The story of the three wise men is in Matthew 2. Men from the east follow a star to Jerusalem, ask where the newborn King of the Jews is, and are sent on to Bethlehem. There they find the child with Mary his mother, give him gold, frankincense and myrrh, and go home by another way. Read it below, then try the quiz at the end.
Wise men in Jerusalem
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.”
When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ would be born.
Born in Bethlehem
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet, ‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah: for out of you shall come a governor, who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’”
Herod’s secret meeting
Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.”
The star of Bethlehem
They, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
Key verse · Matthew 2:10
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Being warned in a dream that they shouldn’t return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.
World English Bible · public domain ·Read all of Matthew 2
About this passage
Matthew calls the visitors magoi, the word behind “magi”. The Greek historian Herodotus uses it for a priestly class among the Medes and Persians, men who read omens and interpreted the king’s dreams. By Matthew’s day the word covered learned men across the East who studied the stars.
Matthew says only that they came from the east. He does not call them kings and does not name them. Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar are names the church gave them centuries later. Readers have guessed at Persia, Babylon or Arabia. Justin Martyr, writing in the second century, said they came from Arabia, and two of their gifts grew there.
The number three comes from tradition too. Matthew counts the gifts, not the men. Gold was a gift fit for a king, frankincense was burned in worship, and myrrh was an expensive spice used in burial.
Myrrh appears again at the end of the Gospels, when Nicodemus brings myrrh and aloes for the body of Jesus (John 19:39). Many readers have seen the gifts as hints of who the child would be.
Christmas cards put the wise men at the manger, but Matthew has them come into a house (Matthew 2:11).
Nobody knows what the star was. The best-known idea goes back to Johannes Kepler, who linked it to a rare triple meeting of Jupiter and Saturn in 7 BC. Others have suggested a comet or a nova. None of them fits Matthew’s account perfectly, because he describes a star that went ahead of the travellers and stopped over one house (Matthew 2:9).
Later Herod has the boys of Bethlehem killed, from two years old and under, according to the time he learned from the wise men (Matthew 2:16). That points to a visit some time after the birth, so the shepherds of Luke 2 and the wise men probably never stood in the same room.
The wise men make a long journey to worship a child they know of only through a star. Herod hears the same news and is troubled. The chief priests and scribes know from Micah where the Messiah will be born, and Matthew says nothing of any of them going to Bethlehem, a few miles down the road.
The Three Wise Men quiz · 8 questions
1 / 8
Matthew 2 · Bible quiz
Where did the wise men come from?
Choose one answer.
Answer · Matthew 2:1
From the east. Matthew says wise men came from the east to Jerusalem. He does not name their country.
“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,”
How did the chief priests and scribes know where the Christ would be born?
Choose one answer.
Answer · Matthew 2:5-6
They read it in the prophets. They quoted the prophet: “You Bethlehem, land of Judah… out of you shall come a governor.” The words are from Micah 5:2.
“And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.”
Find the child and report back so he could worship too. Herod told them to search carefully and bring word, saying he wanted to come and worship the child as well.
“And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.”
What did the star do when the wise men left Jerusalem?
Choose one answer.
Answer · Matthew 2:9
It went before them and stopped over where the child was. The star they had seen in the east went before them until it stood over the place where the young child was.
“When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.”
In a house, with Mary his mother. They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary his mother.
“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”
They were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod. They were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, so they went back to their own country another way.
“And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.”
Matthew does not say. He lists three gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh (Matthew 2:11), and tradition turned three gifts into three men.
What were the names of the three wise men?
The Bible does not name them. Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar are names from later church tradition, not from Matthew.
When did the wise men visit Jesus?
Some time after the birth. Matthew says they came into the house and found the young child with his mother (Matthew 2:11), and Herod’s order about boys two years old and under (Matthew 2:16) suggests months rather than days. Matthew does not put them at the manger.
What are gold, frankincense and myrrh?
Frankincense and myrrh are dried tree resins from southern Arabia and the Horn of Africa. Frankincense gives a sweet smoke when burned and was used in worship. Myrrh is bitter and fragrant and was used in perfume and burial. With gold, they were gifts fit for a king. Matthew does not explain them, but many readers see in them a king, worship and the death of Jesus.
Written and checked against the text by Random Bible. Last reviewed October 13, 2026.
