When the nations bring their treasures to Zion (Isaiah 60:6), they come with camels. It’s an unusual site. The patriarchs have camels (the word is used 18x in Genesis 24 alone, 25x in Genesis). After that, camels are typically the mounts for Gentile visitors or invaders.
Midianites riding camels swarm over the land like locusts (Judges 6), and later the queen of Sheba’s entourage visits Solomon on camels (1 Kings 10:2; 2 Chronicles 9:1).
For Isaiah, the pilgrimage of the nations reverses the invasions of the book of Judges. Midianites on camels appear again, but this time bringing gifts rather than pillaging. Sheba returns to Zion bearing gold and frankinsence because Zion has been restored to Solomon-like radiance and splendor.
Christian artists knew what they were about when they gave the magi camels. Camels don’t make an appearance in Matthew, but, when we read Matthew through Isaiah, we know that the camels belong in the creche.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Moral Certitude and the Iran War
The current military engagement with Iran calls renewed attention to just war theory in the Catholic tradition.…
The Slow Death of England: New and Notable Books
The fate of England is much in the news as popular resistance to mass immigration grows, limits…
Ethics of Rhetoric in Times of War
What we say matters. And the way we say it matters. This is especially true in times…
