Question: Do we know who the wise men were who came from the east, bringing gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the infant Jesus in Bethlehem?
Answer: Matthew alone tells the story of the wise men who came from the east or place of sunrise: “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” (Matthew 2:1–2).
Many have speculated that these men were Parthians who came from Persia. Directionally, however, Mesopotamia and even Persia were known as “north,” not east (see Isaiah 14:13, 31; Jeremiah 50). A possible place of origin, on the other hand, is Yemen, whose name also means “east” (teiman; Isaiah 43:5). It was rich in gold and was on the frankincense trail from Oman.
As Lehi’s trek out of Jerusalem followed the frankincense trail, and as his company rested for a season in Nahom, Yemen—today known as Nehem—it is highly likely they would have reported their visions of Jesus birth to the local Sabaeans in Yemen. Since King Solomon’s day, there had been good relations between Judea and Yemen, from whence also came the Queen of Sheba.
It is also possible these men were kings of nations who came to pay tribute to a God-King, as did ancient Near Eastern vassal kings to a reigning emperor—knowing that this “King of the Jews” would not be an ordinary ruler but one who came to establish his divine reign upon the whole earth. The source of these wise men’s knowledge, therefore, forms the key to who they were.