Balthazar was one of the three
magi ("wise men" - most likely meaning priests) who brought gifts to anoint
Jesus Christ upon his birth. The wise men only appear in the book of
Matthew and are not named or even numbered. Later
Christian tradition fleshed out their identities and made them kings. Balthazar, whose name means "lord of the treasures", was king of
Arabia.
The Venerable Bede claimed he was the son of
Shem, one of
Noah’s sons. Bede also believed that Balthazar, the youngest of the magi, was black, emphasizing the idea that
Christ had come to save
all of mankind.
Balthazar brought
myrrh, the gift for a
prophet in
Jewish tradition. Myrrh’s use in
embalming was thought to prefigure the death of Christ.