Why do people say there were 3 wisemen? There were 3 gifts, we do not know how many men were travelling?
We know they were travelling together, and that three gifts were given:Gold,Frankincense,and Myrrh.
So why do we assume that there were three men?
Thank you in advance for all of your answers
Tradition says that there were three and that their names were Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, but since the Bible does not say, we have no way of knowing whether the tradition is accurate.
It is a common misconception that the wise men visited Jesus at the stable on the night of His birth. In fact, the wise men came days, months, or possibly even years later. That is why Matthew 2:11 says the wise men visited and worshiped Jesus in a house, not at the stable.
January 22nd, 2010 at 11:05 pm
Like everything else about this fable. They make it up as they go along. It kind of reminds me of the night before Christmas rhyme. You can change that around a bit to for some very amusing alternate endings.
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January 22nd, 2010 at 11:35 pm
everything in the bible is true, it says so in the bible
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January 22nd, 2010 at 11:43 pm
Exactly right. Matthew only mentions "Magi" (not kings or wise men – magi were Zoroastrian astrologers) and doesn’t say how many there are. It is just popular tradition that as there were three gifts, it is assumed that they brought one each.
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January 23rd, 2010 at 12:07 am
How are you sure they travelled together…it says they followed a star, it doesn’t say that they all arrived at the same time O_o…mhmm
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January 23rd, 2010 at 12:42 am
Oh no! They did it. They finally did it! The atheists have disproven the existence of the Biblical God! My whole world is crumbling!!!
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January 23rd, 2010 at 1:28 am
Actually there is n reason to believe that there were only three gifts. There very well may have been several gifts of gold,or frankincense and myrrh. It is because people don’t really read their Bibles. It is the same mistake they make when they place the wise men in the stable. It never happened.
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January 23rd, 2010 at 2:18 am
Christian tradition, based on the account of 3 gifts. See the first paragraph here – and notice that it is sourced.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_magi
Jim, http://www.bible-reviews.com
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January 23rd, 2010 at 2:48 am
We can’t be sre about anything in the bible.Just dont worry about it.
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January 23rd, 2010 at 3:16 am
Probably for the same reason people have 3 wise men coming to the manger in the nativity scene to offer these gifts even though the bible clearly tells us they must have come a few years later because 1st they came into the house and 2nd it says Jesus was a young child….lies
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January 23rd, 2010 at 3:30 am
It’s a Pagan stem. The three stars in Orion’s belt are representative of "the three wisemen." The star in the East that summoned them to the manger (supposedly) is Sirius, which only directly aligns with the stars in the belt on Christmas Eve.
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Atheist, but I do my research.
January 23rd, 2010 at 4:17 am
Tradition says that there were three and that their names were Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, but since the Bible does not say, we have no way of knowing whether the tradition is accurate.
It is a common misconception that the wise men visited Jesus at the stable on the night of His birth. In fact, the wise men came days, months, or possibly even years later. That is why Matthew 2:11 says the wise men visited and worshiped Jesus in a house, not at the stable.
References :