men or magi (NIV) arrived in Jerusalem. Magi is a Latin rendering of the word magoi in the Greek text. Referring originally to a priestly caste among the Medes and Persians, the term magoi became an umbrella word to refer to a wide range of persons who exercised special religious or occult powers: astrologers, fortune-tellers, dream-interpreters, sorcerers, magicians, and others (cf. Daniel 1:20; 2:2; Acts 8:9–24; 13:6–11). Interestingly, the first-century Jewish author Philo refers to Balaam as