do you see what i see?

judah has a perfect five pointed star on the bottom of his foot. which makes even more sense of his middle name, balthazar. according to ancient christian texts (specifically early ethiopian orthodox christian history), balthazar (or a spelling derivative thereof) was one of the 3 magis/kings who followed the star in the east to first visit baby jesus after his birth. he was the wiseman who carried frankincense and is represented in 3rd century art as most likely the african or "moor" magi. the idea was that the lion of judah/tribe of judah, which claim the lineage of christ, and the origins of balthazar would further tie our son to his ethiopian sisters and the ethiopian context in which i spent my first trimester pregnant with him. pregnant with him and wretching in addis ababa, lalibela, gondar, etc. plus, we also liked the idea of having his name naturally invested with the idea of true hospitality, empathy, worship, and celebration.