Adoration of the Magi with Alfie the Elf, by Litvinov Oleg Arkad’yevich.

You will notice Babylon in the background. It is widely agreed by scholars that the wise men – the magi – were from Babylon. If you read the book of Daniel in the Bible, you will see that Daniel, a Jew, was made the head of the wise men by King Nebuchadnezzar during the Babylonian captivity.

During this time, Daniel foretold the coming of the Messiah in a specific number of “weeks” of years. He spoke of 70 “weeks,” 490 years in all. This is why the wise men knew exactly when to begin looking for the sign of the Messiah. Daniel, their most famous leader, had left them detailed instructions many centuries earlier.

Daniel ch 9, verse 25: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and sixty two weeks.”

– Indy Beagle

NOTE: If you are a math nerd and want to go deep down a whole other rabbit hole, be aware that there are two interpretations of the “70th week” spoken of by Daniel. One of these contends that the 70th week is in the future: some say it is the 7-year Great Tribulation foretold by John in the Book of Revelation. The second view argues that the 70th week has already been fulfilled.

Me? I don’t care. My interest is satisfied in knowing (1.) who the wise men (wise-ards, wisards) were, and (2.) how they knew when to scour the skies for a sign of the Messiah. – Indianus Beaglus