“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”
King James Version (KJV)
2:11 They presented to him gifts - It was customary to offer some present to any eminent person whom they visited. And so it is, as travellers observe, in the eastern countries to this day. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh - Probably these were the best things their country afforded; and the presents ordinarily made to great persons. This was a most seasonable, providential assistance for a long and expensive journey into Egypt, a country where they were entirely strangers, and were to stay for a considerable time.
Mt 2:11 And when they were come into the house. Not, probably, the stable where the Lord was born, but a temporary home obtained after the crowd had left Jerusalem. Many suppose that Joseph and Mary remained at Bethlehem until the forty days of purification were passed; that the young child was presented in the temple as recorded in Lu 2:22 that then they returned to Bethlehem; were visited shortly after by the wise man, and thence fled into Egypt. If this is correct, the young child must have been six or seven weeks old at the time of the visit. With Mary his mother. The child was probably in the mother's arms. They fell down and worshipped him. Observe that no adoration is offered his mother. When they had opened their treasures. They had brought these all the way from the East as an offering. They offer to him gifts such as were offered to kings by ambassadors or vassals. Gold. A usual offering to kings. Frankincense. A costly and fragrant gum distilled from a tree in India and Arabia. Myrrh. An aromatic gum produced from a thorn-bush that grew in Arabia and Ethiopia. The providence of God is seen in these gifts. It provided the means necessary for the flight to Egypt that was to follow at once, and to sustain the holy family in a foreign land.