The Magi and the Star

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The wondrous star that hovered over Bethlehem at Jesus’ birth has long mystified Bible scholars and astronomers alike. Attempts to identify the star with historical celestial phenomena have been inconclusive at best, leading many to dismiss the gospel account as a beautiful but imaginative myth. Still others 018keep returning to this question, knowing that if we could only link the star with a specific celestial event, we could also pinpoint the date of Jesus’ birth. For although today we celebrate the birth of Jesus in 1 C.E., most scholars believe he was actually born sometime between 7 and 4 B.C.E., based on the Gospel of Matthew, which indicates that Jesus was born late in the reign of King Herod of Judea, who died in 4 B.C.E.^a

I believe that Babylonian astronomy may provide the key to identifying the star and to dating Jesus’ birth: That’s because the Gospel of Matthew tells us that the magi—astronomers from the East—believed that the star would lead them to a new king. Why? What did the magi know?

According to Matthew, after Jesus was born “magi from the East arrived in Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? We have observed the rising of his star, and we have come to pay him homage’” (Matthew 2:2).

Herod was, of course, disturbed by the news. He called his chief priests and scribes before him and asked them where such a child would be born. They said Bethlehem (where King David, whose scion would be the messiah, had been born). Herod then instructed the magi to continue on their journey to Bethlehem: “Go and search diligently for the child,” Herod advised. “When you have found him, bring me word so that 019I may also go and pay him homage” (Matthew 2:8). Once they found the child, Herod advised, they should report back to him. Secretly, the king planned to destroy the infant.

The magi set out on the road to Bethlehem. “The star that they had seen in its rising went ahead of them until it stopped above the place where the child lay. At the sight of the star, they were overjoyed. Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and bowed to the ground in homage to him; then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh” (Matthew 2:9–11). Having been warned in a dream of Herod’s malicious intent, the magi returned home “by another road” (Matthew 2:12).

The term Matthew uses, magoi (“magi” in English), refers to Persian astronomers or scholars, although it is often translated simply as “wise men.” Matthew does not mention the names or the number of these wise men, but according to later Christian tradition, there were three: Balthassar, Melchior and Caspar. (For more on the magi in later traditions, see the following article in this issue.) Balthassar is a Greek corruption of the Babylonian name Belshazzar (Beµl-sáar-usur, or more simply Bel-shar-usur) familiar from the Book of Daniel; it means “O Lord, protect the king.” Melchior, which means “The king is my light,” is an Aramaic name often encountered in Assyrian and Babylonian texts. Caspar (sometimes spelled Gaspar) is a Roman corruption of Gondophares (Gadaspar), a Parthian name (the language of the people who ruled Persia in Matthew’s time). The names of the magi suggest that they came from Babylon, a Parthian royal city and one of the most important centers of astronomical and astrological knowledge of the day.

From its beginnings in the early second millennium B.C.E., Babylonian astronomy was linked with astrology and divination. The royal courts used astronomy to interpret celestial events, which were understood as portents sent from the gods to the king. Every day, month, part of the sky and celestial body or phenomenon had a significance of its own. An eclipse of the moon, for example, might be interpreted as a sign that the king would die. By the fifth century B.C.E., personal horoscopes were being used to predict an individual’s future based on the positions of the planets in various constellations at the time of his or her birth (that is, based on the astrological significance of both the planets in the night sky at the time of the birth and the constellations in front of which the planets appeared).

The work of Babylonian astronomers was, of course, limited to what could be seen by the naked eye, for the telescope would not be invented until the Renaissance.^b In planetary terms, this meant astronomers could observe the movements of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter, but not Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Nevertheless, between 220 B.C.E. and 75 C.E., Babylonian astronomy had advanced so far that all significant phenomena involving these five visible planets and the moon could be accurately computed in advance. This is demonstrated in the many Babylonian astronomical almanacs that have survived from this period. Like modern almanacs, the Babylonian texts were prepared a year in advance and provide a month-by-month account of what would be seen in the night sky. The data include lunar and solar eclipses, solstices and equinoxes, the first and last dates when stars would be visible in the night sky, planetary positions in relation to the zodiacal signs, conjunctions (when celestial bodies appear closest to each other in the sky) and oppositions (when a planet appears on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun; this usually occurs when the planet is closest to Earth, as in the top diagram in the sidebar to this article.

Today, we know of several astronomical events that enlivened the night sky in the last years of the first 022millennium B.C.E. and the beginning of the first millennium C.E. Identifying one of these as the Star of Bethlehem would give us the date of Jesus’ birth.

Among the possible candidates is an exceptional light phenomenon—possibly a nova (a star that suddenly increases in brightness) or a supernova (a giant stellar explosion)—known from ancient Chinese records to have occurred in the constellation of Capricorn in 5 B.C.E. However, unlike the Star of Bethlehem in the Gospel of Matthew, novas do not move but remain stationary in relation to the fixed stars, so this possibility must be rejected as unsatisfactory. Chinese and Roman sources also record an appearance of Halley’s comet from August to October in 12 B.C.E.; but this date is too far from the death of Herod to be considered seriously. No other suitable observations of comets are known from this period.

Another possibility is a conjunction of Venus and Jupiter in 2 B.C.E. During a conjunction, two planets appear close to each other in the night sky (see photo, below). In 2 B.C.E., Jupiter and Venus came so close together that they appeared to merge into a single brilliant star, although only for a very short duration—a maximum of two hours before their setting. Nevertheless, this conjunction must be dismissed because it occurred after Herod’s death.

The only remaining candidate is a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 7 B.C.E.¹ Already in 1604 Johannes Kepler associated this event with the birth of Jesus. However, Jupiter and Saturn did not come close enough to each other during this conjunction to be seen as a single exceptionally bright star. Rather, they remained at least one degree apart (about two diameters of the moon), leading one scholar to conclude: “This fact renders it impossible to explain the Star of Bethlehem with reference to that particular conjunction.”²

It thus seems that from the viewpoint of modern science, the Star of Bethlehem cannot be satisfactorily explained. We will have better luck, however, if we turn to ancient science, which sheds light on how the magi themselves would have understood these celestial phenomena, in particular the conjunction of 7 B.C.E. For although modern scholars might find it “impossible” to identify this conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter with the magi’s star, Babylonian astronomers used the term kakkabu, “star,” to refer to a single star or planet as well as a constellation.

Further evidence of how ancient astronomers would have understood this conjunction has been revealed by excavations in Babylon, which have uncovered four clay tablets bearing astronomical computations for the year 7 B.C.E.^c This almanac indicates that, from the beginning of the year, Jupiter and Saturn were continuously visible in Pisces for 11 months. In other words, for most of the year the constellation Pisces served as a backdrop for the planets Jupiter and Saturn as they traveled slowly through the night sky. The movements, stationary points, risings and settings of both planets are accurately registered month by month (see the sidebar to this article). They came 023closest together on three nights in May, October and December. It appears from the almanac that toward the end of the conjunction, Mars also moved into Pisces; it was visible near Jupiter and Saturn in mid-February.

That the almanac survives in four copies is remarkable, and, indeed, quite exceptional. The overwhelming majority (85 percent) of the known almanacs are available in one copy only, and only two other almanacs are available in four or more copies.^d Unlike modern almanacs, Babylonian almanacs were not drawn up for the general public but for the private use of a handful of experts, and they were guarded as great scholarly secrets. That so many copies exist of this one is all the more surprising when one considers its date: Cuneiform texts become rare in the latter half of the first century B.C.E. (the latest known cuneiform tablet dates from 75 C.E. and there are only four cuneiform tablets altogether from the Christian Era).

The great number of copies has an obvious explanation, however: An 11-month conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Pisces is an extremely rare event,

occurring only once every 800 years. Because of the slow rotational velocity of both Jupiter (which has a 12-year orbit around the sun) and Saturn (29.5 years), any conjunction of these planets (the so-called “great conjunction”) will only happen every 20 years. The 11-month conjunction of 7 B.C.E., however, was special in that the planets met three times in succession in the same constellation. It can occur only when both planets are in opposition to the sun; that is, the sun is on the opposite side of the Earth from the planets (see the sidebar to this article). Since 7 B.C.E. a triple conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter has been observed only twice, in the years 786 and 1583.

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For the ancient Babylonian magi, however, the conjunction was not only important astronomically, but astrologically and politically.

In the Babylonian system, Jupiter, the largest and brightest planet, was known as the star of Marduk, the supreme god of Babylon. Saturn, the second largest planet, was the star of the king, the earthly representative of the god. The Babylonians called Saturn Kaiwaµnu, “The Steady One.” The constellation Pisces was associated with Ea, the god of wisdom, life and creation. Pisces was also the last sign in the zodiac—that is, the last constellation that the sun passed through each year (see the sidebar to this article). The conjunction of the planets in Pisces accordingly portended two things: the end of the old world order and the birth of a new savior king chosen by God. No Babylonian interpretation of this particular conjunction is extant—surely because of the great rarity of the event—but we know that interpretations of planetary conjunctions were based on an analysis of the astrological significance of the planets and the accompanying circumstances, particularly the zodiacal sign in which the conjunction took place. The fact that Mars, the star of Nergal, the god of war,^e joined the conjunction in its final phase signified that the new king was to come from the West, specifically, from Syria-Palestine, for Mars was the star of Amurru or the West (Syria-Palestine) in the Babylonian system.

The prediction of such a king would have held wide interest in 7 B.C.E., when a power vacuum of sorts prevailed in the Near East. The Seleucid empire created by the successors of Alexander the Great had collapsed in 64 B.C.E., and its remnants, which included Judea, had been annexed to Rome as a province named Syria. The power of Rome had not yet been consolidated in the area, however. Even after Augustus changed Rome into an autocratic monarchy in 27 B.C.E., his authority was questioned in the East, for the Roman emperor, unlike the Seleucid kings and their predecessors, did not derive his authority from God. For this reason, many people considered Roman rule illegitimate and hoped that a local Near Eastern king appointed by God would drive the Romans out of the country and create a better world. These messianic expectations are recorded by Josephus and reflected in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The conjunction of 7 B.C.E. would have been interpreted as a portent of the birth of precisely this kind of king. The political vistas opened by it would not have escaped the attention of any Babylonian astrologer.

When the year 7 B.C.E. began, Jupiter was already visible in the night sky. Saturn appeared soon after, on the third day of the first month, Nisan (at the beginning of April). The planets met for the first time on May 27, rising in the east at about 2 o’clock in the morning, the brighter Jupiter first, and Saturn, considerably dimmer, soon after it.

The second meeting of the planets occurred on the 22nd of Tishri (October 6). Just as Mars was the star of Amurru (the West), Tishri was known as the month of Amurru. This second meeting may have inspired the magi to head West. That they chose to visit Herod’s court is natural, as he was unquestionably one of the most powerful kings of Syria-Palestine.

The magi would have seen a brilliant and suggestive sight. Jupiter and Saturn were in opposition to the sun and shining at their brightest, with Jupiter (the star of the supreme god) appearing twice as bright as Sirius, the brightest star. Appearing directly above Saturn (the star of the king), Jupiter thus seemed to embrace and protect Saturn in its light. The conjunction was visible through the whole night, setting in the West. For the magi, the significance resided in the astrological message, not the appearance: Matthew nowhere stresses the brightness of the star.

The journey of about 750 miles from Babylon to Jerusalem took about three weeks by donkey or camel. If the magi left for Syria-Palestine in early Tishri (October), they would have arrived there well before November 7, when Jupiter reached a stationary point (its second) and for a moment seemed to come to a stop. This occurs whenever the Earth, traveling at a faster rate in its smaller, inner orbit, catches up with Jupiter (or any outer planet). As the Earth overtakes the planet, Jupiter appears from our vantage point to pause in the sky, then to travel backward (westward) in retrograde motion until Earth has passed by. The planet then pauses a second time and turns back in an easterly direction (see the sidebar to this article). On 054November 20, Saturn reached its (second) stationary point. Both dates—the 7th for Jupiter and 20th for Saturn—would fit Matthew’s description of a star stopping above Bethlehem.

The third conjunction occurred at the time of the full moon, on the 14th of Kislev (December 1), about three weeks before the winter solstice, when the Babylonians held their annual celebration of the victory of their savior god, Nabû, over the forces of darkness. The magi may well have associated the birth of the child they were looking for with this festival, for the Mesopotamian king was commonly regarded as an incarnation of Nabû. Interestingly, the Babylonians proclaimed Nabû’s victory as “good tidings” (bussuraµti) to all the people. Bussurtu, “good tidings,” is the same word as Hebrew/Aramaic besorah, of which the Biblical euangelion (gospel) is a Greek translation.

In Luke, the angel uses this very term to announce Jesus’ birth to the shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night: “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news [euangelion = bussurtu] of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:10–11).

How could a star lead the magi to Jerusalem and Bethlehem?^f These Babylonian astronomers would have “followed” a star only based on its astrological significance. In 7 B.C.E., they read the message of the “star”—that a messiah-king would be born in Syria-Palestine—and they headed to a leading political center in the region, King Herod’s court. There they were directed to Bethlehem; as they traveled, both the planet of the king (Saturn) and the planet of the supreme god (Jupiter) would have paused in the sky, as planets do when the Earth overtakes them in their orbit. In late December, at the winter solstice, the magi would have rejoiced with good news, or bussuraµti: Their savior king was born—several years before the Christian Era even began!

The wondrous star that hovered over Bethlehem at Jesus’ birth has long mystified Bible scholars and astronomers alike. Attempts to identify the star with historical celestial phenomena have been inconclusive at best, leading many to dismiss the gospel account as a beautiful but imaginative myth. Still others 018keep returning to this question, knowing that if we could only link the star with a specific celestial event, we could also pinpoint the date of Jesus’ birth. For although today we celebrate the birth of Jesus in 1 C.E., most scholars believe he was actually born sometime between 7 and 4 […]