We ought to ask thea when she comes back:
Of the names Caspar, Balthazar, and Melchior
Balthazar comes Bal=lord or owner and X. (as in Balzebub, from Bal and Zvuv -- Lord of the Fly; or the common BalHaBait: head of or owner of the house (homeowner, head of household)). The odd thing here is the t, since there is no "th" in Hebrew. If it were BalHaHazar, it would be lord of swine--but it isn't, so the question is what is "zar" (Ha being the prefixed article (whatever that's called).)
Melchior is likely M'El Ki Or = from God as (like) light. The prefix mem (M) has a grammatical function turning a into an action upon something, as I remember.
Caspar would be "like" (C again) X.
My guess would be that the three wisemen weren't wisemen at all but an angels (M'luchim -- messengers or agents of God), that is, that they were themselves the gifts.
IP
