How did the "wise men" become known as 3 kings?
Upvote:-1
It's catholic tradition but there is no scriptural evidence that there were three or that they were kings. This assumption is based entirely on the fact that scripture says were three gifts and gold, frankincense and myrrh were very expensive.
The number three has been connected with the trinity in all branches of Christianity for centuries.
However, when we look at history, culture, the geography, climate, and other scripture it's clear they were not kings and likely there were more than three.
- Kings would not be making a risky, dangerous journey through the dessert on camels.
- Kings would not have the astronomical knowledge to chart planetary conjunctions and navigate though the harsh dessert.
- The text said they went to King Herod. If they were kings- the text would have certainly given their names also. Due to the hot climate, robbers, the long journey, extreme temperature changes and need for extra water, people in the time of Christ usually traveled in caravans, so it would be much more likely that it was 5-10.
In addition to the church tradition, this notion became established in the minds of millions with the carols like "We Three Kings of Orient Are".
Upvote:1
1) They brought three gifts (or three kinds of gifts). This is why they were considered to be three people.
2) Judging from the gifts they brought, they were rich people. Nobody could afford gold, incense and myrrh if they were not of considerable wealth. This is how they were associated to kings.
Upvote:3
It is mentioned from The Catholic Encyclopedia website:
In reference to there being three kings:
No Father of the Church holds the Magi to have been kings. Tertullian ("Adv. Marcion.", III, xiii) says that they were wellnigh kings (fere reges), and so agrees with what we have concluded from non-Biblical evidence. The [Catholic] Church, indeed, in her liturgy, applies to the Magi the words: "The kings of Tharsis and the islands shall offer presents; the kings of the Arabians and of Saba shall bring him gifts: and all the kings of the earth shall adore him" (Psalm 71:10). But this use of the text in reference to them no more proves that they were kings than it traces their journey from Tharsis, Arabia, and Saba.
... [About there being three]
Among the Latins, from the seventh century, we find slight variants of the names, Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar; the Martyrology mentions St. Gaspar, on the first, St. Melchior, on the sixth, and St. Balthasar, on the eleventh of January.
Another reason that there are traditionally Three wise men / Magi is because there were three gifts brought (Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh).
It should also be considered, the significance of the number three in scripture:
In some cases the number three may signify completeness or finality. Thus Pope observes that the number three “naturally suggests the idea of completeness—beginning, middle, end.”34 Beyond this natural expectation, however, is the realization that “the figure three is an evocative image, filled with connotations” so that “three consecutive occurrences of an event serves as a rhetorical signal indicating special significance.
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