Image Credit: Tommie dePaola on Amazon

A Word about the Kings

“The first written word about the kings appears in the Gopel of St. Matthew. His brief account tells of wise men who went to Bethlehem to honor the child who would become king of the Jews. Matthew does not give them names nor does he say how many wise men there were. His only mention as to where they came from is that they followed a star from the East.

From Where in the East Did the Magi Come?

“Over the centuries, details about the wise men were added gradually. In the second century, they were transformed into kings an their number was determined. Early art from the period shows two and four figures, but three figures were used most often and persisted into later centuries because Matthew had referred to three gifts.

“By the eighth century, each of the kings had a name, an area from which he came, and a physical description. Melcior of Arabia was depicted as an old man; Gaspar of Tharsis was young; and Balthazar of Saba was shown as middle-aged.

“The feast of the three kings, called the Feast of the Epipany, is celebrated on January 6th, twelve days after Christmas.

“In this book, I have chosen to paint the mother and child in the traditional pose referred to as ‘Seat of Wisdom, Throne of Justice.’ This pose was frequently used in Romanesque paintings of the Adoration of the Kings”

– T. deP. 1983

The Story of Three Wise Kings

“Long ago in the East, in lands far from one another, there lived three kings–
Melchior of Arabia, Gaspar of Tharsis,
and Balthazar of Saba.

“These wise men studied the stars.

“Each night, they looked at the sky and wrote down where the stars were,
where they had come from, and where they were going.

“Each of the kings consulted his books and found that this new star was the sign
That a great king was about to be born.

“So each king, not knowing about the others, set out to follow the star to find the child king and to honor him.

“And each king carried with him a gift.
“Melchior took gold,
“Gaspar, frankincense; and Balthazar, myrrh.

“After many days and nights, the three wise kings met.

“They found that they were all following the same star so they continued their journey together.

“But as they came near to Jerusalem, they lost sight of the star and they did not know which way to go.

“‘Let us ask at the palace of King Herod,’ one of them said.
“‘Surely Herod will know of the birth of another king.’

“‘Where is he that has been born to be king of the Jews?’ they asked.

“‘We have seen his star in the East and we have come to honor him.’

“Now Herod, who was an evil man, was disturbed when he heard this.
“He wished to be the only king in that land.

“He went to his chief priests and learned men and asked them where this child would be born.

“‘It has been written: ‘at Bethlehem in Judah,’ they told him.

“Herod sent for the three kings,
“‘Go to Bethlehem and find out all about the child-king,’ he said.

“‘And when you have found him,  come back, and tell me so I may worship him too.’
“The three wise kings set out for Bethlehem not knowing that Herod wanted to destroy the newborn baby.

“And there in the sky, once again, was the star;

“Like a flame of fire, that star pointed out God, the King of Kings.

“And going into the place they saw the child with his mother, Mary, an falling down on their knees they honored him.

“Then, they opened their treasures and offered the gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.

“That night as the kings slept, they were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, for he wished to destory the chukd,

“So the three kings, to keep Herod from fining the child, returned to their countries b a different way.” dePaola, Tomie. Three Wise Kings.