How far did wise men travel?

Answer 1

Matthew's gospel says that they came from the east. We don't know where this was, but it is reasonable to assume that it could have been Persia, if not India or even China as some traditions have it. The distance from the ancient city of Susa in Persia to Jerusalem is about 765 miles, so it easily could have been 800 miles or more! (The same term for wise men is used in the book of Daniel when Daniel was in Babylon and in Susa.)

Upon their arrival in Jerusalem they inquired of the king (Herod) where the baby would be born. Herod, a jealous and insane man, subsequently ordered all baby boys under age two in Bethlehem to be killed. Since the wise men started traveling when they saw the star and assuming the star appeared at the date of the birth, then they had been traveling for probably less than two years.

Assuming the wise men traveled on camels (we don't actually know), then a distance of 800 miles or so could actually have been covered more quickly than you might think. A 30 mile per day average might be a little high, but even assuming 10 miles per day (easily covered by walking) you end up with only 80 days of actual travel. It seems likely they traveled at that pace or faster and then rested and enjoyed hospitality for a while along the way when they arrived in cities. They could have made the trip in a few months, but they may well have traveled at a more leisurely pace and taken longer.

Answer 2

Before we can answer the question, first, we must know where the three wise men came from. Matthew: "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem, saying: Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the East, and are come to worship him" (ii, 1, 2). By the "East" was meant Persia or India, and from one of these countries the Magi are popularly supposed to have come. Justin Martyr says: "When a star rose in heaven at the time of his birth, as is recorded in the 'Memoirs' of his Apostles, the Magi from Arabia, recognizing the sign by this, came and worshiped him" (Dialogues, cvi). If they came from Arabia, as this Christian father declares, they came not from the East, but from the South.

Answer 3

The short answer is no-one knows. Depending on who you believe, they may have travelled from Babylon, Egypt, Arabia or Yemen. There's also some circumstantial evidence they came from Kashmere.

Answer 4

The Gospel According to St Matthew refers to magi coming to visit the baby Jesus. The magi were priests of the Zoroastrian religion but since the Zoroastrian connection is no longer important, most English Bibles now call them 'wise men'.

Zoroastrianism was based in Persia, but had a major presence in Babylon. The assumption is that they would have travelled from at least Babylon, although John Shelby Spong (Born of a Woman: A Bishop Rethinks the Birth of Jesus) says that among people he knows in New Testament circles, the universal assumption is that the magi were not actual people and that Matthew was writing Christian midrash.

Answer 5

First, The Bible never says how many wise men there were. They brought three different types of gifts (gold, frankincense and myrrh), but there is no reason to believe there were only three wise men.

The route they took depends partly on where they started. But coming from the east they likely would travel the Fertile Crescent and come south from Damascus following the trade route to Jerusalem. From there Herod sent them to Bethlehem because Micah's prophecy said he would be born there. But in truth Herod had no idea where the King was. The account in Matthew 2 says that they headed for Bethlehem and then saw the star again and followed it to where the Child was. Since Bethlehem is only about 5 miles south of Jerusalem it seems unlikely Jesus would have been so close to the danger of Herod's soldiers. Also, seeing as the wise men were likely escorted by many thousands of cavalry, if they had been as nearby as Bethlehem Herod would have known immediately when they left to go home by another route, scarcely giving Joseph time to get out of Dodge.

My guess: Joseph and family were in Hebron visiting Zacharias and Elizabeth when the wise men found them. The alternate route then took them south out of Judea and Herod's jurisdiction through Beer-sheba and eventually to the east of the Dead Sea, up the King's Highway to Damascus, and back home via the Fertile Crescent. Just my guess. You can have your own guess.

Answer 6

That is uncertain, it is also unlikely there were only three (the number comes from the number of gifts not the number of men), however it is most likely they were priests of the Zoroastrian religion so they most likely traveled from somewhere in Persia.

Answer 7

it is unbeknownst to me.

Answer 8

800 miles