We Have Seen His Star in the East: What Was the Christmas Star? See a slightly different version on his blog here.
By James D. Tabor December 25, 2024, at Bible History Daily. That article includes the image of the Focal Point article by Molnar included below.
Can Astronomy Explain the Biblical Star of Bethlehem? By David Weintraub, December 7, 2024. Also here.
The wise men were likely accomplished astrologers, watching the stars for signs of a king’s birth. Technical terms used in the Bible’s description point to a real astronomical event that could explore the origin of the star of Bethlehem. By David Weintraub
- our first astronomy puzzle of the first Christmas: How could King Herod’s own advisors have been unaware of a star so bright and obvious that it could have led the wise men to Jerusalem?
- Can we find any other explanation, consistent with Matthew’s words, that doesn’t require that the laws of physics be violated and that has something to do with astronomy? The answer, amazingly, is yes.
- Thus, the “star in the east” refers to an astronomical event with supposed astrological significance in the context of ancient Greek astrology.
- What about the star parked directly above the first crèche? The word usually translated as “stood over” comes from the Greek word “epano,” which also had an important meaning in ancient astrology. It refers to a particular moment when a planet stops moving and changes apparent direction from a westward to an eastward motion. This occurs when the Earth, which orbits the sun more quickly than Mars or Jupiter or Saturn, catches up with, or laps, the other planet.
- Together, a rare combination of astrological events (the right planet rising before the sun; the sun being in the right constellation of the zodiac; plus a number of other combinations of planetary positions considered important by astrologers) would have suggested to ancient Greek astrologers a regal horoscope and a royal birth.
- The portent began on April 17 of 6 BC (with the heliacal rising of Jupiter that morning, followed, at noon, by its lunar occultation in the constellation Aries) and lasted until December 19 of 6 BC (when Jupiter stopped moving to the west, stood still briefly, and began moving to the east, as compared with the fixed background stars). By the earliest time the men could have arrived in Bethlehem, the baby Jesus would likely have been at least a toddler.
The article below was provided by Tabor with his positive comments.
