Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judaea, in the days of Herod* the King, behold, there came wise men [magi]** from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him. When Herod the king heard of this he was disturbed and so was all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where the Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem in Judea; For thus it is written by the prophets [Micah 5], ... Then Herod when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search diligently for the young child, and when ye have found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship him also. When they heard the king, they departed; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
That is all! They are not mentioned in any other book of the Bible. We do not know how many there were, what their names were, where they were from, or what happened to them after they returned to their own country. Just when did they visit the Child? When did they become known as kings and when as saints? Why was Jesus, who was born in a stable***, now in a house? All these questions were answered later, sometimes centuries later, and usually in several versions. For all of this, see the article The Magi in History and Legend.
* Probably Herod the Great who died
until 4 BC, but there were several other Herods.
** 'Wise men' is used in this version instead of the original 'magi' which was thought to have connotations of magic. The magi were actually a priestly caste, from what is now Iran, who were trained astronomers and therefore interested in any unusual star. Modern translations do tend to called them astronomers.
*** According to Luke the child was laid in a manger, a trough for holding animal feed which would therefore be in a stable.Return to Amahl Home Page
Revised November 2007
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