Featured The Magi: Who were They?

Disciples of Daniel

 

Hey Tom, as usual I find your post stirring me to review, rethink, and research. Some random comments:

As Aaron pointed out no mention made of anyone other than these Magi that actually saw the star. It seems the Magi knew 'when' the King of the Jews was to appear but not 'where':

2 Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we saw his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
7 Then Herod privily called the Wise-men, and learned of them exactly what time the star appeared.

But the Sanhedrin knew 'where':

4 And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written through the prophet,

...a mere 5-6 miles away.

Excellent point! That would explain:

3 And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

...or Balaam's donkey, to name another. Definitely 'condescending'.

These commentary excerpts contain a lot of agreement with you concerning this passage:
http://biblehub.com/commentaries/numbers/24-17.htm

I don't doubt the passage also applies to Herod, descendent of Essau, but how was Herod also of Moabite stock?

[add]

Not nitpicking, but:

11 And they came into the house and saw the young child with Mary his mother; and they fell down and worshipped him; and opening their treasures they offered unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the Wise-men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the male children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had exactly learned of the Wise-men.

Christ was probably a toddler when the Magi finally arrived. It was the shepherds that worshipped Him at His birth.

 

"Christ was probably a toddler when the Magi finally arrived. It was the shepherds that worshipped Him at His birth."

"Probably a toddler" seems most likely, but I cannot be dogmatic. The time of star's appearance in the East is indeterminate; we almost always assume it was at the moment of Christ's birth, but scripture does not demand that timing, IMO. Then we don't know how long the journey of the magi took, nor how much extra slaughter was ordered by a paranoid and immoral Herod to ensure that the child would be eliminated.
I'm confident that the magi arrived sometime after Jesus was presented at the temple and met Simeon and Anna, but that confidence is based on human logic, not on any specific Bible verses.

 

What cinched it for you?