3 Wise Men - or More?

 

THE BIBLE NEVER SAID THERE WERE 3 WISE MEN 

What if I told you that the phrase "3 wise men" is not found in the Bible?

We all grew up calling them, "3 wise men", yet a majority of us who claim to stick to what the Bible teaches have never really questioned if they were actually three in number.

Matthew is, in fact, the only Evangelist that mentions the, "wise men from the East", particularly in Mtt. 2:1 - 12, and in that passage, Matthew calls them "μάγοι" (magoi in Greek) from the East. Now, the Greek term "magoi" is plural, which tells us only one thing with certainty: they were more than one. The text never gives a number; it deliberately leaves the number undefined.

The idea of three came later, drawn from the three gifts mentioned: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. However, Scripture does not say one gift per person..., it is possible that 2 persons could bring 3 gifts or even 10 persons could equally bring 3 gifts. The connection of 3 gifts with, "3 wise men" is traditional, not biblical.

Also, they were also not called kings in the Gospel. Matthew presents them as learned figures from the East, likely priestly scholars or astrologer-sages. The language of kingship comes from later Christian interpretation, especially through Old Testament imagery, not from Matthew himself.

Interestingly, early Christian traditions were not unanimous about their number. Some Eastern (Orthodox) Christian sources, including Syriac traditions, speak of 12 magoi (that is, 12 "wise men"), and early Christian art sometimes shows 2, 4, or more figures. The number was clearly not fixed in the earliest reception of the text.

Thus, the idea of three wise men belongs to The Latin Curch's tradition, not to the biblical text itself. Scripture never gives their number; the tradition arose naturally from the mention of three gifts and was carried forward through preaching, liturgy, art, and popular devotion. Over time, what began as an interpretive assumption settled into common Christian imagination. 

But this, "3 wise men" concept goes a long way to show how the traditions of the Catholic Church influence general biblical knowledge across most Christian denominations. Recognizing this does not weaken our faith but strengthens an honest reading of Scripture and a mature understanding of how Tradition works within the Church. In short, fidelity begins by letting the text speak on its own terms, then tradition fills in what Scripture leaves open.

However, the thing that mattw most isn't the number of "wise men," but what they represnt: the world of non-Jews acknowledging Christs kingship, when the Jews did not. 

In short, they foreshadow all the Gentiles whom Christ would ultimately come to save.

Liturgically and theologically, that is the Epiphany itself, when Christ was revealed as a human man to the nations, sought by outsiders, welcomed by those considered far from Israel.

Shalom!

RevFr Chinaka Mbaeri, OSJ