Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
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Theophylact of Ochrid
AD 1107
It is said that these Magi were descendants of Balaam the soothsayer; and that when they discovered Balaam’s oracle, "A star shall arise out of Jacob" (Num. 24:17), they understood the mystery concerning Christ, and so they came desiring to see Him that had been born. "For we have seen His star in the east." When you hear "star," do not think that it was a star such as we see, but a divine and angelic power that appeared in the form of a star. The Magi were astrologers, and so the Lord used what was familiar to them to draw them to Himself. In the same manner, the Lord astonished Peter the fisherman by the multitude of fish which he caught by the name of Christ. That the star was an angelic power is apparent from the fact that it shone even by day, and that it moved as they moved, and stood still as they rested; also, that it moved from Persia in the north to Jerusalem in the south. For a star never moves from north to south. "And are come to worship Him." These Magi are seen to possess great virtue. For if they came to worship Christ in a strange land, how much more would they preach Him with great boldness in Persia?
