Diogenes the Cynic

Well, just for the record, Matthew doesn't say they were kings or say there were three of them. He just says it was an unnamed number of "magi." That word "magi," referred to a specific Zoroastrian sect of astrologers and sorcerers, not kings. The "three kings" trope is a product of popular folklore, not the actual text of Matthew.

As far as Matthew's purpose in choosing those gifts, it could be a number of things, and not necessarily connected with funerary purposes. They both have a wide variety of medicinal uses, for instances, and particularly had uses for babies. Both were expensive also, and the combination would basically be a posh baby care kit (i.e a gift for a newborn prince).

It could also very well be that Matthew was alluding to Jesus' coming death.

When it says that the women were going to put spices on the body, those spices would include frankincense and myrrh.
They were burned as incense during sacrifices.

EmmaZunz

OK. Yes I was speaking loosely about the 3 kings.

You may be right, but it's interesting that a Xian writer who shows no gospel influences should mention F&M in connection with the phoenix while trying to defend the reality of resurrection.

Matthew is probably just pulling in all the related mythological factoids he can.

sotto voce

Clement applied his own analogy, not the pre-figurement of the Bible. He was anyway heretical.

It's doubtful that anyone actually noticed it. Resinous gums were widely known, and no doubt of some fascination, seemingly of mineral nature, yet easily ignited, producing sweet fragrance rather than more or less offensive fumes, as most combustible substances did. They also fumigated, and preserved from decay, when mixed with oils. It was not unpredictable that someone would invent a creature of unusual powers associated with these substances. It really has nothing directly to do with Matthew; both concepts can be taken as due to excitements of hydrocarbon chemistry! If there is similar import in them, it is due to that.

Due to their properties, resins had long been used as incense, for religious purposes, when Moses instructed on their use in the worship of Yahweh in the Tabernacle; so this was merely what was expected. Incense was associated with prayer:

'May my prayer be set before you like incense.' Ps 141:2 NIV

Though, from its uses in the Tabernacle, it was also associated with atonement and celebration, which, for this same birth, Luke alluded to by mention of the angelic message of "Peace to men of good will."

Frankincense was doubtless particularly symbolic for Moses' purpose, because it was white, and, when ignited, produced white, and pleasing, fragrant smoke that passed upward as pure offering to deity, as perceived. Atonement was particularly associated here. The concept of a pure and fragrant offering, made on earth, destroyed by fire, like the Mosaic sacrifices, the proof of it ascending to heaven, was surely not lost on Matthew's readers.

Myrrh, bitter, produced by wounding, may also have been used as incense, but its use in embalming was probably more common. Gold (which was not associated with the phoenix tale) was the common offering for a king, which was of course the stated purpose of the visit of the magi. So, to Matthew's readers, Jew and Gentile, the gifts symbolised kingship, deity (implied by prayer), atonement and celebration; but also foreshadowed death, and not merely physical death.