Becker was born in Husum, the son of principal Gottfried Becker (1600–1652) by his first wife Elisabeth Ehrenreich (died 1645). He apprenticed as a pharmacist in Flensburg from 1655 and stayed there for six years. He then went on a study trip to Türol but returned to Denmark in 1664 where he stayed with his brother in Odense for about a year. He then went on another study trip to Germany, Italy and Vienna.
