Brent Landau

BRENT LANDAU received his Th.D. from Harvard University and is an expert in ancient biblical languages and literature. He currently teaches in the Religious Studies Department at the University of Oklahoma, and lives with his wife in Norman, Oklahoma.

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Bible/Jesus Experts

Biography/History

Revelation of the Magi

The Lost Tale of the Wisemen's Journey to Bethlehem

Talking Points

The first-ever English translation of an ancient manuscript dating back to the 2nd or 3rd century discovered in the Vatican Library goes beyond the Bible story to tell the Christmas tale from the point of view of the mysterious three kings from the East.

Description

Each Christmas, adults and children alike delight at the story of the three kings from the East who followed the star to Bethlehem to offer gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the newborn Christ child. While this familiar version of the first Christmas is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, another little-known version later emerged that claimed to be the eyewitness account of the three Wise Men! This ancient manuscript has languished for centuries in the Vatican Library, but through the determined persistence of a young scholar, Brent Landau, this astonishing discovery has been translated into English for the very first time as the Revelation of the Magi.

The crèches, the nativity scenes, the Christmas plays, the hymns we hear on the radio, all are based on only a few verses found in the Bible. In fact, we know very little about these three strange Magi from the East who miraculously show up at Jesus’ birth. But with the Revelation of the Magi, we now have a window into the Magi’s world, those curious men who came from the mysterious far-Eastern land of Shir. Readers will learn of the Magi’s prophecies of God’s incarnation from the beginning of time, their startling visitation in the form of a star, their long and treacherous journey to Bethlehem, their skeptical reception by Mary, the teachings they receive from the baby Jesus, and their joyous return to their homeland to spread the good news in the East.

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