Tyndale Bulletin 43.1 (1992) 31-56.
Colin
J. Humphreys
I.
Introduction
The
star of Bethlehem
has been considered either to be mythical or a miraculous object beyond the
bounds of scientific explanation or a real astronomical phenomenon.[2] The question of whether a celestial
phenomenon reported in ancient literature in an historical context was a real
astronomical object is one which occurs quite frequently. In all such cases it seems best to consider
as a working hypothesis that the report is correct and to investigate whether
any astronomical phenomenon exists which fits the report. Thus, tentatively, we take seriously the
references in Matthew’s gospel and in other ancient literature to the star of Bethlehem which is stated
to have appeared near the time of the birth of Christ.
If an astronomical object can be
identified with the characteristics described in Matthew and other ancient
manuscripts, this information may throw light on the long standing problem of
the date of the Nativity. In AD 525 a
Roman scholar and monk, Dionysius Exiguus, fixed the AD origin of our present
calendar (Anno Domini = in the year
of our Lord) so that Jesus was circumcised in the year AD 1 on 1 January (8
days, counting inclusively, after his birth on 25 December the previous
year). More recently dates ranging from
20
BC to AD 10 have been given for the year of the Nativity.[3] Concerning the day, although 25 December is
firmly fixed in our calendar, this is unlikely if the arguments in the present
paper are accepted. In this article we
consider a combination of astronomical and historical evidence which may be
used to identify the star of Bethlehem
and to determine the date of the Nativity.
The earliest known account of the
star of Bethlehem is in Matthew 2:1-12. Most scholars accept that the final text of
this gospel may have been composed in about AD 80 from sources written in earlier times. Presumably one of these sources recorded the
star of Bethlehem
and the visit of the Magi. The account
in Matthew describes how the Magi saw a star which they believed heralded the
birth of the Messiah–king of the Jews.
They travelled to Jerusalem
and informed King Herod of the time when the star appeared, which indicates
that the star was not a customary sight.
The advisers of Herod told the Magi that, according to the prophesy of
Micah, the Messiah should be born in Bethlehem,
so the Magi journeyed there. The star
moved before them and ‘stood over’ Bethlehem. The Magi found the place where the child was
and presented him with gifts.
There are key questions arising
from the account in Matthew’s gospel, and other ancient literature, of the star
of Bethlehem
which the following discussion will attempt to answer: Who were the Magi? Is there a known astronomical phenomenon
which fits the account; what induced the Magi to embark on their journey? Can astronomy be used to solve the
long–standing problem of the date of the birth of Christ?
II. The
Magi
The
tradition that the Magi were kings dates from the sixth century AD, and is
almost certainly legendary. According to
Herodotus,[4] Magi existed in Persia in the sixth century BC,
they were a priestly group among the Medes who performed religious ceremonies
and interpreted signs and portents. Persia (now Iran)
conquered neighbouring Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and from the fourth century
BC onwards Magi were increasingly associated with astronomy and astrology, the
observation and the ‘interpretation’ of the stars being
closely
related in ancient times and Babylon (in Mesopotamia) became the centre of
ancient astronomy and astrology. In
about 586 BC the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem
and took the Jews into Exile. From the
time of the Exile onwards Babylon
contained a strong Jewish colony, and the knowledge of the Jewish prophecies of
a Saviour–King, the Messiah, may have been well-known to the Babylonians and to
the Magi.
In the Hellenistic age some of the
Magi left Babylon
and travelled to neighbouring countries to teach and practise
astronomy/astrology, which was a core educational subject in the ancient world.[5] Thus the first century AD Jewish scholar
Philo of Alexandria stated that the student of astronomy perceived ‘timely
signs of coming events’ since ‘the stars were made for signs’.[6] There is a strong tradition that the Magi who
visited Jesus came from Arabia (now Saudi Arabia),
which lies between Mesopotamia and Palestine. Thus in about
AD 160 Justin Martyr wrote ‘Magi from Arabia came to him [Herod]’ and in
about AD 96 Clement of Rome[7] associated frankincense and myrrh, two of the
gifts of the Magi, with ‘the East, that is the districts near Arabia’. We conclude that the Magi who saw the star of
Bethlehem were astronomers/astrologers, who may
have been familiar with the Jewish prophecies of a Saviour–King, and who
probably came from Arabia or Mesopotamia, countries to the east of Palestine. Matthew 2:1 simply states ‘Magi from the East
arrived in Jerusalem’. It is important to realise that there are
many references in ancient literature to Magi visiting kings and emperors in
other countries. For example, Tiridates,
the King of Armenia, led a procession of Magi to pay homage to Nero in Rome in AD 66.[8] Thus a visit by the Magi to pay homage to Jesus,
the new King of the Jews, would not have appeared as particularly unusual to
readers of Matthew’s gospel. However,
the Magi must have had an
unmistakably
clear astronomical/astrological message to start them on their journey.
III.
Characteristics of the Star of Bethlehem
There
are several specific characteristics of the star of Bethlehem recorded in Matthew’s gospel which,
if accepted, allow the type of astronomical object to be identified
uniquely. The characteristics are as
follows:
(i)
It was a star which had newly appeared.
Matthew 2:7 states ‘Then Herod summoned the Magi secretly and
ascertained from them the exact time when the star had appeared’.
(ii)
It travelled slowly through the sky against the star background. The Magi ‘saw his star in the east’ (Mt. 2:2)
then they came to Jerusalem where Herod sent
them to Bethlehem,
then ‘they went on their way and the star they had seen in the east went ahead
of them’ (Mt. 2:9). Since Bethlehem is to the south of Jerusalem
the clear implication is that the star of Bethlehem
moved slowly through the sky from the east to the south in the time taken for
the Magi to travel from their country to Jerusalem,
probably about one or two months (see p. 48).
(iii)
The star ‘stood over’ Bethlehem. Matthew 2:9 records that the star ‘went ahead
of them and stood over the place where the child was’. Popular tradition has the star pointing out
the very house, οἶκος (Mt. 2:11) in which Christ was born, but Matthew
neither states nor implies this:
according to him, viewed from Jerusalem
the star stood over the place where the child was born, i.e. Bethlehem.[9] If the above textual evidence is accepted
then all but one of the astronomical objects suggested in the literature as the
star of Bethlehem
can be ruled out. For example, the most
popular theory, demonstrated in many planetariums, is that the star of Bethlehem refers to a
conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 7 BC.
This planetary conjunction theory dates back to the 8th century
astronomer/astrologer Masha’allah[10] and has been widely supported in more recent
times[11] but it does not satisfy the description that
the star was a single star which appeared at a specific time, nor of a star
which ‘stood over’ Bethlehem. The next most popular theory is that the star
was a nova or a supernova. The first
suggestion that the star of Bethlehem
was a nova was made by Foucquet in 1729, and possibly earlier by Kepler in 1614[12] and it has received considerable recent
support.[13] A nova or supernova satisfies the requirement
that the star of Bethlehem
was a single star which appeared at a specific time, but cannot account for the
star moving through the sky. Similarly,
all other suggestions for the star of Bethlehem
(e.g. that it was Venus, etc.) can be ruled out except one: a comet.
IV. The
Star of Bethlehem
was a Comet?
Comets
probably have the greatest dramatic appearance of all astronomical
phenomena. They can be extremely bright
and easily visible to the naked eye for weeks or even months. Spectacular comets typically appear only a
few times each century. They can move
slowly or rapidly across the sky against the backdrop of stars, but visible
comets usually move through the star background at about one or two degrees per
day relative to the Earth. They can
sometimes be seen twice, once on their way in towards perihelion (the point in
their orbit which is closest to the sun) and again on their way out. However, from a given point on the Earth’s
surface, a comet is often only seen once, either on its way in or its way out,
because of its orbit relative to the Earth.
Since a comet usually peaks in brightness on its way out, about one week
after perihelion, most visible comets are seen on their way out from
perihelion.
If the star described in Matthew
was a comet, was it seen twice, first in the east on its way in towards
perihelion and again in the south on its way out, or was it seen continuously
moving from east to south (and then to west) on its way out? Matthew 2:9 states ‘the star they had seen in
the east went ahead of them [to Bethlehem
in the south]’. It was not generally
recognised 2000 years ago that a comet seen twice, once on its way in towards
perihelion (where it would disappear in the glare of the sun) and again on its
way out was one and the same comet. It
was normally regarded as two separate comets.
Since Matthew 2:9 clearly implies that the star seen in the south was
the same star as that originally seen in the east we deduce that the star was
continuously visible and suggest that it was a comet on its way out from
perihelion travelling east to south (to west).
In particular it is suggested that the Magi originally saw the comet in
the east in the morning sky (see later).
They travelled to Jerusalem,
a journey time of 1–2 months (see later), and in this time the comet had moved
through about 90_, from the east to the south, which is consistent with the 1
or 2 degrees per day typical motion of a comet.
In Jerusalem, Herod’s advisers suggested
the Magi go to Bethlehem,
six miles to the south and a journey time of one or two hours. The Magi set off next morning and saw the
comet ahead of them in the south in the morning sky. Hence it appeared that the comet ‘went ahead
of’ the Magi on this last lap of their journey.
The curious terminology in Matthew
2:9 that the star ‘stood over’ Bethlehem
will now be considered. Phrases such as ‘stood over’ and ‘hung over’ appear to
be uniquely applied in ancient literature to describe a comet, and I can find
no record of such phrases being used to describe any other astronomical object.
The historians Dio Cassius and Josephus were broadly contemporary with the
author of Matthew’s gospel. Dio Cassius[14] when describing the comet of 12 BC (Halley’s
comet) which appeared before the death of Marcus Agrippa wrote ‘the star called
comet stood for several days over the city [Rome]’.
Josephus[15] states ‘a star, resembling a sword, stood over
the city [Jerusalem]’,
probably referring to the comet of AD 64
mentioned
by Tacitus,[16] comets frequently being described as ‘swords’
in ancient literature because of their upward tails (in a direction away from
the sun). Marcellinus describing a comet
of AD 390 writes ‘a sign appeared in the sky hanging like a column and blazing
for 30 days’.
Celestial objects (including
comets) appear to move across the night sky because of the rotation of the
earth. In addition, comets move against
the backdrop of stars. What did Dio
Cassius and Josephus mean when they referred to comets ‘standing over’ Rome and Jerusalem,
respectively? At the time of Christ the
prevailing theory of comets was due to Aristotle who had proposed that comets
were sub-lunar objects located in the upper atmosphere.[17] This theory was consistent with the
Aristotelian model of comets lying below the ‘heavenly spheres’ containing the
Sun, Moon, planets and fixed stars, and presumably it also appeared to be
consistent with visual observations of bright comets which often seem to be
close to the Earth.[18] Hence a comet is probably the only
astronomical object to appear to be sufficiently low lying to be capable of
satisfying the descriptions in Dio Cassius, Josephus and Matthew of a star
standing over a particular town or city for part of the night. In addition, the upward tail of the comet
would appear to point the head of the comet towards the city. Hence we interpret Matthew’s description of a
star ‘standing over’ the place where Jesus was born as meaning that when the
Magi left Herod and headed towards Bethlehem, as he had suggested, they looked
up and saw the comet in front of them, with a near vertical tail, the head of
the comet appearing to stand over Bethlehem.
The use of the characteristic term
‘stood over’ by Dio Cassius and Josephus to describe a comet would seem to
leave little doubt that when Matthew uses the term ‘stood over’ he is also
describing a comet. Thus a comet
uniquely fits the description in Matthew that the star was new, it travelled
slowly through the star field from the east to the south, it went ahead of the Magi,
and ‘stood
over’
Bethlehem, the place where the child was.
The identification of a comet with
the star of Bethlehem
goes back to Origen in the third century, and this is the earliest known theory
for the star. Origen stated
The star that was seen in the East we consider
to be a new star. . .partaking of the nature of those celestial
bodies which appear at times such as comets. . . If then at the
commencement of new dynasties or on the occasion of other important events
there arises a comet. . .why should it be a matter of wonder that at
the birth of Him who was to introduce a new doctrine. . .a star
should have arisen?[19]
In
about AD 1303, Giotto painted a comet above the head of the infant Jesus in a
fresco in the Arena Chapel in Padua,
presumably using as a model the AD 1301 appearance of Halley’s comet.[20] The possibility that the star of Bethlehem was a comet has
also more recently been suggested[21] but without the detailed arguments given above
and later.
If the evidence cited above for
identifying the star of Bethlehem
with a comet is so strong why has it not been previously considered in the
detail given here? The main reason seems to be the widespread belief that a
comet was regarded as a sign from heaven of impending calamity and divine
displeasure. Hence, it is argued, if the
star of Bethlehem
was a comet, it could not possibly have been interpreted by the Magi as
heralding the birth of the Messiah.
However, an examination of historical records shows that comets were
interpreted as heralding both good and bad major events, in particular the
births and deaths of kings and important victories or defeats in wars. They were regarded as portents of major
changes in the established order. Thus
although a comet was regarded as a bad omen for the king who was about to die
or for the side that was going to lose a war, equally a comet was regarded as a
good omen heralding a new
king
or a major victory for those on the winning side. Origen, following his suggestion that the
star of Bethlehem was a comet, notes[22] that comets are associated with both
calamitous events and with great events and he refers to a book, Treatise on Comets, by Chaeremon the
Stoic which lists occasions comets appeared when ‘good was to happen’. The Chinese called comets ‘broom stars’ on
account of their tails, and at least two ancient Chinese references make a pun
of the word ‘broom’: a Chinese description of a comet of 524 BC saw it as a
‘new broom’ to sweep away traditions and the old order of things,[23] and Tsochhiu (c. 300 BC) stated ‘a comet is like a broom, it signals the sweeping
away of evil’.
In the second century AD the Roman
historian Justinus quoted from an earlier Roman historian, who in turn quoted
from the History of Kings of Timagenes of Alexandria, as follows:
Heavenly phenomena had also predicted the
greatness of this man [Mithridates, the famous King of Pontus]. For both in the year in which he was born and
in the year in which he began to reign a comet shone through both periods for
70 days in such a way that the whole sky seemed to be ablaze.[24]
This
account was dismissed by many historians as legendary (cf. the star of Bethlehem)
but Fotheringham[25] identified comets in Chinese records in 134 BC
and 120 BC, precisely the already accepted years of the birth and accession to
the kingship of Mithridates, and these comets are now accepted by historians as
events confirming his chronology. Thus
the assumed astrological significance of comets to ancient civilizations is
clear: they were interpreted as portents of gloom and death for the established
order, but they were equally regarded as heralds of victory in war and the
birth of new kings who would change the existing order.
The Chinese kept careful
astronomical records of visible comets, novae etc, and used different terms to
describe them.[26] A tailed comet was called a sui–hsing,
meaning a broom star, the ‘broom’ referring to the tail of the comet.[27] A comet without a tail is called a po–hsing,
and a nova is called a k’o–hsing, meaning guest-star. A clear distinction is not always made
between novae and comets without a tail.
Ho Peng–Yoke[28] lists and translates ancient Chinese records
of comets and novae. Those appearing
within the period 20 BC to AD 10 are all described as comets and are given in
Table 1. These objects are the only
recorded astronomical phenomena appearing near the birth of Christ which
satisfy the description in Matthew’s gospel of a star that moved through the
sky and that ‘stood over’ a place.
TABLE 1
Comets and novae appearing from 20 BC to AD 10
|
Ho
Peng-Yoke (1962) catalogue number
|
Date
(Julian
Calendar)
|
Description
|
|
61
|
26 August 12 BC (for 56 days, Halley’s Comet)
|
po (comet)
|
|
63
|
9 March—6 April
5 BC (for over 70 days)
|
sui (tailed comet)
|
|
64
|
April 4 BC
|
po (comet)
|
Note: (1)
the catalogue of Ho Peng-Yoke (1962) also has a 10 BC po
comet as catalogue number 62. However,
C. Cullen (to be published) has shown that there is no record of an appearance
of a comet in that year but simply references to the one which had been seen in
12 BC.
Note: (2)
the term sui (tailed comet) has traditionally been read as hui: see
text.
The earliest possible date for the
birth of Christ can be deduced from Luke 3:23, which states that he was ‘about
30’ when he started his ministry, which commenced with his baptism by John the
Baptist. Luke 3:1–2 carefully states
that the ministry of John the Baptist started in the fifteenth year of Tiberius
Caesar. Depending on
whether
Luke used the Julian calendar or the Roman regnal year calendar, the fifteenth
year of Tiberius was 1 Jan–31 Dec, AD 29 or
autumn
AD 28–29, respectively. The Lucan term
‘about 30’ is a broad term covering any actual age ranging from 26 to 34,[29] thus the earliest possible year for the birth
of Christ is obtained by subtracting 34 years from AD 28, giving 7 BC. Hence we can rule out as being too early for
the star of Bethlehem the comet of 12 BC
(Halley’s comet) in Table 1, although the 12 BC comet has recently been revived
as the star of Bethlehem.[30]
The latest possible year for the
birth of Christ is given by the date of the death of king Herod the Great,
since Matthew 2:1 states that Herod was king when the star was seen by the
Magi. The generally accepted date for
the death of Herod the Great is the spring of 4 BC[31] although other dates have also been suggested
(e.g. 5 BC[32], 1
BC[33] and 1 AD.[34]) The evidence that Herod died in 4 BC is
strong and the accounts in Josephus of the reigns of his three sons, Archelaus,
Antipas and Philip, all correlate perfectly with a 4 BC date.[35] Josephus records that Herod died between an
eclipse of the moon (usually taken to be that of 12/13 March 4 BC) and the
following Passover (on 11 April 4 BC).[36] Josephus also describes that following the
death of Herod his funeral occurred, then a seven-day mourning period, then
demonstrations against his son Archelaus and then the Passover. Thus the latest date for the death of Herod
is the end of March 4 BC and hence the comet that appeared in April 4 BC is too
late to be the star of Bethlehem. In addition, the Chinese records give no
details of the 4 BC comet (e.g. its duration) hence it was probably short-lived
and insignificant.
V. The
Star of Bethlehem—a
Comet in 5 BC
Having
effectively eliminated the comets of 12 BC and 4 BC as possible candidates for
the star of Bethlehem,
we note from Table 1 that the only possibility is the comet of 5 BC. The description of this in the Chinese Han
shu, the official history of the former Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 9), on which Ho
Peng–Yoke depends, is as follows: ‘Second year of the Chien–p’ing reign period,
second month (5 BC, March 9–April 6), a sui–hsing appeared at Ch’ien–niu for
over 70 days’. The passage in the Han
shu includes what is termed a traditional comment relating to this 5 BC comet
as follows:
Sui are the means of eliminating the old and
inaugurating the new. Ch’ien niu is the
place whence the five planets arise, the origin of calendrical reckoning, the
starting point of the three standards [of computation]. The appearance of the sui was a sign of
change; the long period of its appearance was due to the importance of the
incident [to come].
It appears from the above that the
ancient Chinese regarded the Ch’ien niu as an exceptionally important region of
the sky: the origin in space of the five
planets, the origin in time of a calendar and the origin of computational
standards. Why was this? From ancient Chinese star maps it is clear
that the Ch’ien niu is the area of the sky including the constellation
Capricornus. The ‘five planets’ were
those known to astronomers 2000 years ago:
Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury.[37] The sun reaches it furthest point south of
the equator on the Winter Solstice, 22 December, and from c. 1000 BC to c. AD 1000
this occurred when the Sun was in Capricornus.
The latitude on Earth (23.5º south of the Equator) at which the Sun
appeared overhead at noon on the Winter Solstice therefore became known as the
Tropic of Capricorn. (Because of
precession, the Winter Solstice is now in the neighbouring constellation of
Sagittarius, but the Tropic of Capricorn retains its name). Writing about 2000 years ago, Manilius
referred to this Tropic which ‘marks the furthest station of the retreating
Sun’[38] and he constructed a circle, ‘held at the
bottom
by
Capricornus’ in which the five planets moved.[39] Thus to ancient astronomers Capricornus was
of considerable significance and it is clear why the Chinese regarded it as the
place of origin of the five planets, as the origin of a calendar based on the
Winter Solstice (when the Sun was reborn) and as a starting point for computations.[40] Since the comet was observed for over 70 days
it was almost certainly very bright for part of this time, as suggested in
various ancient references to the star of Bethlehem. For example, the New Testament Apocryphal book[41] the Proto–evangelium of St James, possibly
written in about AD 150, states that the wise men said ‘we saw how an
indescribably greater star shone among these stars and dimmed them’. The first reference identifying the 5 BC
object with the star of Bethlehem appears to be that of Foucquet in 1729,[42] however he referred to the object as a nova,
as did Lundmark[43] and Clark et
al.[44] As we have argued earlier, the description in
Matthew that the star moved from East to South is inconsistent with a
nova. In addition, since the 5 BC object
was clearly described in the ancient Chinese records as a sui–hsing, and since
the use of the term sui implies that the star had a definite tail, we should
accept the Chinese description of this object as a tailed comet.[45] Further, the probability of a nova appearing
in Capricornus, which has a high galactic latitude, is very small.
It is of interest to note that the
Chinese records describe the 5 BC comet as appearing in the area of the sky
including Capricornus. In March/April
Capricornus rose above the Eastern horizon as seen from Arabia
and neighbouring countries and was first visible in the morning twilight. Hence this particular comet would have been
first
seen
rising in the East in the morning sky.
Matthew 2:2 states that the Magi first saw ‘his star in the East’. (An alternative translation of ‘in the East’
in 2:2 is ‘at its rising’.)[46] If this alternative translation is adopted
the 5 BC comet again fits the description, since according to the Chinese
records it would be first seen at its rising in the East in the morning sky.
The Chinese records also describe
the 5 BC comet as being visible for over 70 days. The implication is that the comet was
continuously visible, rather than being seen twice, once going in towards
perihelion and again going out (see Section 4).
The visibility for over 70 days is consistent with the probable journey
time of the Magi (1–2 months, see later) and the probable time for the comet to
move from east to south (45–90 days, see Section 4). Thus a consistent picture emerges: the Magi first saw the comet soon after
perihelion in the east, in Capricornus, in the morning sky. They travelled to Jerusalem,
a journey time of 1–2 months, and saw the comet in the south in the morning sky
as they travelled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. The comet continued to move to the west and
became invisible after 70+ days.
VI. The
Three Signs in the Sky
Why
should this particular comet have caused the Magi to make their journey? It is suggested that a combination of three
astronomical events was involved: the triple conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter
in 7 BC, the massing of three planets in 6 BC and finally the appearance of the
comet in Capricornus in 5 BC. The eighth
century AD astrological world history ‘On Conjunctions, Religions and Peoples’
by Masha’allah was based on an earlier Babylonian theory that important
religious and political changes are predicted by conjunctions of the planets
Saturn and Jupiter.[47] Thus Masha’allah used Iranian astronomical
computations to claim that the flood, the birth of Christ and the birth of
Muhammad were all predicted by conjunctions of Saturn and Jupiter in the
appropriate astrological circumstances. Rosenberg,[48] following the medieval Jewish writer
Abarbanal,[49] has explained how in Magian astrology the
planet Saturn represented the divine Father and Jupiter was his son. The constellation Pisces was astrologically
associated with Israel. Thus it is suggested that the astrological
message of the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in Pisces in 7 BC was this: a
Messiah–king will be born in Israel. The fact that the conjunction happened three
times in 7 BC (in May, October and December) probably served to reinforce this
message. In addition, Abarbanal in 1497
claimed that there was a conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in Pisces in 1396
BC, three years before his assumed date of the birth of Moses. Thus it is suggested that the 7 BC triple
conjunction alerted the Magi to the coming of another Moses who would deliver
his people: the Messiah.
Shortly after the triple
conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in 7 BC, Mars joined Jupiter and Saturn in
the sky so that in February 6 BC the three planets (still in Pisces) were
separated by only about eight degrees.
There is a tradition that the massing of these three planets preceded
the birth of Christ. In 1465 Jakob von
Speyer, the Court Astronomer for Prince Frederic d’Urbino, asked Regiomontanus
‘Given that the appearance of Christ is regarded as a consequence of the Grand
Conjunction of the three superior planets, find the year of his birth’, a
question that Regiomontanus was unable to answer.[50] Both Jakob von Speyer and Regiomontanus were
familiar with ancient Greek, Latin and Persian books on astronomy/astrology,[51] many of which have been lost, and the tradition
that the massing of the three planets preceded the birth of Christ may be very
early.
A similar massing was observed by
Kepler in AD 1604 and, unlike Regiomontanus, he calculated that such massings
of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars occurred only every 805 years, and suggested that
they coincided with great events in history (his assumed dates were Moses 1617
BC, Isaiah 812 BC, Christ 6/7 BC, Charlemagne AD 799 and the Reformation AD
1604). For Kepler, the massing of the
three planets was astrologically more important than the triple conjunction
of
Saturn and Jupiter, and he tentatively suggested that the supernova of AD 1604,
and the new star of 5 BC might have resulted from these massings.[52] To the Chaldeans, Mars represented the king
of war, to the Persians the celestial warrior.[53] Thus it is suggested that the massing of the
three planets in 6 BC following the triple conjunction in 7 BC confirmed to the
Magi that the Messiah–king to be born in Israel would be a mighty king. The scene was set: their expectations were aroused for a third
sign which would indicate that the birth of the king was imminent.
VII. The
significance of the 5 BC Comet
In
the spring of 5 BC a comet blazed forth in Capricornus. It has not previously been appreciated that this
would have been rich in significance for the Magi. Ptolemy[54] stated that the appearance of a comet in the
orient (east) signified rapidly approaching events and in the occident (west)
those that approach more slowly. The
significance of the Magi seeing ‘his star in the east’ (Mt. 2:2) was therefore
that it clearly provided the awaited sign that the birth of the king was
imminent. Ptolemy further states that
the significance of a comet is related to the part of the zodiac in which it
appears. What was the likely
significance to the Magi of a comet appearing in Capricornus? First, as has been shown, Capricornus was the
place of the rebirth of the Sun. Second,
in ancient astrology, each of the five planets had a zodiacal House that it
ruled. Capricorn was the daytime House
of Saturn,[55] the divine Father in Magian astrology. The comet in Capricorn would therefore have
provided the third and final sign of the birth of the divine son. To the Magi the repeated occurrence of the
‘perfect’ number three may also have been significant: a triple conjunction,
then three planets massing and finally the third astronomical sign.
It may also be relevant to note
that the Roman Emperor Augustus had a silver coin issued which bore the sign of
Capricorn,
which
is where the Moon stood at his birth on 23 September 63 BC[56] and Manilius extolled the greatness of
Capricorn as Augustus’ birth sign.[57] Capricornus means horned goat (Latin: caper = goat and cornu = horn). In ancient
times horns symbolised power and often symbolised kings. The writings of the Old Testament prophet
Daniel may have been known to the Magi, since he wrote while in exile in Babylon (Dn. 1:1). Daniel had a vision of a horned goat which
crossed the whole earth without touching the ground and which fought with and
overcame a ram (Dn. 8:5-21). Various
commentators have suggested that this vision may allude to Capricorn and Aries
(the ram), and the horned goat, which Daniel identified with a mighty king of Greece, is
usually taken to be the powerful king Alexander the Great. It is suggested that the remarkable sequence
of the triple conjunction in 7 BC, the massing of three planets in 6 BC and the
comet in Capricornus in 5 BC provided a very clear message to the Magi that a
very great king was about to be born in Israel.
The Magi therefore set off and
went to Jerusalem
to King Herod, and asked ‘where is the one who has been born king of the Jews’
(Mt. 2:2). The legend that the star
guided them to Jerusalem is not required (and Matthew neither states nor
implies this): it is suggested that the Magi went to Jerusalem because their
interpretation of the 7 BC conjunction and the 6 BC planetary massing was that
a Messiah–king would be born in Israel, and the appearance of the 5 BC comet
told them this had happened. The
religious advisers of Herod told them where: in Bethlehem, according to the prophet
Micah. Again, they did not need guidance
from the star, but were ‘overjoyed’ when, on this last lap of their journey,
the star ‘went before them’ in the morning sky and when it ‘stood over’
Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. Bethlehem was a small
town, and a few enquiries may have quickly revealed the location of the child
recently visited by the shepherds.
Montefiore,[58] Finegan[59] and Hughes[60] have previously suggested that the ‘star’ may
have involved both the 7 BC conjunction
and
the 5 BC or 4 BC comets, with the Magi setting out in 7 BC and arriving in
Jerusalem in 5/4 BC. Hughes[61] has rightly criticised this
theory as having the ‘almost insurmountable difficulty’[62] that the star the Magi saw when they set out,
and the star they saw in Jerusalem, should have been one and the same star not
a conjunction and a star, since Matthew 2:9 states ‘the star, which they saw in
the East, went before them’ on the final leg of their journey to
Bethlehem. We agree: the proposal here
is that two events, the conjunction of 7 BC and the planetary massing of 6 BC,
alerted the Magi to the coming birth, but they did not set out until the 5 BC
comet appeared in the east, indicating that the birth was imminent.
How long did their journey
take? Hughes has noted that Lawrence of
Arabia in The Seven Pillars of Wisdom states that in 24 hours a fully loaded
camel can cover 100 miles if hard–pressed and 50 miles comfortably.[63] The furthest the Magi are likely to have
travelled is from Babylon to Jerusalem,
a distance of about 550 miles going directly across the Arabian desert and
about 900 miles travelling via the Fertile Crescent. Allowing one or two months for the journey
seems not unreasonable, so that if the Magi commenced their journey soon after
the comet appeared in March/April 5 BC, they would have arrived in Jerusalem in April/June 5
BC. As noted in Section 5, this journey
time for the Magi is consistent with the probable time for the comet to move
from east to south and with the 70+ days visibility of the 5 BC comet noted in
the Chinese records.
The theory proposed here fits well
with Herod giving orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem who were two years
old and under ‘according with the time he had learned from the Magi’ (Mt.
2:16). Earlier Herod had asked the Magi
‘the exact time the star had appeared’ (Mt. 2:7). It is suggested that the Magi spoke with
Herod when they arrived in Jerusalem
in April/June 5 BC and recounted not only the appearance of the comet about one
month previously but also described the significance of the planetary massing
in 6 BC and the triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in May, October and
December 7 BC. Herod, leaving nothing to
chance, decided to kill all
boys
born since the first stage of the triple conjunction in May 7 BC, two years
previously.
The 5 BC date for the star of Bethlehem also fits well with the textual evidence for the
length of stay of Jesus and his family in Egypt. According to Matthew 2:13-15, after the Magi
had left Bethlehem, Joseph was warned that Herod
planned to kill Jesus, so the family left for Egypt
(a classic refuge for those trying to flee the tyranny of Palestine) and returned after Herod
died. Both Origen and Eusebius state
that Jesus and his family were in Egypt for two years and they
returned in the first year of the reign of Archelaus. Archelaus, one of Herod’s sons, started his
reign when Herod died. Thus if Herod
died at the end of March 4 BC, the first year of the reign of Archelaus was
from April 4 BC to April 3 BC. Jesus and
his family probably left for Egypt
shortly after the Magi left Bethlehem,
in about April–June 5 BC. If they stayed
in Egypt a reasonable time after the death of Herod, to be absolutely sure of
the news, they could have returned to Israel in, say, March 3 BC, when
travelling conditions would be good, in the first year of Archelaus and having
spent about two years in Egypt. Thus the
5 BC comet is consistent chronologically with both Herod’s massacre of the
infants and the two year stay in Egypt.
VIII.
The Clue of the Census
According
to Luke 2:1-5, a census was taken by Emperor Caesar Augustus around the time of
the birth of Christ, and Joseph travelled with Mary from Nazareth
to his home town of Bethlehem
in order to register. This census is one
of the thorny problems of the New Testament about which much has been
written. There are three well–documented
censuses conducted by Augustus: in 28 BC, 8 BC and AD 14, but these were apparently
only for Roman citizens. In addition,
there are various records of provincial censuses under Augustus for
non–citizens for purposes of taxation, for example in AD 6, a decade after the
death of Herod the Great, Josephus refers to a census in Judea administered by
Quirinius the governor of Syria, and Luke also refers to this census (Acts
5:37). However, there is no record of a
census for taxation purposes in Judea around
the time of the birth of Christ, hence the problem in interpreting Luke 2:1-5.
The problem can be resolved if the
census was not for taxation purposes but was instead a census of allegiance to
Caesar Augustus. The fifth century
historian Orosius states,
[Augustus] ordered that a census be taken of
each province everywhere and that all men be enrolled. So at that time, Christ was born and was
entered on the Roman census list as soon as he was born. This is the earliest and most public
acknowledgement which marked Christ as the first of all men and the Romans as
lords of the world. . .since in this one name of Caesar all the peoples of the
great nations took oath, and through the participation in the census, were made
part of one society.[64]
Josephus
appears to refer to the same event: ‘when all the people of the Jews gave assurance
of their goodwill to Caesar, and to the king’s government, these very men [the
Pharisees] did not swear, being above six thousand.’[65] From the context of Josephus’ words, this
census of allegiance to Augustus occurred about one year before the death of
Herod the Great.
There is one further problem with
this census. Luke 2:2 is usually
translated, ‘This census was first made when Quirinius was governor of Syria’, but Quirinius did not become governor of
Syria
until AD 6. However, the Greek sentence
construction of Luke 2:2 is unusual and an alternative translation is:[66] ‘This census took place before the one when
Quirinius was governor of Syria’. As noted
above,
from Josephus this latter census can be dated to AD 6, and Luke (Acts 5:37) was
well aware of it. Thus the earlier
census referenced by Luke in Luke 2:1–5 provides a chronological clue to the
birth of Christ, and from the context in Josephus[67] this census of allegiance occurred about 1
year before the death of Herod the Great, which is consistent with our placing
the birth of Christ in the spring of 5 BC.
IX. A
New Chronology for the Life of Christ
What
is the earliest date for the birth of Jesus?
It would seem that the Magi expected Jesus to be born shortly after the
time the 5 BC comet appeared since a comet appearing in the east signified an
imminent event, and when they arrived in Jerusalem they asked Herod, ‘Where is
the one who has been born king of the Jews?’ (Mt. 2:2). Hence it would seem that the earliest
possible date for the birth of Jesus is when the comet first appeared, and the
earliest date for this according to the Chinese records is 9 March 5 BC. This is consistent with Luke 2:8 which states
that at the time of the birth of Jesus ‘there were shepherds living out in the
fields nearby, keeping watch over their flock by night’. Bethlehem
is cold and very wet during December, January and February and flocks of sheep
were not normally kept in the fields in these months.[68] Sheep were usually put out to grass between
March and November, the shepherds being with the flocks at night particularly
during the spring lambing season (March–April).
An approximate latest date for the
birth of Jesus can be deduced as follows.
According to Luke 2:22, after the birth and following a time of
purification, Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem.
Leviticus 12:2–4 specifies that the time of purification for the mother
of a male child is 40 days, after which she can come to the temple. Assuming one day for travel from Bethlehem to Jerusalem
(a distance of 6 miles), Jesus would have been born not less than six weeks
before the visit of the Magi. (Since
Jesus and his family left for Egypt shortly after the visit of the Magi the
most probable sequence of events in the Matthew/Luke birth narratives is birth,
visitation of the shepherds, presentation at the temple in Jerusalem, return to
Bethlehem, visit of the Magi.) There was
no
point
in Joseph and Mary staying in Bethlehem after
the purification and visit to the temple since they had originally only gone to
Bethlehem for
the census. Hence it is reasonable to
assume the Magi visited Jesus very shortly after his return from the temple to Bethlehem. This is consistent with the comet being
visible for 70 days and the one to two month journey time of the Magi.
The Chinese records state that the
comet first appeared sometime in the period 9 March to 6 April 5 BC and lasted
over 70 days. Thus the latest date for
the Magi to have seen the ‘star’ at Bethlehem
was 6 April plus 70 days, i.e. 15 June, and the latest date for the birth of
Jesus is this date minus six weeks, i.e. 4 May.
If this evidence is accepted, Jesus was born sometime in the period 9
March–4 May 5 BC, which is consistent with the Lucan shepherd reference. The most likely date for the Baptism of Jesus
is autumn AD 29[69]. If Jesus was born in the Spring of 5 BC then
he would have been 33 when he commenced his ministry. This is consistent with Luke 3:23 that he was
‘about thirty’ at this time. (As noted
above, the Greek translated ‘about thirty’ means any age between 26 and
34). If the crucifixion was on 3 April
AD 33,[70] then Jesus was around his 37th birthday when
he died.
We have deduced that Jesus was
born in the spring of 5 BC. We note that
in 5 BC the first day of the feast of Passover (Nisan 15 in the Jewish
calendar) fell on 20 April and we tentatively give several reasons which
suggest that Jesus may have been born around Passover time. At Passover time all adult males were
required to come to Jerusalem, hence Jerusalem and its neighbourhood were extremely crowded and
nearby Bethlehem
would be very crowded too. Censuses were
not held on a particular day but were spread over a period of time and it is
suggested that Joseph chose to visit Bethlehem
for the census at the same time as Passover to save an extra journey. Thus the inn was full (Lk. 2:7) because it
was the time of a feast[71] in particular the feast of Passover.[72] Josephus[73] states that pilgrims came
up
to Jerusalem
about a week before Passover to undergo the appropriate purificatory rites, and
the feast itself lasted for one week.
Thus it is tentatively suggested that the birth of Jesus may have
occurred in the week before or after Passover in 5 BC, i.e. in the period 13–27
April 5 BC.
Birth at Passover time is
consistent with Jewish expectations for the birth of the Messiah. For example, the Jewish scholar Abarbanal, c. AD 1497 and still expecting the
Messiah, states that the messianic redemption will come in the month Nisan
since the ‘cup of Elijah’ at the Passover meal preserves the symbolism that the
new redemption will come during the same season as the Exodus from Egypt. A further clue may be provided by the words
of John the Baptist near the time of the baptism of Christ. He twice greets Jesus with the words ‘The
Lamb of God’ (Jn. 1:29, 36) and commentators have discussed the background of
this strange phraseology. If Jesus was
born at Passover time, particularly if he were born on 10 Nisan (sunset Sunday
14 April to sunset Monday 15 April in 5 BC) when the Passover lambs were
chosen, without spot or blemish, John would have a clear reason to call him the
Lamb of God. Some key dates and date
ranges in the chronology of the early life of Jesus are listed below.
TABLE 2
Chronology of the Early Life of Jesus
|
Date
in Julian Calendar
|
Event
|
|
9 March—4 May 5 BC
(13—27 April 5 BC)
|
Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem
|
|
9 March—4 May 5 BC
(13—27 April 5 BC)
|
Visit of the Shepherds
|
|
16 March—11 May 5 BC
(20 April—4 May 5 BC)
|
Circumcision on the eighth day (counting
inclusively)
|
|
18 April—15 June 5 BC
(22 May—6 June 5 BC)
|
Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
in Jerusalem after 40 days from birth, then
return to Bethlehem
|
|
20 April—15 June 5 BC
(24 May—8 June 5 BC)
|
Visit of the Magi
|
|
late April/mid June 5 BC
(late May/mid June 5 BC)
|
Flight to Egypt
|
|
~ end March 4 BC
|
Death of Herod
|
|
? March 3 BC
|
Return from Egypt
to Nazareth
|
Note: The dates given in brackets are narrower
date ranges based on Jesus being born around Passover time (see text).
X. The
Date of Christmas
The
traditional Western date of Christmas, 25 December, first occurs in the Roman
calendar Chronographus Anni CCCLIIII
(Chronographer of the Year 354). In this
calendar the sequence of festivals in the church year begins with the festival
of the birth of Christ on 25 December.
The original version of this calendar may date back to AD 336, hence it
is not particularly early.[74] The pagan feast of the sol invictus (the invincible sun) was observed on 25 December since
it was the date accepted at the time for the winter solstice. The Christian festival of Christmas
essentially replaced this pagan festival.
The traditional Eastern date of the birth of Christ is 6 January. Epiphanius (Panarion haer. 51, 22, 9–11)
states that this was the date of the pagan festival of Kore which the Christian
festival then replaced.
However, the actual birth of
Christ was unlikely to have been in winter if we accept Luke 2:8 ‘there were
shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flock at
night’. We very tentatively suggest how
25 December and 6 January might have
been chosen for the birth of
Christ. According to the present paper,
Christ was born in the Spring. We
suggest that this birth date may have been
confused with the date of the conception (and Epiphanius comments on
such a confusion in the early church).
Adding nine months for the pregnancy leads to a date range close to the
existing pagan festivals of Kore and the sol
invictus which were then taken over to be Christmas.
XI.
Conclusions
The
Magi are well known in classical literature as a religious group who were
skilled in the observation and ‘interpretation’ of the stars. At the time of Christ they lived mainly in Persia, Mesopotamia and Arabia (now Iran, Iraq
and Saudi Arabia,
respectively) and they are known to have visited kings in other countries. It is therefore consistent with our knowledge
of the Magi that an astronomical sign could have led them to visit a new king.
There are three main
characteristics of the star of Bethlehem
recorded in Matthew: it was a star which
had newly appeared, it
travelled
slowly through the sky against the star background, and it stood over Bethlehem. It is suggested in this article that one, and
only one, astronomical object satisfies this description: a comet. It is proposed that the Magi originally saw
this comet in the east in the morning sky.
They travelled to Jerusalem, a journey
time of 1–2 months, and in this time the comet had moved to the south in the
morning sky, hence it appeared ahead of them as they travelled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem
on the last lap of their journey. The
comet appeared to stand over Bethlehem
with a near vertical tail. It is shown
that the description ‘stand over’ is uniquely applied in ancient literature to
refer to a comet.
From ancient Chinese astronomical
records three comets are possible candidates for the star of Bethlehem, those of 12 BC, 5 BC and 4
BC. It is shown from historical and
biblical evidence that the comets of 12 BC and of 4 BC were too early and too
late, respectively, to be the star of Bethlehem. Hence the comet of 5 BC may uniquely be
identified as the star of Bethlehem. The Chinese description of this comet,
particularly its appearance in the east and its visibility for over 70 days, is
consistent with the description in Matthew.
It is suggested that a combination
of three unusual and significant astronomical events caused the Magi to set off
on their journey. First there was a
triple conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in the constellation Pisces in 7
BC. Such an event occurs only every 900
years. The probable astrological
significance of this event to the Magi was that a divine king would be born in Israel. Second, in 6 BC there was a massing of the
three planets Mars, Saturn and Jupiter in Pisces. Such a massing only occurs every 800 years
(and very much more infrequently in Pisces) and it would have confirmed to the
Magi that the king to be born in Israel would be a mighty king. Third, a comet appeared in 5 BC in the east
in the constellation Capricornus. In the
astrology of the times a comet in the east signified a rapidly approaching
event. The comet was therefore the third
and final sign which caused the Magi to set off on their journey. It is shown that the probable significance of
the comet in Capricornus to the Magi was also that a very great king was about
to be born.
Further analysis suggests that the
birth of Christ was in the Spring, in the period 9 March–4 May 5 BC. Tentatively the period
around
Passover time is suggested (13–27 April 5 BC). This date is consistent with the
available evidence including a reference in Luke to there being shepherds out
in the fields at night. Although today
Christmas is celebrated on 25 December in the west and on 8 January in the
east, we suggest that the evidence of astronomy, the bible and other ancient
literature points to the Spring of 5 BC as being the time of the first
Christmas.
It is proposed to continue the discussion of the
chronology of the life of Christ in ‘The Jewish Calendar, a Lunar Eclipse and
the Date of Christ’s Crucifixion’ in volume 43.2 (November, 1992).
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