The three wise men

greymare

greymare

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please pardon my ignorance, but I want to know where the three wise men came from. I only have a Good news bible for reference and I think its a childs version. Were they from real countries? Where are those countries now? For some reason, Ive always thought that they were arab looking men. this may be from all those school nativity scenes. I dont want to offend anyone but my questions are very basic but I think, thats because that is essentially what I dont understand. The basics. I need to see it put before me. I understand the basics of Jesus' birth and all that but the things that I need to fill in the gaps for me is unfortunately going to be up to you guys. What was the real significance of the gifts, if there were any??? I look forward to your replies......

love the Grey
 
If I take my logic guess... lol... I would say Persia.... (That's Iran now, btw.) Although!£$"! The Babylonias liked to follow the stars... But, I'd like to go with "disneyland" as my answer... As it would fit in better with the fantasy :D
 
Where the wise men were from is upto conjecture as is how many there were!

We think three as three gifts are mentioned but three wise men are never mentioned. In the Hindu tradition there are references of men leaving from India to see the baby Jesus.

As for the gifts they are a trinity of sorts and can represent:

Body, Mind, Spirit

Solid, Liquid, Gas

King, Teacher, Saviour

Richness, Beauty, Eternity of Spirit

Love, Compassion, Caring

All in all they represent that which is beyond affordable, gifts beyond comprehension...
 
Well, from what I've read over the years there were from three to twelve wise men and they came from the "east". I would have to agree with 17th here, and based upon what I've found, that they were from Persia and furthermore followed the beliefs of Zoroaster.

flow....:)
 
flowperson said:
Well, from what I've read over the years there were from three to twelve wise men and they came from the "east". I would have to agree with 17th here, and based upon what I've found, that they were from Persia and furthermore followed the beliefs of Zoroaster.

flow....:)
Click to expand...

*nods* There is alot to back that up be it three, nine, twenty or seventeen wisemen..... Alright team!!!! High Five!!! *high fives flow*
 
certainly a culture in the east at that time that had libraries of reference; with knowledge of astronomy, religion, mathematics, and geography, etc.
 
Jews were not the only believers in God at the time of Jesus birth.
The prophet Jonah for example preached to the city of Ninevah long before
The jews in captivity in persia would have had a profound impact on
men of wisdom. Remember scrolls and almost everything of value had been
carried off. Like us they would have been able to read most of the scrolls written in chaldean (sp) and I assume some must have been interested in prophecy.
On a side note they were they leaders in knowledge astronomy Navigation and recuring events played out in the heavens.
(from wikki)
Abu Mahmud Hamid ibn al-Khidr Al-Khujandi was a Persian (Tajik) astronomer and mathematician who lived in the late 10th century and helped build an observatory near in what is now Ray, Iran near Tehran. He was born in Khudzhand (now Tajikistan) about 940 and died in 1000.
The first sextant was constructed in Ray, Iran, by Abu-Mahmud al-Khujandi in 994.[1]l
The first sextant was constructed in Ray, Iran, by Abu-Mahmud al-Khujandi in 994.[1]
this of course is much later than our wisemen but shows the interest in astronomy was and had been in the area where we suppose our wise men came from.
I would love to know what writings the used if any to tell them to look for a sign.
So many question great to study takes you more than just a little book covered in black leather to answer and yet leads you back to it all at the same time:)
 
magi are talked about in the bible in daniel and other places, historically they are ancient peoples with knowledge of astronomy, mathematics, etc. that worked with kings and princes from babylon thru the roman empire. so saying they are from the east is a little vague since the empires reached pretty far, i guess one could figure it out by how long it takes to reach Bethlehem by camel.
 
I think you would be finding the origins of Job as well as the religion of
Abrahams Priest Melwhateverdec. :p

Due to political and other reasons western archeologists dont get to dig arround everywhere they would like to.

Would be interesting to find a written record of their journey on an old scroll somehwere in a library in Iran. Doubtful but then again finding the dead sea scrolls was never expected.
 
The "three" wise men(as someone above mentioned the Bible doesn't give a number) were Zoroastrians from Persia.
 
Contrary to popular belief, the Magi first arrived, not in Bethlehem, but in Jerusalem, after Jesus was born. They were not present at the time of Jesus’ birth. Later, when they went to Bethlehem, the Bible says that "when they went into the house they saw the young child." (Matthew 2:1, 11) So, it is clear that by the time the Magi visited Jesus, his family had moved into a normal dwelling. They did not find him lying in a manger.
 
"MYTH The ‘three wise men’ and the shepherds all did obeisance to Jesus as he lay in his manger. Whoever draws those cute nativity scenes showing the shepherds and the wise men together in the stable doesn’t read their Bible too well.
 
"Matthew’s gospel clearly states that when the ‘wise men’ did find Jesus, he was by this time in a house—and just as well, as it was probably a good two years after he was born.
 
Those Magi were actually astrologers from the east. (Matt. 2:1, 2, NW; NE) Although astrology is popular among many people today, the practice is strongly disapproved in the Bible. Would God have led to the newborn Jesus persons whose practices He condemned?​
Matthew 2:1-16 shows that the star led the astrologers first to King Herod and then to Jesus and that Herod then sought to have Jesus killed. No mention is made that anyone other than the astrologers saw the "star." After they left, Jehovah’s angel warned Joseph to flee to Egypt to safeguard the child. Was that "star" a sign from God or was it from someone who was seeking to have God’s Son destroyed?
Who were the "wise men"? In nativity scenes, prominently displayed at this time of year, three "wise men," kings, are shown bringing gifts to the babe Jesus in a manger. But the Bible does not say that these men were kings; they were pagan astrologers. "A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture," page 856, acknowledges: "The Magi (D[ouay] V[ersion] ‘wise men’) were originally a Median priestly tribe of clairvoyants. . . . The term later became general . . . for astrologers, sorcerers, etc. of all nationalities." Did you know that?
 
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