1 After Jesus had been born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the time of King Herod, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying. 2 “Where is the one born as the King of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising* and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1-2)
Word Focus
magi
μάɣοι / magoi
<Hear It>
Most people are familiar with the story of the three wise men who visited the baby Jesus. Several modern translations of the Bible call these men magi rather than wise men. They came from somewhere east of Jerusalem – perhaps Arabia, Babylon or Persia. The Gospel of Matthew is the only Gospel that records the visit by the magi. Click here to read the full account by Matthew in the Blue Letter Bible.
The Greek word μάɣοι (plural of μάɣος / magos <Hear It>), which is translated magi or wise men, refers to members of a priestly caste who studied astrology and the magic arts and supposedly possessed special knowledge to interpret dreams and predict the future. Apparently the magi who visited Jesus learned of his birth through their astrological studies for they “saw his star at its rising.”
How long and far did they travel? Scholars can only guess since Matthew simply says they came “from the East”. Assuming that they started from somewhere in Arabia, Babylon or Persia, the distance would be between 400 to 1200 miles. This would have taken 1 to 5 months.
For these particular magi, what they learned was not simply head knowledge – they travelled a long distance to pay homage and present expensive gifts to Jesus. They understood the significance of the star and acted appropriately. This is in contrast to the local religious scholars who knew the Old Testament predictions of a coming king and were troubled by the news from the magi. They did not even bother to go to Bethlehem to investigate, about a 5 mile trip. As Matthew says:
3When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, along with everyone in Jerusalem. 4After assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he was inquiring of them where the Messiah would be born. 5“In Bethlehem in Judah,” they told him, “For this is what is written through the prophet.” (Matthew 2:3-5)
Here are a couple of interesting points regarding the visit of the Magi. Matthew does not tell us how many magi visited Jesus. Tradition says there were three , but this idea probably comes from the mention of three gifts – gold, frankincense and myrrh. Since the word magi is plural, we know there were at least two.
Matthew also does not mention camels, which are usually included in nativity creches, pictures in books, or depictions in movies. Camels were used as pack animals during the time of Jesus, so the magi may have used camels. However, horses were also commonly used for travel.
*Note. See ἀνατολή <Hear It> in A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (BDAG), page 74, category 1. In the context of Matthew 2:2 the word refers to the upward movement of celestial bodies (i.e., rising) rather than a geographical direction (i.e., East).
Word Focus Lexicon
Lexical Form: ὁ μάɣος μάɣου <Hear It>
Gloss: magi, wise man, magician
Part of Speech: Second Declension Masculine Noun
New Testament Frequency: 6
Strong’s Number: G3097 (Link to Blue Letter Bible Lexicon)
Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation
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