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Although traditionally the three wise men are called Caspar, Melchior and Balthazzar The Bible does not give their names. It does not even say that there were three of them. The idea that there were three comes from the fact that they brought three gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh. However, this is pure speculation, and the names of the wise men was a much later invention. So, it is impossible to say which one gave which gift, as the liklihood is that there were not even three of them. Most likely there were many more than three, as in those days people tended to travel in larger groups for security against bandits. It is likely, though again not mentioned in the Bible, that the wise men came from the Middle East such as Iran or Iraq, but this again is speculation that comes from the idea that they had seen the star of Bethlehem from the east suggesting that they came from those parts. In Luke's gospel, the news of Jesus' birth was first given to Jewish shepherds - the lowliest profession in those days - symbolising that Jesus came, not for the rich and famous, but for the poor. The real message of the wise men, as told by Matthew in his gospel, was that Jesus came for everyone, both Jew (as described in Luke's gospel) and gentile, as the wise men were foreigners.

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16y ago

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