How many wise men came to see Jesus?

Q. How many wise men were there that came looking for Jesus?

The Bible doesn’t tell us how many there were. Matthew says in his account simply that “wise men from the east came to Jerusalem” and asked where the newborn king was. After that he just calls them “the wise men” or refers to them as “they” and “them.”

Traditionally it has been considered that there were three wise men because the Bible describes how they brought three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It’s possible that there were three and that each one brought one of these gifts separately. But it’s also possible that there were more than three and that each one brought one or more of the gifts listed.

The names Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior attributed to the “three wise men” reflect later tradition. As I said, the Bible doesn’t tell us how many there were, and it doesn’t tell us any of their names.

Author: Christopher R Smith

The Rev. Dr. Christopher R. Smith is an an ordained minister, a writer, and a biblical scholar. He was active in parish and student ministry for twenty-five years. He was a consulting editor to the International Bible Society (now Biblica) for The Books of the Bible, an edition of the New International Version (NIV) that presents the biblical books according to their natural literary outlines, without chapters and verses. His Understanding the Books of the Bible study guide series is keyed to this format. He was also a consultant to Tyndale House for the Immerse Bible, an edition of the New Living Translation (NLT) that similarly presents the Scriptures in their natural literary forms, without chapters and verses or section headings. He has a B.A. from Harvard in English and American Literature and Language, a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Gordon-Conwell, and a Ph.D. in the History of Christian Life and Thought, with a minor concentration in Bible, from Boston College, in the joint program with Andover Newton Theological School. View all posts by Christopher R Smith

One thought on “How many wise men came to see Jesus?”