Star of Bethlehem

When Dionysius Exiguus established December 25, 1 A.D., as the date for the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, he did not know the identity of the Star of Bethlehem that appeared when Jesus was born.  Once the star is recognized as an angel, it becomes logical to believe that it is Comet Halley, which was the pillar of light seen during the Exodus from Egypt.  Comet Halley can then be shown to be the Star of Bethlehem, and the conclusion is reached that Jesus was born either during, or close to, the first half of October, 12 B.C.

There have been many attempts down through the ages to identify the star that led the magi to the Christ child. In this article, we examine Colin R. Nicholl's recent book "The Great Christ Comet: Identifying the True Star of Bethlehem." Critical examination of Nicholl's hypothesis reveals that the book's basic assumptions are academically unsound.

Une perspective juive et babylonienne concernant l’étoile de Bethléem

Le récit biblique des Mages et de l’étoile qui a annoncé la venue du Messie d’Israël a inspiré et intrigué bien des personnes au cours de ces deux derniers millénaires. Des aspects importants de l’astronomie babylonienne semblent impliqués dans la compréhension de l’apparition de l’étoile. Ce livre tente également d’explorer l’histoire de ces hommes et de ces événements à partir d’une perspective juive. Les noms juifs traditionnels des étoiles et des planètes, les symboles juifs et même les dates juives semblent tous être des clés qui permettent de déchiffrer l’énigme de la célèbre étoile.

Qui étaient les Mages de la Bible ? Différents savants ont joué un rôle important dans l’histoire de la vaste région du Moyen-Orient qui s’étend à l’est de la Judée. Des savants zoroastriens, babyloniens, grecs et même juifs ont tous joué un rôle dans les différents empires qui se sont succédé dans cette partie du monde. La possibilité d’un lien entre les Juifs et l’histoire des Mages de la Bible a été longtemps négligée. Des centaines de milliers de Juifs vivaient en Mésopotamie et en Iran à l’époque de la naissance de Jésus. Il convient d’établir un rapprochement entre l’astronomie babylonienne et l’espérance messianique juive.

Site web: www.star-of-bethlehem.info

The book "The Lion Led the Way" has been republished with revisions and additional material.

The new title is "MUL.BABBAR: The Messiah’s Star"

This new book is available for download on the author's Academia page.
Please take a look at the new download elsewhere on this page.

Book website:  www.mulbabbar.com or www.star-of-bethlehem.info

Several attempts have been made to connect the nativity of Jesus, and more recently, the so-called “Rapture of the Church” to specific datable events in the heavens. In recent decades, several of these efforts have been centered on the constellation Virgo, the vision of the woman “clothed with the sun” in Revelation 12:1-6, and possible Jewish dates for the conception or birth of Jesus. Some attempts at aligning Revelation 12 with the actual heavens are connected to theories about the Star of Bethlehem. This article presents a partial exegesis of Revelation 12:1-17, as well as Babylonian astronomical concepts, which could call into question some popular conceptions concerning dating the birth of the Messiah.  (Updated May 2021)

The biblical account of the wise men and the star that announced the coming of the Messiah of Israel has inspired and puzzled people for two millennia. Important aspects of Babylonian astronomy seem to be involved in understanding the star’s appearing. But in addition, this short book​ also explores the men and events from a profoundly Jewish perspective. The traditional Jewish names of stars and planets, Jewish symbols, as well as Jewish dates, all seem to be keys to unlocking the mystery of the famous star.

The present paper is a follow-up to my article ‘The Maternus Code: The Gospel of the Stargazers’, published in International Society for Astrological Research Journal, Vol. 48, N3, December, 2019, pp. 22-36. The starting point of my investigation is the hypothesis regarding the Nativity date encrypted in the Mathesis, tractate written by the 4th century Roman astrologer Julius Firmicus Maternus. The significant issue discussed in the present article is mutually corresponding theological, astrological and kabbalistic symbolism in the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Pre-edited copy of chapter 3 from "The Star of Bethlehem and the Magi", 2015, edited by Peter Barthel and George van Kooten (published by Brill in Leiden). Based on conbritutions from the conference on the 'Star of Bethlehem', held in Groningen in October 2014.

A critical look at the approaches taken in interpreting what was the Star of Bethlehem based on the last 1900 years of writing on the subject. Astronomical and astrological interpretations are found to be problematic, and particular attention is paid to the work of Michael Molnar and his book from 1999. Explanations from biblical studies are also examined, and some weaknesses are delineated. Lastly, a new potential avenue of research based on other passages from the Old Testament are presented as a way to look deeper into the background creation of the story of the Star of Bethlehem.

Star of bethehem, the wise men from the east, Jesus born, Christmas, King Phraates, King Herod, Augustus, Bibel, Luke,
The wise men from the East and the Star of Bethlehem .
--- Ecbatana versus Babylon
-) Who were the wise men?
-) Where they spys? Can a natural star convey a divine message?
-) Did the star really stand still?
King Phraates IV reigned in 7 BC already in the 31st year over the great empire of the Parthians. Reluctantly, he closed in the year 20 BC. with Kaiser Augustus a peace treaty, which set the border to the Roman Empire on the Euphrates. The associated loss of land and the humiliation hurt him. Rome was too powerful to attack again, but subversive means were welcome to destabilize the neighbouring imperial provinces and thereby weaken Rome.
In the former capital Ecbatana, which was conveniently located on the Silk Road, there was not only a lot of trade but also a time-honoured university. Ecbatana is now called Hamdan, a city in western Iran.

As we move forward into new discoveries in the heavens, it is also important for Christians involved in science to seek clarity about our ancient scripture texts. Matthew's account of the Magi and the star has been misinterpreted for generations. The star resists attempts to be discovered. One can find dozens of interpretations and speculations. Have we understood Matthew's account in its proper context? Recent archeological discoveries concerning Babylonian astronomy may help us to reimagine the Magi and their famous star.

Alors que les cieux font l' objet de nouvelles découvertes, il est important que les chrétiens impliqués dans la recherche scientifique s' appliquent à mieux décrypter les textes bibliques. La description que Matthieu fait des Mages et de l' étoile est mal interprétée depuis des générations. L' étoile ne se laisse pas trouver malgré les nombreuses tentatives. Ces dernières sont autant d'interprétations et de spéculations peu concluantes. Avons-nous vraiment cherché à comprendre la description de Matthieu en la replaçant dans son contexte ? Cer-taines découvertes archéologiques récentes relatives à l' astronomie babylonienne pourrait cependant nous aider à réimaginer les Mages et leur célèbre étoile.  (Traduction de l'article : Matthew’s Magi Never Visually Followed a Star Anywhere, But …)

The so-called genealogy in Mt.1:1-17 functions as an esoteric literary device revealing the true nature of the 'Star' that is mentioned in Mt.2:2,9-10. From an astronomical viewpoint, this Star is Jupiter, as involved in the cycle of 'great conjunctions' with Saturn. According to Matthew, Jesus who descended from Solomon, was born at Bethlehem on Tuesday, September 15, around 6:10 p.m. This timepoint was known in esoteric Christian tradition and was redicovered by astronomers in the 20th century.

This paper deals with the so-called "Varus coins" which supposedly date the Syrian governorship of Publius Quintilius Varus. It was proposed in the 1830s by an Oxford scholar that the so-called Varus coins may, in reality, be in connection with a certain Varro (Varo) who was the Roman governor of Syria in the 20s BC. The text was originally published as Appendix 20 (pages 320-332) of the author's book "The Lion Led the Way" (Third Edition).

The general apologetic theme of this study was to highlight the actions that had been taken to assure, protect and guide the birth of Jesus Christ.  Bible study practices of scrutinizing New Testament scriptures carrying the words “behold,” “lo” or “see” was introduced.  A percentage of those three English words had been translated from the Greek words ίδε (IDE) and ίδου (IDOU).  Since they had served as Active and Middle Voices, respectively, for the two Imperative Mood verbs, they were used as study markers.  Summaries of various contextual analyses and the results of epifluorescent confocal laser scanning microscopy of papyrus fragments served as indicators of the historical reliability of the Gospels by Matthews and Luke.  Justifications for expecting the relatively warm winter background of the Nativity was based on the effects of the Roman Solar Maximum.  The shortcomings of astronomical and astrological hypotheses were compared with the strengths of the Shekinah Glory and growing legitimacy of UFOs as explanations for the Star of Bethlehem for the Star of Bethlehem.

The traditional understanding of Matthew 2:9 leads to a type of Christian mysticism concerning the Star of Bethlehem. There is another way of reading the text which avoids some of the problems associated with the main historical understanding of the story.

This document is a summary of several symbolic royal celestial events in the years near the birth of Jesus. 

In the ancient world, Jupiter was thought of as the "king planet" and Regulus as the "king star." Regulus had been spoken of a the "king star" since Sumerian times (over 2,000 years previously). The star's name was LUGAL, the Sumerian word for king. The Parthians, who ruled in Babylonia and the Iranian Plateau, minted the coins with the Moon and Regulus together as a royal symbol. While everyone knew that Jupiter was a planet, it was also a "star." In most Babylonian astronomical documents the planet was called MUL.BABBAR, meaning "the White Star."

The presence of the sun and moon has messianic significance through Ps. 89:35-37. The entire early part of the Psalm is messianic up to verse 37. The Jewish names of the planets were also important. Venus / Nogah means "brightness" and Jupiter / Sedeq means "righteousness." The "Righteous One" was a name commonly used concerning the promised King / Messiah.

MUL.BABBAR The White Star Over Bethlehem is a historical novel about the wise men and the Star of Bethlehem. The book places Dwight Hutchison's theory of the star into a historical context. There are about 400 pages of the main text and an additional 60 pages of appendices. The book begins with a prophetic  section before the main text of the story about the star.

Erstmals (?) zeigt er insbesondere die politische Situation.
Erstmals (?) zeigt er das mutmaßliche Denken der Weisen.
Erstmals (?) zeigt er mit einer neu gestalteten Karte den Weg von Ekbatana nach Jerusalem.
Erstmals (?) zeigt er eine Grafik die Konjunktionen und die Planetenschleifen  übersichtlich und verständlich.
König Phraates IV. herrschte im Jahre 7 v.Chr. über das Reich der Parther und schloss mit Kaiser Augustus einen Friedensvertrag.
Ekbatana (Ecbatana) versus Babylon
-) Hatten die Weisen aus dem Osten einen politischen Auftrag?
-) Gott verkündete über die Astrologie das Evangelium.
-) Für Matthäus spielte die Zahlensymbolik eine große Rolle.
-) Die Erklärung der Lücken im  Stammbaum Jesu.

Die Weisen und der Stern von Bethlehem -- Möglichkeiten und Fakten, 2019
Star of Bethlehem

inculding political interest of King Phraates and herod the great
in the view of the wise men
Ecbatane versus Babylon
the way from ecbatane to Jerusalem  in a map
Jesus born;

The thirteenth-century Schoolman Albert the Great had much to say about the wise men who appear in the second chapter of the Gospel according to Saint Matthew. His commentary runs about thirty-five times the length of the evan-gelist's own report. His enthusiasm is not unique. The story of wise men journeying from the East to Bethlehem and their adoration of the Christ Child has fascinated Christian believers from its first-century origins to the present day. The narrative has enticed readers not only by what it tells-of learned men from far away following a moving star that they knew to signal the birth of a great Jewish king-but also by what it does not. Details that Matthew did not clarify-such as what a magus was, how many they were, and where exactly in "the East" they hailed from-quickly piqued the curiosity of readers. The readers are further left on their own to conclude how the magi had become so learned, how they knew what the star meant, why they decided to follow it, and why this inspiration-this capacity to anticipate the birth of a new Judean king and the desire to give him homage-had been offered to them, and why indeed in such odd conjunction with a very different sort of person, the shepherds, as reported in another gospel. And yet another problem-one more vexing to a curious reader in eras earlier than our own, a reader whose familiarity with night skies, out of necessity and opportunity, made the usual movements of celestial bodies common knowledge-was the question of what kind of star could possibly move so unnaturally from south to north and then to south again, eventually to "stand over where the boy was" in Bethlehem. 1

In this short paper, the arrival of Christ, according to Matthew, is examined using the Babylonian Divination manual. What would the heavenly events have told the magi? The conclusion is that Matthew's text is fully understandable as a description of the arrival of a new Alexander the Great attacking and defeating his enemies in connection with a lunar eclipse accompanied by a partial solar eclipse. Matthew 24 is thus actually connected to Revelation 12 and The Star of Bethlehem. I also show that the magi actually saw the new king at the right side of Power, just as Matthew says.

In this article, we address the question whether magi saw the star "in the east" according to traditional translations, or, according to modern, trendy translations, the magi saw the star "in its rising?" We will conclude that the traditional, historical translation is correct, and that modern translations distort the meaning of Matthew's Gospel. According to Matthew, When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying 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. Matt. 2:1, 2 There are two references to the "east" in this passage: the first occurs in a clause pertaining to the wise men or magi; the second occurs in a clause spoken by the magi about themselves and also includes reference to the star. The first is clear and unambiguous, and identifies the magi's place of origin: "magi came from the east." However, the second is ambiguous and can be understood either in reference to the magi or the star. If to the magi, it refers (as before) to the region or country where the magi were when they saw the star before travelling to Jerusalem. If to the star, it can refer either to 1) the place or quarter of the sky in which the star was viewed or seen, or (if new versions are credited) to 2) the time and manner of its appearing; viz., it's heliacal or acronychal "rising." Translations which have it that the star is referred to typically opt for the latter, and render the passage "For we have seen his star in its rising, and are come to worship him." This requires explanation. Heliacal and Acronychal Risings All stars, as the earth makes its annual orbit around the sun, appear to migrate across the sky, rising first in the east, then moving slowly toward the west, where they disappear below the horizon, only to reappear sometime later in what is termed their heliacal rising-the first day, after being invisible, when they

Many different ideas about who Jesus was have been argued by biblical scholars for centuries now, not to mention amateurs . And along the way there have been attempts to say there was no person at the historical core as well, but the Christ Myth theories are as diverse as historical Jesus theories. So what is likely true and false? What is ancient myth and what is modern myth?

In this talk, the various hypotheses about the historical and mythical Jesus are discussed, including their problems. It also focuses on research done in relation to the story of the Star of Bethlehem from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 2. The book on that subject is The Star of Bethlehem: A Skeptical View.

Every year at the spring equinox the nation of Iran celebrates Nowruz (Nōrūz, Nō Rūz, or Nō-Rūz). Nowruz is not only the first day of the new year on the Iranian calendar, but also marks the first day of spring-a time in both ancient and modern Iran that represents the rebirth of nature, and the victory of light over darkness, or good over evil. This paper focuses on the importance of the spring equinox in the Zoroastrian religion and its relationship to the Nativity. This is an area that is greatly underrepresented by modern Star of Bethlehem theologians. Johannes Kepler was among the first to suggest that the Star was related to a planetary conjunction. However, several readings from Zoroastrian and Judeo-Christian texts indicate that the Star was an unknown and unpredicted celestial object-signifying that the Magi did not know exactly what to search for, or that it was a predictable event. This rules out planetary conjunctions that are predictable and considered malevolent in Zoroastrian texts. Despite the overwhelming evidence from primary sources, modern theologians continue to neglect ancient texts to produce their own biblical interpretations of scripture. It is not just science that is often overlooked by theologians, but quite often important religious scriptures. This is a study of what is wrong, and how to find better ways to conduct research in the future that brings science and religion together to provide answers to the Nativity. I. Recent Star of Bethlehem Trends In 1604, Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) witnessed a supernova-an extremely bright, new star that appears suddenly and without warning in the sky, only to fade away after a few months. A year later, a thesis by Laurentius Suslyga, a Polish Jesuit and academic, demonstrated that scholars

A series of chronological markers indicate the years of Herod the Great and his heirs. These two charts use the dating methods described in published articles written by Andrew Steinmann and Rodger Young. One can download several of their papers at the following address: https://independent.academia.edu/RodgerYoung
These charts are part of Dwight Hutchison's book "The Lion Led the Way" (Fourth Edition), which will be published later in 2020.

Western Europe since the Middle Ages, astrology has always fought for the right to be an academic science. There were periods of success when astrology was taught at universities (Cambridge, Bologna, etc.), but there were periods of disgrace. The reasons for such fluctuations are uneasy relations: first of all, relations, which formed between astrology and theology, and then, between astrology and natural sciences. Through the prism of these difficulties, we will observe the views of modern scientists on astrological ideas. And the biblical story of the ancient magi who came to greet the birth of the Messiah can serve as a vivid example for that. We will consider one of the latest hypotheses expressed by the scientist Michael R. Molnar (formerly an astronomer at Rutgers University, New Jersey) in his book, «The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi» (1999). And also get acquainted with the comments to it, which have made at the interdisciplinary colloquium in the University of Groningen, «The Star of Bethlehem: Historical and Astronomical Perspectives» (2014). Proceeding from this, we will distinguish the features of astrological approaches, which make astrology rather complicated for superficial familiarization, but deep enough for scientific research. Also, we will try to assess the relevance of the astrology ideas during crisis of scientific paradigms.

"A Sign over Bethlehem" is a greatly abridged version of the third edition of the author's book "The Lion Led the Way," a book of almost 400 pages.

The biblical account of the wise men and the star that announced the coming of the Messiah of Israel has inspired and puzzled people for two millennia. Important aspects of Babylonian astronomy  seem to be involved in understanding the star’s appearing. But in addition, "A Sign Over Bethlehem" also explores the men and events from a profoundly Jewish perspective. The traditional Jewish names of stars and  planets, Jewish symbols, as well as Jewish dates, all seem to be keys to unlocking the mystery of the famous star.

The Star of Bethlehem was not the brightest of the heavenly lights, nor was it the most spectacular starry manifestation of all time. However, it was part of possibly the most meaningful set of celestial events in human history.

A considerable amount of the research into the 'Star of Bethlehem' has assumed that it was a unique celestial event. Such an approach, however, has overlooked the possible celestial information contained in the other features of both nativities of the gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke. This paper considers these other attributes. It adopts an archaeoastronomical and astrological approach to both narratives using the sky for the period of 07-06 B.C.E. as a primary document, as well as the Mesopotamian and Hellenistic astrological literature of the time. In the case of the Matthean pericope-the stories in Matthew's gospel-this approach suggests that the Star of Bethlehem is the title of a story rather than a single bright apparition. In the case of Luke's pericope it reveals that the attributes of the shepherds, angel, and the notion of a manger or a place for animals can be viewed as a Mesopotamian-influenced sky-watching discourse.

Il Natale è di tutti, di chi crede e di chi lo vive come momento speciale dell'anno senza particolari altre implicazioni. Ma il Natale è anche un evento, storico, esistenziale, carico di significati e di mistero. Un giorno solo che non basta una vita intera per comprenderlo nei limiti della sua comprensibilità. Senza pretese di poter svelare tutto, con la speranza di dire qualcosa che valga la pena di essere detto.

Nel capitolo VII ("De stella et magis") della sezione "In evangelia" dell'Historia scholastica, Pietro Comestore riporta una curiosa notizia che non trova altro riscontro letterario: Beda avrebbe creduto che la stella dei Magi caduta nel pozzo di Betlemme fosse stata vista da alcune vergini vissute al tempo di Paola ed Eustochio. I confratelli di Beda, ritenendo il racconto favoloso, avrebbero deciso di allontanarlo temporaneamente dal monastero. L'A. riesce a ricostruire soltanto in parte le fonti usate dal Comestore per l'episodio relativo alla stella dei Magi: accanto all'auctoritas di Fulgenzio dichiarata nel testo, ma in realtà poco sfruttata, si individuano calchi con le "Enarrationes in Mattheum" (attribuite da Migne ad Anselmo di Laon e in seguito al maestro Goffredo Babione), dove tuttavia l'episodio di Beda è assente, ed echi lessicali da Pietro Abelardo e Pietro Lombardo.

The Historia scholastica by the Parisian master Petrus Comestor preserves a singular testimony on the biography of Venerable Bede. The renowned monk had been separated from the community of his fellow monks due to his unacceptable beliefs regarding the star of the Magi. Bede believed the star of the Magi had fallen into a well in Bethlehem and that it had been seen by several virgins who had lived at the time of Paula and Eustochium.

Der Himmel im Dezember 2020 zeigt die große Konjunktion (Jupiter und Saturn), anlich wie zur Geburt Jesu. Relativ unscheinbar. Überraschend. Ernüchterung zu Weihnachten.
Der Stern von Bethlehem. Heilige Drei Könige. Wie war das Damlas?
Hatten sie einen politischen Auftrag.
Sterndeuter: Was interpretierten sie?