“…and Behold, the Star which they had seen in the East went before them…”
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That would, of course, be a reference to the biblical Star of Bethlehem. According to the Bible story, a “star” appeared and inspired the wise men, or “magi”, from the East to follow it to Jerusalem, where they met with King Herod. After that meeting, the magi followed the star to Bethlehem, where it led them to Christ. After they had worshiped Christ, they returned to their own country.
But was there an astronomical “star of Bethlehem”? Was there really something unusual visible in the sky at the time of Christ’s birth, as reported in the Gospel of Matthew (the other Gospels do not mention the Star of Bethlehem)? Was it a comet? A conjunction of planets? A supernova in Andromeda? An eclipse of Jupiter?
That’s a really, really hard question to answer.
First off, you need to figure out when Christ was born, and to do that, you need to figure out when King Herod died. I’ve read some compelling arguments placing the death of Herod in either 4 BC or 1 BC, placing the birth of Christ then in about 6 BC or 3 BC. According to Christian canon, the Star of Bethlehem appeared after the birth of Christ (between birth and two years of age), and before the death of King Herod. According to Josephus, King Herod died around 4 BC; however, there are some compelling arguments placing the death of King Herod later, around 1 BC or 1 AD.
What was the Star of Bethlehem? Comets can probably be ruled out because they were generally thought to be evil omens. A supernova in Andromeda should have been startling enough to have been remarked upon by other sources, most notably the Chinese. Many debating the question now believe the “star” to have been a conjunction of planets.
There were nine major conjunctions from 3 BC to 2 BC, but on August 11 – 12, 3 BC there was a conjunction of Venus and Jupiter which would have had great religious significance at the time. The conjunction took place in the constellation of Leo, near the star Regulus (the “king” star). Jupiter was the Babylonian “king” planet.
What’s really interesting about this event is that right afterward (on September 14, 3 BC) Jupiter came in conjunction with Regulus, moved past it, then appeared to stop and move backwards until it passed Regulus a second time on February 17th of 2 BC, then moved into conjunction with Regulus a third time on May 8th, 2 BC. This would have attracted some attention.
Following this, Jupiter again moved into conjunction with Venus (near Regulus) on June 17, 2 BC. They came so close together as to appear to the naked eye to be one shining light until they set in the west. As seen from Babylon, they would have set towards Jerusalem.
Image: Nick Strobel
One other interesting series of events occured beginning in late May of 7 BC with a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Pisces. Jupiter and Saturn came into conjunction again in Pisces in late September of 7 BC, and again in December of 7 BC. Following this, in late February, 6 BC, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars came into a rare triple conjunction in Pisces. As seen from Babylon, this triple conjunction would have appeared to set over Jerusalem (in the West). This series of conjunctions would have attracted some attention, too.
I know I have barely scratched the surface of this interesting exercise; and I know there are many, many theories about the Star of Bethlehem. Tell me, what do YOU think the Star of Bethlehem was?
If you have some reading time, this is a very well written and researched study of the date of Christ’s birth. It’s exhaustive, but extremely interesting, and presents some compelling arguments for placing King Herod’s death later than originally thought.
Bravo!
VERY good point about the comet theory too.
Mythology – nothing more.
Whatever meaning a group of people attach to the conjunctions may be considered mythology by another group, but the fact remains that the conjunctions did occur. They are not mythology, they are scientific fact.
Hi, nice article. My reply is a bit lengthy, so I wrote it in the form of a blog post myself. It’s here: http://bit.ly/6goJoP
All the best,
J.
You’ve put together an impressive amount of work here, Marian, and I appreciate your caution in suggesting a conclusion. I tend to be a bit more blunt, myself.
All in all, I think you’ll appreciate this link. In my view, the 1 BC suggestion causes far more problems than it supposedly solves. The “compelling” evidence is also inconsistent with a broader view of Josephus’ writings. Hoehner pointed out the Gaius objection; I’ve raised the Bethsaida point. There are others. Purim, for example.
Please understand I say this as a believer in Christ and the scriptures – the fact that no one but christian apologists are pushing the 1 BC date should give us great pause. Classical historians, again and again, have confirmed 4 BC on the balance of all evidence.
Judging by your interest, passion and rigorous investigations, you might enjoy perusing the rest of my thoughts on the Historical Nativity of Christ. At any rate, I’m thrilled to discover your blog, and I’ll look forward to more thorough posts like this one.
Grace & Peace.
Anyone read ” The Lost Symbol” “Chariot of the Gods” Very intereting theory ……
Jeroen and Bill – Thanks so much for the kind words and the interesting links. I was afraid the post was running a bit long as I was writing it, but it looks like everybody hung in there until the end!
Joan – I read “Chariot of the Gods?” way back in the very early 70s, and you’re right… it’s an interesting theory. “The Lost Symbol” (Dan Brown) is on my list of books to read. He’s a great author, is he not?
Very nicely done Marion.
The star of Bethlehem was real and the “star ” was actually only seen by the people God chose to see it. If the people who dont believe in it should study the story a little more.What ever it was I truely believe it was done by the will of God. That is just my belief.
Thanks
Trudy
Every couple of years, Venus is nicely placed to be a bright “evening star” at Christmas time (not this year, it looks like). I remember in my younger days knowing a family in the neighborhood where Venus was pointed out to the little ones as “the Christmas Star.” On the one hand, I cringe at the science (it’s just Venus!) and the history (any astrologer worth his horoscopes in 3 BC or whenever would have known Venus as a perfectly familiar object)… but on the other, it seemed like a nice little tradition.
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Original-Sun-of-God&id=93709
it’s all purely astrological. check the above link to see how it all fits together.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Counting-Down-to-Christmas-and-the-Birth-of-the-SUN—Oops-I-mean-SON&id=311566
and there’s another, more informative one.
Thanks, Marian. I enjoyed your article at my request and found it inclusive and enlightening. As I stated earlier, I’m sure the younger ones would be surprised to learn what I’ve known so long. That the ‘star’ was likely a conjunction, in popularly held quarters. Not a true, single star or the planet Venus.
Those who are more studious and familiar tend to want a more complicated explanation or one that requires pure faith. Since faith requires that we acknowlege God created the planets, well…
Patricia – I’m glad you enjoyed “your” post. It was fun to put together, so thanks for choosing it as your subject.
There will be a new riddle up Saturday, so drop in and pick another topic for me!
I enjoyed it as well. Nice job and nice choice for a search to post
Trudy