Did you know the Christmas star is known as the Star of Bethlehem? Most Christians have heard that phrase but let’s dive into the significance and meaning of this name!
What was the Star of Bethlehem?
As the well-known story in the Gospel of Matthew goes, the Star of Bethlehem guided three Magi, or wise men, to Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago. And after consulting with King Herod of Judea, the men found newborn baby Jesus in the little town of Bethlehem. Whether such an event really happened in history is difficult to prove, but if it did, what was the Star of Bethlehem?
This is a question scholars have long pondered, not just from a religious or historical perspective, but from a scientific one, too. Plenty of theories have been proposed, from an astronomical event to an astrological horoscope, but thanks to modern astronomy, scientists are getting closer to an answer.
“If what is in the New Testament is a historical account of something, then that historical account requires an explanation,” David Weintraub, a professor of physics and astronomy at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, told our sister publication All About Space in an email. “As an astronomer, you want an astronomical explanation.”
The Star of Bethlehem wasn’t a comet or a supernova
We know that Halley’s Comet was visible in the sky in 11 B.C. However, as the Magi trekked toward Jerusalem and on to Bethlehem, it seems unlikely that they followed a comet because its position would have changed as the Earth rotated, so the comet would not have led them in a single direction. What’s more, in the ancient world, comets were often regarded as bad omens.
“For Christmas cards, it makes a nice picture having a comet and a tail but in those days comets up in the sky were usually a harbinger of impending disaster,” Grant Mathews, a professor of theoretical astrophysics and cosmology at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, told All About Space in an email.
We can also rule out novas and supernovas. Either event would have resulted in a detectable remnant, but astronomers have not found anything that might date back to this time.
Furthermore, had the Magi followed one, they probably would have walked in a circle. “You can’t follow a star from Baghdad to Jerusalem to Bethlehem,” Weintraub said. “Stars don’t do that. They rise and set, and they don’t sit in the sky.”
Such an event would surely have been seen by others at the time, too. Although novas are reportedly quite rare, you’d still expect to find other historical accounts of a large, bright event in the sky.
Other theories suggest a supernova in the Andromeda galaxy as the cause, as described in a 2005 study published in the journal The Observatory. Although it’s possible to see the galaxy with the unaided eye, it wouldn’t have been possible to see a star going supernova and exploding within it — even with the help of a telescope.
The “star” could have been an entire sky of stars
This leads us to one of two possibilities. The first is that the Magi were making an astrological interpretation of the sky. The fact that they needed to ask Herod for directions when they arrived suggests they were not being led to their final destination by a single bright object.
Astrology was widely used at the time, and with the Magi coming from Babylon, it’s plausible that they were astrologers. And due to a particular alignment of planets and stars, they may have read a hidden meaning among the stars, leading them to King Herod. For example, Jupiter’s display could have been of great significance here, as astrology associated the planet Jupiter with royalty, so the moon passing it in the constellation of Aries on April 17, 6 B.C. could have heralded the birth of Christ.
“Modern astronomers don’t put any credence in astrology, but ‘modern’ is important in this context,” Weintraub said. “What’s important is what people thought 2,000 years ago. Astrology was a big deal back then. The explanation I have found that makes the most sense is that it was astrological.”
The Star of Bethlehem could have been a conjunction
The other — more astronomical — explanation is that there was indeed a bright object in the sky — a conjunction between planets and stars. A conjunction occurs when two or more celestial bodies appear to meet in the night sky from our location on Earth. These events can continue every night in a similar location for days or weeks. If the wise men were to follow the moment of conjunction, it’s possible they would have been led in a specific direction.
Astronomer Michael Molnar suggested that a conjunction theory might be correct in his book “The Star of Bethlehem” (Rutgers University Press, 1999). If the “star” was the result of a conjunction (and this historical event did really happen), then there are several different alignments that could be the culprit.
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Perhaps the most promising, and the one favored by Mathews, is an alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, the moon and the sun in the constellation of Aries on April 17, 6 B.C. This conjunction fits with the story for a few reasons. First, this conjunction happened in the early morning hours, which aligns with the Gospel’s description of the Star of Bethlehem as a rising morning star. The Magi also lost sight of the star, before seeing it come to rest in the place where baby Jesus lay in the stable. This could have been the result of the retrograde motion of Jupiter, which means that it appears to change direction in the night sky as Earth’s orbit overtakes it.
“Normally, planets move eastward if you’re following them in the sky,” Mathews said. “But when they go through retrograde motion, they turn around and go in the direction that the stars rise and set at night [westward].”
Two other conjunctions around a similar time also look promising. One is the meeting of Jupiter, Venus and the star Regulus in the constellation of Leo on June 17, 2 B.C. Without the aid of a telescope, the two planets would appear as a single “star,” brighter than Venus and Jupiter individually. Another conjunction occurred in 6 B.C., between Jupiter, Saturn and Mars in the constellation of Pisces. But neither of these latter two conjunctions match the description in the New Testament as closely as the conjunction that occurred on April 17, 6 B.C.
The Star of Bethlehem mystery continues
Although scientists have ruled out several possibilities, we may never know for sure what the Star of Bethlehem was or if it even really happened, barring some remarkable archaeological findings. But it’s a question that comes up year after year, and it will continue to pique the interest of scientists and historians alike for many years to come.
“Nothing in science is ever case closed, nor is it in history,” Mathews said. “We may never know if the Star of Bethlehem was a conjunction, astrological event or a fable to advance Christianity. Maybe it was simply a miracle.”
Additional resources
Explore whether astronomy can explain the biblical Star of Bethlehem with this article from The Conversation. Discover more theories behind the Star of Bethlehem with Royal Museums Greenwich. Read about what the magi had in common with scientists in this article from The Conversation.
Bibliography
- Michael R. Molnar. The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi. Rutgers University Press, Sept, 1. 1999.
- van Kooten, George H., and Peter Barthel, eds. The Star of Bethlehem and the Magi: interdisciplinary perspectives from experts on the ancient Near East, the Greco-Roman world, and modern astronomy. Brill, 2015.
- Kelley, David H., and Eugene F. Milone. Exploring ancient skies: A survey of ancient and cultural astronomy. New York: Springer, 2011.
- Coates, Richard. “A linguist’s angle on the Star of Bethlehem.” Astronomy & Geophysics 49.5 (2008): 5-27.
- Hughes, David W. “The Star of Bethlehem.” Nature 264.5586 (1976): 513-517.
- Tipler, Frank J. “The Star of Bethlehem: a type Ia/Ic supernova in the Andromeda galaxy?.” The observatory 125 (2005): 168-174.
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Where Is the Star of Bethlehem Mentioned in the Bible?
The star of Bethlehem is never called by that name in the Bible. It first appears in Matthew 2:2, when the Magi (or Wise Men) from the east go to King Herod in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
The wise men conversed with a confused Herod, who knew nothing of this king, then set out once more. Matthew 2:9-10 records,
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
What Was the Purpose of the Star of Bethlehem?
Matthew is the only one of the four gospels that mentions the star. It doesn’t appear that it was seen or followed by any other parties besides the Wise Men.
However, the star drew these unlikely men to Christ. The Greek word μαγοι (mάgoi) is translated as “wise men” or “magi” depending on the English translation.
This word originally referred to a class of Persian wise men that were something like priests, interpreters of special signs, especially astrology.
Eventually, the word came to be used for anyone who had supernatural knowledge or ability, or a magician. The Wise Men from the east were likely something along the lines of these Persian astrologers.
It’s possible the Magi knew something of Jewish prophecy due to the time the Jews spent in captivity in Babylon. Many Jews never returned to Judea, even after they were given leave to return.
This knowledge combined with the signs the Magi saw in the heavens led them from the east to the little town of Bethlehem.
It is also unlikely that King Herod would have been made aware of Jesus’ birth if he was not approached by the Wise Men. Because of this information, Herod unwittingly set multiple prophecies into motion.
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written…”
When [the wise men] had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
The star not only showed the Magi the way to Jesus but also made Herod and the chief priests aware that the Messiah had come, a far greater king than Herod.
What Did the Star of Bethlehem Signify?
The idea that important events or people were heralded by signs in the heavens was a common part of most religions at the time. Astrological events were often thought to portend the birth of great heroes or rulers.
Thus, it isn’t surprising that the Magi were looking to the sky. It also makes sense that God would announce the birth of His Son in a way the Magi would understand.
A nova or supernova?
It is possible that the star could have been a nova or supernova.
The difficulty that advocates of this view need to overcome is showing why the brightening or appearance of a star would have been interpreted as signaling the birth of a Jewish king.
In some parts of the world, novas were thought significant, but we’d need to show that eastern magi found them so, and this is not easy to do. While Chinese astronomers paid attention to novas, we don’t have evidence that people in the part of the world where Jesus lived did.
Unless there was an established tradition linking the appearance of novas to the births of kings, the magi wouldn’t have had a reason to set out on their journey, but we don’t have records showing the existence of such a tradition (see Michael Molnar, The Star of Bethlehem, chapter 2.)
A comet?
Today we don’t think of a comet as a star, but the ancients did. The ancient Greeks referred to a comet, because of its tail, as an astēr komētēs or “long-haired star,” which is where the word comet came from. Comets were viewed as omens of important events, and so it has periodically been proposed that the star of Bethlehem was a comet.
We even have one instance in the ancient world when a comet was interpreted in connection with the birth of a king. According to the Roman historian Justin, the birth of King Mithridates VI of Pontus in 134 B.C. was accompanied by a comet (Historiae Philippicae 37:2).
This shows that comets could be interpreted that way, but that doesn’t mean they were likely to be. In fact, comets were overwhelmingly regarded as bad omens.
That may be the case with Mithridates, who was an enemy of Rome and who had significant success in battle against Roman generals. From the perspective of Justin and his countrymen, the comet that appeared when Mithridates was born may have represented a threat to Roman interests.
This also seems to be the only case on record of a comet being linked to a birth. Normally comets were interpreted as signals of defeat in war or of the deaths of kings.
The magi could have interpreted a comet as heralding the death of King Herod, but that’s not what was on their mind when they arrived. They thought the star indicated a birth, not a death.
Also, any newborn prince wouldn’t have been able to take the throne for many years, so they didn’t interpret the star as signaling an immediate transition from one ruler to another.
A conjunction?
You might think that a conjunction would not be a good candidate for the star of Bethlehem.
One reason is that they involve planets. Today we don’t think of planets as stars, but—once again—the ancients did.
Many stars—which we refer to as “fixed stars”—do not seem to change their position relative to each other. The stars we see in the constellations are like this. For example, as the earth rotates, it causes the stars of the Big Dipper to appear to move in unison with each other. The Big Dipper as a whole moves, with its individual stars keeping the same “fixed” positions relative to each other.
Planets don’t do that. As they move in their orbits, they change position with respect to the background, fixed stars, and so they seem to wander across the sky. Thus they were called “wandering stars” (Greek, asteres planētai), which is where the word planet came from.
It is thus possible one of the planets might have come into alignment with something else in the sky that could have been interpreted as signaling the birth of a Jewish king. If so, then the planet in question would be the “wandering star” that the magi saw.
