DID YOU KNOW?
The answer
Matthew never says how the magi traveled. The camels come from Isaiah 60:6, a vision of the nations streaming to Jerusalem with "a multitude of camels" bearing gold and frankincense — read alongside the magi story for so long that the caravan joined the crèche.
Why it’s interesting
Isaiah 60 and Psalm 72 — kings bowing, gold arriving — are also where the magi picked up their crowns. The Christmas picture is a group portrait painted from several books at once.
Scholarly consensus
You can know the Bible.
Not just the stories, but the history, authorship, and scholarship behind it.