3 Kings brought gifts 🎁

[TheGloryLand]

Who invented that there were three kings who brought gifts to the baby Jesus. I did a Bible quick search and put three kings and these were the only verses that popped up. later mentioned three magicians with names, one being black, who first brought this story. Why isn’t it properly teach what the Bible says, in our churches today?

2Kgs.3

1. [10] And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!
2. [13] And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.

Dan.7

1. [24] And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

Dan.11

1. [2] And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.

 

[BrotherTony]

There's no scriptural basis for three kings when it pertains to the story of the birth of Christ. Matthew 2 is the only one of the four gospels that make mention of the magi from the East. Tradition has it that because of the three gifts, gold, frankenscence, and myrrh, each king brought one gift. 

[TheGloryLand]

51 minutes ago, BrotherTony said:

There's no scriptural basis for three kings when it pertains to the story of the birth of Christ. Matthew 2 is the only one of the four gospels that make mention of the magi from the East. Tradition has it that because of the three gifts, gold, frankenscence, and myrrh, each king brought one gift. 

I know in Spanish they mention 3 Kings, 3 Reyes, but not in English or the KJ Bible. Nither their names or that they were Kings?

[BrotherTony]

15 minutes ago, TheGloryLand said:

I know in Spanish they mention 3 Kings, 3 Reyes, but not in English or the KJ Bible. Nither their names or that they were Kings?

I can only go by what the KJV says...three gifts given by wise men. No number of Wise Men. It could have been two, it could have been twenty. No number is ever given. 

[TheGloryLand]

Thanks, I believe the Catholic came up with the numbers and names, and called them kings.

[TheGloryLand]

45 minutes ago, BrotherTony said:

I can only go by what the KJV says...three gifts given by wise men. No number of Wise Men. It could have been two, it could have been twenty. No number is ever given. 

My wife mentioned it can be also that there was 3 gifts,  3 was added. That is what you mentioned. The gift 

[Jerry]

The Catholic church loves to add to the Bible and name characters that the Bible never does, such as the rich man in Luke 16, Mary’s mother.

[TheGloryLand]

30 minutes ago, Jerry said:

The Catholic church loves to add to the Bible and name characters that the Bible never does, such as the rich man in Luke 16, Mary’s mother.

These strange men did come from a strange place, they were not Saints or Kings. Kings did not travel without their army I believe. But we learn new things every day. I understand Jesus, was 2 years old when these men found him.

[BrotherTony]

25 minutes ago, TheGloryLand said:

These strange men did come from a strange place, they were not Saints or Kings. Kings did not travel without their army I believe. But we learn new things every day. I understand Jesus, was 2 years old when these men found him.

Matthew 2 tells us that they were wise men, not kings. This is a Catholic additive to the gospel story. As Jerry stated, the Catholics have a long history of adding to scripture. 

[HappyChristian]

The Bible refers to them as Magi, which in it's literal form is talking about men who read the stars. The magi, as a widespread group, were often advisers of kings, linked to royalty in other ways, and oftimes were politically active. They were also considered wise men (Daniel and his three friends were wise men, added to the magi of the king...actually a commonplace occurrence in that part of the world - the east - at that time).  Point of fact that is interesting: in Esther 1:13,14, the king's wise men were called princes. (did you know that Baalam was referred to as a "magus" or wise man...this was in the first century,  not the Bible but is indicative of the common usage of the term in that area)

One thing that those of us with western minds don't realize is that "kings" in various places of the earth didn't necessarily mean the same thing as what we think of as kings. Example: the ancient kings of Ireland, Scotland were chieftains  - leaders of tribes. Some of them grew their influence, some didn't. So as to calling them kings - I can't find any evidence that the Catholic church renamed them kings (but, of course, the RCC uses it a lot). I don't know when or who gave them names, but I know Ben Hur names them.

Oftimes the wise men, magi, were men of money and influence, and this could have been where the title "king" came from.

But there were most likely many more people than just 3 men...in that day, it was dangerous to travel distances due to highwaymen. So most travel was done in large groups. (and did you also know that it was likely Arabian horses they rode rather than camels?  ). It's quite likely that there were a number of magi, their servants, and their pack animals carrying the necessary rations, the gifts, etc. When they entered Jerusalem, the Bible tells us that the city was troubled along with Herod. Were they simply three men who came to see the king, it's not likely the whole city would have heard about their search for the one born king of the Jews. 

Also, most folks say that the wise men followed the star from the east to Bethlehem. But they didn't...the Bible clearly tells us they saw the star in the East...they knew a king was born (remember they studied the stars - and it is believed by many that these men knew of the prophecy of the Scetpre that would rise out of Judah - a very special king of the Jews) and they came to the place they believed the king of the Jews would be born, the common sense place: Jerusalem. The Bible then tells us that when they left Jerusalem to head to Bethlehem they saw the star again. And THEN is when it led them to Jesus.

Lots of interesting tidbits that have been re-invented about the entire birth of Christ. A study of OT prophecy of the coming Messiah and the NT verses about His birth can really clear up confusion, though. And I think it's a fascinating study.

And since the wise men were not at the birth, we don't include them in any nativity scene.