The Talmud of Jmmanuel · Complete reading edition

Chapter 2The Wise Men From The Orient

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1When Jmmanuel was born in the stable at Bethlehem, in the shelter in the land of the Jews during the time of Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea, behold, wise men arrived in Jerusalem from the Orient and asked:

2"Where is the newborn king of wisdom of the Jews?

3"We have seen a bright light in the sky and heard a voice saying,

4"Follow the tail of the light, because the king of wisdom of the Jews is born, who will bring great knowledge.

5"Therefore we have come to worship the newborn king of wisdom.

6"He shall possess the knowledge of god and be a son of the celestial son Gabriel.

7"His knowledge will be boundless, as will be his power to control human consciousness, so that humans may learn and serve Creation."

8When Herod Antipas heard of this, he was frightened, and with him everyone in Jerusalem, because they feared that the newborn child would wield dreadful power.

9Herod Antipas called together all the chief priests and scribes from among the people and inquired of them where Jmmanuel had been born.

10And they replied: "In Bethlehem, in the Jewish land; for thus it was written by the prophet Micah:

11"'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of the Jews, are by no means the least among the cities in Judea, for from you shall come forth the king of wisdom, who will bring great knowledge to the people of Israel so that they may learn and serve Creation."'

12Thereupon, Herod Antipas called the wise men secretly and diligently asked them when the bright light with the long tail had appeared in the sky.

13He later directed them to Bethlehem, and said, "Go and search diligently for the young child and when you find him, let me know, so that I may also come and adore him.

14After they had listened to Herod Antipas, they departed. And behold, the light with the long tail, which they had observed in the Orient, moved ahead of them with a high singing sound until it reached Bethlehem and stood directly over the stable where the infant was born.

15When they saw this they were filled with great joy.

16They then went into the stable and found the young child with his mother, Mary, and with Joseph. And they fell down and worshiped the infant and offered their treasures, which were gold, frankincense and myrrh.

17However, the voice again rang out from the light high above, saying that they should not return to Herod Antipas because he planned evil for the young child.

18And they returned to their homeland by another route.

19After the three wise men had left, behold, the celestial son Gabriel appeared to Joseph, saying:

20"Arise and take the infant and his mother Mary with you and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I beckon you, because Herod Antipas is planning to seek out the young child and kill him, since he fears that this babe might wield terrible power.

21"While you are in Egypt, I will send my messenger to Herod Antipas to teach him the truth."

22And Joseph arose and took the young child and his mother by night and escaped under the guidance of the celestial son Gabriel in the descending light, which fled with them to Egypt.

23Here they remained until Herod Antipas had a change of mind and his inner fear abated.

24When Herod Antipas realized that he had nothing to fear from the young boy, who was credited only with great wisdom and knowledge, he felt safe in his realm. Thus, he promised the messenger of the celestial son Gabriel he would no longer pursue Mary, Joseph and Jmmanuel.

25Now that Herod Antipas and his followers had changed their attitude, behold, the celestial son Gabriel appeared again before Joseph in Egypt, and said,

26"Arise and take the young child and his mother Mary and move to the land of Israel; all those who sought the child's life have had a change of heart."

27And Joseph stood up, took the child and his mother, and returned into the light which once more had appeared. It brought them to Israel.

28The celestial son Gabriel brought them back to the land of Galilee.

29There they dwelled in the city called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken by the prophets would be fulfilled, "Jmmanuel shall be called the Nazarene."