Engraved-on-His-hands wrote:
“but one explanation, and perhaps the most likely one, was that they were astrologer-priests of the Zoroastrian religion.”
Most likely? I don’t think so. Why would you say that given that the book of Daniel provides us with a far more likely correlation?
There is no definite proof either way. The background given in Daniel is a definitely a possibility and is espoused by many. However, the phrase “wise men” or something roughly equivalent is found in several places in the Bible, not just Daniel (e.g., Pharoah summons wise men and sorcerers in Egypt in the book of Exodus). The word magi comes not only from the Greek word “magoi” but is derived ultimately from the Persian word “magus”, which referred to those priests of Zoroastrianism who studied the stars. As I said, there is no definite proof, but given a general reference, as we have in Matthew, it would seem to prompt one to the classic usage of the term first. I have no desire, however, to press my opinion as anything more than opinion.