Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,
▸Two pieces of spatiotemporal information are presented: 'in the days of Herod the king' (historical context) and 'Bethlehem of Judea' (geographical context).
Two pieces of spatiotemporal information are presented: 'in the days of Herod the king' (historical context) and 'Bethlehem of Judea' (geographical context). Herod the Great was the Roman-appointed king of Judea who reigned from 37–4 BC, and Jesus' birth falls in the final years of his reign. The 'wise men (μάγοι, magi)' refers to a group of astronomers, astrologers, and philosophers from Mesopotamia or Persia; the Bible does not specify their number (the tradition of three comes from the three gifts). Their first destination being Jerusalem reflects the natural expectation that a king would reside in the capital.