What was the star of Bethlehem that the sage obeyed?

At Christmas, we remember the sage who followed Bethlehem. But what was the star?

Christmas star

At Christmas, people sometimes put stars on the Christmas tree. The shopping center and the town Christmas lights include stars. Christmas cards often show stars just above the stability of Bethlehem’s THAT. This often creates something that is unrealistic and certainly at risk of fire. In Carol, “We Three King”, people sing, “Following Yonda Star.”

Explanation of the Bible

The story of the sage, also known as Magi, which follows the star of Bethlehem, can be seen only once in the Bible of Matthew 2: 1-12. The origin of this story may be directly from Mary, “I cherished them in her heart,” (Luka 2:19, 2: 51). Magi was a wise man linked to the royal court, probably representing the king. In the church calendar, they are commemorated by Epifaney.

The account does not tell you what the number of Magi, what their name is, what the stars are, and how bright it is.

The stars have been exposed twice, and the text is the first witness when Jesus was born.

The sage arrived in Jerusalem from the east (Matthew 2: 1), in search of the place of a child, saying, “We have seen him since we saw his stars on his stars, so he began to worship him.” (Matthew 2: 2). Herod then collects his Magi (Matthew 2: 4). He quotes Mika 5: 2 to explain that a child is born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2: 5 –6). After that, Herod called Magi, and “I was eager to ask when the star appeared” (Matthew 2: 7) did not specify whether the text was given to him. After that, Magi moves to Bethlehem (Matthew 2: 8), where he looks at the stars again.

Early church father, Erenaeus, considered this event as a realization of Baram’s prophecy. At 24:17, “There is something that comes out of Jacob, and Septer stands up from Israel” (KJV). To be a Messianic prophecy.

Bible star

The Genesis describes how God created the sun, the moon, and stars called the “light of the sky” (Genesis 1: 14-18). However, the Israelites were warned to not worship the stars and not worship (Damnation 4:19).

The Jews believed that God had set a star instead of themselves (poetry Sal 8: 3), and believed that “heaven declared the glory of God” (poetry Sal19: 1 –4). 。 Psalm 147: 4 states that God counts the stars and gives each name. Similarly, Isaiah 40:26 declares, “Raise your eyes and look at the heavens: who created all of these? Pull out the starry sky one by one and call each by name” (KJV).

Bear constellations (called KJV’s Arcturus), Orion, and Pleiades (called the seven stars of KJV) are mentioned in Job 9: 9, Job 38: 31-32, and Amos 5: 8. For Jews, worshiping stars was prohibited, but it was common to recognize the signs of heaven. Even Jesus says, “There are signs in the sun, the moon, and stars (Luka 21:25).

What does text mean “star”?

In ancient times, people were familiar with stars. Their view of the night sky was not blocked by the light pollution from streetlights, cars, and buildings. When traveling with donkey, horses, or camels, their scenery was not blocked by car roofs or trains. The stars were used for navigation and lighting. People know the names of stars and constellations, and they will be important in their movements.

In modern English, it distinguishes stars, planets, moon, comets, asteroids, meteors, and even dwarfs. However, in ancient times, the glowing object of the sky except the sun and the moon was called “star”. What we are calling the planet now was considered “wandering star”. In fact, our word “planet” comes from a Greek term for wandering stars.

Astronomy and Bethlehem stars

The modern word “astronomy” is derived from the star Greek and space attacks. Ancient astronomer tracked the stars with great care. Babylonians have schools for Stargazers, and cave tablets are documented. The ancient Chinese emperor also maintained the Stargaze staff and led some researchers to examine Bethlehem’s clues to Babylonia and China’s records.

For example, China’s record describes an object with a tail (probably comet) that can be seen in the spring of five days of BC (probably comet). Some suggest that this is nova, while others propose a comet. Many believe that Jesus was born around 5 BC, and this event is a candidate for stars.

Astronomy theory:

1. Comet theory
Early church’s father, Oligen, suggested that Bethlehem’s star was a comet and a popular theory. The comet is an ice -like body that gets hot near the sun and produces a tail that refers to a specific direction. Some say that the Halley comet seen in 12 BC is a star.

2. Nova or supernova theory
NOVA is a “new star”, and a supernova occurs when the star collapses. As Johannes Kepler observed in 1604, these rare events are bright enough to be seen during the day.

3. Congestion theory
Connections occur when the planet is lined up. In 7 BC, there was a binding of Jupiter and Saturn, and in six BC, there was a triple conjunction involving Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. Some believe that these alignment describes Bethlehem’s stars.

4. Astrology theory
In ancient times, astronomy and astrology were intertwined. Some have suggested that Magi has been telling the birth of a Jewish king, such as the alignment of a planet in a specific constellation.

Conclusion

You may not know exactly what the sage sees. But this story is consistent with what we know about their interest in ancient Magi and heavenly events. Patrick Moore, a legendary British night presenter, probably summarized it most: “Frankly, we just don’t know!”

This article was originally published by Christian Today