Were the wise men wise

Answer 1

One view

In a literal sense, the "Three Wise Men" are stars in Orion's Belt which appear to "follow" the sun. On December 24th, they line up with Sirius (aka the Star in the East), and point to the sun rise on December 25th. Thus it was deduced that at Christmas, the Three Wise Men followed the Star in the East to where the Sun/Son rose.

The Christian story is based on this astronomical observation, but I'm not sure what the personified "Three Wise Men" actually do in The Bible or why those people are wise, nor if the authors felt the need to go into such detail.

Another view

The Bible says the '3 wise men' were men from the east, not stars in the sky. They were philosophers / priests. The Greek word is magos - a sorcerer, wise man.

It was the star in the East that somehow made them aware of the birth of a king, whom they came to worship. Possibly they were familiar with OT prophecies concerning the Messiah's arrival.

They were wise because they recognised the sign (a star) and acted.

They were astrologers, which required a type of education, and therefore, they were considered wise.

Answer 2

A:While English translations of Matthew's Gospel usually refer to 'wise men', the original Greek referred to magoi (Latin: magi, sing. magus). The magoi or magi were priests of the Zoroastrian religion of the Persian people and were known throughout the Near East for their wisdom and knowledge.

The Zoroastrian religion had long prophesied a Saoshyant who would be born of a virgin and would come to earth to lead the last fight against evil. The author of Matthew's Gospel was drawing a parallel with Jesus, as well as seeking to show that even the priests of this great religion would want to come and worship Jesus.

Answer 3

They were called the three wise king because they were very wise and they were clever about stuff. for example they figured that they shouldn't tell the king where jesus was. That'z how they r wise.

Answer 4

The wise men in Matthew's Gospel were magoi (Latin: magi), which is also translated from the original Greek into English as 'magi'. The magi were priests of the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda ('Wise Lord') of the Persians. These priests were also renowned in the ancient Near East for their wisdom and learning, so it became common to refer to the magi in Matthew's Gospel as wise men.