Hi Steve
I have really enjoyed your books and your web posts.
Can you please clarify this for me? There are bible teachers out there claiming that the Magi were Persian. If I recall correctly the Magi were the nobles in the Parthian empire from the tribe of Judah. Thank you for your continued updates on your websites.
Mark
Dear J. Kane,
I’m delighted to hear you enjoy reading my blogs and my books.
There were both Persian and Parthian Magi, but they were present in different time settings. The Persian Magi dominated when Persia was in power (during the Achaemenid dynasty which was ended by Alexander the Great and the Sassanian Persian Empire which followed the Parthian Empire). During the Parthian Empire’s dominance (roughly 250 BC-227 AD), the Persians were merely a subject province of Parthia. The Parthians, who were the ten tribes of Israel ruling over all their previous captors–just as Isaiah 14:2 prophesied would occur, had their own Magi who were not the Persian Magi. It was the Parthian (Israelite) Magi (also called the Wise Men) who visited the Christ-Child in Matthew 2.
Steve
