It is also quite conceivable that the wise men from the east were Jewish rabbis, anticipating the birth of the Messiah according to what Daniel was told to look for, when the conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Venus with the star Regulus, in the constellation Leo, would occur on the day of Trumpets (Revelation 12:1). At the time of Jesus’ birth, the largest Jewish population was not in Palestine but in Babylon, where they had been carried into exile by Nebuchadnezzar. Babylon is east of Palestine; and a “magi” or wise man is another expression for an astronomer. Daniel for example, who was named Belteshazzar, was regarded as one of the magi of his time. (Daniel 4:9).