Word study · Greek
magos
magus, wise man
Say it: MAH-goss (approximate)
μάγος
What it means
Originally a priestly class among the Medes and Persians. By the first century the word covered experts in stars, dreams, and hidden knowledge, and could also mean a sorcerer. Matthew doesn't say how many came or that they were kings; those ideas came later.
Open question Debated
Who exactly the visitors were, and whether they came from Persia, Babylon, or Arabia, is debated.
Range of meaning
- Persian priest-scholarA member of the Magian class.
- Astrologer or dream-readerSomeone who interprets signs in the sky.
- MagicianA negative sense, as in Acts 13.
In Matthew
- Chapter 2
The visitors from the east (2:1, 2:7, 2:16).
Every verse (3)
Verses where G3097 is tagged in the Hebrew text: STEPBible Data (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0. About our sources