Who are the three magi (wiseman) who came from the East, followed a bright star to Bethlehem ?

Question

the identities of them is still a mystery? anyone know anything about them?

obviously they knew something way before Jesus was born, sounds bizzare isn't it?

Answer 1

Not identified.... Sometimes Scripture does that to let one know that who they are is of no great importance.... but what they have accomplished was......

It can be notied that as they came from the East, they were Chinese descent..... So too was Job.......


your sister,
Ginger

Answer 2

according to the Travels of Marco Polo (an unreliable source but good for looking up local legends), the Three Wise Men or Magi came from a town in Persia known as Kala Atashparastan, which, according to Marco Polo, means something like 'town of the fore worshippers'. The locals of the town told him a story about how the magi took specific gifts to Jesus to find out what kind of king he would be - if gold, an earthly king, if frankincense, a god, if myrhh, a healer. Jesus took them all and gave in return a casket, warning the three magi not to open it until they returned to Kala Atashparastan. When they returned, they opened the casket and all it contained was a rock (Jesus meant it to mean they should be firm as a rock in their new found faith. Well, anyway they decided they had no use for such a thing and threw it down a well. Instantly the rock touched the bottom a huge fireball appeared from the heavens and landed in the square, where, according to Polo, it was still burning when he got there. The inhabitants of the town now worship the fire as the true god.
Anyway, thats probably rubbish, but just thought i might throw it in. By the way, the Greek word for magic or magician is magos, and yes, magos came to be used for the practitioner and not just the practice, which was magas techne. this is hellenistic of course and herodotus uses the word to refer to the persian sect.
Oh before i finish, Marco Polo claims to have seen the graves of the three magi near modern day Saveh in Iran

Answer 3

The Scripture identifies them very well as a matter of fact.

"Magi from the East"....
While you might think this is obscure, it does in fact shed some light on them. 'Magi' was a very specific term that points to only one group, the Persian Magi of Bablyon (15 mi. south of Baghdad). The term was not used loosely, and the Magi themselves were very respected during this time as one of the founding "pillars of philosophy". There were only three other groups according to the Greeks "Mesopotamian Priests, Hindu Brahmins, and Druids".

Their names according the Roman Catholics are Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar (Basilica of St Apollinarius, Italy).
In Syria Christians call them Larvandad, Gushnasaph, and Hormisdas. The Syrian names are actual Persian names, but the authenticity is not verified for either.
The Syrian names mean the following;
Larvandad- "from the region of Lar" (Tehran)
Goushsaspah- "owner of many horses"
Hormazdas- "Angel of God" (the Gods name was Mazda)

The Gospels themselves do not name them, nor does it even give a number of Magi, only the 'primary gifts' are numbered.

So we have several members of a very important and well respected group traveling to the Palestine in search of a baby?
"Why ?" is the first question I asked myself 30 years ago.
The answer is possibly more simple than I thought.

Isaiah 6 and Psalm 72 both require the Messiah to be 'given gifts by Kings'.... Matthew did not write any of this down until the end of his life (Matthew was written after 70 C.E. 35 years after the crucifixion). Matthew DID re-write a few passages out of the Old Testament and changes certain words to make Jesus 'greater'. Micah 5:1-3 specifically were 'mis-translated' by Matthew who should have known better and therefore we believe he did it oin purpose.


A common and very accepted practice was to 'glorify' and 'embellish' the writings of the day to capture the imagination of the people. Readers were expected (just like today) to weed out the "Tabloid Crap" and read on into the text itself. We do not have that ability anymore because we no longer recognize "Tabloid Crap".

Imagine if the 2nd New Testament were to be written 75 years from now based on the writings of the "Daily Star"?

We would see chapters describing the "new millennial Messiah" being born simultaneously to a 3 foot tall bug-eyed alien and a 700 pound gorilla that speaks in obscure Latin. You and I recognize the Tabloids for what they are, and the fact that they are allowed to publish cartoons of every religious figure except one. 75 years from now they will not know the difference and 250 years from now they will likely think Allah and Mohammet are just bedtime horror stories because they'll never be able to find a picture of these boogeymen....

Answer 4

Their names are Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.

In Christian tradition the Magi, also known as the Three Wise Men, The Three Kings, or Kings from the east, are Zoroastrian judicial astrologers from Ancient Persia. The Gospel of Matthew states that they came "from the east to Jerusalem" to worship the Christ, "born King of the Jews". According to Matthew, they navigated by following a star which came to be known as the Star of Bethlehem. As they approached Jerusalem, Herod tried to trick them into revealing where Jesus was, so that he might be put to death. Upon finding Jesus, the Magi gave him an unspecified number of gifts, amongst which were three highly symbolic ones: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Because these three gifts were recorded, most believe there were three givers; however, the Scripture does not specify how many wise men came from the east.

Answer 5

The magi were powerful members of one of the two assemblies which elected Parthian monarchs and wielded great influence within the empire. One assembly was composed of members of the royal family (the Arsacids), and the other consisted of the priests (the Magi) and influential Parthians of non-royal blood (the Wise Men). The Magi and Wise Men were jointly known as the Megistanes. The Greek word translated "wise men" is "magian" literally meaning "Persian astronomer or priest". Parthia had long governed all Persian territory at the time of Christ, and the Wise Men cited in the Bible were clearly members of the Megistanes - very high Parthian officials.

The Gospel is written in the stars for anyone to read ever since.
http://www.cai.org/en/themesheets/category%20c/sc0155au.htm

Answer 6

When the so-called three wise men—who in fact were astrologers—visited, Jesus and his family were no longer living in a stable. Time had passed, and the family was living in a house. You will find it interesting to note this detail in the inspired record at Matthew 2:1, 11. You can also note that the Bible does not say how many astrologers there were.

Do not forget that God’s Word condemns astrology. (Isa. 47:13, 14) Remember, too, that the “star” seen by the astrologers led them first to wicked King Herod. Sending them to Bethlehem, he said: ‘Go make a careful search for the young child, and when you have found it report back to me, that I too may go and do it obeisance.’” The astrologers found the young child and “opened their treasures and presented it with gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” But they did not go back to Herod. “They were given divine warning in a dream not to return to Herod.”

God used an angel to warn Joseph of Herod’s intentions. Joseph and Mary then fled to Egypt with their son. Next, in an effort to eliminate the new King, cruel King Herod ordered the killing of boys in the Bethlehem area. Which boys? Those two years of age and under.—Matthew 2:1-16.

Do these facts point to God or to his adversary, Satan the Devil, as the source of that moving “star”? God did indeed announce the birth of his Son, but he did so by means of an angel.—Luke 2:8-12.

Answer 7

They are astrologers from the East who came to Jerusalem (Matthew 2:1-16), that was why they are looking for the star as a sign.

King Herod was very interested in this—but not with good intentions. "Sending them to Bethlehem, he said: 'Go make a careful search for the young child, and when you have found it report back to me, that I too may go and do it obeisance.'" The astrologers found the young child and "opened their treasures and presented it with gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh." But they did not go back to Herod. "They were given divine warning in a dream not to return to Herod." God used an angel to warn Joseph of Herod's intentions. Joseph and Mary then fled to Egypt with their son. Next, in an effort to eliminate the new King, cruel King Herod ordered the killing of boys in the Bethlehem area. Which boys? Those two years of age and under.

The visiting astrologers—however many of them there were—did not worship the true God. The Bible version La Nueva Biblia Latinoamérica (1989 Edition) states in a footnote: "The Magi were not kings, but fortune-tellers and priests of a pagan religion." They came in line with their knowledge of the stars to which they were devoted. Had God wanted to guide them to the young child, they would have been led to the exact place without needing to go first to Jerusalem and to Herod's palace. Later on, God did intervene to alter their course to protect the child.

With that, I ask, who do you think made them see the star...that led to the killings of young children?

Answer 8

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem ,

Matthew 2:1

bible say wise men. nothing said number three on than but wise men. 2 or more. not three. nothing said in the scriptures of exact number

Answer 9

They are commonly known as Caspar, Balthazar and Melchior, though these were more than likely not their names.

Also, the opinion of biblical scholars lately is that the Magi visited Jesus several years after his birth after they had left Bethlehem.

Answer 10

The Bible doesn't identify their number or names, but it does say that they were led to Jerusalem, but Bethlehem. Though they didn't know it, but their part of was not to witness the birth, but to notify Herod that it had taken place, so that the Christ child could be killed. It was Herod's advisers that said to look in Bethlehem. Fortunately, they were warned away, afterwords. As for the star, it led pagan believers to a person who wanted Christ dead, so I doubt it was sent by God. It was likely just a fallen angel up in the sky. Without our modern equipment, they would not have known the difference and Christ said they can appear as angels of light.

Answer 11

The Three Wise Men are given the names Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar in this late 6th century mosaic from the Basilica of St Apollinarius in Ravenna, Italy.