Wasn’t actually today, but it’s an interesting etymology. Old Arabian speaks “majus” because they lack a hard G sound, similar to Japanese lacking L sound

Also, for anyone interested, that means that the Magi who came to Jesus’ birth with gifts were Zoroastrian priests

  • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    arrow-down
    7
    ·
    1 year ago

    Also, for anyone interested, that means that the Magi who came to Jesus’ birth with gifts were Zoroastrian priests

    No one was there as he didn’t exist.

    • ElderWendigo@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      No one was there as he didn’t exist.

      This is irrelevant to a discussion of etymology. Even if you don’t believe in the physical existence of a the man, he exists as a significant literary figure. Tom Sawyer didn’t actually exist either, but we should be able to speak about his whitewashing trickery without pedant trolls butting in. You’re not edgy. You’re not enlightened. You’re not even technically correct. You’re just an asshole.

    • I Cast FistOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      That’s beside the point here. The story exists and the etymology of Magus helps contextualize an often overlooked detail, that the three wise men were zoroastrian priests. Somewhat related XKCD - https://what-if.xkcd.com/25/