SEVEN STEPS TO BETHLEHEM. 

STEP SEVEN.

 THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM.

 

    I suppose more has been written on the subject of "The Star of Bethlehem" than any other topic within this chronological survey. It has a fascination all of its own, and seems to draw people magnetically, especially those (like myself) who have had an academic training in Physics and Astronomy. Having read articles in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, and the letters resulting from these, together with articles in other professional journals, I have come to the conclusion that it’s not just a simple matter of discussing Comets, Novæ, Shooting Stars, or Planetary Groupings. Often the more subjective elements are displayed, whereby distinctive patterns of "belief" and "scepticism" are intertwined with scholarly appraisals of astronomical phenomena.

    In this respect, I can only add my own "subjectivity" by saying what I have stated before, namely that I believe the New Testament writers are wholly reliable in their testimony, and must not be treated as perpetrators of Legend, Fraud, or Religious Superstition. They are to be accepted for what they say, as reliable historical witnesses, and the information used together with other secular writings, to establish (as best as anyone might be able) the most likely scenario of that time. The following four chapters therefore bring this work to its conclusion.

 

CHAPTER 21

THE WISE MEN AND THE STAR

     Many times during the years we have lived in Lincolnshire, we have walked along the beach and kept an eye open for fossils. Some of them are easy to spot, like Belemnites, shaped like rifle bullets. Others are not so easy to find, especially Ammonites when they are still embedded in rock. But with a little practice one is able to recognise the stones that are most likely to contain this spiral shell, and on getting home, a careful blow with hammer and chisel cleaves the rock, displays the shell, and brings its reward.

    This little tale, seemingly far removed from the title of this chapter, will straightway be seen to have a most meaningful bearing on the second chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, where the Star of Bethlehem is mentioned, because to anyone who has a training in Astronomy, and at the same time has a knowledge of Greek, will be able to spot something that is not apparent on the surface. Let me explain. Matthew was either a trained astronomer, or else he had obtained accurate information from someone, maybe even the Wise Men themselves, or those who had the written testimony from the Wise Men, because the language he uses betrays scientific terminology that astronomers would use, but which the majority of people would not recognise. Sadly, the translators of the Greek were not men who knew their science well enough to be able to display this terminology to the English reader. Sadly also, each of the more modern translations does little extra to help. So we shall have to examine the text afresh, and find out what lies hidden inside the Greek "stones", perhaps to find a few interesting "Ammonites"!

    Matthew 2. "Now Jesus, having been born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrive at Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?’

    The Magi. These were indeed "Wise Men", trained in observational astronomy, especially in the movements of the Sun, Moon, and Planets, and how they related to the "Mazzaroth", (the twelve signs of the zodiac.) They were men from the east, and the expression was used in particular for those who lived in the Babylonian region, who had for centuries watched stellar and planetary activity, and had obtained an amazingly accurate knowledge of lunar and planetary ephemerides. This has been revealed to us by the translation of cuneiform tablets from that region, sometimes making modern scholars gasp at the extent of their knowledge, even to knowing about such things as the precession of the equinoxes.

    The entourage that travelled from the East would of necessity have been quite large in number. The men who initiated the journey were not ordinary civilians, but Court Officials of Royalty, whose daily task was to assess the future by astronomical surveying, thereby to advise the King and other prominent members of the Court as to the best course of political action. They would have travelled by camel train, and even though the distance was considerable, it would not have taken very long to reach their destination. Some writers have suggested the journey took all of four or even five months, but based on the writings of T. E. Lawrence (i.e. "Lawrence of Arabia") in Seven Pillars of Wisdom, we find that a fully loaded camel, under an experienced rider, could, if hard pressed, cover 80 to 100 miles in a 24 hour period, depending on the country, and that 50 miles ridden in the same period was considered a holiday by comparison. Even the most inexperienced and clumsy riders, who positively hindered their animals, could travel 30 miles in a day. The length of stages undertaken in the crossing of a desert is, of course, limited by the distance between wells, but even so, the Magi could have completed their journey from Babylonia in two weeks at the outside, or in ten days with less comfort. Allowing two weeks for preparation (gathering of stores, hiring of men and beasts and so on), the whole enterprise would have taken a month at the most.  (I am indebted to Mr. T. J. Palmer for this information, from his letter to Nature, Volume 268, pp. 565-567, August 11th, 1977.)

    Magi were not only well practised in the science of astronomy, they were also well learned in the use of what they observed, as it pertained to everyday life, especially in the realm of astrological prediction. One must not summarily dismiss them and their works as though they were like modern astrologers, mere charlatans, preying on the gullible public for quick and lucrative rewards. No, they realised that "the heavens declare the glory of God", and from the beginning, ancient people knew that God had set the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars in the heavens for "signs, seasons, and things to come," as we read in the first chapter of Genesis.

    I am not declaring that these Magi were purely scientific, nor were they without the more dubious side of astrology. But they had stores of tablets that gave them information, sometimes prophetic knowledge, passed down from their ancestors.

    In this connection, we must remember that the children of Judah had spent 70 years or more in Babylon during the captivity, and it was during this time that Daniel had been the Chief of the Astrologers. One wonders just how much of his prophetic and visionary knowledge had been retained by them. Were these Magi, who visited Herod, in possession of the prophecy about the seventy sevens? If so, and if they also had preserved in their archives that word in Genesis 49:9-10, which said, "Judah is a lion’s whelp - -. The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from between his feet until Shiloh comes," they would certainly be translating the message into astronomical terms. Furthermore, the prediction of Balaam, in Numbers 24:17, must surely have been known to them, which said, "I see him, but not now [i.e., not in his time], I behold him, but not near, [i.e. not in these parts]. A star shall come forth from Jacob and a sceptre shall arise from Israel."

     [Note: “between his feet”. The star Regulus is situated between the thighs of Leo, but the Hebrew word translated “feet” can sometimes represent the legs as well, as found for example in Deut. 28:57 “The young one that comes out from between her feet.”]

    Josephus said that it was shown in the "sacred writings" that about that time one from their country (Judæa) should become governor of the habitable earth. If Josephus knew of this persuasion from the Old Testament Scriptures, then presumably so also did the Magi.

    The Romans were also aware of these prophecies. Suetonius, in the early second century, said, "A firm belief had long prevailed through the East that it was destined for the empire of the world at that time to be given to someone who should go forth from Judæa."

    Likewise the early religious teacher Zoroaster, who lived in the land of the Magi, had taught that sometime in the future there would arise a king who would raise the dead and transform the world into a kingdom of peace and security. These traditions also taught that this man would come forth from the stock of Abraham.

    With reference to Balaam’s prediction about "a star rising out of Jacob", the Jewish Rabbis wrote in the Talmud, "When the Messiah shall be revealed, there shall rise up in the East a star flaming with six colours. - - The star shall shine forth from the East, and this is the star of the Messiah. It shall shine forth from the East for fifteen days, and if it be prolonged, it will be for the good of Israel." (Edersheim’s, Jesus of Nazareth, Vol. 1, p. 212.)

    The learned Rabbi Isaac Abarbanel (1437-1508) an authority on the traditions of the Jews, wrote, "There was a conspicuous conjunction of planets - - three years before the birth of Moses, in the Sign Pisces, - - and another will occur before the Messiah’s birth." (Dr. Schaff’s History of the Christian Church, Vol. 1, p. 402.) The learned Rabbi lived 50 years before Kepler published his discovery of the conjunction of the planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars in the Sign of Pisces, in B.C. 7, which, even though it was a significant grouping, we bypass now, because of the more suitable phenomena in B.C. 3-2. Abarbanel still awaited the "Star" of his Messiah, long after the event had actually occurred. But it does make one wonder whether there will be some other significant astronomical event to prelude Messiah’s Second Advent.

    Returning now to the Magi, they would have evaluated all this evidence to calculate the significance of the planetary phenomenon. It involved a star, and the sign of Leo the Lion (the sign for the Tribe of Judah), a coming king (hence the sceptre), and a certain tale of years obtained from Daniel’s "Seventy Sevens of Years." All this has to be said before returning to the next verses of Matthew’s 2nd chapter.

    "Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?" Notice the tone of these words. Herod is entertaining a royal party of significant men, together with their retinue of servants, their camels, their finery, their jewels, their astounding words of wisdom, and apparently their accurate knowledge of the birth of a Jewish King. They did not ask, "Where is He to be born?" They knew that He had been born. They wanted to know where He was. They expected Him to be in Jerusalem. Is not the Capital City the proper place for One who should bear the rule, hold the sceptre, in coming days?

    Herod knew nothing about this. It came as a complete surprise, and to him it was bad news. The Magi continued - "For we saw His Star in the East, and have come to pay homage to Him." The translation "in the east" suggests a reference to what has already been said, that they were Wise Men from the east. But the Greek is different. This is where we spot the first "Fossil". "In the east", should have been translated, "in its rising". Furthermore, putting it in the more exact astronomical terminology of today, we should say in its heliacal rising. This is where a modern astronomer, reading the passage in a more correct translation, should look more carefully, and realise that this is not a legendary tale, a myth, a pleasant little story for children at Christmas, but solid fact, reported by men who knew exactly what they were talking about. Although we are not told all the story, we must presume that the Magi explained to Herod what they meant. It is likewise necessary to do the same here for those who have not made any personal enquiry into astronomy.

    The Heliacal Rising of a planet or a star is the appearance of that object in the eastern sky about an hour and a half before sunrise. In southern Iraq, the skies are almost always exceptionally clear, and therefore promote the study of astronomy. In ancient times the Magi would mount the ziggurat way before dawn and await the heliacal rising of stars and planets. When a planet, like Jupiter, Mars, Venus, or Saturn, was seen in its Heliacal Rising, then they would observe the Zodiacal Sign in which the Planet rose and interpret the information accordingly.

    What exactly they saw is not told us, but as we read on, the options get more and more limited, until we are forced to just one conclusion, based on the dating already obtained in this study.

    "Herod the king, having heard, was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." Anyone who has read the history of Herod from the works of Josephus and Dio Cassius, will realise why Herod was troubled. His career as ruler of Judæa was littered with the most inhumane, bestial, and cruel acts of violence attributed to almost any ruler in history. In fact, towards the end of his life, having sent a letter to Augustus Cæsar asking for his son to be put to death, Cæsar replied that "it is better to be one of Herod’s pigs than one of his sons." Herod was one of the most suspicious rulers, always watching out for the slightest sign of anyone who might topple him from power. Whether they were from his own family or in political or ecclesiastical authority around him, they would be put to death instantly for the slightest infraction. Hence the statement in Matthew about Herod’s consternation at the Magi’s news. But not only Herod, we read that "All Jerusalem" was troubled. They all knew what might happen, as long as Herod was alive, and therefore realised that the foreign embassy contingent brought bad news for Jerusalem.

    "And having gathered together all the Chief Priests and Scribes of the people, he enquired of them where the Messiah should be born. And they said to him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judæa, for thus it has been written by the prophet [Micah], And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no wise least among the governors of Judah, for out of you shall go forth a Governor who verily shall shepherd my people Israel.’"

    Herod was not a religious man. In fact he was not strictly a Jew at all. His origin was, on his father’s side, Idumean (i.e. of Esau’s line), and his mother, whose name was Cypros, was Nabatæan, a nation that lived in the same region as Edom. But in Herod’s grandfather’s day, these people had been forcibly converted to Judaism, which gave Herod the right, in his own eyes, to the throne of Judæa. However, the people treated him as a foreigner, and were most indignant at his bestial manner of life. This has been stated to reflect the obvious ignorance Herod had of Old Testament prophecy. He was living in days that were bristling with the possibility of the Messiah’s coming, and many were expecting Him to arise, but Herod had little or no time to consider such things, as long as he himself was firmly in control. However, he was now an old man, nearing the 70th year of his life, irascible, volatile, cunning, and by no means in the best of health.

    His star. Herod had been told about Messiah’s star. Now these words are full of meaning, and must not be mistaken. First of all, they betray a prior knowledge on the part of the Magi. "We have seen His particular Star, the one we knew would rise. It has now shown itself in its Heliacal Rising." This rules out many of the transitory, ephemeral suggestions that have been made about this star. It could not have been a Comet, or a Super-Nova, a Shooting Star or Meteorite, all of which would have been unexpected, and best seen high in the sky in the middle of the night rather than in the east just before dawn. We must keep this in mind as the tale unfolds in Matthew 2.

    "Then Herod, having secretly called the Magi, enquired accurately of them the time of the stellar phenomenon." In the Greek it is the other way round, reading the phenomenal star. But the sense is that which I’ve given in the translation, which is clearly the thought in Herod’s mind. He didn’t want to betray his innermost thoughts to the High Priests, the Scribes, or other Court officials, who’d been in attendance, so he waited until they had all gone, and then asked the Magi accurately about the time when they’d seen "His Star" in its rising.

    "And having sent them to Bethlehem, he said, ‘Having gone, accurately enquire about the little child, and when you have found him, bring word back to me, that I also having come, may do homage to him.’"

    The epithet used by Jesus to describe Herod’s son, "That old fox", could even better have been used to describe his father. But the Magi had little or no knowledge of the lifestyle of this megalomaniac, so they listened, and went their way.

    "And behold, the star which they saw in its heliacal rising, went before them, until having come, it became stationary over above where the little child was."

    Here is the verse that draws the majority of scorn and derision from the sceptics. I can remember so clearly how Alan spoke to me when I was teaching in Hong Kong. He was no fool. He knew his stuff as a physicist and recognised that things just do not wander around in the heavens, and suddenly and conveniently come to rest over stables! But I have now given the true meaning of the Greek, and it bears closer examination. First of all, the star went before them. But don’t they all? Try it on any starlit night. Take a walk and watch how all the stars go before you. The houses and trees drift slowly past as you walk, but the stars seem to "go with you." There is no problem here as long as it is properly understood, and not conceived as some "supernatural firefly" keeping up with you. It was a bit like that in the film "Ben Hur", thereby encouraging a sense of ridicule where it was least needed.

    Another factor emerges from the Greek verb here. It is in the imperfect tense, and should therefore have been rendered "kept on going before them", which is exactly what happens as people walk along. It is a simple statement. There is nothing exotic about it.

    But the biggest "fossil" of all occurs in this verse. The A.V. says that the star "stood still" over the place where the child lay. But the Greek verb is in the passive voice, estathé, and has to be translated "became stationary". This is music to an astronomer’s ears, because he knows exactly what was intended. He will suddenly prick up his ears and say, "Stationary, did you say? In other words, you are talking about planetary loops. They occur each year and caused earlier astronomers an awful headache trying to understand their orbits. But now we understand how it happens."

   That’s it! All the planets do it, and it happens because we are observing from a moving platform. Take Jupiter for example. Our journey round the Sun is comparatively rapid compared with Jupiter, so that as we watch its motion night by night, it seems to stop for a while against the background of the fixed stars, then move in a retrograde fashion for a while before proceeding normally again. The following diagram has been taken from “The Star of Bethlehem Mystery” by David Hughes, page 113, diagram 19.

(Note.  Once again, we have had to omit the picture, which was found at this point in the book.)

    This is what happened as the Magi travelled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Although the journey would have taken very little time, they would have reached Bethlehem and stayed there a while, and during that time the planet (for now we know that it couldn’t have been anything else) became stationary in its travel, and caused the Magi to "rejoice exceedingly". Their great pleasure had to do with the planetary position, now nearer to the zenith, rather than in the eastern sky (in fact at an altitude of some 68° from the horizon), and the sign of the zodiac it was in, but we must leave those considerations for the next chapter, where the astronomy will be explained in more detail.

    "And having seen the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And having come into the house they found the little child with Mary his mother, and having fallen down did homage to him, and having opened their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And having been divinely instructed in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew into their own country by another route." (Matthew 2:11-12)

    One can appreciate from this record that Jesus was no longer a new-born baby, (Brephos in Luke 216, but Paidios a little child here,) no longer in a cave, but in a house. Furthermore, when Herod realised he’d been tricked, he sent to Bethlehem and had all the infants under two years of age killed by decree. That very day, he’d burned alive over forty men, on the evening when there was a lunar eclipse, as recorded in an earlier chapter.

    This time lapse was important. See verse 16. " - - from two years old and under, according to the time which he had accurately enquired of the Magi." Hence we can assess that Jesus must have been between one and two years old when Herod sent his soldiers on their dastardly errand. This fact will be of great value to us in our further examination of events.

    But now we have seen enough to be satisfied. The passage in Matthew 2 is not the work of a legend-maker, or a story teller who wanted to elevate Jesus unnecessarily by attributing to Him things that didn’t and couldn’t really happen. Instead it was the writing of one who had accurate knowledge of astronomy in those days, and gave that knowledge to the world. But ever since 1611, with the publication of the Authorised Version, the truth has been encrusted with fanciful and ludicrous language.

(For details of the "Jupiter loops" mentioned in this chapter, see the Appendix )