Wise men

Wise men in Scripture appear in two distinct senses. In the Old Testament, particularly in Daniel 2:12, "wise men" (chakamin) designates the class of royal counsellors and diviners at the Babylonian court — a profession that included astrologers, Chaldeans, soothsayers, and enchanters whose esoteric knowledge was employed in interpreting omens and advising the king. When Nebuchadnezzar demanded that they tell him his dream without being told what it was, they failed, and Daniel alone succeeded through divine revelation. In the New Testament, the Magi (Greek magoi, translated "wise men" in Matthew 2:1–12) were Gentile scholars from the east — likely Mesopotamia or Persia — who observed a star signifying the birth of the King of the Jews and came to worship him. The number of Magi is not given in Matthew (the tradition of three derives from the number of gifts). Their coming fulfilled prophetic types of Gentiles bringing tribute to Israel's king (Isaiah 60:3, 6; Psalm 72:10–11).