Uploaded December 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
There are many false traditions about the wise men. First the only place we find this story is in the book of Matthew and is only 12 verses? We assume there were 3 Wise men based on the number of gifts given but in reality it doesn’t say how many wise men and it is likely there were more, perhaps 12 or more with an entourage of servants and others. The Greek for Wise men is Magi meaning “a member of a priestly caste of ancient Persia.”. The tradition of calling them “kings” comes around the 3rd century and in the 8th century, they were given names and territories. While camels likely would have been used as part of the caravan, high class citizens may have ridden Arabian horses themselves. The New Testament is clear that only the Wise men saw the star, not even the shepherds. The Wise men didn’t actually follow the star to Jerusalem from the east but rather they knew the prophecy of the messiah who would be born in Jerusalem when the star appeared. But they did follow the star once in Jerusalem to find the savior. The wise men wouldn’t have visited Jesus in the manger as it likely would have taken months or years to make the journey from the east once the star appeared.
There are many false traditions about the wise men. First the only place we find this story is in the book of Matthew and is only 12 verses? We assume there were 3 Wise men based on the number of gifts given but in reality it doesn’t say how many wise men and it is likely there were more, perhaps 12 or more with an entourage of servants and others. The Greek for Wise men is Magi meaning “a member of a priestly caste of ancient Persia.”. The tradition of calling them “kings” comes around the 3rd century and in the 8th century, they were given names and territories. While camels likely would have been used as part of the caravan, high class citizens may have ridden Arabian horses themselves. The New Testament is clear that only the Wise men saw the star, not even the shepherds. The Wise men didn’t actually follow the star to Jerusalem from the east but rather they knew the prophecy of the messiah who would be born in Jerusalem when the star appeared. But they did follow the star once in Jerusalem to find the savior. The wise men wouldn’t have visited Jesus in the manger as it likely would have taken months or years to make the journey from the east once the star appeared.
