Biblical Magi Italian "presepio" or Nativity crèche. Further reading Biblical Magi The biblical Magi ( or ; singular: magus), also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, were, in the Gospel of Matthew and Christian tradition, a group of distinguished foreigners who visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They are regular figures in traditional accounts of the nativity celebrations of Christmas and are an important part of Christian tradition. Matthew is the only of the four canonical gospels to mention the Magi. Matthew reports that they came "from the east" to worship the
Biblical Magi learned from their earlier meeting. The star which they followed has traditionally become known as the Star of Bethlehem. The Magi are popularly referred to as "wise men" and "kings". The word "magi" is the plural of Latin "magus", borrowed from Greek μάγος "magos", as used in the original Greek text of the Gospel of Matthew ("μάγοι"). Greek "magos" itself is derived from Old Persian "maguŝ" from the Avestan "magâunô", i.e., the religious caste into which Zoroaster was born (see Yasna 33.7: "ýâ sruyê parê magâunô" = "so I can be heard beyond Magi"). The term refers to the Persian