Eschatological Kingmakers, Magicians, or Zoroastrian Priests: The Magi and Ambiguity as a Narrative Technique in Matthew 2

The Magi are a source of much debate in modern scholarship. Different scholars have attempted to put them in the context of Roman–Parthian relations, allusions to the Hebrew Bible, Greco-Roman perceptions of Magi, and Jewish perceptions of Magi. Despite having in common an intention to read the story of the Magi in its historical context, these different approaches have produced very conflicting views of who the Magi are and what they mean in the context of Matthew.

One of the questions arising from the discussion is whether or not Matthew 2 genuinely contains eschatological imagery. In particular, this disagreement centres around the validity of two key intertexts, Balaam’s prophecy about the star in Num 24:15–19 and references to gold and incense from Sheba in Isaiah 60:1–6. Not least among the problems with these intertextual references is that they appear, in some respects, to conflict with one another.

Despite having in common an intention to read the story of the Magi in its historical context, these different approaches have produced very conflicting views of who the Magi are and what they mean in the context of Matthew.

The plurality of modern opinion is unsurprising, given how much ancient sources differ in their attitudes towards the Magi. This particular difficulty has been compounded by the tendency of scholarship to strip bare facts from the narrative of Matthew 2, with little sensitivity to how the narrative functions. Paying closer attention to the narrative features of Matthew 2 reveals how the gospel uses ambiguity to guide its readers to particular conclusions about the Magi, Herod, and Jesus. In particular, a narrative-rhetorical approach tends to confirm the eschatological interpretation, by explaining how Matthew 2 is able to draw on conflicting intertexts by exploiting the ambiguity of the Magi’s reputation.