Magi

[Tellyontellyon]

The Bible doesn't say much about the Magi... Where did these wise men come from? What religion were they? What was the source of their knowledge and wisdom?

 

[( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]

They were disciples of the prophet Daniel. Well, not directly. But the knowledge of wisdom they carried originally came from Daniel anyway.

 

[Tolworth John]

The Bible doesn't say much about the Magi... Where did these wise men come from? What religion were they? What was the source of their knowledge and wisdom?

Interesting question and the most common belief about them has already been posted.

Daniel a new taken by the Babylonians into captivity and educated to work in there civil service. He rose to be the third ruler in the empire while also living as a devout Jew.
You can read about him in the book of Daniel in the Old Testament.
He had several supe natural experiences with the emperor and his wise men/magicians.

So it is feasable that his influence lasted and resulted in the wise men from the east coming to mark the birth of Jesus.

 

[Francis Earl]

A Magi is a Zoroastrian priest...

They were known to be experts in astrology and astronomy... so it is why they are made significant in finding Jesus.

 

[Francis Earl]

They were disciples of the prophet Daniel. Well, not directly. But the knowledge of wisdom they carried originally came from Daniel anyway.

Why do you think this?

What is your evidence?

 

[Francis Earl]

Interesting question and the most common belief about them has already been posted.

Daniel a new taken by the Babylonians into captivity and educated to work in there civil service. He rose to be the third ruler in the empire while also living as a devout Jew.
You can read about him in the book of Daniel in the Old Testament.
He had several supe natural experiences with the emperor and his wise men/magicians.

So it is feasable that his influence lasted and resulted in the wise men from the east coming to mark the birth of Jesus.

If the Magi are already there and were passing wisdom to Daniel, why is it suggested they originate with him?

 

[Francis Earl]

Indeed, I was just touching on how hugely Judaism morphed after exile and Daniel is one of the frontrunners in this process...

Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu gave the Christians their God vs Satan paradigm, while the Zoroastrians are also the first to convey any sort of end times prophecy as we see them today... the reality is the God of the Jews prior was truly all powerful as seen in Isaiah 45:7 ... this whole power struggle aspect is borrowed entirely.

 

[Tree of Life]

Likely came from Persia. Probably paganistic in their religion - perhaps they had some Jewish influence from Jews still living in Persia and from the time of the Jewish exile in Babylon. Somehow God chose to speak to them through astronomy of all things.

 

[tampasteve]

As was said, we believe they were Magi, Zoroastrians from Persia. They are significant as they would be the first Gentiles to acknowledge the kingship of the Messiach Yeshua. They were likely familiar with the Jewish faith and prophesies based on the Jewish presence that remained in parts of Persia.

 

[Francis Earl]

As was said, we believe they were Magi, Zoroastrians from Persia. They are significant as they would be the first Gentiles to acknowledge the kingship of the Messiach Yeshua. They were likely familiar with the Jewish faith and prophesies based on the Jewish presence that remained in parts of Persia.

This perspective is actually erroneous...

Isaiah 44:28 refers to Cyrus as the Messiah and seems to be the catalyst for accepting Zoroastrian notions...

Isaiah 45:1 is even more explicit because he is called the anointed one... which is the translation of Messiah or Christ.

Certainly, we are to see the Jews place Cyrus in a very high place, and it has already been pointed out that Daniel got his wisdom from Zoroastrians which was the faith of Cyrus.

Of course, Alexander would topple Cyrus' offspring, and the message of Jesus echoes the Hellenistic culture more in many ways, along with the Egyptian which he also conquered.

I find all this interesting, but a strictly biblical interpretation is somewhat flawed.

 

[Andrewn]

I agree with previous posts that the magi are Zoroastrian priests.

But for the sake of presenting all theories, there is a common Western / Catholic and Protestant belief that considers the magi to be 3 kings from the east. This tradition even gives them names:

Encyclopædia Britannica[25] states: "according to Western church tradition, Balthasar is often represented as a king of Arabia, Melchior as a king of Persia, and Gaspar as a king of India."

In Eastern Christianity, especially the Syriac churches, the Magi often number twelve.[4]

Biblical Magi - Wikipedia

 

[tampasteve]

This perspective is actually erroneous...

Isaiah 44:28 refers to Cyrus as the Messiah and seems to be the catalyst for accepting Zoroastrian notions...

Isaiah 45:1 is even more explicit because he is called the anointed one... which is the translation of Messiah or Christ.

Certainly, we are to see the Jews place Cyrus in a very high place, and it has already been pointed out that Daniel got his wisdom from Zoroastrians which was the faith of Cyrus.

Of course, Alexander would topple Cyrus' offspring, and the message of Jesus echoes the Hellenistic culture more in many ways, along with the Egyptian which he also conquered.

I find all this interesting, but a strictly biblical interpretation is somewhat flawed.

What is erroneous about what I wrote? Cyrus was a Messiah, there have been many. But he is not the Messiach - Messiach ben David. The sages tell us that there is a Messiah in every generation, including the past. Saul was Messiach, David was Messiach, Solomon was Messiach, Judah Maccabees was Messiach.

There is no doubt that the Jewish people and scriptures show Zoroastrian and Canaanite influences. I certainly do not use a strictly Biblical interpretation of history or the scriptures. Being Messianic I probably accept far more extra-Biblical material than many mainstream Christians.

 

[UnpopularOpinion]

The Bible doesn't say much about the Magi... Where did these wise men come from? What religion were they? What was the source of their knowledge and wisdom?

Saved people , believed in the prophecy of Messiah comming and knew the timing which makes is kinda funny that gentile knew it while Pharisees ought to knew it but deny it lol

 

[Sketcher]

If the Magi are already there and were passing wisdom to Daniel, why is it suggested they originate with him?

I'm not seeing a suggestion in there that Daniel started the Magi, but I do see a suggestion that he had influence within their ranks that was remembered after he died.

 

[JackRT]

A "Magus" (singular) is a priest of the Zoroastrian faith centered in ancient Persia. Magi is the plural form. The Jews did not originally believe in devils but they picked up this concept during the Babylonian Exile from the Persians who followed Zoroastrianism. The Zoroastrians believed in both a god of good (Ahura-Mazda) and a god of evil (Ahrulman) engaged in a cosmic struggle. The Jews picked up and ran with this idea. It was easy to cast YHWH in the role of the God of good. They took also the angel ha'shaitan (Satan) in the book of Job and recast that character as Satan the near divine force of evil. Up to that time, their concept of God was of a being responsible for everything, both good and evil. Isaiah 45:”7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.” is just one quote that demonstrates this. The Jews never connected Satan to the serpent in the Garden of Eden. It was the second-century Christian martyr, Justin of Samaria, who was first to argue that Satan appeared as a serpent to tempt Adam and Eve to disobey God. It was also the third-century Christian philosopher Origen of Alexandria who was the first to suggest that Lucifer actually was Satan or the devil. To most modern Christians, the concept of the Devil is a conflation of the serpent of Genesis, the Lucifer of Isaiah and the Satan of Job. This conflation is further supplemented by lurid medieval fiction like Dante's "Inferno".

 

[Andrewn]

It was the second-century Christian martyr, Justin of Samaria, who was first to argue that Satan appeared as a serpent to tempt Adam and Eve to disobey God.

I find this statement unlikely bec, in the book of Revelation, the Satan / Dragon is clearly said to be the same as the ancient serpent:

Rev 20:2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

What would the ancient serpent be other than the one who tempted Adam & Eve?