Were The 3 Wise Men That Came To Jesus Jewish?

Were The 3 Wise Men Jewish?

During times of meditation and prayer, you may find yourself asking questions about things you may read in the Holy Bible. For instance, since it’s Christmas time, I found myself thinking about the 3 wise men. Some call them kings, but there are several translations that you can pull from to get the right answer or established ideology. I grew up in a Protestant Church, so my idea was that there were 3 wise men. However, some call them Magi, others consider them kings. Whatever the case is, while using my Russian Prayer Beads in the morning, I started to consider who these guys were that would come from so far away to give gifts to Jesus, and what about the whole Christmas narrative. While I can’t answer it all, I was lead to investigate a little.

Were The 3 Wise Men Islamic?

My first thought was that the 3 Wise Men my have been Islamic. They came from the East, the Bible says, so perhaps they were coming through with a faith that would turn into Islam as we know it. However, scholars and historians have isolated that idea and called it false. Suffice to say, the 3 Wise Men were NOT Muslim. However, considering the current global climate, people would lose their collective minds if this turned out to be true, right?

Were The 3 Wise Men Jewish?

My next thought while praying with my beads was that the 3 Wise Men were in fact Jewish. Could they have been Jewish? For this answer, you may want to head back to 1 Kings 10. The queen came to Solomon bearing gifts, and some scholars note that gold and other things were amidst them. With that in mind, it has been written that the kings of Yemen were in fact Jewish. So if there was to be born a “king of the Jews” it’s not too outside of the realm of the possibilities that they would’ve wanted to see whether or not this new born king was in fact something even more grand than Solomon. Matthew denotes that in the gospel 12:42.

The Truth of The 3 Wise Men

All thoughts aside of the religious ideas of the 3 Wise Men, it’s important to understand what the most concise ideologies about them are. What I found is that scholars of the Russian Orthodox Faith as well as those that study monolithic dialogue and things of Christendom will likely state, “Zoroastrian influenced astrologers in the court of the Kingdoms of Nabatea and Sheba who brought rich gifts of diplomatic significance to the newborn King of the Jews” (Longenecker), and that right there is where things get complex. I won’t get into Zoroastrian right now, but it’s a religion that focuses on the astral bodies, and monotheism, but it’s a bit more complex than I want to get into this moment.

Maybe They Were Chinese!

Even after all of this thought and prayer into the topic, you'll find that some even claim that the 3 Wise Men didn't come from too near East, but rather China. That's right Chinese Wise Men! Now that's something to really explore, and it seems to line up with the letter of the scriptures, if in fact they came far from the East. Now that's something to explore deeper.

With that in mind, as you use Russian Prayer Beads, or simply pray, read the Bible and learn more about the Christian faith as a whole, consider that the 3 Wise Men story is a part of the Nativity for a reason. It holds deep meaning around this time of year, so it’s interesting to explore these ideas, and really set our eyes to The Lord.

Acknowledgement

Longenecker Father Dwight Longenecker. "We Three Kings" Who were the Magi?" Our Sunday Visitor Newsweekly (The Catholic Answer) (November 1, 2014).

Further Reading:

“The Origins of Christmas” by Joseph F. Kelly PhD (paperback)

“The Christmas Encyclopedia” by William D. Crump (paperback)