Jan. 4—Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying .Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw ...

The Gospels depict many of these interfaith connections. The first is here in the second chapter of Matthew, as the Magi—usually thought to be Babylonian or Persian astrologers, perhaps of the ...

Herod meets the Magi and immediately lies to them about wanting to worship this child. The first readers in Matthew’s time, and we today, know it’s a lie, even if the Magi did not.

Then comes the familiar story of the magi, the star of Bethlehem, the flight to Egypt, and Herod's slaughter of the innocents. About those magi. Nowhere does Matthew mention their names, or their ...

The other significant character in Matthew’s tale is King Herod, the local Judean ruler, a puppet of the Romans. Herod’s reaction to the magi’s visit is extreme, probably unhistorical, and ...

The Magi likely assumed that the newborn King would be related to the current king, so Herod’s surprise may have confused them. And Herod seems more than surprised; he seems threatened and agitated.

But the magi were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and so they left for their own country by another road” and were never heard from again (Matthew 2:12). Building a backstory ...

The Magi were troubled into action, too. They chased the star that didn’t make sense, halfway around the world, until they found the God of galaxies and peasants, and then they threw him a shower.

Tricked by the Magi, the wise men whom Herod had sent to determine where the infant was, a raging Herod decreed that all children 2 and under who live near Bethlehem are to be killed. The Gospel of ...

According to historical accounts, Herod the Great was the regional king of Judea, which contained the cities of Bethlehem and Jerusalem.He ruled from about 37 B.C.E. until his death in 4 B.C.E ...