t fit with the rest of the book as well.
There seem to be pieces of the narrative missing, particularly as it relates to the visit to the baby Jesus, but I found the following passages or insights very intriguing, particularly in light of my own beliefs:
* The Magi were taught to expect the sign of the star from their fathers and they kept ancient records, including some of Adam’s son Seth’s records in a cave in a mountain. They taught their children to hope that the sign would be in their day and a certain group of 12 men would go up to the mountain to purify themselves at the same time each month. When one would die from this group, another would be chosen in his place. Part of the ritual involved reading from the records and then returning and teaching the people what they learn.
* The revelation quotes from Seth’s record’s Adam’s words to him. Adam says that he had the light of the star in the Garden of Eden (my interpretation: was in the presence of the Son) but that he lost it through transgression. He mourned over his foolishness and counseled his son Seth quite bluntly. I cringed a bit at how much Adam blamed Eve for the Fall, but he also blamed himself.
* Adam says to Seth, “I did not understand my priority when I did not (yet) exist, and when I did exist, in what sort of honor I was, nor my authority over the entire world, nor my love among the holy watchers,” To me, this is a clear reference to Adam’s time in the pre-earth life, and the holy “watchers” would be the other spirits there. There is a later passage (on page 69) that refers to watchers. The infant Christ says, “again you shall be deemed worthy by my love, which is with you forever, to see and hear these great things that cannot be spoken now. And neither watchers or angels are able to speak of them, because these things are very great even for them.” It’s interesting that the “watchers” are classified with the angels.
* Adam’s description of God’s mercy on him through his transgression is moving, and Adam’s description of how Satan tempted him is vivid: “He led me astray by his fraudulent words like an innocent person concerned for my welfare: ‘See, I promise you something right and suitable for you, that, when you have eaten from the tree, from which you were commanded not to eat, you will become like your God,’”
* Adam’s testimony of the way of salvation: “My kind savior and merciful master is going to sustain me and have pity upon me with his mercy, and [descending] to the darkness, he will strengthen me by his light and illuminate my eyes as he did before when he breathed the spirit into my nostrils and I lived.”
* The “star” that comes to the Magi is described as a pillar of light, brighter than the sun. The men each receive a vision on the mountain and are spoken to by the voice of the Son. Christ testifies to them of His mission. The record states many times how overpowering and unspeakable the light was, as well as mentions that there was more revealed that they were forbidden to speak of.
* The author makes much of one passage, believing it implies that Christ speaks to the whole world in different ways and many different religions, but I interpret the passage differently, seeing it as simply more evidence that the gospel was taught throughout the world and not just in the Biblical lands. The passage is part of the words of Christ to the Magi and reads, “And I am everywhere because I am a ray of light whose light has shone in this world from the majesty of my Father, who has sent me to fulfill everything that was spoken about me in the entire world and in every land by unspeakable mysteries, . . .”
* The passage is too long for me to type, but on page 59, the testimony of the Father of the Son was grand, moving, detailed, and beautiful.
* The way the Magi describe how the star led them west (they describe themselves as located on the far eastern edge of the world, near an ocean) towards Jerusalem reminds me of the “cloud and shining by day and the pillar of fire by night” of the Old Testament.
*The light provided them with provisions day by day and even made mountains level before them as they traveled.
* Interestingly, they arrive in Jerusalem in “the month of flowers” which Landau says is April, mentioning a few other traditions that place Christ’s birth during the month of April.
* Some of the narrative is hard to follow (like there are big pieces missing) during the visit of the Magi to Joseph and Mary and the baby Jesus, but I found it fascinating that the babe speaks to them and comforts them. Another passage implies that Mary believed that perhaps the Magi were there to take Christ away from her. The infant speaks comfort to her as well.
* Part of Christ’s words to the Magi include this: “And you shall be for me by love brothers and believers, like infants in whom there is no blemishes of evil.” Landau says of this passage, “This statement . . . is intriguing since it disagrees markedly with the Augustinian conception of original sin, wherein infants, like all of humanity, share Adam’s guilt.”
I will definitely be buying a copy of this one and reading it again.
There seem to be pieces of the narrative missing, particularly as it relates to the visit to the baby Jesus, but I found the following passages or insights very intriguing, particularly in light of my own beliefs:
* The Magi were taught to expect the sign of the star from their fathers and they kept ancient records, including some of Adam’s son Seth’s records in a cave in a mountain. They taught their children to hope that the sign would be in their day and a certain group of 12 men would go up to the mountain to purify themselves at the same time each month. When one would die from this group, another would be chosen in his place. Part of the ritual involved reading from the records and then returning and teaching the people what they learn.
* The revelation quotes from Seth’s record’s Adam’s words to him. Adam says that he had the light of the star in the Garden of Eden (my interpretation: was in the presence of the Son) but that he lost it through transgression. He mourned over his foolishness and counseled his son Seth quite bluntly. I cringed a bit at how much Adam blamed Eve for the Fall, but he also blamed himself.
* Adam says to Seth, “I did not understand my priority when I did not (yet) exist, and when I did exist, in what sort of honor I was, nor my authority over the entire world, nor my love among the holy watchers,” To me, this is a clear reference to Adam’s time in the pre-earth life, and the holy “watchers” would be the other spirits there. There is a later passage (on page 69) that refers to watchers. The infant Christ says, “again you shall be deemed worthy by my love, which is with you forever, to see and hear these great things that cannot be spoken now. And neither watchers or angels are able to speak of them, because these things are very great even for them.” It’s interesting that the “watchers” are classified with the angels.
* Adam’s description of God’s mercy on him through his transgression is moving, and Adam’s description of how Satan tempted him is vivid: “He led me astray by his fraudulent words like an innocent person concerned for my welfare: ‘See, I promise you something right and suitable for you, that, when you have eaten from the tree, from which you were commanded not to eat, you will become like your God,’”
* Adam’s testimony of the way of salvation: “My kind savior and merciful master is going to sustain me and have pity upon me with his mercy, and [descending] to the darkness, he will strengthen me by his light and illuminate my eyes as he did before when he breathed the spirit into my nostrils and I lived.”
* The “star” that comes to the Magi is described as a pillar of light, brighter than the sun. The men each receive a vision on the mountain and are spoken to by the voice of the Son. Christ testifies to them of His mission. The record states many times how overpowering and unspeakable the light was, as well as mentions that there was more revealed that they were forbidden to speak of.
* The author makes much of one passage, believing it implies that Christ speaks to the whole world in different ways and many different religions, but I interpret the passage differently, seeing it as simply more evidence that the gospel was taught throughout the world and not just in the Biblical lands. The passage is part of the words of Christ to the Magi and reads, “And I am everywhere because I am a ray of light whose light has shone in this world from the majesty of my Father, who has sent me to fulfill everything that was spoken about me in the entire world and in every land by unspeakable mysteries, . . .”
* The passage is too long for me to type, but on page 59, the testimony of the Father of the Son was grand, moving, detailed, and beautiful.
* The way the Magi describe how the star led them west (they describe themselves as located on the far eastern edge of the world, near an ocean) towards Jerusalem reminds me of the “cloud and shining by day and the pillar of fire by night” of the Old Testament.
*The light provided them with provisions day by day and even made mountains level before them as they traveled.
* Interestingly, they arrive in Jerusalem in “the month of flowers” which Landau says is April, mentioning a few other traditions that place Christ’s birth during the month of April.
* Some of the narrative is hard to follow (like there are big pieces missing) during the visit of the Magi to Joseph and Mary and the baby Jesus, but I found it fascinating that the babe speaks to them and comforts them. Another passage implies that Mary believed that perhaps the Magi were there to take Christ away from her. The infant speaks comfort to her as well.
* Part of Christ’s words to the Magi include this: “And you shall be for me by love brothers and believers, like infants in whom there is no blemishes of evil.” Landau says of this passage, “This statement . . . is intriguing since it disagrees markedly with the Augustinian conception of original sin, wherein infants, like all of humanity, share Adam’s guilt.”
I will definitely be buying a copy of this one and reading it again.
December 21, 2022
A fascinating piece of Syriac New Testament Apocrypha that has greatly influenced our collective imagination regarding the Magi. I found the actual text of the Revelation interesting, as well as Landau'a discussion of dating the manuscript. I did not, however, find his conclusions regarding the supposed universalism/religious pluralism espoused in the text convincing. It seems tacked on and half-hearted.
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December 28, 2020I haven’t read all that many apocryphal texts before, but I stumbled upon this one a year or two ago and decided to add it to my Advent reading list this year. According to Landau, the translator and commentator of this text, the only manuscript of it that we have was copied down in Turkey (at the Zuqnin Monastery) around the end of the eighth century, made its way to an Egyptian monastery, before being taken by the Lebanese orientalist G.S. Assemani to the Vatican Library in the eighteenth century. The physical manuscript itself (Vaticanus Syriacus 162) is curious because it is in fact a palimpsest, meaning it was written upon a previously used manuscript that had its original text erased. My poetic inclinations take this opportunity to pose that ever persistent question: is not all history in its first instance an act of unavoidable erasure? Alright, enough of my dubious philosophical witticisms.
While the manuscript itself is firmly dated in the eighth century, Landau provides a few reasons the manuscript should date earlier, at least to the fifth century. For one, the unique story of the manuscript is summarized in a fifth century commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, known as Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, and secondly the Syriac nouns used for the Holy Spirit are feminine nouns. This is a fascinating glimpse into the gendered nature of linguistics at the time. The Holy Spirit was consistently designated with female nouns within Syriac texts throughout the second, third, and fourth centuries, and only in the fifth century did Greek Christian norms begin influencing a shift to masculine nouns to designate the Holy Spirit. Even in canonical texts, the Holy Spirit is the figure of the Trinity that enables one to be ‘born again’. Sarah Coakley has written some really interesting stuff (in her first volume of systematic theology) suggesting how to think through the gender dimensions of the Trinity and pneumatology (in case one is looking for some thoughts on that).
Landau identifies a strange appendage at the end of the Revelation of the Magi where Saint Thomas baptizes the Magi. For a number of reasons Landau identifies this as a later addition and therefore uses this Thomistic addition as a way to date the text to at least the third or fourth centuries where such Thomistic writings were commonly being produced. Thomistic Christianity is always incredibly fascinating to me. There’s an old story of the Apostle Thomas making his way to the Muzuris port of Kerala, and where there are still Saint Thomas Christians there today. These are likeliest the oldest Christian communities in India. Since Kerala is also the Indian subcontinent's hotbed of communism, I wonder what role if any the Thomistic tradition contributed to that political tendency. I know there are significant contributions from anti-colonial Muslim communities of Malabar to the development of communism in Kerala. Most of the stuff I encounter online frames a fairly antagonistic relation between the communist government of Kerala and the Catholic church. Arundhati Roy, who grew up in a Syrian Christian community of Kerala, jokes that "Kerala is home to four of the world's great religions: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Marxism." I know in Singapore where most of my family live, a figure like Devan Nair can trace back his ancestry to Kerala, and he was originally a communist before jumping ship to the socialist PAP that still rules Singapore (though no longer as an explicitly socialist party). Nair, who remained in the left-wing faction of the PAP, was of course eventually exiled to Canada, and lived out the rest of his life in Hamilton, Ontario. Anyway, the radical politics of Kerala and its intersection with religion is still something to explore another day.
There are some fascinating things Landau points to in this Magi text that allude to a fairly fascinating universalist impulse. It certainly raises interesting questions that contemporary theology likes discussing within discourses of missiology, ecumenism, and intercultural theological conversations. I am not as interested in this stuff as many liberal theologians are, but I do find the intersection of the Christian faith tradition with other cultures extremely fascinating. And of course it is neat that the writer(s) of this apocryphal text do have such a high view of other religions even if they try to subsume it to their own faith tradition. Landau makes an interesting anti-imperialist take on this theological strain suggesting that it resists notions of Christian expansionism. If Jesus makes himself manifest to other cultures, such that they become ‘anonymous Christians’ in the language of Karl Rahner, then there is no need to proselytize to the other nations and convert them through violence or coercion or to terrify them into thinking that they are theologically mistaken to such an extent that they will be eternally tortured in hell if they do not renounce their own faith traditions and become Christians. Again this is a preoccupation of liberal theology that I’m not as invested in, though I do think it has its uses, at least from an anti-imperialist perspective. I do believe in spreading good news, but that is not the same as what Christian colonizers did. If anything the news of liberation Jesus spread was diametrically opposed to the message of Christian colonizers. It was about pulling Kings from their thrones, filling the hungry with good things, and sending the rich away empty. How does one square that with the messages spread by Christian imperialists and violent colonizers?
Landau has an interesting section in his conclusion that discusses the impact of this apocryphal text on European colonial 'encounters' with the so-called New World. I previously mentioned that Landau has good reasons to believe that the writer of the Opus Imperfectum likely had read the Revelation of the Magi because the Revelation's unique story is summarized in the Opus Imperfectum. For a lot of Christian history the author of the Opus Imperfectum was incorrectly thought to be John Chrysostom which was one of the principle reasons it was circulated so widely and in such a sustained manner over the centuries. I believe Erasmus was one of the first to refute the claim of John Chrysostom's authorship. Anyway, because the Opus Imperfectum was so widely read, it influenced colonial missionaries in the Americas. Landau mentions how the Creole anthropologist and Augustinian monastic, Antonio de la Calancha (born in Bolivia), thought the Indigenous peoples of the Peruvian Andes had so many parallels in their religion to the Christian faith tradition that he was convinced the Magi and St Thomas must have already come to the Americas to missionize this region. Landau includes a Portugese Renaissance painting by Vasco Fernandes that portrays one of the Magi as an Indigenous person from the Americas. I think it's fascinating how the Magi of the Nativity narrative have become a site of theological reflection on the 'other', another stage for the practice of Orientalism, even though all of 'biblical' archaeology is in some sense within the domain of Orientalism.
One last thing I wanted to discuss; in this text, Jesus is implied to be the star that the Magi follow. That Jesus is rendered as some sort of hovering ball, some Platonic ideal shape, reminds me of an introduction to "Ball and Hammer: Hugo Ball's Tenderenda the Fantast" that Jeffrey Schnapp writes:
"Ball is the plaything and pretext, at once a toy and an aspirant to the spherical resurrected body that Dionysius the Areopagite promised the faithful after the Second Coming. Hammer is the tool that reworks Dada Hugo's self-portrait as that of a contemporary son. The two come together as if naturally, like ball and chain, ball and socket, ball and peen, hammer and sickle... Hammer and Ball.”
I just find it hilarious to imagine the perfected resurrected body as a ball like the hovering star that guided the Magi. The great Dadaist artist Hugo Ball, who was fascinated by Bakunin and anarchism more broadly, was also very fascinated by early Church fathers, and he spends his text Byzantine Christianity exploring the work of three patristic figures. Hugo Ball was also deeply fascinated by the Nativity story and wrote his own Dadaist rendition of it in his play “Krippenspiel”, not failing of course to include the journey of the Magi. I will finish with the way Nicola Behrmann describes Hugo Ball’s Nativity play in her paper "Scenes of Birth and Founding Myths: Dada 1916/17":
“The Star of Bethlehem emerges, produced with the aid of a light machine, following which the angel appears, accompanied by propeller sounds, “slowly rising, like a tremolo, growing to great strength, full of energy, demonic.” The actual birth is performed as “fizzling, bursting, bundles of light in sounds,” while a light machine “flushes white white white white white.”
… The caravan of the three Magi and their arrival at the stable can be heard; Hennings as Mary hums and whistles a lullaby for baby Jesus; Tzara as Joseph welcomes the Magi with “Bonsoir messieurs,” and, as the script indicates, they respond to him in “African” (“rabata rabat”), which generates a Babylonian confusion.”
Seems like one can never escape the orientalizing impulse of artistically rendering those 'three kings of Orient'. I must one day track down some post-colonial readings of the Orientalist baggage involved in all those centuries of artistic portrayals. For another day.
While the manuscript itself is firmly dated in the eighth century, Landau provides a few reasons the manuscript should date earlier, at least to the fifth century. For one, the unique story of the manuscript is summarized in a fifth century commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, known as Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, and secondly the Syriac nouns used for the Holy Spirit are feminine nouns. This is a fascinating glimpse into the gendered nature of linguistics at the time. The Holy Spirit was consistently designated with female nouns within Syriac texts throughout the second, third, and fourth centuries, and only in the fifth century did Greek Christian norms begin influencing a shift to masculine nouns to designate the Holy Spirit. Even in canonical texts, the Holy Spirit is the figure of the Trinity that enables one to be ‘born again’. Sarah Coakley has written some really interesting stuff (in her first volume of systematic theology) suggesting how to think through the gender dimensions of the Trinity and pneumatology (in case one is looking for some thoughts on that).
Landau identifies a strange appendage at the end of the Revelation of the Magi where Saint Thomas baptizes the Magi. For a number of reasons Landau identifies this as a later addition and therefore uses this Thomistic addition as a way to date the text to at least the third or fourth centuries where such Thomistic writings were commonly being produced. Thomistic Christianity is always incredibly fascinating to me. There’s an old story of the Apostle Thomas making his way to the Muzuris port of Kerala, and where there are still Saint Thomas Christians there today. These are likeliest the oldest Christian communities in India. Since Kerala is also the Indian subcontinent's hotbed of communism, I wonder what role if any the Thomistic tradition contributed to that political tendency. I know there are significant contributions from anti-colonial Muslim communities of Malabar to the development of communism in Kerala. Most of the stuff I encounter online frames a fairly antagonistic relation between the communist government of Kerala and the Catholic church. Arundhati Roy, who grew up in a Syrian Christian community of Kerala, jokes that "Kerala is home to four of the world's great religions: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Marxism." I know in Singapore where most of my family live, a figure like Devan Nair can trace back his ancestry to Kerala, and he was originally a communist before jumping ship to the socialist PAP that still rules Singapore (though no longer as an explicitly socialist party). Nair, who remained in the left-wing faction of the PAP, was of course eventually exiled to Canada, and lived out the rest of his life in Hamilton, Ontario. Anyway, the radical politics of Kerala and its intersection with religion is still something to explore another day.
There are some fascinating things Landau points to in this Magi text that allude to a fairly fascinating universalist impulse. It certainly raises interesting questions that contemporary theology likes discussing within discourses of missiology, ecumenism, and intercultural theological conversations. I am not as interested in this stuff as many liberal theologians are, but I do find the intersection of the Christian faith tradition with other cultures extremely fascinating. And of course it is neat that the writer(s) of this apocryphal text do have such a high view of other religions even if they try to subsume it to their own faith tradition. Landau makes an interesting anti-imperialist take on this theological strain suggesting that it resists notions of Christian expansionism. If Jesus makes himself manifest to other cultures, such that they become ‘anonymous Christians’ in the language of Karl Rahner, then there is no need to proselytize to the other nations and convert them through violence or coercion or to terrify them into thinking that they are theologically mistaken to such an extent that they will be eternally tortured in hell if they do not renounce their own faith traditions and become Christians. Again this is a preoccupation of liberal theology that I’m not as invested in, though I do think it has its uses, at least from an anti-imperialist perspective. I do believe in spreading good news, but that is not the same as what Christian colonizers did. If anything the news of liberation Jesus spread was diametrically opposed to the message of Christian colonizers. It was about pulling Kings from their thrones, filling the hungry with good things, and sending the rich away empty. How does one square that with the messages spread by Christian imperialists and violent colonizers?
Landau has an interesting section in his conclusion that discusses the impact of this apocryphal text on European colonial 'encounters' with the so-called New World. I previously mentioned that Landau has good reasons to believe that the writer of the Opus Imperfectum likely had read the Revelation of the Magi because the Revelation's unique story is summarized in the Opus Imperfectum. For a lot of Christian history the author of the Opus Imperfectum was incorrectly thought to be John Chrysostom which was one of the principle reasons it was circulated so widely and in such a sustained manner over the centuries. I believe Erasmus was one of the first to refute the claim of John Chrysostom's authorship. Anyway, because the Opus Imperfectum was so widely read, it influenced colonial missionaries in the Americas. Landau mentions how the Creole anthropologist and Augustinian monastic, Antonio de la Calancha (born in Bolivia), thought the Indigenous peoples of the Peruvian Andes had so many parallels in their religion to the Christian faith tradition that he was convinced the Magi and St Thomas must have already come to the Americas to missionize this region. Landau includes a Portugese Renaissance painting by Vasco Fernandes that portrays one of the Magi as an Indigenous person from the Americas. I think it's fascinating how the Magi of the Nativity narrative have become a site of theological reflection on the 'other', another stage for the practice of Orientalism, even though all of 'biblical' archaeology is in some sense within the domain of Orientalism.
One last thing I wanted to discuss; in this text, Jesus is implied to be the star that the Magi follow. That Jesus is rendered as some sort of hovering ball, some Platonic ideal shape, reminds me of an introduction to "Ball and Hammer: Hugo Ball's Tenderenda the Fantast" that Jeffrey Schnapp writes:
"Ball is the plaything and pretext, at once a toy and an aspirant to the spherical resurrected body that Dionysius the Areopagite promised the faithful after the Second Coming. Hammer is the tool that reworks Dada Hugo's self-portrait as that of a contemporary son. The two come together as if naturally, like ball and chain, ball and socket, ball and peen, hammer and sickle... Hammer and Ball.”
I just find it hilarious to imagine the perfected resurrected body as a ball like the hovering star that guided the Magi. The great Dadaist artist Hugo Ball, who was fascinated by Bakunin and anarchism more broadly, was also very fascinated by early Church fathers, and he spends his text Byzantine Christianity exploring the work of three patristic figures. Hugo Ball was also deeply fascinated by the Nativity story and wrote his own Dadaist rendition of it in his play “Krippenspiel”, not failing of course to include the journey of the Magi. I will finish with the way Nicola Behrmann describes Hugo Ball’s Nativity play in her paper "Scenes of Birth and Founding Myths: Dada 1916/17":
“The Star of Bethlehem emerges, produced with the aid of a light machine, following which the angel appears, accompanied by propeller sounds, “slowly rising, like a tremolo, growing to great strength, full of energy, demonic.” The actual birth is performed as “fizzling, bursting, bundles of light in sounds,” while a light machine “flushes white white white white white.”
… The caravan of the three Magi and their arrival at the stable can be heard; Hennings as Mary hums and whistles a lullaby for baby Jesus; Tzara as Joseph welcomes the Magi with “Bonsoir messieurs,” and, as the script indicates, they respond to him in “African” (“rabata rabat”), which generates a Babylonian confusion.”
Seems like one can never escape the orientalizing impulse of artistically rendering those 'three kings of Orient'. I must one day track down some post-colonial readings of the Orientalist baggage involved in all those centuries of artistic portrayals. For another day.
December 14, 2025
Good. What I found most interesting was the comments the translator gave on this ancient writing in the context of writings and Christianity of the time. Much of this was in the form of footnotes, of which there were quite a lot, along with mention of other texts to compare such as verses from the Bible. So as not to disrupt the story too much I usually referenced the footnotes of a sentence after finishing said sentence. It was a nice surprise that the translator also included the Opus Imperfecrum in Mathaeum in the appendix, which was referred to often in his commentary. As far as the story itself goes, I continued to be impressed just how much the Magi rejoice. They seem like very grateful people!
December 23, 2022
Translation of an ancient document. Pretty unheard of today but actually played an influence in early Christian beliefs of who the wisemen were who came to see the baby Jesus.
January 7, 2015
A well researched commentary on the ancient text supposedly written by the Magi themselves.
On January 6, 2015, I posted the following on my book Facebook page, facebook.com/CatholicHousewife :
Some say, “wise men still seek him.” But after reading Brent Landau’s ‘Revelation of the Magi,’ I believe the “magi from the east” were not seeking, but patiently waiting for the star to return. I am not going to spoil a good read by telling you how I came to this conclusion, but I will keep Landau’s book in mind as I write a commentary on the yearly readings for the Epiphany of the Lord.
The First Reading comes from the prophet Isaiah (60:1-6). Written during the Babylonian exile, the 2600 year-old document predicts that “caravans of camels” shall come “bearing gold and frankincense.” The responsorial Psalm (72) was written before the exile and claims, “Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.”
The Second Reading comes from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians 3: 2-6, written shortly after the death of Jesus. Paul continues by promoting the unity of Jews to non-Jews with the reminder “that the Gentiles are coheirs, member of the same body, and copartners in the promise …”
Finally, we listen to Matthew 2:1-12, the only biblical account of the Visitation of the Magi. Landau gives us the first English translation of a 2,000 year-old Revelation of the Magi probably written after Matthew’s Gospel. Nevertheless, the manuscript speaks to a primordial, yet eternal, spirituality. I feel the story of the Magi precedes all the ancient biblical writings.
A star leads the wise men. They are led by a vision that only they can see clearly. King Herod and the other leaders in Jerusalem are “troubled” over the apparition they cannot see. Herod asks the foreign dignitaries to tell him where the child is, a request that goes unfulfilled.
The story of the wise men tells us that Our Lord is not only King of the Jews, but also the King of Kings. The gift of gold affirms his royalty. Frankincense signifies that Christ is of the priestly class, and the myrrh foretells his cruel death. These three gifts tell us everything we need to know about Christ.
Two thousand years later, we are still celebrating the Vision of the Magi. At Sunday Mass, the priest tells us, “I feel God’s presence in the mountains. Away from the city lights, I can see a spectacular view of the stars.” My husband then nudges me saying, “I feel God’s presence when I am out to sea. That’s were I can see the stars.”
This is the age-old mystery. It is in the darkness that we can better see the Light.
On January 6, 2015, I posted the following on my book Facebook page, facebook.com/CatholicHousewife :
Some say, “wise men still seek him.” But after reading Brent Landau’s ‘Revelation of the Magi,’ I believe the “magi from the east” were not seeking, but patiently waiting for the star to return. I am not going to spoil a good read by telling you how I came to this conclusion, but I will keep Landau’s book in mind as I write a commentary on the yearly readings for the Epiphany of the Lord.
The First Reading comes from the prophet Isaiah (60:1-6). Written during the Babylonian exile, the 2600 year-old document predicts that “caravans of camels” shall come “bearing gold and frankincense.” The responsorial Psalm (72) was written before the exile and claims, “Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.”
The Second Reading comes from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians 3: 2-6, written shortly after the death of Jesus. Paul continues by promoting the unity of Jews to non-Jews with the reminder “that the Gentiles are coheirs, member of the same body, and copartners in the promise …”
Finally, we listen to Matthew 2:1-12, the only biblical account of the Visitation of the Magi. Landau gives us the first English translation of a 2,000 year-old Revelation of the Magi probably written after Matthew’s Gospel. Nevertheless, the manuscript speaks to a primordial, yet eternal, spirituality. I feel the story of the Magi precedes all the ancient biblical writings.
A star leads the wise men. They are led by a vision that only they can see clearly. King Herod and the other leaders in Jerusalem are “troubled” over the apparition they cannot see. Herod asks the foreign dignitaries to tell him where the child is, a request that goes unfulfilled.
The story of the wise men tells us that Our Lord is not only King of the Jews, but also the King of Kings. The gift of gold affirms his royalty. Frankincense signifies that Christ is of the priestly class, and the myrrh foretells his cruel death. These three gifts tell us everything we need to know about Christ.
Two thousand years later, we are still celebrating the Vision of the Magi. At Sunday Mass, the priest tells us, “I feel God’s presence in the mountains. Away from the city lights, I can see a spectacular view of the stars.” My husband then nudges me saying, “I feel God’s presence when I am out to sea. That’s were I can see the stars.”
This is the age-old mystery. It is in the darkness that we can better see the Light.
December 3, 2018
Revelation of the Magi is a great read. Brent Landau (translator) was fascinated by the story of the wise men in the Christmas story ever since he was a young child. As he made his way to the Harvard Divinity School, his interest in them hadn't waned. During his studies at Harvard he continued to come across references of a manuscript that was purported to be the a first person account of the wise men's journey to Bethlehem. Because no English translation existed, he undertook the mission to translate it from Syriac to English, himself. Obviously he has had help, and he gives ample credit to all those who have supported and assisted him in this endeavor.
As apocryphal writing goes, it is probably one of the most interesting readings I have experienced. So many of the principles and events in Revelation of the Magi coincide with the Christian beliefs that I personally believe. For example, the wise men find the infant Christ in a cave in the month of April. There is also a comment that children are innocent from birth and without sin. And according to their writings, they are from a land farther east than Iran, rather than possibly being Zoroastrian followers from Iran (as depicted in many works of art in Europe suggests). One of the other things that stuck out to me was the fact that during their long journey to Bethlehem, they were looked on with suspicion or curiosity because they were so exotic or because they kept looking at the sky and nobody else could see what they could see. Most Christians believe that everyone could see the star of Bethlehem; not so in the LDS faith, of which I am a part. According to the magi, they were among the only individuals who could see it.
Another fascinating aspect of this translation is that traditionally, "magi" has come to mean "magician" or something similar with a very negative connotation. According to the sources of this story, "magi" is a term used simply because they pray in silence or in private.
I have found that when reading apocryphal writings with the right spirit or intent only helps solidify my beliefs while adding interesting insight to the principles that I believe. I highly recommend this and I plan on purchasing it for my personal library.
As apocryphal writing goes, it is probably one of the most interesting readings I have experienced. So many of the principles and events in Revelation of the Magi coincide with the Christian beliefs that I personally believe. For example, the wise men find the infant Christ in a cave in the month of April. There is also a comment that children are innocent from birth and without sin. And according to their writings, they are from a land farther east than Iran, rather than possibly being Zoroastrian followers from Iran (as depicted in many works of art in Europe suggests). One of the other things that stuck out to me was the fact that during their long journey to Bethlehem, they were looked on with suspicion or curiosity because they were so exotic or because they kept looking at the sky and nobody else could see what they could see. Most Christians believe that everyone could see the star of Bethlehem; not so in the LDS faith, of which I am a part. According to the magi, they were among the only individuals who could see it.
Another fascinating aspect of this translation is that traditionally, "magi" has come to mean "magician" or something similar with a very negative connotation. According to the sources of this story, "magi" is a term used simply because they pray in silence or in private.
I have found that when reading apocryphal writings with the right spirit or intent only helps solidify my beliefs while adding interesting insight to the principles that I believe. I highly recommend this and I plan on purchasing it for my personal library.
February 19, 2015
Wow wow wow. This is an apocryphal text, and so not "approved" by the Vatican or any of the various Bible conferences. But, oh, if it is true...! This amazing book is perfect for those in today's world who believe that our religions are not - or should not - be so very far apart after all.
I am always a bit skeptical when I read an Apocryphal text. Was it true, who was the author, why was it written? There is something to be said for scholars who studied long and hard to determine which books to place in the Bible. And yet, there are clearly reasons in this text why early Christians might not want everyone to read this, particularly as the Church was trying to build its control. In this text, the story of the Magi suggests that Christ does not need apostles alone to evangelize. He is everywhere, all the time, in all forms, (including but not limited to human form), so really, why would He be limited? Further, it suggests God as the Father of all religions, in all forms, all over the world. If this were true, what would that mean for the separation of all the religion? As Landau states: " It has become intellectually challenging to insist on the obvious and exclusive truth of one's religion when one lives and works in close proximity to other people who cherish their own religious tradition just as much. Are those who do not share our religious beliefs foolishly misguided? According the the Revelation of the Magi, the answer of Christ to the Magi appears to be no."
I am always a bit skeptical when I read an Apocryphal text. Was it true, who was the author, why was it written? There is something to be said for scholars who studied long and hard to determine which books to place in the Bible. And yet, there are clearly reasons in this text why early Christians might not want everyone to read this, particularly as the Church was trying to build its control. In this text, the story of the Magi suggests that Christ does not need apostles alone to evangelize. He is everywhere, all the time, in all forms, (including but not limited to human form), so really, why would He be limited? Further, it suggests God as the Father of all religions, in all forms, all over the world. If this were true, what would that mean for the separation of all the religion? As Landau states: " It has become intellectually challenging to insist on the obvious and exclusive truth of one's religion when one lives and works in close proximity to other people who cherish their own religious tradition just as much. Are those who do not share our religious beliefs foolishly misguided? According the the Revelation of the Magi, the answer of Christ to the Magi appears to be no."
March 27, 2016
Fascinating reading. The tale is basically in three parts: the author's introduction, with footnotes; the English translation of the Story (done by the author after a year of studying the Syriac language of the only known text) as told in first person by the Magi, with extensive footnotes; and the conclusion - the meanings of the "Revelation of the Magi," the author's extensive thoughts on the significance of this ancient apocryphal writing, when was it written, where and why it has lain hidden for so long, who the magi actually were, is the ending written by someone at a later date.
His conclusion is followed by a section on the "Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum" and the "Apocryphal Book Under the Name of Seth. Victorious Mountain" both of which are previously mentioned. Lastly, forty pages contain the 297 notes annotated in both the introduction and the Story.
It was not possible to read this on my Nook because of the constant flipping from text to comments. I finally decided to carefully read the translated story in full, and then work thru the notes and comments. The thought that apocryphal writings influence our understanding of many of our biblical stories. Nowhere in the canon does Mary ride a donkey to Bethlehem!
I enjoyed reading this, but it was hard work!
His conclusion is followed by a section on the "Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum" and the "Apocryphal Book Under the Name of Seth. Victorious Mountain" both of which are previously mentioned. Lastly, forty pages contain the 297 notes annotated in both the introduction and the Story.
It was not possible to read this on my Nook because of the constant flipping from text to comments. I finally decided to carefully read the translated story in full, and then work thru the notes and comments. The thought that apocryphal writings influence our understanding of many of our biblical stories. Nowhere in the canon does Mary ride a donkey to Bethlehem!
I enjoyed reading this, but it was hard work!
September 27, 2011
What a wonderful Legend! An apocryphal lost book recovered from the Vatican archives just in time for Christmas 2010!
This is the story of the Nativity, yet not told in the third person, rather in the first, from the point of view of the Magi themselves.
I will not go into the history of the book as the author does, but will cover some of the highlights. The Magi are not magicians from Persia, but are 'silent prayers', descended from Adam and Seth. Sprinkled with tantalizing theological tidbits (there is no original sin), the text summarizes the trek of the Magi from their 'country of the farthest East' to Jerusalem and on to Bethlehem. Christ is revealed to be pre-existent, as is the Nativity Star. I will not reveal the origin of the Star, but will leave it to the reader to discover for himself. But I will say this...what a fascinating read!
Much here to digest, as the story is written simply, yet covers much complex Truth.
This is the story of the Nativity, yet not told in the third person, rather in the first, from the point of view of the Magi themselves.
I will not go into the history of the book as the author does, but will cover some of the highlights. The Magi are not magicians from Persia, but are 'silent prayers', descended from Adam and Seth. Sprinkled with tantalizing theological tidbits (there is no original sin), the text summarizes the trek of the Magi from their 'country of the farthest East' to Jerusalem and on to Bethlehem. Christ is revealed to be pre-existent, as is the Nativity Star. I will not reveal the origin of the Star, but will leave it to the reader to discover for himself. But I will say this...what a fascinating read!
Much here to digest, as the story is written simply, yet covers much complex Truth.
January 17, 2014
This was an interesting document, providing an alternative view of the magi who followed the star of Bethlehem and visited Christ at the Nativity. The text suggests that the magi were practically members of a secret society, descended from Seth (son of Adam and Eve) that had been watching for the star from almost the beginning of creation. I am not sure how I feel about it at this moment. I was looking at this as source material for a project I have in mind, but it was quite different than I expected and did not match up to other folklore that I have heard about the magi. I am not sure what to do with it.
July 26, 2016
47 12/2/13 Definitely not what I was expecting. I wanted a nice story expounding on the wise men's role in the Christmas story. This was weird Gnostic blabbering about babies in stars. The language is a mixture of Scripture and unreadable fiddle-faddle bookended by the author's discussion of why this un-entertaining and un-enlightening gibberish should be considered important.
Read
November 21, 2015This opens up the possibilities that many Christians have never been privy to. Whether you choose to believe in its veracity or not it still makes for a charming tale. I would encourage others to read it with an open mind and realize that there are still many stories that were not included within the approved canon of the scriptures.
May 10, 2011
This book sheds new light on many bible stories and is a must-read for anyone who is seeking to know more.
March 19, 2011
Very interesting book on a piece of apocrypha.
December 25, 2022
The biblical account of the magi in Matthew 2:1-12 raises lots of questions for readers: From where in "the east" did they come? How many of them were there? What was the nature of the "star" that led them to Jerusalem?
One imaginative ancient attempt to answer these questions and others is found in Revelation of the Magi, a work of Christian apocrypha that may have been written as early as the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD. The first translation of this work from Syriac into English was carried out in the Harvard dissertation of Brent Landau (now at the University of Texas). That translation appears in this book with an introduction , conclusion, and helpful footnotes.
Revelation of the Magi imagines the magi as an ancient religious order of twelve men from the land of Shir in "the outer part of the entire East of the world" (2:3-4). Each month these men climbed the Mountain of Victories to pray silently at the Cave of Treasures, which housed books of revelation written by Adam's son Seth as well as the precious gifts that were to be given to the Messiah at the time when the star appeared. The magi taught the contents of the books to their families. When one of them died, his son would replace him in the order.
When the star appeared, its light took the form of a small human, a manifestation of Christ who instructed them in what to do next. To each of the men, the human appeared differently. One saw him as a boy. Another saw him on the cross. A third saw him rising from the dead. A fourth saw him ascending to heaven, etc.
The "star child" guided the magi on the long trek to Jerusalem. During that trip, their provisions were continually replenished and rough terrain was smoothed out before them. The magi were led to a cave at Bethlehem where they worshiped Christ and presented their gifts to him.
Christ, in this work, is present everywhere simultaneously. At the same time that he is living his life as a human in Galilee and Judea, he is also present with the magi, whom he guides back to Shir. There they spread the good news to their countrymen, who also experience special visions and revelations when they eat the miraculous provisions that the magi bring back with them. Later the apostle Thomas comes to Shir. He baptizes the magi and others, and they carry out the Great Commission together.
The work is replete with allusions to scripture and the traditions of early Syriac Christianity, which are discussed in the footnotes. In one interesting tradition, the sword that Simeon prophesies will pierce Mary's soul (Lk 2:35) is seen as reversing the effect of the swords which guard the Garden of Eden. Through the work of Christ, access to Eden is restored.
In his conclusion Landau notes how our readings of scripture are often shaped, in part, by extrabiblical traditions. It turns out that the contents of Revelation of the Magi were summarized in a 5th century Latin commentary on Matthew that became popular in medieval Europe. As a result, some medieval art pictures the magi being guided by the "star child."
Landau also points out the significance of the way the work pictures divine revelation coming to people from all nations. Revelation of the Magi has a strong sense of the global nature of the plan of God.
Revelation of the Magi tells us much more about the beliefs and traditions of its writer and his community than it does about the historical magi, but it gives a fascinating look at those beliefs and traditions.
One imaginative ancient attempt to answer these questions and others is found in Revelation of the Magi, a work of Christian apocrypha that may have been written as early as the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD. The first translation of this work from Syriac into English was carried out in the Harvard dissertation of Brent Landau (now at the University of Texas). That translation appears in this book with an introduction , conclusion, and helpful footnotes.
Revelation of the Magi imagines the magi as an ancient religious order of twelve men from the land of Shir in "the outer part of the entire East of the world" (2:3-4). Each month these men climbed the Mountain of Victories to pray silently at the Cave of Treasures, which housed books of revelation written by Adam's son Seth as well as the precious gifts that were to be given to the Messiah at the time when the star appeared. The magi taught the contents of the books to their families. When one of them died, his son would replace him in the order.
When the star appeared, its light took the form of a small human, a manifestation of Christ who instructed them in what to do next. To each of the men, the human appeared differently. One saw him as a boy. Another saw him on the cross. A third saw him rising from the dead. A fourth saw him ascending to heaven, etc.
The "star child" guided the magi on the long trek to Jerusalem. During that trip, their provisions were continually replenished and rough terrain was smoothed out before them. The magi were led to a cave at Bethlehem where they worshiped Christ and presented their gifts to him.
Christ, in this work, is present everywhere simultaneously. At the same time that he is living his life as a human in Galilee and Judea, he is also present with the magi, whom he guides back to Shir. There they spread the good news to their countrymen, who also experience special visions and revelations when they eat the miraculous provisions that the magi bring back with them. Later the apostle Thomas comes to Shir. He baptizes the magi and others, and they carry out the Great Commission together.
The work is replete with allusions to scripture and the traditions of early Syriac Christianity, which are discussed in the footnotes. In one interesting tradition, the sword that Simeon prophesies will pierce Mary's soul (Lk 2:35) is seen as reversing the effect of the swords which guard the Garden of Eden. Through the work of Christ, access to Eden is restored.
In his conclusion Landau notes how our readings of scripture are often shaped, in part, by extrabiblical traditions. It turns out that the contents of Revelation of the Magi were summarized in a 5th century Latin commentary on Matthew that became popular in medieval Europe. As a result, some medieval art pictures the magi being guided by the "star child."
Landau also points out the significance of the way the work pictures divine revelation coming to people from all nations. Revelation of the Magi has a strong sense of the global nature of the plan of God.
Revelation of the Magi tells us much more about the beliefs and traditions of its writer and his community than it does about the historical magi, but it gives a fascinating look at those beliefs and traditions.
January 7, 2017
I was going to give it 4 stars until it haunted my dreams and earned its fifth.
Revelation of the Magi is the second part of an artistic diptych of sorts. It began as the dissertation part of the exercises toward a Th. D. (Doctor of Theology) from Harvard Divinity School. The HarperOne version is an adaptation for a wider audience. The actual translated text of the “Revelation of the Magi” takes up only about one-third of the larger volume. The remaining two-thirds are comprised of Landau’s introduction to that translation, his conclusion to the translation, and his nearly three hundred notes on the translation.
The translation reads a bit like poetry with hints of King James Bible influences. There is much to be considered in the translated text, but a few passages warrant special attention (I’ll try not to go too deeply into any actual exegesis or explication).
SPOILER ALERT!
Who are the Magi of the revelatory narrative? In note #33, Landau relates that “According to the Revelation of the Magi, the word Magi is related etymologically to their practice of praying in silence. . . . Yet a verbal similarity between the words Magi and silence is not easy to find in any of the obvious languages of transmission (Syriac, Greek, or Latin). It may simply be an exoticizing device and not an actual word derivation.” I mention this because the idea of possible word play arises again later in the narrative.
From whence do the the Magi come? In the section of the narrative that the translator has titled “The Magi - Their Names and Lineage,” it is said that they come from “the land of Shir, which is the outer part of the entire East of the world inhabited by human beings, at the Ocean, the great sea beyond the world, east of the land of Nod, that place in which dwelt Adam, head and chief of all the families of the world.” In his note (#40) concerning this highly descriptive passage, Landau mentions some of the etymological lineages of the name Shir, “sometimes identified with China” but also a common place name in Persia (Iran). He mentions elsewhere that this Shir has all the elements of a mythic landscape with its Mountain of Victories and Cave of the Hidden Mysteries without taking note that the word shir in related semitic languages can convey the meaning “song” or “poetry.” If we think of these Magi as being of the Land of Song or the Land of Poetry, we find that they arise from a larger, more mythic, landscape. Twelve Magi are named in the section. Landau suggest that these names may be later accretions to a narrative in which the number of the Magi and their names were absent.
What is the larger literary context of the “Revelation of the Magi”? Landau proposes that it may have been written down, in something like the version attributed to the eight century C.E., sometime during the third century C.E. and may have been extant, both orally and in various written forms, even earlier. Given its apparent origins, it follows that it is part of the larger body of mythology associated with the semitic peoples that includes the Epic of Gilgamesh and myriad other narratives that seem to come out of Sumeria and are the likely precursors of what we think of as the Judeo-Christian-Islamic mythologies. But, because the only mentions of Jesus Christ in the Revelation appear to have been cobbled on sometime between, possibly, the fifth and eighth centuries C.E., the narrative may be seen as either peripheral to the rise of the Christian element of that mythology and even, conceivably, as unrelated except as part of the messianic elements of that era’s Judaism.
The Gifts of the Magi, what were they? Gold, frankincense, and myrrh? Or were they ineffable? Landau writes, in note # 35, “The ‘gift’ is an important theological concept . . . mentioned on multiple occasions throughout the text. In the abstract, it is the mechanism by which an unknowable God communicates with the inhabitants of the upper and lower worlds. In a concrete sense, it refers specifically to the revelatory activity of Christ.” With the latter sense, I disagree. Landau makes it clear in many other places that the “original” author of the Revelation seems to have made certain to leave out any mention of Christ and that the only mentions come in a passage cobbled on to the end of the original, perhaps in an attempt to make the narrative both compatible with Christian theological concepts as they were becoming rigidified in later centuries and to make it palatable to those who subscribed to the later theological conventions. In the most theatrical sections of the narrative, beginning with that section titled by Landau “An Excerpt from Seth’s Books of Revelation,” the Magi relate that the gifts seem to be of a timeless, or nearly timeless, nature, having been bestowed upon Adam by God and by Adam to Seth, and ever since secreted in the Cave of Treasures of Hidden Mysteries on the Mountain of Victories.
Two more and out.
Second instance of possible word play. In these, as I call them, theatric-seeming sections, Adam is purported to have spoken of woman to Seth, in specific as to Eve (though that name does not appear in the text and I use it here only because of the reference to “the rib that was removed from me.” Adam then conflates several terms in a highly poetic passage that opens “The Fall of Adam”:
7:1 And he said to him: “My son, there will be generations and ages from me and from my offspring, and they will be recounting my foolishness and speaking figuratively with figures of speech to one another. 7:2 They are fulfilled about me, and they will say: ‘Every kingdom that will be divided against itself shall not stand.’ This is fulfilled about me, because I doubted about my kingdom in which I stood, and I, by my hands, destroyed it myself. 7:3 My son, the rib that was removed from me became a thorn, and it blinded my eye. 7:4 I even prophesied when I saw her, and I said: ‘This time is bone and flesh from me.’ And rightly did I call her ‘time,’ because she became a stumbling block for me.
Hmmm. How else to say the contemplation that this passage evokes. Rib. Thorn. Her. Time. Stumbling block. “Eve (Hebrew: חַוָּה, Ḥawwāh in Classical Hebrew, Khavah in Modern Israeli Hebrew, Arabic: حواء) was, according to the creation myths of Abrahamic religions, the first woman created by God” [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eve]. Eve: the period preceding or leading up to any event. Myths surprise me with their prescience about what we “discover” scientifically. Time is a human concept. Without woman there is no “human.” Thus, “rightly did I call her ‘time’.” And, scientifically, time, much more than space, has been the proverbial “stumbling block.”
Okay, finale. “And Joseph and Mary, honored and blessed people, went out with us, they who were deemed worthy and entrusted to be call by the name parents and to be upbringers for the offspring of the voice of virgin hearing and upbringers for the perfect will of complete mercy.” That’s from “The Magi Meet Mary and Joseph.” In his note number 221, Landau writes,
The statement ‘the offspring of the voice of virgin hearing’ seems to demonstrate a familiarity with the ancient Christian doctrine that Mary’s conception happened through auditory channels -- i.e., through her ear. Although the doctrine becomes especially popular in the mid-fifth century and beyond, traces of it appear as early as the second-century Protevangelium of James. In its annunciation narrative, Gabriel tells Mary that she will conceive from God’s word.
Brings a whole new meaning to “sweet nothin’s.”
Revelation of the Magi is the second part of an artistic diptych of sorts. It began as the dissertation part of the exercises toward a Th. D. (Doctor of Theology) from Harvard Divinity School. The HarperOne version is an adaptation for a wider audience. The actual translated text of the “Revelation of the Magi” takes up only about one-third of the larger volume. The remaining two-thirds are comprised of Landau’s introduction to that translation, his conclusion to the translation, and his nearly three hundred notes on the translation.
The translation reads a bit like poetry with hints of King James Bible influences. There is much to be considered in the translated text, but a few passages warrant special attention (I’ll try not to go too deeply into any actual exegesis or explication).
SPOILER ALERT!
Who are the Magi of the revelatory narrative? In note #33, Landau relates that “According to the Revelation of the Magi, the word Magi is related etymologically to their practice of praying in silence. . . . Yet a verbal similarity between the words Magi and silence is not easy to find in any of the obvious languages of transmission (Syriac, Greek, or Latin). It may simply be an exoticizing device and not an actual word derivation.” I mention this because the idea of possible word play arises again later in the narrative.
From whence do the the Magi come? In the section of the narrative that the translator has titled “The Magi - Their Names and Lineage,” it is said that they come from “the land of Shir, which is the outer part of the entire East of the world inhabited by human beings, at the Ocean, the great sea beyond the world, east of the land of Nod, that place in which dwelt Adam, head and chief of all the families of the world.” In his note (#40) concerning this highly descriptive passage, Landau mentions some of the etymological lineages of the name Shir, “sometimes identified with China” but also a common place name in Persia (Iran). He mentions elsewhere that this Shir has all the elements of a mythic landscape with its Mountain of Victories and Cave of the Hidden Mysteries without taking note that the word shir in related semitic languages can convey the meaning “song” or “poetry.” If we think of these Magi as being of the Land of Song or the Land of Poetry, we find that they arise from a larger, more mythic, landscape. Twelve Magi are named in the section. Landau suggest that these names may be later accretions to a narrative in which the number of the Magi and their names were absent.
What is the larger literary context of the “Revelation of the Magi”? Landau proposes that it may have been written down, in something like the version attributed to the eight century C.E., sometime during the third century C.E. and may have been extant, both orally and in various written forms, even earlier. Given its apparent origins, it follows that it is part of the larger body of mythology associated with the semitic peoples that includes the Epic of Gilgamesh and myriad other narratives that seem to come out of Sumeria and are the likely precursors of what we think of as the Judeo-Christian-Islamic mythologies. But, because the only mentions of Jesus Christ in the Revelation appear to have been cobbled on sometime between, possibly, the fifth and eighth centuries C.E., the narrative may be seen as either peripheral to the rise of the Christian element of that mythology and even, conceivably, as unrelated except as part of the messianic elements of that era’s Judaism.
The Gifts of the Magi, what were they? Gold, frankincense, and myrrh? Or were they ineffable? Landau writes, in note # 35, “The ‘gift’ is an important theological concept . . . mentioned on multiple occasions throughout the text. In the abstract, it is the mechanism by which an unknowable God communicates with the inhabitants of the upper and lower worlds. In a concrete sense, it refers specifically to the revelatory activity of Christ.” With the latter sense, I disagree. Landau makes it clear in many other places that the “original” author of the Revelation seems to have made certain to leave out any mention of Christ and that the only mentions come in a passage cobbled on to the end of the original, perhaps in an attempt to make the narrative both compatible with Christian theological concepts as they were becoming rigidified in later centuries and to make it palatable to those who subscribed to the later theological conventions. In the most theatrical sections of the narrative, beginning with that section titled by Landau “An Excerpt from Seth’s Books of Revelation,” the Magi relate that the gifts seem to be of a timeless, or nearly timeless, nature, having been bestowed upon Adam by God and by Adam to Seth, and ever since secreted in the Cave of Treasures of Hidden Mysteries on the Mountain of Victories.
Two more and out.
Second instance of possible word play. In these, as I call them, theatric-seeming sections, Adam is purported to have spoken of woman to Seth, in specific as to Eve (though that name does not appear in the text and I use it here only because of the reference to “the rib that was removed from me.” Adam then conflates several terms in a highly poetic passage that opens “The Fall of Adam”:
7:1 And he said to him: “My son, there will be generations and ages from me and from my offspring, and they will be recounting my foolishness and speaking figuratively with figures of speech to one another. 7:2 They are fulfilled about me, and they will say: ‘Every kingdom that will be divided against itself shall not stand.’ This is fulfilled about me, because I doubted about my kingdom in which I stood, and I, by my hands, destroyed it myself. 7:3 My son, the rib that was removed from me became a thorn, and it blinded my eye. 7:4 I even prophesied when I saw her, and I said: ‘This time is bone and flesh from me.’ And rightly did I call her ‘time,’ because she became a stumbling block for me.
Hmmm. How else to say the contemplation that this passage evokes. Rib. Thorn. Her. Time. Stumbling block. “Eve (Hebrew: חַוָּה, Ḥawwāh in Classical Hebrew, Khavah in Modern Israeli Hebrew, Arabic: حواء) was, according to the creation myths of Abrahamic religions, the first woman created by God” [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eve]. Eve: the period preceding or leading up to any event. Myths surprise me with their prescience about what we “discover” scientifically. Time is a human concept. Without woman there is no “human.” Thus, “rightly did I call her ‘time’.” And, scientifically, time, much more than space, has been the proverbial “stumbling block.”
Okay, finale. “And Joseph and Mary, honored and blessed people, went out with us, they who were deemed worthy and entrusted to be call by the name parents and to be upbringers for the offspring of the voice of virgin hearing and upbringers for the perfect will of complete mercy.” That’s from “The Magi Meet Mary and Joseph.” In his note number 221, Landau writes,
The statement ‘the offspring of the voice of virgin hearing’ seems to demonstrate a familiarity with the ancient Christian doctrine that Mary’s conception happened through auditory channels -- i.e., through her ear. Although the doctrine becomes especially popular in the mid-fifth century and beyond, traces of it appear as early as the second-century Protevangelium of James. In its annunciation narrative, Gabriel tells Mary that she will conceive from God’s word.
Brings a whole new meaning to “sweet nothin’s.”
August 22, 2024
I listened to this on audiobook while driving and lifting at the gym so I cannot be overly thorough or critical in this review. I loved the book. I thought it was fascinating, especially in several details where the story mirrored other ancient texts such as the Cave of Treasures and the Books of Adam and Eve, etc. Many details, after being flushed out in this book, made more sense than the brief biblical version allows.
The only reason I didn't give it a five star rating is because the author offered no commentary or analysis at the end or beginning of the book. I myself have published books like this where you're reproducing a previously unpublished text so I know the most significant contribution is the text itself and that was definitely the case here. I also know that when you study a text thoroughly enough to publish it and in this case, to translate it, you have insights other people will miss. I missed hearing those insights. It's a short book so even a few bits of commentary wouldn't have increased the cost of publishing so I see no reason not to share whatever the author learned in publishing this volume.
That said, I'll have to read it again to analyze the text more thoroughly. It had a lot of details to offer.
The only reason I didn't give it a five star rating is because the author offered no commentary or analysis at the end or beginning of the book. I myself have published books like this where you're reproducing a previously unpublished text so I know the most significant contribution is the text itself and that was definitely the case here. I also know that when you study a text thoroughly enough to publish it and in this case, to translate it, you have insights other people will miss. I missed hearing those insights. It's a short book so even a few bits of commentary wouldn't have increased the cost of publishing so I see no reason not to share whatever the author learned in publishing this volume.
That said, I'll have to read it again to analyze the text more thoroughly. It had a lot of details to offer.
April 15, 2019
Brent Landau translated this ancient text that was unearthed from the Vatican Library. The tale was written in ancient Syriac text, a language spoken by ancient Christians in the Middle East and Asia. It is always interesting to find new documents that show different visions of early Christian belief.
The one thing I did not like about the book was the use of black-and-white photographs of early Christian art related to the Maji and their trip. It was hard to see and appreciate the finer points of these early artists and their understanding of the story of the Maji.
One of the most significant values of this text in today's milieu is that this text shows that God's mercy is available to all. According to early Christians, if you did not believe what they believed, you were wrong. This text sees all revelation as coming from God; thus each person's unique experience of God can be valid.
Reading this text with one hand in the notes (at the end of the book) is critical for the first reading. Landau's analysis is fascinating reading -- I just wish there were more pages included. 4.5 stars
The one thing I did not like about the book was the use of black-and-white photographs of early Christian art related to the Maji and their trip. It was hard to see and appreciate the finer points of these early artists and their understanding of the story of the Maji.
One of the most significant values of this text in today's milieu is that this text shows that God's mercy is available to all. According to early Christians, if you did not believe what they believed, you were wrong. This text sees all revelation as coming from God; thus each person's unique experience of God can be valid.
Reading this text with one hand in the notes (at the end of the book) is critical for the first reading. Landau's analysis is fascinating reading -- I just wish there were more pages included. 4.5 stars
December 12, 2016
This book contains an introduction to, translation of, and commentary on THE REVELATION OF THE MAGI, an ancient Christian text dated to around 200 CE, which was written by an unknown Middle Eastern author in Syriac. Its unique narrative of the biblical Magi expands the familiar Epiphany story into a sophisticated, engaging epic tale of adventure, enlightenment, and interfaith harmony. I find myself rereading this amazing story once a year, usually in the autumn, during the weeks leading up to Advent. I highly recommend this book to all interested readers, both within and beyond the Christian tradition, because it points the way toward how we can build bridges of understanding between the great religions, cultures, and civilizations of the world -- both for ourselves and for our inheritors.
January 11, 2018
This little-known apocryphal text is a joy to read, once you get past all of the Eve-bashing...! The descriptions of God, his love and presence and LOVE are a delight. The theme of abundance is woven throughout from the magnitude of God's love, to the infinite ways He can appear to us, commonly or separately to even the provisions for the journey. Miracles and love are balanced by gratitude, and prophecy by gnosis, creating a moving and surprising work of praise and joy. As noted above, the revelation is front-loaded with Adam placing the blame for the fall of man squarely on Eve's shoulders and this seems to run a bit long and a more than a bit contradictory to the majority of the text which emphasizes love, repentance, forgiveness and the abundance of life in God's presence.
February 26, 2018
Inspirational and enlightening
This is the first document I've read on the Magi. It was intriguing to read of the descendants of Seth and the writings that were preserved from the first man. The sons of Seth completed the task given so many centuries before. The star was like the pillar of fire which led the children of Israel.
The book was enlightening and gave me inspiration to ponder Scripture more.
The Lord can speak to us as we read the Bible through the inspiration of Holy Spirit. Read and consider.
This is the first document I've read on the Magi. It was intriguing to read of the descendants of Seth and the writings that were preserved from the first man. The sons of Seth completed the task given so many centuries before. The star was like the pillar of fire which led the children of Israel.
The book was enlightening and gave me inspiration to ponder Scripture more.
The Lord can speak to us as we read the Bible through the inspiration of Holy Spirit. Read and consider.
December 10, 2019
This is an interesting little extra and alternative perspective to the "three wise men" or "three kings" that visited Christ as part of the Christmas story. Since it is from the vaults of the Vatican, it's written in a biblical style, so quite formal. But I enjoyed it. Don't know how much credit to pay it, but it is interesting to think that the records from these men could still be around somewhere, as there is no doubt in my mind they kept a record of this event. Anyone interested in Christianity and the Christmas story should give this a once over.
December 18, 2019
Very interest look at the Magi
The revelation of Magi. It is a writing which was out there along with other material. Needs to be read as wisdom material which was not dreamed needed in the canon of the Bible. But is worthy of reading.
It has a full translation of the book translated in a fairly easy to read modern English. The Revelation of the Magi covers more than the Magi.
Points to misconceptions in our modern understanding of the Magi.
The revelation of Magi. It is a writing which was out there along with other material. Needs to be read as wisdom material which was not dreamed needed in the canon of the Bible. But is worthy of reading.
It has a full translation of the book translated in a fairly easy to read modern English. The Revelation of the Magi covers more than the Magi.
Points to misconceptions in our modern understanding of the Magi.
January 4, 2020
A fascinating study of a text I’d never heard of before I stumbled upon this book while in search of apocryphal Christian writings. Though like many writings from that period in history, it didn’t survive unedited through the centuries, it still presents both corresponding and unique ideas that I believe every Christian who truly wants to know Christ should read with some sincere consideration. What you do with the revelations you may have in the process, of course, would be up to you. 😉
October 20, 2025
Dr. Landau does a fabulous job translating this ancient, apocryphal text. Like the author, the magi characters in the Jesus narrative have always fascinated me because of how little we know about their origin. This is a great stepping stone to learning more; however, we must keep in mind that little is known about the source of this material. So, it should not be taken as completely factual.
January 4, 2020
Interesting translation. I trust the Biblical view of the Lord’s birth, and am fine with the mystery of the wise men’s origin. What’s important is their presence at the birthplace to honor the King.
March 11, 2020
Love it, very interesting about the things the Bible doesn't mention.
Reveals things the Bible and the Churches never mention, and makes us think about all the things we ignore. It also have a great message about the internationalization of Christ since ancient times.
Reveals things the Bible and the Churches never mention, and makes us think about all the things we ignore. It also have a great message about the internationalization of Christ since ancient times.
August 28, 2021
This is a really neat book at an early Christian extra-biblical text. This isn’t a Gnostic gospel or anything unorthodox, but it is a Christian mythic text that influenced a lot of later Christian thought regarding the Magi and Gentiles in general. I would highly recommend.
January 8, 2024
Enlightening
The story of the magi, translated from an ancient Syriac text, affirms that pluralism is not some woke, weak ideology. Christ appears in many forms, to all people, depending on their ability to comprehend the overpowering majesty and glory of God.
The story of the magi, translated from an ancient Syriac text, affirms that pluralism is not some woke, weak ideology. Christ appears in many forms, to all people, depending on their ability to comprehend the overpowering majesty and glory of God.
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