Are there any tales, apocryphal or otherwise, as to how much gold was given to Jesus by the Wise Men in the Bible? Yeah, I know about the other two gifts, but gold is the gift I am wondering about. They supposedly traveled pretty far, so I don’t think it would be a small amount, but I am willing to be enlightened about the subject.
I’ve never heard or read any at all. I’ve heard Lutheran and Methodist pastors and a Roman Catholic priest talk about how the three items were a tacit acknowledgement that he was a “king,” but no one ever discussed amounts.
Short answer: There’s nothing about this.
Longer answer: The gifts of the magi are mentioned only in the Gospel of Matthew. Like a lot of colourful details that appear only in Matthew, they are generally taken to be literary symbols used by the evangelist to make or underline a statement about Jesus, rather than journalist-like accounts of gifts that were actually presented. Thus the Christian tradition devotes a lot of attention to what the three gifts mean or symbolise, but none at all to the question of quantity.
If there’s any writing about the quantity of the gifts that comes from outside the Christian tradition — indeed, if there’s any commentary at all about the gifts coming from outside the Christian tradition — I’m afraid I’ve never come across it.
Enough to buy a vowel?
Don’t underestimate the value of the other two gifts–frankincense and myrrh were spendy!
Not underestimating, just disregarding for now.
Did you just make a Hebrew joke?
Not that clever, there was just a typo in the thread title (fixed now).
“…as much gold as I could eat…”
My evangelical, fundamentalist (as in, believed in a literal six-day creation, the Earth is 6,000 years old, etc.) pastor did a sermon on this one Christmas. He claimed that the gold given by the Magi likely financed Joseph, Mary & Jesus’ flight to Egypt. So, whatever it cost to hire/join a caravan in Roman Palestine c. 4BCE, enough to pay for food and lodging for a period of a couple of years(?), and the trip back. I couldn’t even begin to do those calculations.
An amount worth more than 30 pieces of silver?
I read one source (Quora, so, near worthless, but still throwing it out there) that back then, the typical gift of gold to a new king would be over 50 pounds, and also, that back in that era, frankincense and myrrh were actually worth even more than gold on an ounce-for-ounce basis. So Joseph and Mary were quite loaded. In fact, I’m not sure how this added weight affected them on their flight to Egypt to escape danger, or how they managed things - lightweight paper currency not being a thing back then.
You have to account for 33 years of inflation. Or it being Roman times, possibly debasement.
For a serious answer, it looks like denarii were about 4 grams, and not debased until Nero. That means 30 pieces is about $90 right now, probably less depending on purity
“One of the richest kings in the East and he sends me an aromatic gum resin! And that wrapping paper – poinsettias! Holy Christmas!”
– “Jesus Thank You Letters” from National Lampoon Radio Hour
Depending on the extent to which he practiced what he preached.
Assuming that the purchasing power of fine silver corresponds to its metallic value today, which is a highly doubtful assumption. The Bible itself tells us that a denarius was about a day’s wage (or a few hours’ wage, in the case of a generous employer) for a laborer (Matthew 20: 2, the workers in the vineyard). Revelation 6:6 gives a denarius for a day’s supply of grain as an example for highly inflated prices, and Tacitus tells us in his Annals (1:17) that a denarius was the usual daily pay for a legionary, with the elite Praetorians receiving two denarii a day (in both cases on top of free food rations). That would mean that the purchasing power of a denarius, at least in terms of manpower and staple foods, must have been more than the $3 the mere metallic value gives us.
Yeah, a denarius back then might have been the equivalent of a $100 bill today, in terms of practical value for everyday life.
This thread is reminding me of the dumbest verse from a Christmas carol (almost as dumb as the entire concept of the Little Drummer Boy):
Seriously? How about a blanket and a space heater?
I’ve also heard speculation that the gifts of the Magi financed Jesus’ education. The Bible does tell us that even as a child, he was quite knowledgeable about Scripture, though of course then you have the question of how much of that was due to teaching vs. due to direct divine knowledge.
Believe it or not, this is a serious answer. Any gold, spices, or pampers given to baby Jesus was in the mind of the scribe who narrated this tale, and who possibly made it up. Since only “Matthew” mentions it, the gold and the wise men exist, As Far As We Know, only in that scribe’s mind and writings.