Who were the Magi?

On the wall of the temple was an inscription about Balaam the prophet, the same character that we know from the book of Numbers. The angels announcing the birth of the Messiah to the shepherds and the wise men following the star to the little town of Bethlehem where they found the Son of God lying in a manger. 

But there's a lot more to the story. What led the wise men to follow a Jewish prophecy? 

Few Saw The Signs 

The birth of a baby -- a small event that became the turning point in world history. 2,000 years ago, the Messiah arrived on earth, but only a few people saw the signs. 

"Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East." 

Matthew 2:2 

The only people who see the sign in the stars of the night are the people who are looking for it. The ones who saw the sign were wise men from the East. Their search for the King of the Jews brought them to the palace of Herod the Great. 

The irony of course, is that they have seen a star that they associate with the rising of a King over Jacob and this takes us back to the book of Numbers, chapter 24 and the prophecy of Balaam the prophet 

So who exactly were the wise men who called on King Herod? Where did they come from? And why did they seem to know Jewish prophecy better than the Jews? 

3000-Year-Old Inscription Discovered 

The answers may lie in a 3,000-year-old inscription discovered in Jordan. In 1967, archaeologists found the remains of an ancient temple in a village called Deir Alla. 

Balaam, the son of Beor. visited by an angel and scolded by a donkey. A freelance prophet hired to curse the nation of Israel. 

But instead, he prophesied the coming of the Jewish messiah by the star of Jacob. 

"A star shall come out of Jacob; a scepter shall rise out of Israel."

Numbers 24:17  

Only small fragments of the Balaam inscription have survived. It's written in Aramaic and it reveals a vision of judgment from the gods of Canaan. 

"[It's] totally different context archaeologically with a story about him that is not the biblical story of the Dead Sea Scrolls. 

"But it shows us that his reputation as a professional foreteller or prophet was known throughout the eastern Jordan or Trans-Jordan." 

Balaam is one of the few Old Testament prophets with archaeological proof of his existence. 

"I think it's just exciting. "It lends plausibility in one sense to Matthew's story, because the people who are familiar with Balaam's prophecies are people who are coming from that side of the Jordan River." 

Herod's Secret Meeting With The Wise Men 

Balaam's prophecy led the wise men to look for a star and the star led them first to Jerusalem. 

The tower of David -- the spot where Herod's palace once stood. A place historians have called wondrous beyond words. 

It was here that Herod summoned the wise men to a secret meeting.