We continue by looking at the Star of Bethlehem.
I do not know about you, but I have always had questions about the Star. Was it for real? Did God put it there by a miracle or was it a natural phenomenon? For years this subject has puzzled me.
During my research for this subject, I found the long-desired answers. Just in the recent years have scientists been able to provide additional data to prove that the Star was indeed real and as to how it could be exactly how that we have read in Matthew 2.
Much of this you can read for yourself, and I will give you my sources for your own research, should you desire to look for yourself.
Here is the website where I obtained for this work:
http://www.bethlehemstar.net. I have chosen to the information from this website because it is a compilation of many other resources. I now have some of these resources
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and have checked them against the information on the website.
They have not used the KJV in their scriptural references while most of their resources have. Therefore, whenever scriptural references are given, I have used the KJV. You can also do your own research as well and I encourage you too.
The nine points of Christ’s star
Working from the Biblical account in Matthew, unpacking it verse by verse, we can compile a list of nine qualities which must be present before any celestial phenomena could be considered to be the Biblical Star of Bethlehem. If any qualification is missing, then we will assume we haven’t found our Star.
All of the following verses come from the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 2. To begin, we see again how important the date of Herod’s death is to the investigation. If Herod died in 4 BC, then Christ had to be born before that year. But if Herod died in 1 BC, as the best evidence indicates, then we should look at the years 2 and 3 BC.
Who are these magi? The word, ‘magi,’ which is sometimes translated ‘wise men,’ is the root from which we get our word
‘magic.’ This doesn’t make them all magicians, in the present sense of the word. Some of them were learned men in general, who studied the physical world and were knowledgeable about many things, including the stars.
Magi were often court astronomers who were consulted by the rulers of the day for guidance in affairs of state. This was also true in much earlier times. For example, during the
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Babylonian captivity of the Jews, some 500 years earlier, King Nebuchadnezzar kept a stable of court magi.
Nebuchadnezzar made the Jewish prophet Daniel Chief Magus of his court when Daniel was able to interpret a dream the other magi could not (1). There were magi of various schools, and some were more respected than others. We know something of a particularly prestigious school of magi from the writings of Philo.
(1) The Book of Daniel, Chapter 2
Philo was a Jewish philosopher and contemporary of Jesus who lived in the large Jewish community of Alexandria, Egypt.
Philo wrote in praise of an Eastern school of magi and their great learning and understanding of the natural world (2). This school may have descended from the Babylonian magi of Daniel’s day.
(2) Says Philo at QUOD OMN. PROB. (74): “Among the Persians there is a body of the Magi, who, investigating the works of nature for the purpose of becoming acquainted with the truth, do at their leisure become initiated themselves and initiate others in the divine virtues by very clear explanations.”
Matthew does report that the Wise Men were from the East, and Babylon is east of Judea. It was at one time part of the Persian Empire, which ties in with Philo. So, it is possible the Wise Men were of this prestigious Eastern school. This would account for Herod giving them an audience, and for his strong reaction to the news they brought.
The Magis’ question gives us three points for our list of qualifications for the Star. Whatever happened in the sky indicated,
1) birth,
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3) Jews.
It also gives us a clue about the Magi. They were interested in things Jewish.
This raises a question for me: Is it possible that these Magi were actually Jews? We know that they were very influenced by Daniel but were they also Jews? Remember Daniel’s three companions, they were also Jews as well as many of the others taken from Jerusalem.
When the wise men said, “we saw his star in the east,” they didn’t mean “we saw his star while we were in the East.” The Greek text here says the Star was “en anatole,” meaning they saw his star rising in the east. That’s what all but polar stars do, because of the rotation of the Earth. Stars rise in the east, but not all celestial objects do that.
So, that’s another qualification for the Star: 4) it must rise in the east like most other stars. The motive of the Magi in coming to Jerusalem tells us a great deal more about them.
They wanted to worship a Jewish king.
It can’t be proven from the text, but it is quite possible that some of the Magi were of Jewish descent, perhaps a Jewish remnant from Daniel’s day. This would help explain why a Jewish philosopher, Philo, would admire them, why they were watching the sky for things Jewish, why they wanted to worship a Jewish king, and why they were taken so seriously by Herod and Jewish chief priests. If they were not Jews, then they must have been most impressive magi indeed, as Jews of the time were deeply disdainful of pagans and their beliefs (3).
(3) Tacitus, The Histories, Book V: “…among themselves [the Jews] are inflexibly honest and ever ready to show compassion, though they regard the rest of mankind with all the hatred of enemies.”
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You must know more to understand just how very troubled Herod and Jerusalem became at the Magi’s’ news. Historians tell us that respect for the stars and guidance derived from them was at a peak (4). Both ancient historians and the Bible make it clear that the Jews of this period expected a new Jewish ruler to arise, based upon Jewish prophecy (5). And it was accepted that the stars could announce such an arrival.
(4) As examples, Suetonius reports in De Vida Caesarum: Tiberius (LXIX) that Tiberius Caesar, who reigned at the time of Christ’s birth, was “addicted” to astrology. Tacitus reports in The Histories (Book II) that Emperor Vespasian kept a personal astrologer, Seleucus, and that his troops were familiar with celestial signs. See also, Martin, at footnote 11.
(5) Tacitus, The Histories (Book V), writes: “…most [of the Jews] firmly believed that their ancient priestly writings contained the prophecy that this was the very time when the East should grow strong and that men starting from Judea should possess the world.“In De Vita Caesarum: Divus Vespasian, Suetonius records that
“[t]here had spread over all the Orient an old and established belief that it was fated at that time for men coming from Judaea to rule the world. “He goes on to say that Vespasian was so concerned with this prophecy of the Christ that he attempted to exterminate the entire Davidic family line—even helpless old men were killed.
Josephus appears not to have believed the prophecy, but he records that it had great influence on others. In Wars (6.5.4), he even states his belief that the prediction was the cause of the first Jewish War against the Romans. “But now, what did most elevate [the Jews] in undertaking this war was an ambiguous oracle that was also found in their sacred writings, how ‘about that time, one from their own country should become governor of the habitable earth.’ The Jews took this prediction to belong to themselves in particular, and many of the wise men were thereby deceived in their determination.”
The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were plainly on the lookout for the Christ.
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John 1:14–27 14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 15John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is
preferred before me: for he was before me.
16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 18No man hath seen God at any time;
the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom
of the Father, he hath declared him. 19And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? 20And he confessed, and
denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
21And they asked him, What then? Art thou
Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. 22Then said
they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? 23He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. 24And they which were sent
were of the Pharisees. 25And they asked him,
and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then,
if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? 26John answered them, saying,
I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; 27He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me,
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whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
Upon meeting Jesus, Andrew immediately told others that he had found the Christ.
John 1:41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
Even the Samaritan woman at the well had this on her mind.
She told Jesus, “I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming.”
John 4:25 The woman saith unto him, I know
that Messias cometh, which is called Christ:
when he is come, he will tell us all things.
For example, about 60 years earlier, in 63 BC, magi made a presentation to the Roman Senate. They described celestial portents indicating that a new ruler had been born. Evidently regretting that news, the Senate responded by ordering the death of baby boys in the candidate age range (6).
(6) Suetonius, De Vita Caesarum: Divus Augustus (94), recounting the report of Julius Marathus. As some of their wives were pregnant at the time of the prediction, senators conspired to insure that the Senate’s decree was not recorded in the treasury. Each perhaps hoped that their unborn child might be the ruler-to-come. The decree was apparently not implemented widely, if at all.
Sound familiar? It turns out that when Herod ordered the slaughter of children in Bethlehem he may have been following a sort of Roman precedent. That precedent may be one reason Jerusalem was troubled at the news the Wise Men brought. Perhaps they realized the Romans might shed blood in response.
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Herod took the Magi’s’ message as factual, and consulted the Jewish experts about the location of the birth. The fateful verse in the Book of Micah which is quoted to Herod by the Jewish experts soon resulted in the death of many little boys in Bethlehem.
Another qualification for the Star:
5) It appeared at an exact time.
And yet another qualification:
6) Herod didn’t know when it appeared. He had to ask.
And now we have the last three qualifications for the Star: 7) It endured over a considerable period of time. The Magi saw it, perhaps from Babylon, traveled to Judea and saw it still.
8) It went ahead of them as they traveled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. You might not realize that this doesn’t mean the Star was needed to guide the travelers to Bethlehem.
Bethlehem was (and is) just five miles south of Jerusalem on the main road. They couldn’t miss it.
No, the Star appears ahead of them as they trek south not so much as a guide as a further confirmation of the signs they had seen. Lastly,
9) The Star stopped! Can a star do that? Yes, it can, as we shall see.
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What was the star?
We now know much about the Star. It signified birth. It signified kingship. It had a connection with the Jewish nation.
It rose in the east, like other stars. It appeared at a precise time. Herod didn’t know when it appeared.
It endured over time. It was ahead of the Magi as they went south from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. It stopped over Bethlehem.
Knowing these qualifications, we are in a position to disqualify most astronomical phenomena as being the Star. Remember that if any of the nine Biblical features of the Star is absent, then the phenomenon we are examining may be interesting, but isn’t likely the Biblical Star.
The website goes on to examine other heavenly bodies against the nine-point criteria that has been established. They examined whether it could be a comet, nova, or meteor. All of those were eliminated because they did not fit the criteria.
What’s left? If the Star wasn’t one of the spectacular astronomical objects we’ve examined, what’s left? Biblical qualification 6—that Herod had to ask when the Star appeared is a powerful clue.
Anyone can glance up and see planets and stars. That is the nature of things in the sky. But, apparently, one could look up at the Star without realizing it. Herod didn’t know of it. It took magi to explain it. But once the Star was pointed out, all Jerusalem went abuzz, and Herod jumped into murderous action.
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A reasonable hypothesis is that the Star must have been something in the normal night sky which was striking when explained. Did anything interesting happen in the ordinary night skies over the Middle East in 3 or 2 BC? Yes, indeed.
SOMETHING IN THE “NORMAL” NIGHT SKY which
was startling when explained....
Our process of elimination has knocked out meteors, comets, and novae as candidates. That leaves planets. A Coronation: How the Planet of Kings created a powerful visual effect that looked like a spectacular celestial dance.
The starry dance
JUPITER: The name of the greatest god of Roman mythology. And the name of the largest planet of our solar system. Jupiter has been known from ages-old to the present as the King Planet. This greatest of planets is a “gas giant,”
approximately eleven times the size of Earth and over 300
times more massive. It circles the Sun far beyond Earth, in an orbit of about twelve years duration.
In ancient times, planets like Jupiter were considered
“wandering stars.” Since humans have assigned kingly qualities to this giant wanderer for dozens of centuries, might it have something to do with our Star announcing the birth of a king? That will be our working theory. It’s not enough to have a kingly name and reputation, of course.
To be Matthew’s Star, Jupiter as viewed from Earth would have to do peculiar things. More precisely, as considered by a magus viewing from the Middle East during the years 3 and 2
BC, Jupiter’s movements would have to satisfy all nine identifying characteristics of the Star.
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In September of 3 BC at the time of the Jewish New Year, Rosh ha-Shanah, Jupiter began to do just that. A magus watching Jupiter that September saw two objects moving so close that they appeared to touch. This close approach of celestial bodies is sometimes called a ‘conjunction.’
Our Middle Eastern viewer saw Jupiter coming into a close conjunction with the star, Regulus. Regulus takes its name from the word root which yields our word ‘regal.’ The Babylonians called Regulus Sharu, which means ‘king.’ The Romans called Regulus Rex, which means ‘king.’
So, to start things, at the beginning of the new Jewish year, the Planet of Kings met the Star of Kings. This conjunction may have indicated kingship in a forceful way to a Babylonian magus (satisfying one qualification for the Star), but would it have startled him? Probably not.
Jupiter’s royal dance
Jupiter glides slowly past Regulus about every 12 years. Let’s assume our magus enjoyed a 50-year career, say from age 20
to age 70. We don’t know how old the Magi were, but if our man was in the second half of his career, he might have seen such a pass two or three times before. Jupiter’s orbit wobbles relative to Regulus, so not every conjunction is as close as the one he saw in 3 BC. Perhaps our magus recorded this event with some interest, but it is hard to imagine great excitement.
Not from this alone. But, of course, there is more.
The planets move against the field of fixed stars. From Earth, they appear to be “active.” For example, were you to watch Jupiter each night for several weeks, you would see that it
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moves eastward through the starry field. Each night Jupiter rises in the east (satisfying a second Star qualification).
Each night it appears to be slightly farther east in the field of fixed stars. All of the planets move like this. But the wandering stars exhibit another, stranger motion. Periodically, they appear to reverse course and move backward through the other stars. This may seem odd, but the reason is simple enough: we watch the planets from a moving platform—
Earth—hurtling around the Sun in its own orbit.
When you pass a car on the freeway, it appears to go backward as it drops behind. For similar reasons, when the Earth in its orbit swings past another planet, that planet appears to move backward against the starry field.
Astronomers call this optical effect retrograde motion. In 3/2
BC, Jupiter’s retrograde wandering would have called for our magus’ full attention. After Jupiter and Regulus had their kingly encounter, Jupiter continued on its path through the star field. But then it entered retrograde. It “changed its mind”
and headed back to Regulus for a second conjunction. After this second pass it reversed course again for yet a third rendezvous with Regulus, a triple conjunction. A triple pass like this is more rare.
Over a period of months, our watching magus would have seen the Planet of Kings dance out a halo above the Star of Kings. A coronation.
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The Revealing Continued
Matthew 2:1-12