How many Wisemen were there?
score:2
Accepted answer
The Biblical account does not specify the number of Magi. However tradition has set their number - three according to Western traditions, and twelve according to Eastern. The Western tradition is presumably derived from the number of gifts. The first record of names is in a 8th Century account of the story, so the number is established then or before. Context indicates the names may have been taken from an earlier account.
For more information see Encyclopedia Britannica.
Upvote:3
To my understanding of Scripture, it is fairly safe to assume there were at least three, since there are three differing gifts named, but as you said the Bible does not tell us exactly how many there were. Even the belief that there were three cannot be accurately determined since one of them may have brought more than one gift, or even all three.
As a matter of fact the word used in Matthew is:
μάγος magos
which can be either singular or plural depending on how it is used.
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