Are the three wise men actually in the bible? The ones present at Jesus' birth. Where were they from?

Answer 1

The wise men followed what they believed was a star that appeared at the time of Christ's birth. They didn't actually locate Jesus until he was around 2 years old. They actually ignored the star at the tail end of their journey and went to Jerusalem assuming a king would be in the palace at the capital. That is how king Herod found out about Jesus. As a result of king Herod's insecurity and panic, Herod ordered all little babies 2 years old and under to be killed. Joseph and Mary were warned about the massacre and fled to Egypt after the Magi left. Probably the gold, frankincense and myrrh that was given to Jesus helped them a great deal financially during this time. All the Bible says is that the Magi were from the East. Many scholars believe this meant somewhere in Asia, perhaps Chinese since the Chinese were observing heavenly bodies even at that early stage of history and had developed their belief system partially from the stars. The star in questions was likely an asteroid or other heavenly body that would have been moving through the sky at that point. It would have been moving very quickly but from earth it might have been visible for years depending on how it was moving across the heavens and its distance from earth.

Answer 2

I saw a show on the History Channel not too long ago (it repeats occasionally, so you might be able to catch it). An archeologist named Bob Bryar looked into the story of the three wise men. He pointed out that early pictures of them only showed them wearing certain type of hat, which was only worn in Persia. Also, Persians were very good astronomers, and believed in dream interpretations. They believed certain constellations and planets represented certain things. A computer programmer has constructed a program which shows that at the end of May, in 6 B.C., Jupitor, the king planet, entered the constellation which they associated with the Jews. They would have interpreted this to mean that a king of the Jews had been born, and gone to Jerusalem to find him. A strange thing about this was that Jupitor actually would have looked like it was travelling backward in the constellation at one point, so it could be that once they reached Jerusalem, Jupitor looked like it had turned, and it led them to Bethlehem. There is even a cathedral in Europe which claims to have the skulls of the three wise men. There is one picture of the back of the skulls, which Bryor had enlarged, and the fissures of the skull showed that the skulls were of an old man, a middle-aged man, and a young man. This would have fit with the early depictions of the wise men, so it's possible that they would be right.

The fact that Jupitor appeared in the constellation in May would fit with the Bible's story about Jesus' birth, but not the church tradition. December 25 was actually a Roman holiday that the church adopted as the date of Jesus' birth. But the Bible says the shepherds were grazing their flocks at night--they only do that in April and May.

Answer 3

The wise men appear in Matthew chapter 2. The actual number of wise men is not given in the Bible. The tradition of three wise men comes from the fact the Bible sayd they brought three gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh. They would have been members of royalty who came from the Babylon/Chaldea. What is modern day Iraq. When these men travelled, they took their servants, slaves, wives, children, soliders, etc. with them. The size of their party was large enough that when they rode into Jerusalem, it caused such a stir that the King (Herod the Great) got involved and invited them to the palace. So there were probably not 3, but closer to 3,000 people in the group.

They came following the star because of a prophecy that had been given by one of the members hundreds of years before in the time of Moses.

One of the "magi", as their group was called, had been hired to put ac curse on Moses and the Israelities to stop them from conquering the Promised Land of Canaan. But before Balaam could pronounce the curse, God stopped him and commanded him to speak a blessing instead. (You can read about him in Numbers chapter 22 if interested). Part of the blessing that Balaam spoke said that a star would appear out of Israel when the Messian was born. So 2000 years later, when the star appeared at the time of Christ's birth, the magi followed it to Bethlehem and presented their gifts.

It was after that Joseph, Mary and the child had to flee to Egypt for about 5 years to escape Herod. The money from the gifts was enough for them to live on for that time, and then to take them back to Nazareth where Joseph opened his carpentry business.

Answer 4

The magi/wise men were not present at Jesus birth, according to the Bible. They visited later. You will notice that the story does not mention the number of wise men; it is just cultural tradition that there were three.

Mat 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived unexpectedly in Jerusalem,
Mat 2:2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him."
Mat 2:3 When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
Mat 2:4 So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.
Mat 2:5 "In Bethlehem of Judea," they told him, "because this is what was written by the prophet:
Mat 2:6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah: because out of you will come a leader who will shepherd My people Israel."
Mat 2:7 Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared.
Mat 2:8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the child. When you find Him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship Him."
Mat 2:9 After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was--the star they had seen in the east! It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was.
Mat 2:10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed beyond measure.
Mat 2:11 Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Mat 2:12 And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.

Answer 5

There is no mention of how many wise men there were. They were from various regions of Asia, and they weren't there at the Birth of Jesus, They didn't arrive until some time later probably when Jesus was almost 2 years old. That is why King Herod Killed all male babies 2 years old and under

Answer 6

Yes, but no one knows how many, only that there were three types of gifts but no suggestion as to how many there actually were and they did not arrive until about two years later, it would have taken them that long to make the trip and the Bible tells us they were about two years, and they found Jesus in a house, not in the stable.

Answer 7

actual and who says there are 3. they're only men following the celebs who come from the East. 3 is often chosen because they convey 3 presents. yet they'd have divied up and with the sequence bought what they could have the funds for.

Answer 8

The three magi were from the city of Saba in Persia according to Marco Polo

Answer 9

Yes. They were from the EAST. And many consider them to have been astrologers. Since an astronomer wouldn't have
found any significance in a star.
I had a friend who was a Black minister. He used to talk about
three other famous men in the Bible.
Shadrach, Meschach, and A-bad-negro!

Answer 10

read it!

(Matthew 2:1-12)