Jesus: According to the bible, how many wise men were there?

When people think of a Bible question around the 3 wise men, they think it's about them being kings, because there are other references to this such as the carol "we three kings". The reason is the Bible doesn't say they were kings. What most don't realise is it also doesn't say how many there were. It seems history has somehow created this idea based on them bringing 3 gifts.

It gets worse - it doesn't even say they came to see him right after he was born. It only says they came to visit him as a baby, so it could have been up to a couple of years later. 

The first Christian Pilgrims

They were known as the Magi, and specifically described as foreigners. Of course every child who has taken part in a nativity play believes there were 3 wise men too, as they also belive in another larger-than-life figure at Christmas ;-)

Actually, in other writings the Magi usually number 12.