Kings bring gifts
The Old Testament
May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him.
Psalm 72:11
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In the New Testament
On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
Matthew 2:11
BSB
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Read the full text (12 verses)
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles bring presents, the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts; all kings fall down before him. In Isaiah: nations come to your light, kings to the brightness of your rising; from Sheba they come with gold and incense.
Matthew doesn't quote these texts, but his story of the wise men from the east with gold, frankincense and myrrh clearly echoes them. Psalm 72 is a royal psalm; Isaiah 60 describes a restored Jerusalem to which the nations come. From these texts grew the tradition that the wise men were 'kings'. Matthew calls them magi, astronomers, and doesn't say there were three; that number comes from the three gifts. Myrrh, which is missing in Isaiah, was also used to embalm the dead (compare John 19:39).