Star of Bethlehem

{{Short description|Biblical star revealing Christ's birth}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:Giotto - Scrovegni - -18- - Adoration of the Magi.jpg|thumb|right|''Adoration of the Magi'' by Florentine painter [[Giotto di Bondone]] (1267–1337). The Star of Bethlehem is shown as a [[comet]] above the child. Giotto witnessed an appearance of [[Halley's Comet]] in 1301.]]

The '''Star of Bethlehem''', or '''Christmas Star''',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast16May_1.htm |title = A Christmas Star for SOHO |access-date = 2008-07-04 |publisher = [[NASA]] |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20041224171230/https://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast16May_1.htm |archive-date = December 24, 2004}}.</ref> appears in the [[nativity of Jesus|nativity story]] of the [[Gospel of Matthew]] [[Matthew 2|chapter 2]] where "wise men from the East" ([[biblical Magi|Magi]]) are inspired by the star to travel to [[Jerusalem]]. There, they meet King [[Herod the Great|Herod]] of [[Judea]], and ask him:
{{quote|Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|2:1–2|NKJV}}</ref>}}

Herod calls together his scribes and priests who, quoting  [[Micah 5#Verse 2|a verse]] from the [[Book of Micah]], interpret it as a prophecy that the [[Messiah in Judaism|Jewish Messiah]] would be born in [[Bethlehem]] to the south of [[Jerusalem]]. Secretly intending to find and kill the Messiah in order to preserve his own kingship, Herod invites the wise men to return to him on their way home.

The star leads them to Jesus' Bethlehem birthplace, where they worship him and give him gifts. The wise men are then given a divine warning not to return to Herod, so they return home by a different route.<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|2:11–12|NKJV}}</ref>

Many [[Christians]] believe the star was a [[miracle|miraculous]] sign. Some [[theologians]] claimed that the star fulfilled a prophecy, known as the [[Star Prophecy]].<ref name="Freed 2001 93">{{cite book |last=Freed |first=Edwin D. |title=The Stories of Jesus' Birth: A Critical Introduction |publisher=Continuum International |date=2001 |page=93 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sF-ZKEssEGwC|isbn=0-567-08046-3}}</ref> [[Astronomer]]s have made several attempts to link the star to unusual celestial events, such as a [[conjunction (astronomy)|conjunction]] of [[Great conjunction|Jupiter and Saturn]] or [[Jupiter]] and [[Venus]],<ref>{{cite web |author=Telegraph |author-link=Telegraph |title=Jesus was born in June |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/3687843/Jesus-was-born-in-June-astronomers-claim.html |access-date=2011-12-14 |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=2008-12-09}}.</ref> a [[comet]], or a [[supernova]].<ref>"Star of Bethlehem." Cross, F. L., ed. The ''Oxford dictionary of the Christian Church''. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005.</ref> Some modern scholars do not consider the story to be describing a historical event, but rather a [[pious fiction]] added later to the main gospel account.<ref>For example, Paul L. Maier, "Herod and the Infants of Bethlehem", in ''Chronos, Kairos, Christos II'', [[Mercer University Press]] (1998), 171; [[Geza Vermes]], ''The Nativity: History and Legend'', London: Penguin, 2006, p. 22; [[E. P. Sanders]], ''The Historical Figure of Jesus'', 1993, p. 85; Aaron Michael Adair, "Science, Scholarship and Bethlehem's Starry Night", ''Sky and Telescope'', Dec. 2007, pp. 26–29 (reviewing astronomical theories).</ref>

The subject is a favorite at [[planetarium]] shows during the [[Christmas]] season.<ref name="Mosley1">{{cite web |last=John |first=Mosley |title=Common Errors in 'Star of Bethlehem' Planetarium Shows |url=http://www.ips-planetarium.org/planetarian/articles/common_errors_xmas.html |access-date=2008-06-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516043233/http://www.ips-planetarium.org/planetarian/articles/common_errors_xmas.html |archive-date=2008-05-16 }}.</ref> However, most ancient sources and Church tradition generally indicate that the wise men visited Bethlehem sometime after Jesus' birth.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.christianity.com/jesus/birth-of-jesus/star-and-magi/when-did-the-magi-visit.html|last=Andrews|first=Samuel James|title=When did the Magi visit?|website=Salem Web Network|date=2020|access-date=3 February 2020}}</ref> The visit is traditionally celebrated on [[Epiphany (Christian)|Epiphany]] (January 6) in [[Western Christianity]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Ratti |first=John |title=First Sunday after the Epiphany |url=http://www.episcopalchurch.org/sermons_that_work_6772_ENG_HTM.htm |access-date=2008-06-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080613012449/http://www.episcopalchurch.org/sermons_that_work_6772_ENG_HTM.htm |archive-date=2008-06-13 }}.</ref>

The account in the Gospel of Matthew describes Jesus with the broader [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] word {{lang-grc|παιδίον|paidíon|label=none}}, which can mean either "infant" or "child" rather than the more specific word for infant, {{lang-grc|βρέφος|bréphos|label=none}}. This possibly implies that some time has passed since the birth. However, the word {{lang-grc|παιδίον|paidíon|label=none}} is also used in the [[Gospel of Luke]] specifically concerning Jesus' birth and his later presentation at the temple.<ref name="Luke 2 bh">{{bibleverse|Luke|2:17, 27}}</ref> Herod I has all male Hebrew babies in the area up to age two killed in the [[Massacre of the Innocents]].

==Matthew's narrative==
[[File:Chartres2006 039.jpg|thumb|''Adoration of the Magi'', [[Chartres Cathedral]], by [[Jehan de Beauce]], France, 16th century.]]
The [[Gospel of Matthew]] tells how the [[Biblical Magi|Magi]] (often translated as "wise men", but more accurately astrologers){{sfn|Brown|1988|p=11}} arrive at the court of Herod in Jerusalem and tell the king of a star which signifies the birth of the King of the Jews:

{{quote|Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, {{sup|2}}"Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." {{sup|3}}When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; {{sup|4}}and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. {{sup|5}}They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet:
<poem>
{{sup|6}}'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will govern my people Israel.'"</poem>

{{sup|7}}Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; {{sup|8}}and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." {{sup|9}}When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. {{sup|10}}When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; {{sup|11}}and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.|Matthew 2:1–11, [[Revised Standard Version]]<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|2:1–11|RSV}}</ref>}}

Herod is "troubled", not because of the appearance of the star, but because the Magi have told him that a "king of the Jews" had been born,<ref>{{cite book |last=Long |first=Thomas |title=Matthew |location=Westminster |publisher=John Knox Press |date=1997 |page=18}}</ref> which he understands to refer to the Messiah, a leader of the Jewish people whose coming was believed to be foretold in scripture. He asks his advisors where the Messiah would be born.<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|2:4|NKJV}}</ref> They answer Bethlehem, birthplace of King [[David]], and quote the [[prophet]] [[Book of Micah|Micah]].<ref group=nb>{{bibleverse|Matthew|2:5–6|NKJV}}. Matthew's version is a conflation of {{bibleverse|Micah|5:2|NKJV}} and {{bibleverse|2|Samuel|5:2|NKJV}}.</ref> The king passes this information along to the Magi.<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|2:8|NKJV}}</ref>

In a dream, they are warned not to return to Jerusalem, so they leave for their own country by another route.<ref name="Matt212">{{bibleverse|Matthew|2:12|NKJV}}</ref> When Herod realizes he has been tricked, he [[Massacre of the Innocents|orders the execution of all male children in Bethlehem]] "two years old and younger," based on the age the child could be in regard to the information the magi had given him concerning the time the star first appeared.<ref group=nb>{{bibleverse|Matthew|2:16|NKJV}} This is presented as a fulfillment of a prophecy and echoes the killing of firstborn by pharaoh in {{bibleverse|Exodus|11:1–12:36|NKJV}}.</ref>

Joseph, warned in a dream, takes his family to Egypt for their safety.<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|2:13–14|NKJV}}</ref> The gospel links the escape to a verse from scripture, which it interprets as a prophecy: "Out of Egypt I called my son."<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|2:15|NKJV}} The original is from {{bibleverse|Hosea|11:1|NKJV}}.</ref> This was a reference to the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt under [[Moses]], so the quote suggests that Matthew saw the life of Jesus as recapitulating the story of the Jewish people, with Judea representing Egypt and Herod standing in for pharaoh.<ref>"An Exodus motif prevails in the entire chapter." ({{cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Joel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=byeQn2T93LAC&q=Matthew+recapitulates+story+of+Jewish&pg=PA156 |title=Recapitulation of Israel |page=132 |access-date=2009-07-04 |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |isbn=978-3-16-149825-1 |date=2008}})</ref> 

After Herod dies, Joseph and his family return from Egypt,<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|2:10–21|NKJV}}</ref> and settle in [[Nazareth]] in [[Galilee]].<ref name="Matt223">{{bibleverse|Matthew|2:23|NKJV}}</ref> This is also said to be a fulfillment of a prophecy ("He will be called a Nazorean," (NRSV) which could be attributed to Judges 13:5<ref>{{bibleverse|Judges|13:5|NKJV}}</ref> regarding the birth of [[Samson]] and the [[Nazirite]] vow. The word ''Nazareth'' is related to the word {{transliteration|he|netzer}} which means "sprout",<ref name="Hebrew meaning netzer">[http://biblehub.com/hebrew/5342.htm Concordances on the meaning of the word "netzer" on Bible Hub.] Retrieved December 29, 2015.</ref> and which some Bible commentators<ref name="Matthew 2:23 commentaries">[http://biblehub.com/commentaries/matthew/2-23.htm Commentaries for Matthew 2:23 on Bible Hub.] Retrieved on December 29, 2005.</ref> think refers to Isaiah 11:1:<ref>{{bibleverse|Isaiah|11:1|NKJV}}</ref> "There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots."<ref name="Isaiah 11:1 bh">[http://biblehub.com/isaiah/11-1.htm Isaiah chapter 11, verse 1 on Bible Hub with commentaries.] Retrieved on December 29, 2015.</ref><ref group=nb>{{bibleverse|Judges|13:5–7|NKJV}} is sometimes identified as the source for {{bibleverse|Matthew|2:23|NKJV}} because the [[Septuagint]]'s {{lang|grc|ναζιραιον}} (Nazirite) resembles Matthew's {{lang|grc|Ναζωραῖος}} (Nazorean). However, few scholars accept the view that Jesus was a Nazirite.</ref>

==Explanations==

===Pious fiction===
Scholars who see the gospel nativity stories as later apologetic accounts created to establish the messianic status of Jesus regard the Star of Bethlehem as a [[pious fiction]].<ref>{{citation |last= Brown |first=Raymond E. |title=The Birth of the Messiah |publisher=Anchor Bible Reference Library |date=1993 |page=188}}.</ref><ref>Markus Bockmuehl, This Jesus (Continuum International, 2004), p. 28; {{Citation | last=Vermes | first=Géza | author-link=Géza Vermes | title=The Nativity: History and Legend | date=2006-11-02 | publisher=Penguin Books Ltd | isbn=0-14-102446-1 | page=22}}; {{Citation | last=Sanders | first=Ed Parish | author-link=E. P. Sanders | title=The Historical Figure of Jesus | date=1993 | publisher=Allen Lane | location=London | isbn=0-7139-9059-7 | page=85}}; [http://www.johnhick.org.uk/article16.html Believable Christianity]: A lecture in the annual October series on Radical Christian Faith at Carrs Lane URC Church, Birmingham, October 5, 2006.</ref> Aspects of Matthew's account which have raised questions of the historical event include: Matthew is the only one of the four gospels which mentions either the Star of Bethlehem or the Magi. Some scholars suggest that Jesus was born in [[Nazareth]], and that the Bethlehem nativity narratives were later additions to the gospels intended to present his birth as the fulfillment of prophecy.<ref>Nikkos Kokkinos, "The Relative Chronology of the Nativity in Tertullian", in Ray Summers, Jerry Vardaman and others, eds., ''Chronos, Kairos, Christos II'', Mercer University Press (1998), pp. 125–26.<br />Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar, ''The Acts of Jesus: The Search for the Authentic Deeds of Jesus'', HarperSanFrancisco, 1999, {{ISBN|0-06-062979-7}}. pp. 499, 521, 533.<br />Paul L. Maier, "Herod and the Infants of Bethlehem", in ''Chronos, Kairos, Christos II'', Mercer University Press (1998), 171.<br />For Micah's prophecy, see {{bibleverse|Micah|5:2|NKJV}}.</ref> 

According to [[Bart D. Ehrman]], the Matthew account conflicts with that given in the Gospel of Luke, in which the family of Jesus already lives in Nazareth, travel to Bethlehem for the census, and return home almost immediately.<ref>[[Bart D. Ehrman]], ''[[Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium|Jesus: apocalyptic prophet of the new millennium]]'', Oxford University Press 1999, p. 38.</ref>

[[File:L Adoration des Mages.jpg|thumb|''Adoration of the Magi'', by [[Jean Fouquet]] (15th century). The Star of Bethlehem can be seen in the top right. The soldiers and castle in the background may represent the [[Battle of Castillon]] (1453).]]

===Fulfillment of prophecy===
The ancients believed that [[As above, so below#Scholarly interpretations|astronomical phenomena were connected to terrestrial events]]. Miracles were routinely associated with the birth of important people, including the [[Hebrew]] [[patriarchs]], as well as [[Greece|Greek]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] heroes.<ref name="Vermes">{{cite news |last=Vermes |first=Geza |author-link=Geza Vermes |title=The First Christmas |newspaper=History Today |volume=56 |issue=12 |pages=23–29 |date=December 2006 |url=http://www.historytoday.com/MainArticle.aspx?m=31928&amid=30235606 |access-date=2009-07-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071214213149/http://www.historytoday.com/MainArticle.aspx?m=31928&amid=30235606 |archive-date=2007-12-14 }}</ref>

The Star of Bethlehem is traditionally linked to the [[Star Prophecy]] in the [[Book of Numbers]]:
{{poemquote|
I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near;
A Star shall come out of Jacob;
A Scepter shall rise out of Israel,
And batter the brow of Moab,
And destroy all the sons of tumult.|Numbers 24:17, NKJV<ref>{{bibleverse|Numbers|24:17|NKJV}}</ref>}}

Although possibly intended to refer to a time that was long past, since the kingdom of [[Moab]] had long ceased to exist by the time the Gospels were being written, this passage had become widely seen as a reference to the coming of a Messiah.<ref name="Freed 2001 93"/> It was, for example, cited by [[Josephus]], who believed it referred to Emperor [[Vespasian]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Josephus |first=Flavius |author-link=Josephus |title=The Wars of the Jews |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2850 |access-date=2008-06-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Lendering |first=Jona |author-link=Jona Lendering |title=Messianic claimants |url=https://www.livius.org/men-mh/messiah/messianic_claimants13.html |access-date=2008-06-05 |archive-date=2016-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602013609/http://www.livius.org/men-mh/messiah/messianic_claimants13.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Origen]], one of the most influential early Christian theologians, connected this prophecy with the Star of Bethlehem:
{{quote|If, then, at the commencement of new dynasties, or on the occasion of other important events, there arises a comet so called, or any similar celestial body, why should it be matter of wonder that at the birth of Him who was to introduce a new doctrine to the human race, and to make known His teaching not only to Jews, but also to Greeks, and to many of the barbarous nations besides, a star should have arisen? Now I would say, that with respect to comets there is no prophecy in circulation to the effect that such and such a comet was to arise in connection with a particular kingdom or a particular time; but with respect to the appearance of a star at the birth of Jesus there is a prophecy of Balaam recorded by Moses to this effect: ''There shall arise a star out of Jacob, and a man shall rise up out of Israel.''<ref name="Origen2">{{cite web | last = Adamantius | first = Origen | title = Contra Celsum |url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf04.vi.ix.i.lx.html | access-date = 2008-06-05 }}, Book I, Chapter LIX.</ref>}}

[[Origen]] suggested that the Magi may have decided to travel to Jerusalem when they "conjectured that the man whose appearance had been foretold along with that of the star, had actually come into the world".<ref name="Orign3">{{cite web | last = Adamantius | first = Origen | title = Contra Celsum | url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf04.vi.ix.i.lxi.html}}. Book I, Chapter LX.</ref>

The Magi are sometimes called "kings" because of the belief that they fulfill prophecies in [[Isaiah]] and [[Psalms]] concerning a journey to Jerusalem by gentile kings.<ref name="Isaiah">France, R.T., ''The Gospel according to Matthew: an introduction and commentary'', p. 84. See {{bibleverse|Isaiah|60:1–7|NKJV}} and {{bibleverse|Psalms|72:10|NKJV}}.</ref> Isaiah mentions gifts of gold and incense.<ref name="Isaiah606">{{bibleverse|Isaiah|60:6|NKJV}}</ref> In the [[Septuagint]], the Greek translation of the Old Testament probably used by Matthew, these gifts are given as gold and frankincense,<ref>[http://ecmarsh.com/lxx-kjv/isaiah/isa_060.htm Isaiah 60:6] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929135716/http://ecmarsh.com/lxx-kjv/isaiah/isa_060.htm |date=2018-09-29 }} (Septuagint).</ref> similar to Matthew's "gold, frankincense, and myrrh."<ref name="Matt211">{{bibleverse|Matthew|2:11|NKJV}}</ref> The gift of myrrh symbolizes mortality, according to Origen.<ref name="Orign3" />

While Origen argued for a naturalistic explanation, [[John Chrysostom]] viewed the star as purely miraculous: "How then, tell me, did the star point out a spot so confined, just the space of a manger and shed, unless it left that height and came down, and stood over the very head of the young child? And at this the evangelist was hinting when he said, "Lo, the star went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was."<ref>{{cite book |last=Schaff |first=Philip |author-link=Philip Schaff |title=St. Chrysostom: Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew |publisher=Christian Literature Publishing Co. |date=1886 |location=New York |page=36 |url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf110.VI_1.html |access-date=2009-07-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207183010/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf110.VI_1.html |archive-date=2009-02-07 }}.</ref>

===Astronomical object===
<!-- SOCK WARNING: Hutchison's books are not reliable sources. If you add them back you will be reported to WP:SPI. -->
Although the word ''magi'' ([[Koine Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|μαγοι}}) is usually translated as "wise men," in this context it probably means 'astronomer'/'astrologer'.{{sfn|Brown|1988|p=11}} The involvement of astrologers in the story of the birth of Jesus was problematic for the early Church, because they condemned [[astrology]] as demonic{{cn|date= July 2021|reason=Was astrology really condemned by Christians? Did not Christian used, practiced and encouraged astrology until at least Renaissance? More sources than Tester will be needed}}; a widely cited explanation was that of [[Tertullian]], who suggested that astrology was allowed 'only until the time of the Gospel'.<ref>{{cite book |last=Tester |first=S. J. |title=A History of Western Astrology |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |date=1987 |pages=111–112}}</ref>

====Planetary conjunction====
In 1614, German astronomer [[Johannes Kepler]] determined that a series of three conjunctions of the planets [[Jupiter]] and [[Saturn]] occurred in the year 7 BC.<ref name="Mosley1"/> He argued (incorrectly) that a [[Conjunction (astronomy and astrology)|planetary conjunction]] could create a [[nova]], which he linked to the Star of Bethlehem.<ref name="Mosley1"/> Modern calculations show that there was a gap of nearly a degree (approximately twice a diameter of the moon) between the planets, so these conjunctions were not visually impressive.<ref name="MarkKidger">{{cite web | last = Mark | first = Kidger | title = Chinese and Babylonian Observations | url=http://www.astrosurf.com/comets/Star_of_Bethlehem/English/Chinese.htm | access-date = 2008-06-05 }}</ref> An ancient almanac has been found in [[Babylon]] which covers the events of this period, but does not indicate that the conjunctions were of any special interest.<ref name="MarkKidger"/> In the 20th century, Professor [[Karlis Kaufmanis]], an astronomer, argued that this was an astronomical event where Jupiter and Saturn were in a triple conjunction in the constellation [[Pisces (constellation)|Pisces]].<ref>Minnesota Astronomy Review Volume 18 – Fall 2003/2004 {{cite web|url=http://www.astro.umn.edu/news/vol18.pdf |title= The Star of Bethlehem by Karlis Kaufmanis|date= 30 October 2023}}</ref><ref>Audio Version of Star of Bethlehem by Karlis Kaufmanis {{cite web |url=http://sites.google.com/site/astrologicalstarofbethlehem/ |title=The Star of Bethlehem by Karlis Kaufmanis |access-date=2011-01-03 |archive-date=2018-08-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801055112/https://sites.google.com/site/astrologicalstarofbethlehem/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Archaeologist and [[Assyriology|Assyriologist]] [[Simo Parpola]] has also suggested this explanation.<ref name="Parpola">Simo Parpola, "The Magi and the Star," ''Bible Review,'' December 2001, pp. 16–23, 52, 54.</ref>

In 3–2 BC, there was a series of seven conjunctions, including three between Jupiter and [[Regulus]] and a strikingly close conjunction between Jupiter and [[Venus]] near Regulus on June 17, 2 BC. "The fusion of two planets would have been a rare and awe-inspiring event", according to Roger Sinnott.<ref>{{cite magazine | last = Sinnott | first =  Roger | title =  Thoughts on the Star of Bethlehem | magazine = Sky and Telescope | date =  December 1968 | pages = 384–86 }}</ref> Another Venus–Jupiter conjunction occurred earlier in August, 3 BC.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2015/06/is_this_what_the_star_of_bethl.html| title=Is this what the Star of Bethlehem looked like? Venus, Jupiter put on a show | first =Greg | last = Garrison | date=7 March 2019 | access-date=3 February 2020 | publisher=Alabama Media Group}}</ref> While these events occurred after the generally accepted date of 4 BC for the [[Herod the Great#Death|death of Herod]], they did occur during the reign of [[Augustus|Caesar Augustus]] (who [[Luke 2|is referenced in]] the [[Gospel of Luke]]), and early Christian historians [[Eusebius]] and [[Clement of Alexandria]] calculated the birth of Jesus to 3-2 BC.<ref>{{cite book | author = Eusebius | title = [[Church History (Eusebius)]] | chapter = Book I, Chapter 5. The Time of his Appearance among Men | chapter-url = https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250101.htm | quote = 2. It was in the forty-second year of the reign of Augustus and the twenty-eighth after the subjugation of Egypt and the death of Antony and Cleopatra, with whom the dynasty of the Ptolemies in Egypt came to an end, that our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea […] }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author = [[Clement of Alexandria]] | title = [[Stromata]] | chapter = Book 1, Chapter XXI: The Jewish Institutions and Laws of Far Higher Antiquity Than the Philosophy of the Greeks | chapter-url = http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/clement-stromata-book1.html | quote = And our Lord was born in the twenty-eighth year [after the [[Battle of Actium]]], when first the census was ordered to be taken in the reign of Augustus. }}</ref> Since the conjunction would have been seen in the west at sunset it could not have led the magi south from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kidger |first=Mark |title=Astronomical Enigmas: Life on Mars, the Star of Bethlehem, and Other Milky Way Mysteries |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |location =Baltimore |date=2005 |page=63 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DKYJaBd-znAC |isbn=0-8018-8026-2}}</ref>

====Double occultation on Saturday (Sabbath) April 17, 6 BC ====
Astronomer Michael R. Molnar argues that the "star in the east"  refers to an astronomical event with astrological significance in the context of [[ancient Greek astrology]].<ref name=Weintraub>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/26/amazingly-astronomy-can-explain-the-biblical-star-of-bethlehem/ Weintraub, David A., "Amazingly, astronomy can explain the biblical Star of Bethlehem", ''Washington Post'', December 26, 2014]</ref> He suggests a link between the Star of Bethlehem and a double occultation of Jupiter by the Moon on March 20 and April 17 of 6 BC in [[Aries (constellation)|Aries]], particularly the second occultation on April 17.<ref name="Molnar">{{citation |last=Molnar |first=Michael R. |url=http://www.eclipse.net/~molnar/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991012062556/http://eclipse.net/%7Emolnar/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=1999-10-12 |title=The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi |publisher=Rutgers University Press |date=1999 |isbn=0-8135-2701-5 |access-date=2009-07-04 |pages=86, 89, 106–07 }}.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Eiland |first=Murray |date=2019 |others=Interview with Michael R. Molnar |title=The Star of Bethlehem, Jupiter, and imperial astrology |url=https://www.academia.edu/80960677 |journal=Antiqvvs |issue=Christmas Supplement |pages=3–6}}</ref><ref>For a similar interpretation, see Minnesota Astronomy Review Volume 18 – Fall 2003/2004 {{cite web|url=http://www.astro.umn.edu/news/vol18.pdf |title= The Star of Bethlehem by Karlis Kaufmanis|date= 30 October 2023}}</ref> [[Occultation]]s of planets by the Moon are quite common, but [[Firmicus Maternus]], an astrologer to Roman Emperor [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]], wrote that an occultation of Jupiter in Aries was a sign of the birth of a divine king.<ref name="Molnar"/><ref name="Stenger">{{cite web |last=Stenger |first=Richard |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/TECH/space/12/27/star.coverup/index.html |title=Was Christmas star a double eclipse of Jupiter? |date=December 27, 2001 |access-date=2009-07-04 |work=CNN}}</ref> He argues that Aries rather than Pisces was the zodiac symbol for Judea, a fact that would affect previous interpretations of astrological material. Molnar's theory was debated by scientists, theologians, and historians during a colloquium on the Star of Bethlehem at the Netherlands' [[University of Groningen]] in October 2014. Harvard astronomer [[Owen Gingerich]] supports Molnar's explanation but noted technical questions.<ref name=Govier>[http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/december/o-subtle-star-of-bethlehem.html Govier, Gordon. "O Subtle Star of Bethlehem", ''Christianity Today'', Vol. 58, No. 10, p. 19, December 22, 2014]</ref> "The gospel story is one in which King Herod was taken by surprise," said Gingerich. "So it wasn't that there was suddenly a brilliant new star sitting there that anybody could have seen [but] something more subtle."<ref name=Govier/> Astronomer David A. Weintraub says, "If Matthew's wise men actually undertook a journey to search for a newborn king, the bright star didn't guide them; it only told them when to set out."<ref name=Weintraub/>

There is an explanation given that the events were quite close to the Sun and would not have been visible to the naked eye.<ref name="Kidger3">{{citation |last=Kidger |first=Mark |url=http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/ccc/cc120501.html |title=The Star of Bethlehem |work=Cambridge Conference Correspondence |date=December 5, 2001 |access-date=2007-07-04 |archive-date=2016-04-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403212241/http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/ccc/cc120501.html |url-status=dead }}.</ref>

====Regulus, Jupiter, and Venus====
{{synthesis|section|date=December 2023}}{{or section|date=December 2023}}
Attorney [[Frederick Larson (filmmaker)|Frederick Larson]] examined the biblical account in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 2<ref name="Matt 2 all bg amp">[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+2&version=AMP Matthew chapter 2 on Bible Gateway, Amplified Version with footnotes.] Retrieved on December 22, 2015.</ref>{{synthesis inline|date=December 2023}} and found the following nine qualities of Bethlehem's Star:<ref name="USA Today Lawton08">[http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-01-05-epiphany-star_N.htm Lawton, Kim. "Christmas star debate gets its due on Epiphany". USA Today. January 5, 2008.] Retrieved on December 19, 2015.</ref><ref name="abc13 Herzog07">[http://abc13.com/archive/5848072/ Herzog, Travis. "Did the Star of Bethlehem exist?" abc13 Eyewitness News. December 20, 2007.] Retrieved on December 19, 2015.</ref> It signified birth, it signified kingship, it was related to the Jewish nation, and it rose "in the East";<ref name="Matt 2:2 bh">[http://biblehub.com/matthew/2-2.htm Matthew chapter 2, verse 2. Bible Hub with commentaries.] Retrieved on December 19, 2015.</ref>{{synthesis inline|date=December 2023}} King Herod had not been aware of it;<ref name="Matt2:3 bh">[http://biblehub.com/matthew/2-3.htm Matthew chapter 2, verse 3. Bible Hub with commentaries.] Retrieved on December 19, 2015.</ref>{{synthesis inline|date=December 2023}} it appeared at an exact time;<ref name="Matt2:7 bh">[http://biblehub.com/matthew/2-7.htm Matthew chapter 2 verse 7. Bible Hub with commentaries.] Retrieved on December 19, 2015.</ref>{{synthesis inline|date=December 2023}} it endured over time;<ref name="Matt 2:1-10allbhswc">[http://biblehub.com/context/matthew/2-1.htm Matthew chapter 2, verses 2–10. Bible Hub with whole chapter and commentaries.] Retrieved on December 19, 2015.</ref>{{synthesis inline|date=December 2023}} and, according to Matthew,<ref name= "Matt2:9">[http://biblehub.com/commentaries/matthew/2-9.htm Gospel of Matthew chapter 2 verse 9. Bible Hub with commentaries.] Retrieved on December 19, 2015.</ref>{{synthesis inline|date=December 2023}} it was in front of the Magi when they traveled south from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, and then stopped over Bethlehem.<ref name="Ch Hd Ireland">[http://www.christianheadlines.com/news/evidence-emerges-for-star-of-bethlehems-reality-11556969.html Ireland, Michael. "Evidence emerges for Star of Bethlehem's reality". Assist News Service. Christian Headlines. October 18, 2007.] Retrieved on December 19, 2015.</ref>

Using the [[Starry Night (planetarium software)|Starry Night astronomy software]], and an article<ref name="Imprimis Chester 1993"/> written by [[astronomer]] Craig Chester<ref name="EthicsD Cliff 2009">[http://www.ethicsdaily.com/the-star-of-bethlehem-cms-15249 Vaughn, Cliff. "The Star of Bethlehem". Ethics Daily. November 26, 2009.] Retrieved on January 2, 2016.</ref> based on the work of archeologist and historian [[Ernest L. Martin]],<ref name="Chicago Tribune Chester">[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-12-24/news/9312240202_1_astronomers-venus-jupiter Scripps Howard News Service. "Astronomer Analyzes The Star Of Bethlehem". ''The Chicago Tribune''. December 24, 1993.] Retrieved on December 19, 2015.</ref><ref name="Martin book">[http://www.askelm.com/star/index.asp Martin, Ernest.  1991 ''The Star that Astonished the World''. ASK Publications. Can be read for free online, for personal study only. Other uses prohibited.] Retrieved on February 12, 2016. {{ISBN|9780945657880}}</ref> Larson thinks all nine characteristics of the Star of Bethlehem are found in events that took place in the skies of 3–2 BC.<ref name="abc13 Herzog07"/><ref name="R&E Lawton 2007">[https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2007/12/21/december-21-2007-star-of-bethlehem/4677/ Lawton, Kim. "Star of Bethlehem". Interview with Rick Larson. PBS, Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. December 21, 2007.] Retrieved on December 19, 2015.</ref> Highlights<ref name="NBC Rao 2011">[http://www.nbcnews.com/id/45778305/ns/technology_and_science-space/#.VoP8HbUYEzN Rao, Joe. "Was the Star of Bethlehem a star, comet … or miracle?" NBC News.  Updated December 12, 2011.] Includes a brief interactive at the bottom, "What's the story behind the Star?" showing retrograde motion and the 3–2 BC planetary conjunctions. Retrieved on January 2, 2016.</ref> include a [[Triple conjunction (astronomy)|triple conjunction]] of [[Jupiter]], called the king planet, with the fixed star [[Regulus]], called the king star, starting in September 3 BC.<ref name="SP St dance coronation">[http://www.bethlehemstar.com/starry-dance/coronation/ Larson, Frederick. "A coronation" Description of Jupiter as king planet.] Retrieved December 22, 2015.</ref><ref name="BP2007">[http://www.bpnews.net/27041 Foust, Michael. Baptist Press. December 14, 2007.] Retrieved on December 19, 2015.</ref> Larson believes that may be the time of Jesus' conception.<ref name="R&E Lawton 2007"/>

By June of 2 BC, nine months later, the human gestation period, Jupiter had continued moving in its [[orbit]] around the Sun and appeared in close [[conjunction (astronomy)|conjunction]] with [[Venus]]<ref name="BP2007"/> in June of 2 BC.<ref name="SP Westward leading">[http://www.bethlehemstar.com/starry-dance/westward-leading/ Larson, Frederick. "Westward leading" Description of when Jupiter and Venus aligned.] Retrieved December 22, 2015.</ref> In [[Hebrew]] Jupiter is called {{transliteration|he|Sedeq}}, meaning "righteousness", a term also used for the [[Messiah]], and suggested that because the [[planet]] Venus represents love and fertility, so Chester had suggested astrologers would have viewed the close conjunction of Jupiter and Venus as indicating a coming new king of Israel, and Herod would have taken them seriously.<ref name="Chicago Tribune Chester"/> Astronomer Dave Reneke independently found the June 2 BC planetary conjunction, and noted it would have appeared as a "bright beacon of light".<ref name="Telegraph Reneke 08">[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/3687843/Jesus-was-born-in-June-astronomers-claim.html Telegraph. "'Jesus was born in June", astronomers claim". The ''Telegraph''. December 9, 2008.] Retrieved on December 22, 2015.</ref> According to Chester, the disks of Jupiter and Venus would have appeared to touch<ref name="Imprimis Chester 1993"/> and there has not been as close a Venus-Jupiter conjunction since then.<ref name="Chicago Tribune Chester"/>

Jupiter next continued to move and then stopped in its [[apparent retrograde motion]] on December 25 of 2 BC over the town of Bethlehem.<ref name="BP2007"/>{{clarify|reason=If it stopped, it stopped from the point of view of everyone on the planet|date=December 2023}}{{unreliable source|reason=A religious website is not a reliable source for dating astronomical events|date=December 2023}} Since planets in their [[orbit]]s have a "stationary point",<ref name="Imprimis Chester 1993">[http://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/the-star-of-bethlehem/ Chester, Craig. "The Star of Bethlehem". ''Imprimis''. December 1993, 22(12).] Originally presented at Hillsdale College during fall 1992. Retrieved on December 19, 2015.</ref><ref name="Chicago Tribune Chester"/> a planet moves eastward through the stars but, "As it approaches the opposite point in the sky from the sun, it appears to slow, come to a full stop, and move backward (westward) through the sky for some weeks. Again it slows, stops, and resumes its eastward course," said Chester.<ref name="Imprimis Chester 1993"/> The date of December 25 that Jupiter appeared to stop while in [[Retrograde and prograde motion|retrograde]] took place in the season of [[Hanukkah]],<ref name="Imprimis Chester 1993"/> and is the date later chosen to celebrate [[Christmas]].<ref name="BP2007"/><ref name="Hist Christmas 12-25">[http://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas "History of Christmas". History.] Retrieved on December 22, 2015.</ref>

====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>

====Comet====
Other writers highly suggest that the star was a [[comet]].<ref name="MarkKidger"/> [[Halley's Comet]] was visible in 12 BC and another object, possibly a comet or [[nova]], was seen by Chinese and Korean stargazers in about 5 BC.<ref name="MarkKidger"/><ref>Colin Humphreys, [http://www.asa3.org/ASA/topics/Astronomy-Cosmology/S&CB%2010-93Humphreys.html 'The Star of Bethlehem'], in ''Science and Christian Belief'' 5 (1995), 83–101.</ref> This object was observed for over seventy days, possibly with no movement recorded.<ref name="MarkKidger"/> Ancient writers described comets as "hanging over" specific cities, just as the Star of Bethlehem was said to have "stood over" the "place" where Jesus was (the town of Bethlehem).<ref name="Jenkins">{{cite news |last=Jenkins |first=R.M. |url=http://www.bristolastrosoc.org.uk/www/media/Publications_BAS_Documents/the_star_of_bethlehem.pdf |title=The Star of Bethlehem and the Comet of AD 66 |work=Journal of the British Astronomy Association |date=June 2004 |number=114 |pages=336–43 |access-date=2016-12-23 |archive-date=2018-10-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005222753/http://www.bristolastrosoc.org.uk/www/media/Publications_BAS_Documents/the_star_of_bethlehem.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, this is generally thought unlikely as in ancient times comets were generally seen as bad omens.<ref>Mark Kidger, ''Astronomical Enigmas: Life on Mars, the Star of Bethlehem, and Other Milky Way Mysteries'', (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005), page 61.</ref> The comet explanation has been recently promoted by Colin Nicholl. His theory involves a hypothetical comet which could have appeared in 6 BC.<ref>Colin R. Nicholl. 2015. ''The Great Christ Comet: Revealing the True Star of Bethlehem.'' Crossway.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2015/december/what-kind-of-astronomical-marvel-was-star-of-bethlehem.html|title=What Kind of Astronomical Marvel was the Star of ... – Christianity Today|author=Interview Greg Cootsona|work=ChristianityToday.com|date=23 November 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/book-reviews-great-christ-comet-revealing-the-true-star-of-bethlehem|title=The Great Christ Comet: Revealing the True Star of Bethlehem|author=Guillermo Gonzalez|work=TGC – The Gospel Coalition|date=16 June 2017 }}</ref>

====Supernova====
A recent (2005) hypothesis advanced by [[Frank Tipler]] is that the star of Bethlehem was a [[supernova]] or [[hypernova]] occurring in the nearby [[Andromeda Galaxy]].<ref name=tipler>{{cite journal | author=[[Frank J. Tipler]] |date=2005 | title=The Star of Bethlehem: A Type Ia/Ic Supernova in the Andromeda Galaxy?  | url=http://math.tulane.edu/~tipler/starofbethlehem.pdf  | journal=[[The Observatory (journal)|The Observatory]] | volume=125 |pages=168–74 | bibcode=2005Obs...125..168T}}</ref> Although it is difficult to detect a supernova remnant in another galaxy, or obtain an accurate date of when it occurred, supernova remnants have been detected in Andromeda.<ref>{{cite journal | title=ROSAT HRI Observations of M31 Supernova Remnants |author1=Eugene A. Magnier |author2=Francis A. Primini |author3=Saskia Prins |author4=Jan van Paradijs |author5=Walter H. G. Lewin | date=1997 | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | volume= 490 | issue=2 | pages=649–52 | doi=10.1086/304917|bibcode=1997ApJ...490..649M |s2cid=54162850 |url=https://pure.uva.nl/ws/files/1202169/2567_25290y.pdf }}</ref>

Another theory is the more likely supernova of February 23 4 BC, which is now known as [[PSR 1913+16]] or the Hulse-Taylor Pulsar. It is said to have appeared in the constellation of [[Aquila (constellation)|Aquila]], near the intersection of the winter [[colure]] and the equator of date. The nova was "recorded in China, Korea, and Palestine" (probably meaning the Biblical account).<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1978JRASC..72...65M/0000066.000.html|bibcode = 1978JRASC..72...65M|title = The Christmas Star as a Supernova in Aquila|last1 = Morehouse|first1 = A. J.|journal = Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada|year = 1978|volume = 72|page = 65}}</ref>

A nova or comet was recorded in China in 4 BC. "In the reign of Ai-ti, in the third year of the Chien-p'ing period. In the third month, day {{transliteration|zh|chi-yu}}, there was a rising {{transliteration|zh|po}} at Hoku" (Han Shu, The History of the Former Han Dynasty). The date is equivalent to April 24, 4 BC. This identifies the date when it was first observed in China. It was also recorded in Korea: "In the fifty-fourth year of Hyokkose Wang, in the spring, second month, day {{transliteration|ko|chi-yu}}, a {{transliteration|ko|po-hsing}} appeared at Hoku" (Samguk Sagi, The Historical Record of the Three Kingdoms). The Korean text may have been corrupted because Ho (1962) points out that "the {{transliteration|ko|chi-yu}} day did not fall in the second month that year but on the first month" (February 23) and on the third month (April 24). The original must have read "day {{transliteration|ko|chi-yu}}, first month" (February 23) or "day {{transliteration|ko|chi-yu}}, third month" (April 24). The latter would coincide with the date in the Chinese records although professor Ho suggests the date was "probably February 23, 4 BC."<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=2005JRASC..99...87M&db_key=AST&page_ind=1&data_type=GIF&type=SCREEN_VIEW&classic=YES|bibcode = 2005JRASC..99...87M|title = The Star on Roman Coins|last1 = McIvor|first1 = Robert S.|journal = Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada|year = 2005|volume = 99|issue = 3|page = 87}}</ref>

==Relating the star historically to Jesus' birth==
{{See also|Chronology of Jesus}}
If the story of the Star of Bethlehem described an actual event, it might identify the year Jesus was born. The Gospel of Matthew describes the birth of Jesus as taking place when Herod was king.<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|2:1|NKJV}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|2:2|NKJV}}</ref> According to Josephus, Herod died after a lunar [[eclipse]]<ref>Josephus, ''Antiquities'' XVII:7:4.</ref> and before a [[Passover|Passover Feast]].<ref name = "Josephus 17.9.3">[http://www.biblestudytools.com/history/flavius-josephus/antiquities-jews/book-17/chapter-9.html Josephus, Flavius. ~AD 93. ''Antiquities of the Jews''. Book 17, chapter 9, paragraph 3 (17.9.3) Bible Study Tools website. First sentence of paragraph 3 reads: "Now, upon the approach of that feast ..."] Retrieved on March 16, 2016.</ref><ref name = "Josephus WAR 2.1.3">[http://www.biblestudytools.com/history/flavius-josephus/war-of-the-jews/book-2/chapter-1.html  Josephus, Flavius. ~93 AD. ''The War of the Jews''. Book 2, chapter 1, paragraph 3 (2.1.3) Bible Study Tools website. About one-third through paragraph three it reads: "And indeed, at the feast ...".] Retrieved on March 16, 2016.</ref>  Some scholars suggested dates in 5 BC, because it allows seven months for the events Josephus documented between the lunar eclipse and the Passover rather than the 29 days allowed by lunar eclipse in 4 BC.<ref name="Herod4BC">Timothy David Barnes, "The Date of Herod’s Death," ''Journal of Theological Studies'' ns 19 (1968), 204–19.

P. M. Bernegger, "Affirmation of Herod’s Death in 4 B.C.," ''Journal of Theological Studies'' ns 34 (1983), 526–31.</ref><ref name = "Finegan Handbook 300 1998">Finegan, Jack. ''Handbook of Biblical Chronology: Principles of Time Reckoning in the Ancient World and Problems of Chronology in the Bible''. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998. p. 300. {{ISBN|1565631439}}</ref> Others suggest it was an eclipse in 1 BC.<ref name = "Steinmann Abraham 219-256">Andrew Steinmann, ''From Abraham to Paul: A Biblical Chronology''. (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House, 2011), Print. pp. 219–56.</ref><ref name = "Filmer Chronology 283-298">W.E. Filmer, "The Chronology of the Reign of Herod the Great". ''The Journal of Theological Studies'', 1966. 17(2): pp. 283–98.</ref><ref name = "Finegan Handbook 238-278">Finegan, Jack. ''Handbook of Biblical Chronology: Principles of Time Reckoning in the Ancient World and Problems of Chronology in the Bible''. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998, 2015. pp. 238–79.</ref> The narrative implies that Jesus was born sometime between the first appearance of the star and the appearance of the Magi at Herod's court. That the king is said to have ordered the execution of boys two years of age and younger implies that the Star of Bethlehem appeared within the preceding two years. Some scholars date the birth of Jesus as 6–4 BC,<ref name="BritJesus">{{cite book | title=Jesus Christ | publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica | location=Chicago | url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/303091/Jesus-Christ | date=2010}}</ref> while others suggest Jesus' birth was in 3–2 BC.<ref name="Steinmann Abraham 219-256"/><ref name="Filmer Chronology 283-298"/>
 	
The Gospel of Luke says the census from Caesar Augustus took place when [[Quirinius]] was governor of Syria.<ref name="Luke 2:2 parallel Bible Hub">[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2&version=ESV Luke 2:2 Luke chapter 2 verse in parallel translations on Bible Hub.] Retrieved on March 3, 2016.</ref> Tipler suggests this took place in AD 6, nine years after the death of Herod, and that the family of Jesus left Bethlehem shortly after the birth.<ref name=tipler/> Some scholars explain the apparent disparity as an error on the part of the author of the Gospel of Luke,<ref>Ralph Martin Novak, ''Christianity and the Roman Empire: background texts'' (Continuum International, 2001), p. 293.</ref><ref>Raymond E. Brown, ''Christ in the Gospels of the Liturgical Year'', (Liturgical Press, 2008), p. 114. See, for example, James Douglas Grant Dunn, Jesus Remembered, (Eerdmans, 2003) p. 344. Similarly, Erich S. Gruen, 'The expansion of the empire under Augustus', in ''The Cambridge ancient history'' Volume 10, p. 157, Geza Vermes, ''The Nativity'', Penguin 2006, p. 96, [[W. D. Davies]] and E. P. Sanders, 'Jesus from the Jewish point of view', in ''The Cambridge History of Judaism'' ed William Horbury, vol 3: the Early Roman Period, 1984, Anthony Harvey, ''A Companion to the New Testament'' (Cambridge University Press 2004), p. 221, Meier, John P., ''[[John P. Meier#A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus|A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus]]''. Doubleday, 1991, v. 1, p. 213, [[Raymond E. Brown|Brown, Raymond E.]] ''The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke''. London: G. Chapman, 1977, p. 554, [[A. N. Sherwin-White]], pp. 166–67, {{cite conference | first = Fergus | last = Millar | author-link = Fergus Millar | title = Reflections on the trials of Jesus | book-title = A Tribute to Geza Vermes: Essays on Jewish and Christian Literature and History (JSOT Suppl. 100) [eds. P.R. Davies and R.T. White] | pages = 355–81 | publisher = JSOT Press | year = 1990 | location = Sheffield}} repr. in {{cite journal | last = Millar | first = Fergus | author-link = Fergus Millar | title = The Greek World, the Jews, and the East | journal = Rome, the Greek World and the East | volume = 3 | pages = 139–63 | publisher = University of North Carolina Press | year = 2006}}</ref> concluding that he was more concerned with creating a symbolic narrative than a historical account,<ref>Marcus J. Borg, ''Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical Jesus and the Heart of Contemporary Faith'', (HarperCollins, 1993), p. 24.</ref> and was either unaware of, or indifferent to, the chronological difficulty.<ref>Elias Joseph Bickerman, Studies in Jewish and Christian History, p. 104.</ref>

However, there is some debate among Bible translators about the correct reading of [[Luke 2:2]] ({{lang|grc|"Αὕτη ἀπογραφὴ πρώτη ἐγένετο ἡγεμονεύοντος τῆς Συρίας Κυρηνίου"}}).<ref name="Luke 2:2 Bible Hub commentaries">[http://biblehub.com/commentaries/luke/2-2.htm  Luke 2:2 commentaries on Bible Hub.] Retrieved on March 3, 2016.</ref> Instead of translating the registration as taking place "when" Quirinius was governor of Syria, some versions translate it as "before"<ref name = "Wright Bible Luke 2:2">Wright, N. T. 2011. ''The Kingdom New Testament: A Contemporary Translation.'' Luke 2:2. New York, HarperOne. {{ISBN|978-0062064912}}</ref><ref name = "Luke 2:2 Biblegateway OJB">[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2&version=OJB Luke 2:2 in the Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB) on BibleGateway.] Retrieved on March 3, 2016.</ref> or use "before" as an alternative,<ref name="Luke 2:2 Biblegateway NIV">[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2&version=NIV Luke 2:2 in the New International Version NIV) Bible on BibleGateway.] Retrieved on March 3, 2016.</ref><ref name = "Luke 2:2 Biblegateway ESV">[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2&version=ESV Luke 2:2 in the English Standard Version (ESV) Bible on  BibleGateway.] Retrieved on March 3, 2016.</ref><ref name="Luke 2:2 Biblegateway HSCB">[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2&version=HCSB Luke 2:2 in Holman Christian Standard Bible (HSCB) on BibleGateway.] Retrieved on March 3, 2016.</ref> which [[Harold Hoehner]], [[F.F. Bruce]], [[Ben Witherington]] and others have suggested may be the correct translation.<ref>Brindle, Wayne. "The Census And Quirinius: Luke 2:2." JETS 27/1 (March 1984) 43–52. Other scholars cited in Brindle's article include A. Higgins, N. Turner, P. Barnett, I. H. Marshall and C. Evan.</ref> While not in agreement, [[Emil Schürer]] also acknowledged that such a translation can be justified grammatically.<ref>Emil Schürer, Géza Vermès, and Fergus Millar, ''The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ'' (175 B.C.–A.D. 135), (Edinburgh: Clark, 1973 and 1987), 421.</ref> According to [[Josephus]], the tax census conducted by the Roman senator Quirinius particularly irritated the Jews, and was one of the causes of the [[Zealot]] movement of armed resistance to Rome.<ref name = "Josephus 18.1.1">[http://www.biblestudytools.com/history/flavius-josephus/antiquities-jews/book-18/chapter-1.html Josephus, Flavius. ~93 AD. ''Antiquities of the Jews''. Book 18, chapter 1, paragraph 1 (hereafter noted as 18.1.1) Entire book free to read online. Bible Study Tools website. Scroll down from 18.1.1 to find Jewish revolt also mentioned in 18.1.6.] Retrieved on March 3, 2016.</ref> From this perspective, Luke may have been trying to differentiate the census at the time of Jesus' birth from the tax census mentioned in [[Acts]] 5:37<ref name = "Acts 5:37 on Bible Hub">[http://biblehub.com/acts/5-37.htm Acts of the Apostles, chapter 5, verse 2 with commentaries. Bible Hub.] Retrieved on March 16, 2016.</ref> that took place under Quirinius at a later time.<ref name = "Vincent's Luke 2">[http://biblehub.com/commentaries/vws/luke/2.htm Vincent, Marvin R. ''Vincent's Word Studies''. Luke chapter 2, verse 2. Bible Hub.] Retrieved on March 16, 2016.</ref> One ancient writer identified the census at Jesus' birth, not with taxes, but with a universal pledge of allegiance to the emperor.<ref>Paulus Orosius, ''Historiae Adversus Paganos'', [http://attalus.org/translate/orosius6B.html#22 VI.22.7] and [http://attalus.org/translate/orosius7A.html#2 VII.2.16].</ref>

Jack Finegan noted some early writers' reckoning of the regnal years of Augustus are the equivalent to 3/2 BC, or 2 BC or later for the birth of Jesus, including [[Irenaeus]] (3/2 BC), [[Clement of Alexandria]] (3/2 BC), [[Tertullian]] (3/2 BC), [[Julius Africanus]] (3/2 BC), [[Hippolytus of Rome]] (3/2 BC), [[Hippolytus of Thebes]] (3/2 BC), [[Origen]] (3/2 BC), [[Eusebius|Eusebius of Caesarea]] (3/2 BC), [[Epiphanius of Salamis]] (3/2 BC), [[Cassiodorus|Cassiodorus Senator]] (3 BC), [[Paulus Orosius]] (2 BC), [[Dionysus Exiguus]] (1 BC), and [[Chronography of 354|Chronographer of the Year 354]] (AD 1).<ref name = "Finegan Handbook 279-292">Finegan, Jack. ''Handbook of Biblical Chronology: Principles of Time Reckoning in the Ancient World and Problems of Chronology in the Bible''. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998. pp. 279–92.</ref> Finegan places the death of Herod in 1 BC, and says if Jesus was born two years or less before Herod the Great died, the birth of Jesus would have been in 3 or 2 BC.<ref name = "Finegan Handbook page 301">Finegan, Jack. ''Handbook of Biblical Chronology: Principles of Time Reckoning in the Ancient World and Problems of Chronology in the Bible''. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998. p. 301.</ref> Finegan also notes the [[Alogi]] reckoned Jesus's birth with the equivalent of 4 BC or AD 9.<ref name = "Finegan Handbook 289-290">Finegan, Jack. ''Handbook of Biblical Chronology: Principles of Time Reckoning in the Ancient World and Problems of Chronology in the Bible''. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998. pp. 289–90.</ref>

==Religious interpretations==

===Eastern Orthodoxy===
[[File:Nativity Icon.jpg|thumb|[[Russian icons|Russian icon]] of the Nativity. The Star of Bethlehem is depicted at the center top as a dark semicircle, with a single ray coming down.]]
In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], the Star of Bethlehem is interpreted as a miraculous event of symbolic and pedagogical significance, regardless of whether it coincides with a natural phenomenon; a sign sent by God to lead the [[Biblical Magi|Magi]] to the [[Christ Child]].{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} This is illustrated in the [[Troparion]] of the Nativity:

{{poemquote|
Your birth, O Christ our God,
dawned the light of knowledge upon the earth.
For by Your birth [[Biblical Magi|those who adored stars]]
were taught by a star
to worship You, the Sun of Justice,
and to know You, Orient from on High.
O Lord, glory to You.<ref>{{cite web | title = Hymns of the Feast| url = http://www.goarch.org/special/listen_learn_share/nativity | work = Feast of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ | publisher = [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]] | date = 2009}}</ref>}}

In Orthodox [[Christian iconography]], the Star of Bethlehem is often depicted not as golden, but as a dark [[aureola]], a semicircle at the top of the icon, indicating the [[Uncreated Light]] of [[Divine grace]], with a ray pointing to "the place where the young child lay" (Matthew 2:9).<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|2:9|KJV}}</ref> Sometimes the faint image of an angel is drawn inside the aureola.

[[Simon the Athonite]] founded the monastery of [[Simonopetra]] on [[Mount Athos]] after seeing a star he identified with the Star of Bethlehem.<ref>[https://oca.org/saints/lives/2014/12/28/103680-venerable-simon-the-myrrh-gusher-of-mt-athos Venerable Simon the Myrrh-gusher of Mt Athos] at oca.org, accessed 31 October 2017.</ref>

===The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints===
[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|LDS]] members believe that the Star of Bethlehem was an actual astronomical event visible the world over.<ref>{{cite journal |title= Birth of the Messiah |journal= [[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]] |date=December 1997 |first= Paul Thomas |last= Smith |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1997/12/birth-of-the-messiah?lang=eng }}</ref> In the 1830 [[Book of Mormon]], which they believe contains writings of ancient prophets, [[Samuel the Lamanite]] prophesies that a new star will appear as a sign that Jesus has been born, and [[Nephi the Disciple|Nephi]] later writes about the fulfillment of this prophecy.<ref>{{lds|Helaman|hel|14|5}}; {{lds|3 Nephi|3-ne|1|21}}</ref>

===Jehovah's Witnesses===
Members of [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] believe that the "star" was a vision or sign created by [[Satan]], rather than a sign from God. This is because it led the pagan astrologers first to Jerusalem where King Herod consequently found out about the birth of the "king of the Jews", with the result that he attempted to have Jesus killed.<ref>[https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/jesus/events-up-to-jesus-ministry/astrologers-visit/ ''Jesus – The Way, the Truth, the Life'', ch. 7: Astrologers Visit Jesus]</ref>

===Seventh-day Adventist===
In her 1898 book, ''[[The Desire of Ages]]'', [[Ellen G. White|Ellen White]] states "That star was a distant company of shining angels, but of this the wise men were ignorant."<ref>The Desire of Ages, [http://text.egwwritings.org/publication.php?pubtype=Book&bookCode=DA&lang=en&collection=2&section=4&pagenumber=60/ p. 60] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126050741/https://text.egwwritings.org/publication.php?pubtype=Book&bookCode=DA&lang=en&collection=2&section=4&pagenumber=60%2F |date=2020-11-26 }}.</ref>

==Depiction in art==
[[File:Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 169.png|thumb|Woodcut by [[Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld]], 1860]]
Paintings and other pictures of the [[Adoration of the Magi]] may include a depiction of the star in some form. In the fresco by [[Giotto di Bondone]], it is depicted as a comet. In the [[Adoration of the Magi (tapestry)|tapestry of the subject]] designed by [[Edward Burne-Jones]] (and in [[Star of Bethlehem (painting)|the related watercolour]]), the star is held by an angel.

The colourful star lantern known as a {{lang|fil|[[parol|paról]]}} is a cherished and ubiquitous symbol of Christmas for [[Filipino people|Filipinos]], its design and light recalling the star. In its basic form, the {{lang|fil|paról}} has five points and two "tails" that evoke rays of light pointing the way to the baby Jesus, and candles inside the lanterns have been superseded by electric illumination.

In the [[Church of the Nativity]] in Bethlehem, a silver star with 14 undulating rays marks the location traditionally claimed to be that of Jesus' birth.
[[File:Christmas jumpers111.jpg|thumb|Christmas sweater featuring multiple black 8-pointed Star of Bethlehem designs]]
In European textiles a common eight-pointed star design is known as the Holy Star of Bethlehem. The design has been used in stone, metal, wood-work and embroidery in the Middle East since antiquity and is one of the oldest patterns in patterns in Palestinian [[tatreez]]. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Munayyer |first=Hanan Karaman |title=Traditional Palestinian Costume - Origins and Evolution |publisher=Interlink Publishing Group Incorporated |year=2020 |isbn=9781623719241 |language=English}}</ref> In 2019 US congresswoman [[Rashida Tlaib]] was sworn in wearing a [[Thawb|thobe]] that featured the design.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zraick |first=Karen |date=January 3, 2019 |title=As Rashida Tlaib Is Sworn In, Palestinian-Americans Respond With #TweetYourThobe |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/03/us/politics/rashida-tlaib-palestinian-thobe.html |website=New York Times}}</ref> On Vogue Arabia's November 2023 cover the star took a central position in the celebration of Palestinian embroidery.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Editorial |first=Vogue Arabia |date=October 30, 2023 |title=The Meaning Behind the Palestinian Fabric on Vogue Arabia's November 2023 Cover |url=https://en.vogue.me/culture/palestinian-fabric-tatreez-meaning-november-2023-cover/ |website=Vogue Arabia}}</ref> The design also features on [[Christmas jumper|Christmas sweaters]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Christianity}}
* [[Caesar's Comet]]
* [[Star of David]] – the Jewish symbol of [[King David]], which the Star of Bethlehem is often associated with having been a miraculous appearance of.
* [[RCW 103]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=nb}}

==References==
{{Reflist|25em}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book
| last1            = Brown 
| first1           = Raymond E.
| title            = The Virginal Conception and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus 
| publisher        = Paulist Press
| year             = 1973
| url              = https://books.google.com/books?id=a0Ik5DuD01cC&q=%22family+tradition%22&pg=PA61
| isbn             = 978-0809117680
}}
* {{cite book
| last1            = Brown 
| first1           = Raymond E.
| title            = The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke 
| publisher        = Yale University Press
| year             = 1999 
| url              = https://books.google.com/books?id=1_1ZAAAAYAAJ 
| isbn             = 978-0300140088
}}
* {{cite book
| last1            = Brown 
| first1           = Raymond E.
| title            = An Adult Christ at Christmas: Essays on the Three Biblical Christmas Stories
| publisher        = Liturgical Press
| year             = 1988
| url              = https://books.google.com/books?id=G4qpnvoautgC
| isbn             = 0-8028-3931-2
}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Star of Bethlehem}}
* Case, Shirley Jackson (2006). ''Jesus: A New Biography'', Gorgias Press LLC: New Ed. {{ISBN|1-59333-475-3}}.
*Coates, Richard (2008) [http://www.staff.science.uu.nl/~gent0113/hovo/downloads/text1_10a.pdf 'A linguist's angle on the Star of Bethlehem', ''Astronomy and Geophysics'', 49, pp. 27–49]
* Consolmagno S.J., Guy (2010) [http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20101231_1.htm Looking for a star or Coming to Adore?]
* Gill, Victoria: [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20730828 Star of Bethlehem: the astronomical explanations and Reading the Stars] by Helen Jacobus with link to, Jacobus, Helen, [http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/0/20786572 Ancient astrology: how sages read the heavens/ Did the heavens predict a king?], ''BBC''
* Jenkins, R.M., "[http://www.bristolastrosoc.org.uk/www/media/Publications_BAS_Documents/the_star_of_bethlehem.pdf The Star of Bethlehem and the Comet of 66AD] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005222753/http://www.bristolastrosoc.org.uk/www/media/Publications_BAS_Documents/the_star_of_bethlehem.pdf |date=2018-10-05 }}", ''Journal of the British Astronomy Association'', June 2004, '''114''', pp.&nbsp;336–43. This article argues that the Star of Bethlehem is a historical fiction influenced by the appearance of [[Halley's Comet]] in AD 66.
* Larson, Frederick A. [http://www.bethlehemstar.net What Was the Star?]
* Nicholl, Colin R.,  [http://greatchristcomet.com/thegreatchristcomet-endorsements.html ''The Great Christ Comet: Revealing the True Star of Bethlehem''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019193309/http://greatchristcomet.com/thegreatchristcomet-endorsements.html |date=2016-10-19 }}.  Crossway, 2015.  {{ISBN|978-1-4335-4213-8}}
* [http://www.staff.science.uu.nl/~gent0113/stellamagorum/stellamagorum.htm Star of Bethlehem Bibliography]. Provides an extensive bibliography with Web links to online sources.

{| border="1" style="border-collapse:collapse; margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|- bgcolor="FFD700"
|colspan=3|'''Star of Bethlehem<br>[[Gospel harmony|Life of Jesus]]: [[Nativity of Jesus|The Nativity]]'''
|- bgcolor="white"
|{{resize|Preceded by<br>'''[[Presentation of Jesus at the Temple|Infant Jesus at the Temple]]'''}}
|{{space|3}}'''[[New Testament]]{{space|3}}<br>Events'''
|{{resize|Followed by<br>'''[[Adoration of the Magi|Adoration of the]] [[Biblical Magi|Wise Men]]'''}}
|}

{{Christmas}}
{{Nativity of Jesus}}
{{Gospel of Matthew}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Good article}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Star Of Bethlehem}}
[[Category:Star of Bethlehem| ]]
[[Category:Astrology]]
[[Category:Astronomical myths]]
[[Category:Biblical Magi in the New Testament]]
[[Category:Christian mythology]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Gospel of Matthew]]
[[Category:Nativity of Jesus in the New Testament]]
[[Category:Christianity in Bethlehem]]