This is an attempt to show how intelligible meanings can be given to the mysterious parts of Matthews star story considering them from the point of view of an astronomer of the day. The speculation here is that Matthew got hold of some records written by astronomers in the era of Herod the Great concerning their search for the newborn King of the Jews and copied the terms they used without necessarily understanding them. Whether it is true or not I will not venture to guess but what the heck, it makes a good Christmas story!
My primary source for the information presented below is
this book by Mark Kidger, a professional astronomer who investigated various explanations that might form the basis of an actual astronomical observation. After rejecting most of them as unsatisfactory, he came up with this one. I have thrown in my own speculations here and there but have tried to justify them.
First the evidence from Matthew:
Matthew 2 (KJV)
1Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2Saying, 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.
3When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
5And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
7Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
9When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
12And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
13And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
14When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
15And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
16Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,
18In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
19But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
20Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.
Some questions arise:
What is the timeframe of these events? vv 19-20 tell us that it was not too long before the death of Herod, who died in the spring of 4 BCE. So we can guess that the timeframe of Matthews nativity is 5 BCE.
Who were these wise men? Probably Babylonian astronomers. Babylon had a tradition of astronomy so old that the records were still kept in ancient Sumerian, already not a spoken tongue for two thousand years. Educated Babylonians would also be familiar with Jews from Babylonian Exile. There was still a substantial Jewish community in Babylon at the time.
What astronomical event, called a star (an ambiguous term), would have brought them to Jerusalem seeking the newborn King of the Jews? Ah, therein lies the tale.
Kidgers speculation was that it was not one event but a series of unusual astronomical events that added up to taking a trip from Babylon to Jerusalem
First event: A triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn took place in the constellation of Pisces beginning in May, 7 BCE and ending in December of that year.
What is a triple conjunction?
All the planets revolve around the Sun in the same direction and close to the same plane. The further a planet is from the Sun the longer it takes to complete a revolution. The Earth takes 1 year to complete a revolution. Jupiter takes about 11 years; Saturn about 20. Since Jupiter goes around faster than Saturn, we will from time to time see Jupiter catch up to Saturn and pass it. The point of closest approach is called a conjunction. An actual eclipse (occultation) would be very rare since they are not in exactly the same plane.
Once in a while, Jupiter will be catching up to Saturn at the same time we are catching up to Jupiter. We would see a conjunction as Jupiter passed Saturn. Then if the timing is right, we would pass Jupiter and it would appear to fall behind Saturn from our changing perspective. Second conjunction. Then as we go further around in our orbit, Jupiter would appear to once again catch up to Saturn. Third conjunction.
Triple conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn can happen as close as 40 years apart, as happened in 1940/41 and 1981. Or they can be as far apart as 400 years. The last one before 7 BCE was 120 years before and the one before that the maximum possible 400 years. This was an unusual and interesting event not seen by anyone alive at the time.
In the Babylonian astrological conventions of the day Jupiter represented good and Saturn was evil. The constellation of Pisces stood for the Jews. So we have good confronting evil, three times for emphasis, and related to the Jews.
Second event: Just after the third conjunction, in January and February of 6 BCE, there was a massing of planets in Pisces.
Jupiter and Saturn were still pretty close together and Saturn was very close to Mars, which stood for war, blood and (guess what) Rome. Jupiter was even occulted by (went behind) the Moon and reappeared. Meaning: birth or regeneration. Evil and Rome getting together, a pretty common notion in those days, and good being born. And still the Jews.
Third event: A new star
In March of 5 BCE, about a year after the previous sign ended, there was a nova " a new star not previously seen. Chinese astronomers tell us when it happened and where in the sky. It was a hairy star (bright enough to seem spiked to the human eye) and was around for some time. The Chinese tracked it for about two and a half months then lost it when monsoon weather set in.
To the astrologers of the day, a nova signified birth and a bright one meant a royal birth.
From the top:
Good against Evil, Rome linked to Evil, birth of good, a royal birth and it is all about the Jews. It is not unexpected that some very observant Babylonian astronomer/astrologer types who knew something about Jewish lore should show up in Jerusalem asking for the King of the Jews who has been born because they saw his star.
Now what about the weird parts of Matthews star story?
The wise men say that they saw the star in the east, singular. Normally Greek grammar would have it as in the easts, plural. But singular is also acceptable. However the singular form also has a special meaning for astronomers. It refers to the heliacal rising of a star or more generally as a start being in the eastern sky at dawn.
Heliacal rising?
The heliacal rising of a star (or other body such as the moon, a planet or a constellation) occurs when it
first becomes visible above the eastern horizon for a brief moment just before sunrise, after a period of time when it had not been visible.
Each day after the heliacal rising, the star will rise slightly earlier and remain visible for longer before the light from the rising sun makes it disappear (the sun appears to drift eastward relative to the stars by about one degree a day along a path called the ecliptic).
Over the following days the star will move further and further westward (one degree per day) over the dome of the pre-dawn sky
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliacal_rising
Stars move across the sky each night. As the Earth goes around the Sun, the stars visible in the night sky gradually change. To specify where a star is in the sky at a certain time of year, its position just before dawn would be given. The Chinese tell us that the nova was in the southeastern sky in the predawn period. Matthew 2:9 tells us that the star went before them, as indeed it would as viewed each day at dawn when they were traveling east to west.
The nova happened in March. From personal experience Kidger tells us that a camel caravan will normally cover 20 miles a day. Setting out in late March from Babylon, they would have arrived in Jerusalem near the end of April. Herods people tell the wise men they should go look in Bethlehem. The next morning they get up before dawn like the good astronomers they are and check out the stars. By now the predawn position of the nova is high in the southern sky, close to due south. Look south from Jerusalem and what would be the first thing you would see? Bethlehem.
Matthew 2:9-10
it came and stood over where the young child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy
No wonder they rejoiced. Signs. Star. Bethlehem. Whoa!
Herod wants them to go find this newborn king and come back and tell him where to go so he can killoops
worship him. But they do not. What does Herod do? He has the children of Bethlehem killed from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men (v 16)
If Herod diligently inquired of the wise men he would have gotten the whole story. When did the signs first appear? May of 7 BCE. It is now May of 5 BCE. Two years and under. Like I said: Whoa!
True story? Who cares! Merry Christmas!!!
Funny!
