In his record of Jesus’ birth, Matthew reports that magi from the East came to Jerusalem looking for the newborn king, because they had seen His star. Bible versions have translated the Greek word, magos, used in this verse in different ways. Most translate it as ‘wise men’. The Message translates it as scholars. J.B. Philips translates the word as astrologers. The New American Standard Version uses Magi, with this footnote, “A caste of educated men specializing in astronomy, astrology, and natural science.” They were an interesting group and Wikipedia provides this definition of the magi: Magi (/ˈmeɪdʒaɪ/; singular magus/ˈmeɪɡəs/; from Latinmagus) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word magi is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription. Old Persian texts, predating the Hellenistic period, refer to a magus as a Zurvanic, and presumably Zoroastrian, priest. Thayer’s Greek dictionary adds that they were also influential advisors to the Kings of Babylon and Persia: 1a) the name …