The Magi (Wise Men, “Three Kings”)

Drawing of the Magi by Lorenzo Ferri according to the indications of Maria Valtorta. Source: documentary archives of the Maria Valtorta Heritage Foundation.

The tradition speaks of Kings Magi, but in Matthew 2:1-16, as in the work of Maria Valtorta, only Magi are mentioned. Yet they are indeed three, something not specified by the Gospel but by tradition. They are men of science and faith. They are powerful and rich. Astrologers, each of them notices, independently, the appearance of an unknown star.

"Born out of the bosom of God, it had flourished to tell men a blessed truth, a secret of God. But men had not paid any attention to it, because their souls were steeped in mud. They did not lift their eyes to God neither could they read the words that He writes with stars of fire in the vault of Heaven. May He be blessed forever." explains the eldest of the three later to the Virgin Mary.

They set out without knowing of one another, but all meet near the Dead Sea after a journey of about 3,000 km each.

The first comes "from the land where the Nile rises" (Nubia–Sudan). He is the eldest. He speaks on behalf of all. He offers "gold which befits a king to possess". His journey covered between 2,000 and 3,000 km, and the same distance for the return. Tradition names him Melchior.

The second comes from "away Indies." He is the youngest. He offers "incense which befits a God". His journey covered 3,000 to 3,500 km. Tradition names him Gaspar.

The last comes from the "Mongolian chains of mountains." He brings "myrrh, because Your Child - he says to the Virgin Mary - is a Man as well as God and He will experience the bitterness of the flesh and of human life as well as the inevitable law of death." His journey covered between 3,000 and 4,000 km in about ten months. He must have traveled a little more than 10 km per day. Tradition names him Balthazar.

The star disappears above Jerusalem, while they are camped near the En Rogel spring. This prompts them to go see Herod. Their declaration troubles the paranoid king, who summons the best scribes.

Thirty years later, a witness of that time reports to Jesus:

"One day I was summoned with these two because three Wise Men had come asking where was He Who was born king of the Jews. See? 'Born king'."

Hillel, the great Doctor of Israel, had also been consulted. The star, having reappeared, guides them to Bethlehem. The adoration takes place in a house, according to the Gospel, and not in a stable as popular devotion imagines. As they lay gold, incense, and myrrh at the feet of the young Jesus, aged nine to twelve months, Balthazar prophesies:

"He is Your Son, the Saviour, the Christ of God and consequently, to save the world, He will have to take upon Himself the evil of the world, of which one of the punishments is death. This myrrh is for that hour. That His holy flesh may not be subject to the rot of putrefaction, but may preserve its integrity until its resurrection. And on account of this gift, may He remember us and save His servants by allowing them to enter His Kingdom."

The gold will serve the Holy family well for their flight into Egypt to Matharaea and their resettlement in Nazareth.

Warned in a dream that Herod the Great wants to force them to reveal the Messiah’s identity, the Magi flee by way of Engedi, where they meet Abraham, head of the synagogue. Learning this, Herod, in furious rage, orders the massacre of all children in Bethlehem under two years old.

Their testimony - brief - forms what Jesus calls "the Gospels of Faith" in His commentaries to Maria Valtorta.

Their Name and Appearance

In Maria Valtorta’s work, the three Magi are anonymous. However, if one wished to name them according to traditional names (Melchior, Balthazar, and Gaspar), one could say:

Melchior

The eldest, from Africa (Nubia–Sudan). His skin is very dark. As soon as he dismounts from a camel, he wraps himself entirely in a magnificent white silk garment. His forehead is encircled by a band of precious metal, and at his waist a rich belt from which hangs a dagger or sword with a gem-studded hilt.

His name, Melchior, comes from Malkiyyah, "the Eternal is king." Tradition also records the forms Melichior or Melkon (6th century).

Gaspar

The youngest, from India. He wears a billowing silk shirt emerging from wide, long trousers tight at the ankles. He is wrapped in a very fine shawl, a true flower garden in its vivid colors. On his head, a turban held by a chain adorned with diamond studs.

His name likely comes from Gondophares, the name of an Indo-Parthian king. He is called Goudnaphar or Goudnapharos in Greek (3rd century); Gathaspa, Gathaspar, Gaspar in the 6th century; and finally Caspar in the 8th century.

Balthazar

The last, from the "Mongolian ranges" on the borders of Persia. He wears a beautiful striped fabric dominated by yellow. This garment is shaped like a long domino with a hood and cord that seem made in one piece of golden filigree, so richly embroidered are they.

The name Balthasar, or Balatsu-usur in Babylonian, means "may he protect his life." Many spellings exist: Beltchatsar, Beltschatsar, Belteshatsar, Beltsatar, Beltassar, Baltassar, Beltshassar. Tradition later produced forms such as Bithisarea, Balthasar (6th century), and Bautezar (Provençal).

Where Are They Mentioned in the Work?

GRM 34 GRM 35 GRM 41
GRM 390
GRM 426 GRM 436 GRM 464 GRM 493
GRM 645.9

Learn More About These Characters

Extracts from the Dictionary of Gospel Characters, According to Maria Valtorta (Msgr. René Laurentin, François-Michel Debroise, Jean-François Lavère, Salvator Editions, 2012):

The Gospel of Matthew mentions neither their number nor their names.

In the Protoevangelium of James (an apocryphon of the 2nd century), the Magi are anonymous and come from the East, without further details. They arrive in Bethlehem at the Nativity. This anachronism inspired many later representations. The Magi trigger the massacre of the innocents by their arrival: therefore it is impossible that the presentation of Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem took place afterward.

In the Pseudo-Matthew (late 6th century), they arrive in Bethlehem two years after the Birth of Jesus. This is taken up by later tradition: Origen, Eusebius, Epiphanius, etc. It is more consistent with the historical sequence.

Their names appear for the first time in a 6th-century manuscript. They are called "Bithisarea, Melichior, and Gathaspa."

At the same time, the Armenian Gospel of the Infancy, a 6th-century apocryphon, gives them the names "Balthasar, Melkon, and Gaspar."

At the beginning of the 8th century, a treatise attributed to Bede the Venerable names them "Melchior, Balthasar, and Caspar" according to a Greek source.

In the 13th century, Jacobus de Voragine gives them different names depending on the language:

Appellius, Amerius, Damascus, in Latin,

Galgalat, Malgalat, and Sarathin, in Hebrew,

Caspar, Balthasar, Melchior, in Greek.

In the 17th century, Mary of Agreda does not name them but situates them as "originating from Persia, Arabia, and Sheba, east of Palestine." In the Middle ages, it was claimed that their relics had been found by Saint Helena in Sheba, in Persia. This was likely in reference to the prophecy of Isaiah: "All the people of Sheba will come, bringing gold and incense; they will proclaim the praises of the Lord."

In the 19th century, Anne-Catherine Emmerich gives them names different from the traditional ones: Theokeno, Mensor, and Sair. She is the only one to speak of "kings," whereas all the other cited writings speak only of "Magi."

All these different sources agree on three Magi.

The lords of Les Baux-de-Provence (France) claimed descent from Balthazar and adopted the motto "At random, Balthazar."

Kilometres. 1 km = 0.621 miles. 1 mile = 1.609 km.