{"id":34149,"date":"2017-12-26T16:47:39","date_gmt":"2017-12-26T21:47:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/?p=34149"},"modified":"2022-01-06T08:33:07","modified_gmt":"2022-01-06T13:33:07","slug":"who-were-the-magi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Were the Magi?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Christmas carol is called <em>We Three Kings<\/em>, but they weren\u2019t kings, and there probably weren\u2019t three.<\/p>\n<p>[<a href=\"https:\/\/zondervanacademic.com\/bible-gateway\/?utm_source=biblegateway&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=partners&amp;utm_content=text_link\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Go deeper into the Bible with Bible Gateway online courses taught by leading scholars\" target=\"_blank\">Go deeper into the Bible with Bible Gateway online courses taught by leading scholars<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Take a look:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wistia_responsive_padding\" style=\"padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;\">\n<div class=\"wistia_responsive_wrapper\" style=\"height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;top:0;width:100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.net\/embed\/iframe\/whdsqycvie?videoFoam=true\" title=\"Wistia video player\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wistia_embed\" name=\"wistia_embed\" allowfullscreen=\"\" mozallowfullscreen=\"\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" oallowfullscreen=\"\" msallowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.net\/assets\/external\/E-v1.js\" async=\"\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew+2\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Read Matthew 2 on Bible Gateway\" target=\"_blank\">the story of Jesus\u2019 birth<\/a>, Matthew tells us that magi, or wise men, came from the east to visit him.<\/p>\n<h3>Were there really three magi?<\/h3>\n<p>Contrary to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Luke+2\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Read Luke 2 on Bible Gateway\" target=\"_blank\">the traditional manger scene<\/a>, Matthew does not say there were three magi. We assume there are three because we know they bring three gifts\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew+2%3A11\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Read Matthew 2:11 on Bible Gateway\" target=\"_blank\">gold, frankincense, and myrrh<\/a>\u2014but we don\u2019t know for sure how many there were.<\/p>\n<blockquote><\/blockquote>\n<p><center><em>Sign up to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/landing\/know-the-bible\/\" title=\"Sign up to get the Know the Bible free email lesson series from Bible Gateway\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">get the<\/a><\/strong><\/em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/landing\/know-the-bible\/\" title=\"Sign up to get the Know the Bible free email lesson series from Bible Gateway\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> Know the Bible <em>free email lesson series<\/em><\/a><\/strong><em> from Bible Gateway.<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n<blockquote><\/blockquote>\n<h3>When did the magi come?<\/h3>\n<p>They also didn\u2019t arrive with the shepherds on the night of Jesus\u2019 birth.<\/p>\n<p>Mary and Joseph are living in a house in Bethlehem when they come (according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew+2%3A11\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Read Matthew 2:11 on Bible Gateway\" target=\"_blank\">Matthew 2:11<\/a>), and Herod the Great tries to kill the children in Bethlehem two years of age and under (according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew+2%3A16\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Read Matthew 2:16 on Bible Gateway\" target=\"_blank\">Matthew 2:16<\/a>). This means Jesus may have been as old as two.<\/p>\n<h3>Where did the magi come from?<\/h3>\n<p>The magi were probably Persian or Arabian astrologers who charted the stars and attached religious significance to their movements. They were not kings, as is sometimes supposed.<\/p>\n<p>While some have doubted the historicity of this visit, it bears the marks of credibility. Many people in the ancient world believe that stars announced the birth of great people. The Roman historians Suetonius and Tacitus even speak of an expectation that a world ruler would come from Judea.<\/p>\n<p>It is not surprising that Eastern astrologers would see in a particular astral phenomenon the sign of the birth of a Jewish king.<\/p>\n<p>[<a href=\"https:\/\/zondervanacademic.com\/bible-gateway\/?utm_source=biblegateway&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=partners&amp;utm_content=text_link\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Go deeper into the Bible with Bible Gateway online courses taught by leading scholars\" target=\"_blank\">Go deeper into the Bible with Bible Gateway online courses taught by leading scholars<\/a>]<\/p>\n<blockquote><\/blockquote>\n<p><center><em>It only takes a minute to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/login\/\" title=\"Create your own Bible Gateway free personal account to upgrade your Bible Gateway experience\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>create your own Bible Gateway free personal account<\/strong><\/a> and you\u2019ll immediately upgrade your Bible Gateway experience. Do it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/login\/\" title=\"Create your own Bible Gateway free personal account to upgrade your Bible Gateway experience\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">right now!<\/a><\/em><\/center><\/p>\n<blockquote><\/blockquote>\n<h3>What happened when the magi met Herod?<\/h3>\n<p>The ruler at the time of Jesus\u2019 birth was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-was-herod\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, Who Was Herod?\" target=\"_blank\">Herod the Great<\/a>, so the magi visited him first when they arrived in Judea. Warned in a dream of Herod\u2019s evil intention to kill the child, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew+2%3A13-15\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Read Matthew 2:13-15 on Bible Gateway\" target=\"_blank\">Joseph escapes with the family to Egypt<\/a>, where he remains until the death of Herod.<\/p>\n<p>While the historian Josephus does not mention Herod\u2019s massacre of the infants of Bethlehem, this is not surprising since Bethlehem was a small village and the number of children could not have been large. Considering Herod\u2019s many ruthless actions in murdering sons, wives, and all manner of political opponents, this event was of little historical consequence.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, Matthew\u2019s account fits well with what we know of Herod\u2019s paranoia and ruthless cruelty. The irony of the magi\u2019s visit is that while even pagan astrologers come to worship the Jewish Messiah, the illegitimate king of the Jews seeks to destroy him.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about the life and ministry of Jesus. Sign up for the <a href=\"https:\/\/courses.zondervanacademic.com\/cultural-context-of-jesus-life-and-ministry?utm_source=biblegateway&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=partners&amp;utm_content=text_link\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Take this online course: learn about the Cultural Context of Jesus' Life and Ministry\" target=\"_blank\">Cultural Context of Jesus\u2019 Life and Ministry online course<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>This post is adapted from the <a href=\"https:\/\/courses.zondervanacademic.com\/four-portraits-one-jesus?utm_source=biblegateway&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=partners&amp;utm_content=text_link\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Take this online Bible course about the Gospels: Four Portraits, One Jesus\" target=\"_blank\">Four Portraits, One Jesus Bible online course<\/a>, taught by Mark Strauss. Take a look at the FREE introductory video from Dr. Strauss:<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_9GEOxrZ4iY\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><center>Go deeper into the Bible with <a href=\"https:\/\/zondervanacademic.com\/bible-gateway\/?utm_source=biblegateway&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=partners&amp;utm_content=text_link\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Go deeper into the Bible with Bible Gateway online courses taught by leading Bible scholars\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Bible Gateway online courses<\/strong> taught by leading Bible scholars<\/a><\/center><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Christmas carol is called We Three Kings, but they weren\u2019t kings, and there probably weren\u2019t three. [Go deeper into the Bible with Bible Gateway online courses taught by leading scholars] Take a look: In the story of Jesus\u2019 birth, Matthew tells us that magi, or wise men, came from the east to visit him. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":53257,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[104,1324],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Who Were the Magi? - Bible Gateway Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Who Were the Magi? - Bible Gateway Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Christmas carol is called We Three Kings, but they weren\u2019t kings, and there probably weren\u2019t three. [Go deeper into the Bible with Bible Gateway online courses taught by leading scholars] Take a look: In the story of Jesus\u2019 birth, Matthew tells us that magi, or wise men, came from the east to visit him. [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bible Gateway Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BibleGateway\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-12-26T21:47:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-01-06T13:33:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/bg3-blog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/06094510\/magi.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@BibleGateway\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@BibleGateway\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Zondervan Academic\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Bible Gateway Blog\",\"description\":\"News and reflections from BibleGateway.com\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/\",\"name\":\"Who Were the Magi? - Bible Gateway Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-12-26T21:47:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-01-06T13:33:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2868dda48d0fb9f60828d0a0490089db\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Who Were the Magi?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2868dda48d0fb9f60828d0a0490089db\",\"name\":\"Zondervan Academic\",\"description\":\"The team behind Zondervan Academic, publisher of many popular Bible studies, textbooks, and reference works.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/author\/zondervanacademic\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Who Were the Magi? - Bible Gateway Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Who Were the Magi? - Bible Gateway Blog","og_description":"The Christmas carol is called We Three Kings, but they weren\u2019t kings, and there probably weren\u2019t three. [Go deeper into the Bible with Bible Gateway online courses taught by leading scholars] Take a look: In the story of Jesus\u2019 birth, Matthew tells us that magi, or wise men, came from the east to visit him. [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/","og_site_name":"Bible Gateway Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BibleGateway","article_published_time":"2017-12-26T21:47:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-01-06T13:33:07+00:00","twitter_card":"summary","twitter_image":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/bg3-blog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/06094510\/magi.jpg","twitter_creator":"@BibleGateway","twitter_site":"@BibleGateway","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Zondervan Academic","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/","name":"Bible Gateway Blog","description":"News and reflections from BibleGateway.com","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/","name":"Who Were the Magi? - Bible Gateway Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2017-12-26T21:47:39+00:00","dateModified":"2022-01-06T13:33:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2868dda48d0fb9f60828d0a0490089db"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/who-were-the-magi\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Who Were the Magi?"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2868dda48d0fb9f60828d0a0490089db","name":"Zondervan Academic","description":"The team behind Zondervan Academic, publisher of many popular Bible studies, textbooks, and reference works.","url":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/author\/zondervanacademic\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34149"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34149"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65440,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34149\/revisions\/65440"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}