The Star of Bethlehem
Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, ”Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him”… and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
Matthew Chapter 2, the Bible, King James Version
We have heard the story of the Christmas Star, the Star of Bethlehem, since we were old enough to sit upon our parent’s knee. But what really was the Christmas Star? This has been debated for thousands of years by many more than three wise men. Not being a biblical scholar, I cannot answer the question; however, I can present a few of the myriad theories. But first, a short story.
I was born in Jackson, TN on August 6, 1950. Eleven years prior, on August 6, 1939, Monroe Dunaway Anderson (yes that M. D. Anderson) died. He was born in Jackson, TN on June 29, 1873. One hundred years later, on June 29, 1973, the M. D. Anderson Foundation dedicated a Planetarium at Lambuth College, a small Methodist liberal arts institution in Jackson. Shortly after coming back to live in Jackson in 1994, I discovered this little gem. I attended several of their presentations, but the most memorable and most fascinating was a presentation of “The Christmas Star”. I had been interested in astronomy from a young age.
(I remember one year, as Christmas approached and Venus was dominant in the western sky as the Evening Star, I thought it was the Star of Bethlehem.) The following contains some of the theories presented in that program.The Three Wise Men, or Magi, are generally accepted to be priests of Zoroastrianism, one of the world’s oldest practicing religions. They dwelt in ancient Persia, today eastern Iran, and were followers of Zoroastra, also known as Zarathustra. (You might recognize him as the inspiration for the theme song from 2001, A Space Odyssey, Also Sprach Zarathustra (or Thus Spoke Zarathustra).) The Magi used astrological events to measure historical and calendrical time. So it is not a coincidence that they were the Magi of the Bible.
Before we go looking for astrological or astronomical phenomena that might have been the Star, we first must determine approximately when Jesus was born. I know one thing for sure – he was not born on December 25th in the year 0. First, there is no year 0 in the Judeo-Christian calendar. The number zero had just been invented (discovered? fabricated?) by the Arabs and was yet to catch on in the Roman world. As for the date, the Book of Luke says that there were "shepherds biding in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night". According to Jewish custom, the flocks would not be in the fields during winter because of the cold. And based on Biblical information, including the known dates of the reign and death of Herod, most biblical scholars place Jesus' birth at between 6 and 4 BC.
Some have surmised that the Star was a Shooting Star, or meteorite. However, these are fleeting occurrences lasting at best minutes and would not make a very lasting guiding light. So the shooting star can be discarded.
One of the first theories proposed was that the Star was a Supernova, the explosion of a distant star. Generally a supernova brightens over a few months’ time and then fades over the next few years. So such an event would qualify. However, no Western accounts record such an event in the appropriate time period.
And though the Chinese records do contain a mention of a potential candidate, no remnant of such a supernova has been found to substantiate it. (For a science fiction short story from my childhood regarding this phenomenon, read The Star by Arthur C. Clarke. Published in 1955, it won the Hugo Award (the highest award in sci-fi) in 1956. You can find an on-line version here. Though I read it in my early teens, I have always held it close to my heart.)Candidate number two is a Comet. The Christmas Star is frequently shown in classical paintings as a comet and, like the Supernova, it appears in the sky and continues to be visible for several months. Unlike a supernova that remains stationary, a comet moves across the heavens which fits the interpretation of the Scriptures. Ho Peng-Yoke, a Chinese historian of science, reports a comet in mid-March of 5 BC in Capricorn, the constellation that signifies rebirth. Comets in ancient times were seen as portents, heralding either good or bad news that had happened or was about to happen.
While Supernovae and Comets would have generally been seen by any casual observer of the night sky, only true stargazers, as were the Magi, were aware of the more subtle apparitions in the heavens. And the Star is mentioned in the New Testament only as related to the Magi. We should keep in mind that, to the Magi, the term Star did not limit itself to an actual star but also included complex heavenly configurations. So now we must investigate further. Keep in mind that, no matter how convoluted some of these observations may seem, they were readily apparent to the Magi.
One such astronomical phenomenon is a “Heliacal Rising”. This occurs when a star which has spent the season behind the sun (thus not being visible) then rises above the eastern horizon just prior to sunrise. It is then visible until the rising sun washes it out. It would only be significant to the Magi if it were an important star such as Sirius or Regulus. This theory has some validity since it would occur only in the eastern sky at sunrise. However, I have a problem with that interpretation that I have not seen discussed. If the Magi came from the east, following a star in the east would have sent them in the wrong direction!
My interpretation of “…we have seen his star in the east…” should be read as "his star which we saw while in the east".In 6 BC, an astronomical event known as a “Double Occultation” occurred in which Jupiter was twice occulted (hidden) by the passing Moon. While this is a reasonably common occurrence, in this case the occultation happened within the constellation Aries, thus announcing the birth of a king. However, evidence is that these events at that time were quite close to the sun making them difficult to discern with the naked eye.
Planetary Conjunctions, the close approach of two or more planets, are also open to consideration, especially the planets Jupiter and Saturn. The Jews considered Jupiter to be a royal symbol and Saturn not only as Israel’s protector but also a symbol of the promised Messiah. Johannes Kepler noted that there were three such events that transpired in 7 BC, the last of which occurred on December 1. These were particularly significant in that they occurred in the constellation Pisces, the fish, which has long been a Jewish symbol. And the first conjunction was also a Heliacal Rising! The Magi could have easily taken these significant astrological events to portend the birth of the Messiah.
In 6 BC, during February and March, a conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars occurred in the constellation Pisces. So in addition to royal Jupiter and protector Saturn, we now have Mars, the messenger of the heavens. This could be seen just after sunset with the closest grouping on February 25th.
And finally I will present another theory also based on Planetary Conjunctions. I first heard this on my visit to the M D Anderson Planetarium back in the 90s and it is the one I find most fascinating. In August of 3 BC, Jupiter and Venus,
the two brightest objects in the sky after the Moon and Sun, came in extremely close conjunction in the constellation Leo. Leo was considered the constellation of kings and is associated with the Lion of Judah. And Venus, in almost all ancient cultures, is considered feminine and often the symbol of virginity. Then in September, Jupiter and the star Regulus, significant to the Magi as the star of kingship, came into conjunction also in the constellation Leo. This conjunction was repeated in February of 2 BC and for a third time in May. June 1, 2 BC. And then, on June 17 of 2 BC, Jupiter and Venus came so close that their disks appeared to touch. This occurred in Leo and in near conjunction with Regulus. The configuration of these heavenly bodies has not occurred in 2000 years before or since! This event, the union of royal Jupiter and the virgin Venus in Leo, the Lion of Judah, is so rare that it could not have been missed by the Magi. The only shortcoming of this theory is the date. Most historians agree that the death of Herod was in 4 BC; however, some accept it as late as 1 BC.So here’s my quandary – which of these theories is the most likely. The triple conjunctions of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars in 7 BC would certainly not have been ignored by the Magi. So did they see this Star and immediately organize and set out for Jerusalem? Or is the answer more complex than this. Piet van der Kruit, Professor Emeritus at University of Groningen suggests that the sequence of events could have been as follows:
- The triple conjunction in 7 BC announced, “A Messiah-King will be born in Israel”.
- The conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars in 6 BC proclaims, “There will be a mighty King”.
- The comet in Capricorn in 5 BC signified the birth of the King. This could have triggered Magi to set out for Jerusalem.
- In Jerusalem the Magi are informed by Herod’s advisors that, according to Micah, the King would be born in Bethlehem.
- By then the comet was seen rising in the south just before sunrise, the direction of Bethlehem from Jerusalem.
- Van der Kruit either didn’t have the events of 3/2 BC or he ignored it because it fell outside of the accepted time period.
Based on van der Kruit’s conjecture, the birth of Jesus would take place in mid-March of 5 BC. So when did the Magi arrive? Google reports that a laden camel can journey about 25 miles per day and Google Map says the distance from Babylon (the probable home of the Magi) to Jerusalem is at least 700 miles as the camel roams. So we should allow a month to organize the expedition and another month for travel (700 miles ÷ 25 miles per day = 28 days). Seeing the comet in mid-March, let’s say they debate its significance till the first of April. This would put them arriving in Jerusalem in June of 5 BC with the infant Jesus about 2½ months old.The Birth of Christ, though a religious event, was a natural process with natural explanations. However, the events surrounding His birth, the appearance of Angels and the Star of Bethlehem, are events of faith. As such, they cannot always be explained in scientific or natural terms. Every person must look to his own heart and mind and find an explanation that is acceptable.
(A final note: I was able to accurately reproduce these dates and astronomical occurrences using the Stellarium program. Unfortunately, this cannot be done using Stellarium-Web. The web version will not go back past the year zero. You can go back past zero with the Mobile app; however, looking at half the sky on my cell phone screen is challenging to say the least. If you do use the full Stellarium program or the Mobile app, be aware that the program does in fact recognize the year zero. So if you want to go to 4 BC, you will need to put -3 in the year. Until I discovered this, I was having a real problem recreating the night sky at the right time.)