# How much gold was given to Jesus? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 10, 2024, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876 "2024-01-10T06:42:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/21 "2024-01-11T15:58:40Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > 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. Tue, the only Biblical mention is in Matthew, but we have other “information” about the wise men, such as their names, from extrabiblical tradition. > **[Biblical Magi | Identities and background](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Magi#Identities_and_background)** > > The names and origins of the Magi are never given in scripture, but have been provided by various traditions and legends. > Among Western Christians, the earliest and most common names are: > 1.Melchior (/ˈmɛlkiɔːr/; also Melichior). | > 2.Caspar (/ˈkæspər/ or /ˈkæspɑːr/; also Gaspar, Jaspar, Jaspas, Gathaspa, and other variations). | > 3.Balthazar (/ˈbælθəzɑːr/ or /bælˈθæzər/; also Balthasar, Balthassar, and Bithisarea). These names first appear in an eighth-century religious chronicle, Excerpta Lat... The OP was careful to ask “Are there any tales, apocryphal or otherwise, as to how much gold…” The answer apparently is “No, there aren’t”; but it’s a reasonable question. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/22 "2024-01-11T17:12:52Z")
Those extrabiblical accounts originated, however, well after the gospel of Matthew, among people who were aware of that gospel, so they wouldn’t qualify as independent sources. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/23 "2024-01-11T21:53:23Z")
According to Monty Python: **WISE MAN #1:** We were led by a star. **MANDY:** Or led by a bottle, more like. Go on. Out! **WISE MAN #1:** Well-- well, we must see him. We have brought presents. **MANDY:** Out! **WISE MAN #2:** Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh. **MANDY:** Well, why didn’t you say? He’s over there. Sorry the place is a bit of a mess. Well, what is myrrh, anyway? **WISE MAN #3:** It is a valuable balm. **MANDY:** A balm? What are you giving him a balm for? It might bite him. **WISE MAN #3:** What? **MANDY:** That’s a dangerous animal. Quick! Throw it in the trough. **WISE MAN #1:** No, it isn’t. _WISE MEN see correct stable down the street, leave,return and grab presents and leave again._ But seriously… > [@Musicat](#): > > 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. Much of the back story of the birth of Jesus is made up to fit the necessary narrative - a reason why someone from the North would be in Bethlehem city of David for their birth, heroic challenges to foreshadow greatness (Magi visit, survival of Slaughter of the Innocents, etc.). I believe these were the sorts of things that would be (as David Letterman’s show describes such stuff ) “writers’ embellishments”. They fit the standard backstory of heroes in legends. After all, if someone is so important and needing worship and honor, that three VIP’s would travel for days or weeks to get there, the amount they would gift him would presumably setup for life the family of the average day labourer. Plus, in those days there were no banks, so the family would be sitting ducks for thieves. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/24 "2024-01-11T22:00:27Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > Plus, in those days there were no banks, so the family would be sitting ducks for thieves. Yeah, I was wondering if **Czarcasm** had access to a time machine and was checking to see if funding the trip back would be worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/25 "2024-01-11T22:42:15Z")
I don’t think the OP was asking for independent sources, though. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/26 "2024-01-12T00:35:08Z")
The desire to cement Jesus in the cannon as the prophesied one is pretty clear. And bringing in ideas from nearby cultures and religions that would have been currently swishing about at the time is not hard to understand. Maggi/kings/wise-men, is a good one to leverage. The modern version of this is fan-fiction. These things don’t come without problems. The idea of the guiding star apparently caused a ruckus later in the church’s history. There was a clear decision that the star was _ **not** _ an actual star, supernova, comet, or whatever, since this provided biblical support for astrology. The Christian church had a lot of turmoil iterating down to the current dogma. A lot of early Christians had some pretty wild beliefs. What we see in the current day is arguably the result of a lot of accidents of history, starting with the Roman Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE and the slaughter of the majority of proto-Christians. As wise men, we might assume that they were not wealthy. So if you wanted to make a case for a story about what happened to the gifts, one might start with them being token amounts. Frankincense and myrrh are consumables. Maybe Joseph snorted the frankincense and Mary rubbed the myrrh on Jesus’ nappy rash. Go down the casino and put the gold on red. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/27 "2024-01-12T00:58:52Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > Maybe Joseph snorted the frankincense Nah, man, you gotta smoke that incense. > **[Incense May Act As a Psychoactive Drug during Religious Ceremony](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mass-appeal/)** > > An ingredient in frankincense eases anxiety and elevates mood ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/28 "2024-01-12T01:15:29Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > The desire to cement Jesus in the cannon as the prophesied one is pretty clear. Canon, not cannon. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/29 "2024-01-12T01:16:29Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Canon, not cannon. 😊 Indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/30 "2024-01-12T01:18:31Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > > > The desire to cement Jesus in the cannon as the prophesied one is pretty clear. > > Canon, not cannon. Aw, I was picturing Jesus cemented into the barrel of an actual cannon. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/31 "2024-01-12T01:19:31Z")
If you cement Jesus into a cannon, it won’t work. ⭐ ⭐ ⭐“The More You Know” ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/32 "2024-01-12T04:52:35Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > > [@DrDeth](#): > > > > > [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > > > > > The desire to cement Jesus in the cannon as the prophesied one is pretty clear. > > > > Canon, not cannon. > > Aw, I was picturing Jesus cemented into the barrel of an actual cannon. They were expecting a saviour of a different caliber. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/33 "2024-01-12T06:36:00Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > They were expecting a saviour of a different caliber. Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/34 "2024-01-12T09:57:38Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > that three VIP’s would travel for days or weeks to get there There is nowhere in the biblical cannon where they specified that there were three wise men, only three types of gift. It was only later that it was claimed that there were three, that they had specific names, and that [they liked to hang out naked in bed together](https://notchesblog.com/2014/01/06/three-wise-men-in-a-bed-bedsharing-and-sexuality-in-medieval-europe/). ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/35 "2024-01-12T18:22:52Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > There is nowhere in the biblical cannon where they specified that there were three wise men, Yes, three as a convenient number for assorted legends and folk tales is common. And of course, whoever embellished something - nobody could contradict him, and in the days before Google and Snopes, nobody could contradict what they found when someone wrote it down. Like internet memes, these things have a life of their own which grows, just like stories of St. Nicolas or St. Valentine. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/36 "2024-01-12T18:33:28Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > There is nowhere in the biblical cannon where they specified that there were three wise men Nor what day they arrived at the manger – Catholics (and others?) say January 6th. I’d bet their showing up on Dec 25th is a _very_ recent invention. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/37 "2024-01-12T19:23:27Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Nor what day they arrived at the manger The story probably didn’t have them “at the manger” at all. > **[The Myth of the Nativity Wise Men](https://www.learnreligions.com/the-myth-of-the-nativity-wise-men-363349)** > > Most Christmas nativities include the Wise Men in the stable with baby Jesus, but biblical passages tell us they weren't present for 1-2 more years. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/38 "2024-01-12T19:31:47Z")
I’m still fighting the idea pushed by retailers that the 12 days of Christmas aren’t a countdown to buy shit before Christmas day. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/39 "2024-01-12T19:40:59Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > There is nowhere in the biblical cannon where they specified that there were three wise men, only three types of gift. 2 of the 4 wise men went halves on the frankincense, but that wasn’t made clear on the gift tag. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2024, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876/40 "2024-01-13T00:26:22Z")
Well, now I have no choice! Enjoy: > **[National Lampoon Radio Hour - Jesus Thank You Letters](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMalwzjJ3vY%2F)** > > National Lampoon Radio Hour - Jesus Thank You Letters, featuring Christopher Guest [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876.md?page=3)