Star of Bethlehem

====Heliacal rising====
[[File:Beit Alpha.jpg|thumb|A [[zodiac]] from a 6th-century mosaic at a synagogue in [[Beit Alpha]], Israel]]
The Magi told Herod that they saw the star "in the East,"<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|2:2|NKJV}}</ref> or according to some translations, "at its rising",<ref name="rising">[http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=119069890 Matthew 2:2]. [[New Revised Standard Version]].</ref> which may imply the routine appearance of a constellation, or an [[Asterism (astronomy)|asterism]]. One theory interprets the phrase in Matthew 2:2, "in the east," as an astrological term concerning a "[[heliacal rising]]." This translation was proposed by Edersheim<ref>Edersheim, Alfred. The Life and times of Jesus the Messiah. Peabody, (MA: Hendrickson, 1993), several references, chapter 8.</ref> and Heinrich Voigt, among others.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Adair |first=Aaron |date=2013 |title=The Star of Bethlehem: A Skeptical View (Kindle Edition – location 1304) |publisher=Onus Books |isbn=978-0956694867}}</ref> The view was rejected by the philologist [[Franz Boll (philologist)|Franz Boll]] (1867–1924). Two modern translators of ancient astrological texts insist that the text does not use the technical terms for either a heliacal or an acronycal rising of a star. However, one concedes that Matthew may have used layman's terms for a rising.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=Courtney |date=2007 |title=The Star of the Magi |publisher=Career Press |pages=120–21 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9z_0nQEACAAJ&q=editions:-hQLa5bJEgsC |isbn=978-1564149626}}</ref>