Star of the Magi
Now after Jesus was born in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him…After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” (Mathew 2:1-2…9-10)
The above picture of three wise men, or Magi, following a bright star leading them directly to the baby Jesus, is familiar to most Christians. Many of us as children found ourselves dressed as wise men, or camels, in a Christmas pageant. One time I was the star holding the flashlight; guess I wasn’t a very good actor. But is this an accurate portrayal of events? Perhaps.
Image credit: Crystalinks
Matthew is the only gospel writer to include the visit of the Magi; surely the other gospel authors had heard this story, but for some reason decided not to include it in their account; that doesn’t diminish Matthew. No matter the lens, the birth of Jesus-the-Christ was saturated with supernatural occurrences – visions, prophecies fulfilled, angel visitations, angelic choirs, virgin conception, God incarnate, and even a star seemingly guiding some wise men from far away. With all those miracles, of course God could have arranged a “star” with a beam of light to show the way to and rest over the new-born King. Even young children can grasp the story of Jesus’ birth as portrayed by Matthew, so no reason to cease with the Christmas pageants.
But many scholars, both scientists and theologians, want to take a deeper dive; for some, the simple Matthew account poses more questions than answers. Most controversial seems to be the “star”. An article written by Dwight Hutchison in the September 2019 issue of “Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith” of the Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation presents an interesting slant. His article is titled “Matthew’s Magi Never Visually Followed a Star Anywhere, But…” I’ll summarize some of his thoughts. He opens with…
“As we move forward into new discoveries in the heavens, it is also important for Christians involved in science to seek clarity about ancient scripture texts. Matthew’s account of the Magi and the star has been misinterpreted for generations. The star resists attempt to be discovered. One can find dozens of interpretations and speculations. Have we understood Matthew’s account in its proper context? Recent archaeological discoveries concerning Babylonian astronomy may help us to re-imagine the Magi and their famous star.”
Hutchison lays out some of his points:
- The star was a herald of the Messiah; it was not a guiding light
- The star was a natural celestial object, arranged (by God) since the time of creation.
- The star was not the brightest heavenly object.
- The star was symbolically significant, but it did not indicate the specific day or time of Jesus’ birth.
- It was involved in a series of celestial events centered on kingship
- The wise men arrived in Judea about a year and a half after the first celestial signs
- The wise men traveled by day-time
- They presented their gifts in the context of a private home, not manger
Who were the Magi?
Matthew gives us a few clues. The word “magi” is only found in the Book of Daniel where they are referred to as magicians and enchanters (Dan 1:20), sorcerers and Chaldean (Dan 2:2), wise men and astrologers (Dan 2:27); these were said to have the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems. They were from the “east”, presumably east of Jerusalem. Near candidates would be Syria and Jordan; a little further east was Saudi Arabia and Iraq (Babylon); further yet was Persia (Iran) India, Pakistan, etc. In the first century BC, one country was by far the most accomplished in astronomy and astrology, Babylonia. The Magi could have been Gentiles; in this scenario we can assume God was drawing unbelievers to meet Jesus, and then report the “good news” back to Babylon. But it is also very possible that the Magi were Jews living in Babylon, ancestors of the multitude of Jewish families who didn’t return to Israel after the 586 diasporas.
Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego qualified as magi, so it is likely that their tradition passed through the generations of Jews in Babylon, including those living there in the first century BC. Jewish magi would also have been familiar with scriptural predictions of a coming king, a Messiah. They would have known Messiah would be of the tribe of Judah (Gen 49:8-10), be born in the town of Bethlehem of Judea (Micah 5:2-5), be born a king in the line of David (Isa. 9:7) and be born a child (Isaiah 9:6) of a virgin mother (Isa. 7:13,14). Most notably, they would have known that kings would bring him gifts and fall down before him. But why would they pick this moment in history to make the journey to Israel in search of God’s King, the Messiah?
What astronomical “signs” might have influenced the Magi to act?
As reported by Hutchison, Babylonian astronomers had reason to believe, based on several astronomical signs, that a “King of Righteousness” would be born on December 28, in the year 2 BC. Let’s take a brief look at those signs.
Sign 1
July 28 in 3 BC the Helical Rising of MUL.BABBAR (Jupiter) occurred simultaneously with the Sun’s conjunction with the star LUGAL (Regulus) in the constellation Leo (the lion). This happened every 83 years. Ancient pagan astronomers in Babylonia would have understood that something symbolic had happened involving the king star (LUGAL) and the king planet (MUL.BABBAR).
Constellation Leo (Regulus is lower right)
Image credit: Utahadventurefamily.com
Sign 2
On the exact day (Nov. 27/28 of 3 BC) MUL.BABBAR (Jupiter) had reached its first stationary point in Leo, the Moon passed directly in front of LUGAL (Regulus) in an occultation; this occurred only once every 2750 years. The royal symbolism is evident in that the Moon was directly associated with the “king star” LUGAL at the same moment of the king planet’s (Jupiter) stationary point. It was an obvious symbolic kingship event.
Sign 3
January 20, 2 BC the Acronychal Rising of Jupiter occurred, just as predicted 58 days after the stationary point. Also, that same day the full moon passed in front of LUGAL again, making a second occultation in two months. This was a clear connection to royalty. By this point the Magi certainly could have been a bit puzzled about the meaning of this sequence of cyclic events in the heavens.
Sign 4
March 29, 2 BC Jupiter’s second stationary phase occurred
Sign 5
July 28, 2 BC the Heliacal Setting of Jupiter occurred; the Sun was again in conjunction with Regulus in the constellation Leo (lion). Counting forward, the next important date for Jupiter would be its stationary point around the time of December 28, 2 BC. That’s near the date we celebrate Christmas – coincidence?
To support his case, Hutchison’s article goes into far greater detail; I’ll spare you the fine points. But one other thing did catch my eye – Melchizedek. Babylonian for Jupiter was MUL.BABBAR; its Hebrew equivalent is Tzedek, meaning “righteousness”. Babylonian for the star, Regulus, was LUGAL; its Hebrew equivalent is Melech, meaning “king”. To refresh your biblical memory, Melchizedek, in Genesis Chapter 14, is the “King of Righteous” or “Prince of Peace”. He was the mystical priest of El Elyon (Most High God) in Jerusalem who brought out bread and wine and then blessed Abraham; Abraham then in turn gave a tenth (tithe) of all his possessions to Melchizedek.
Melchizedek and Abraham (Image credit: abidinginthevine.net)
If the Magi were Hebrew from Babylon, not only would they have discerned the timing and location of the prophesied Messiah as determined from the scriptures and the heavens, but they would have known to bring gifts of worship, just as their father Abraham had done a millennium earlier.
In summary, as happens so often in scripture, God chooses to teach us through simple stories that even young children can grasp. The clear biblical teaching is that three Magi from somewhere to the east were guided to Bethlehem in search of the Christ child. They brought gifts for the young king; King Herod was still living at the time, and he ordered soldiers to find and kill all male boys in Bethlehem of a certain age, hoping the Christ child would be among the casualties. God warned the Magi to go home via a different route. As is often the case, science is left with inconclusive scientific theories attempting to help us understand supernatural (like a guiding star) interventions by God into our natural world. But, I find the ideas of Dwight Hutchison “food for thought”.
Definitions
Heliacal: pertaining to or near the sun, especially the first rising of a planet or star after and last setting before its invisibility owing to its configuration with the sun
Occultation: the passage of one celestial body in front of another, thus hiding the other from view
Acronychal: rising at sunset and setting at sunrise
