Searching for the Star of Bethlehem?

It’s been a while, but the “Star of Bethlehem” still comes up when the holiday season comes around. This is the sign in the sky that is said to have led the Magi to the stable where the Christ Child was born. But, what it was has been a question for thousands of years.

First, it’s only mentioned in one of the four gospels: Matthew, Chapter 2, where the Wise Men apparently ask King Herod of Judea where He is, as, “We have seen His star in the East, and have come to worship Him.” If it were that meaningful, why isn’t it listed in all the gospels? But, if it did happen, the question remains, What was it?

We first need to know exactly who the Magi were. Apparently, the name Magi is often considered short for Magician, which 2,000 years ago was a synonym for Astrologer. As such, they would have been very aware of the sky. If so, what was it they could have seen?

First of all, was the “star” they saw in the east, or were they in the east and saw it? And, then, what could it have been? And, did anyone else see it? Apparently not, as there would have been a flock of travelers racing to the King’s door.

We can dismiss many celestial events: A meteor is too fast; an exploding star, a supernova, could have been seen by many, and then slowly disappear; a comet, which was the popular idea, as painted by Giotto centuries ago.

It appears the most logical explanation was the motions of planets. For the time frame when this happened, there are two apparent possibilities, in two separate dates. In approximately 6-4 B.C. there were motions of Jupiter and Saturn, joined at the late date by Mars, or in 2-1 B.C. when our two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, came together. Could either of these possibilities be correct? Or, did this scenario not happen at all? Whatever you believe, we would like to wish you all a very happy holiday season.