WHAT, OR WHO, WAS THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM?

BY F. A. HECKMAN

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

A careful reading of Chapter 2 of Matthew’s Gospel indicates that the eastern Magi saw the
appearance of a new star. These Magi were astrologers who believed that the heavenly bodies
controlled or influenced the affairs of mankind. They were very familiar with the night sky and
understood the cyclical nature of the apparent movement of constellations, stars and planets.
Over the centuries, the elaborate astrological charts and the Zodiac which we know today were
developed. Thus, anyone who wishes may consult his horoscope.

According to one article I consulted, the ancient Sumerians (3000-1800 B.C.) invented
Astrology. We should say here that the Egyptians and perhaps other cultures had developed
some form of stargazing or Astrology. However, since the Magi in Matthew 2 came from the
east, we shall confine our deliberations to the lands which lie to the east of Judea, which is now
modern Israel.

Thus, the Sumerians and the Mesopotamian cultures which followed, the Akkadians, Assyrians
and Babylonians developed Astrology into a pseudo-science which they believed, governed
their lives and activities. As a matter of fact, for many centuries, the legitimate sciences of
astronomy and mathematics were intertwined with Astrology.

In the Scriptures, the practice of Astrology is usually classified with other occult practices such
as divination, Magic arts, enchanting and sorcery (Is. 47:13; Dan. 2:2, 5:11). As such, these
practices are strongly forbidden in the law of Moses (Deut 18:10).

Now for some historical background, Nebuchadnezzar became king of Babylon in 605 B.C.,
about the time Babylon invaded Judah. At this time, the first exiles, including Daniel, were
taken to Babylon. About 2 years later, in 603 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar had the dream about the
great statue. None of the wise men of Babylon could tell the king what his dream was, nor could
they interpret it to the king.

However, when Daniel prayed to God for the interpretation, the Lord revealed the dream and its
meaning to Daniel. Then, a strange thing happened, the king made Daniel chief of all the wise
men of Babylon (Dan. 2:48). Now, by all accounts, Daniel was a Godly, exemplary, humble
servant of God and I recall no criticism against him or any aspect of his life. Since occult
practices were forbidden in Moses’ law, perhaps, the Lord meant him to reform the practices of
the Babylonian wise men. Be that as it may, let us now leap ahead some 600 years to the time
Jesus was born, as reported in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 2.

MATTHEW’S ACCOUNT OF THE NATIVITY

In verses 1 and 2, the following important facts and implications are given.
a. Account begins after Jesus was born
b. Herod, the great, was king

1
 c. Magi saw his star in east
d. Magi from east come to worship

Now some comments on point a., the Magi arrived some time after Jesus was born. As will be
seen in v. 9, Jesus and his mother were in a house. In the nativity account according to Luke,
the shepherds found Jesus wrapped with swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, with Mary
and Joseph nearby. Thus it is clear that the shepherds arrived just hours after Jesus’ birth.
While we don’t know when the Magi arrived, it appears to be days or weeks or longer after
Jesus’ birth.

In point b. We know that Herod, the great, was king in Judea. We know from secular history
that Herod died in 4 B.C. thus we may deduce that Jesus could’ve been born no later than 4
B.C.

Now concerning point c., the Magi saw a new star, his star, in the east and they came to
worship him. How the Magi knew that this new star announced the birth of the king of the Jews
is a mystery to me. However, there is a strong implication here that these wise men from the
east were very familiar with the Jewish prophets and were expecting the promised Jewish
messiah at any time.

It is logical to assume that the Judean exiles brought with them their scrolls containing the law of
Moses and the writings of the prophets who predated the exile. It is also logical to assume that
the Jewish writings eventually found their way into the Babylonian archives. Apparently, these
archives were carefully preserved and properly filed so that their contents could be retrieved
when needed (Ezra 6:1). It is also clear from Ezra that succeeding conquers and cultures
consulted these archives.

No one knows exactly who the wise men were or where they came from. However, a quick look
at the map of the middle eastern region reveals that southern Mesopotamia, the birthplace of
Astrology, is due east of Israel. Thus it is quite logical to assume that Matthew’s wise men
came from there, having inherited the astrological traditions and practices of their ancestors.
Although Matthew doesn’t tell us how many Magi there were, because of the gifts of gold,
frankincense and myrrh, the early church fathers assumed there were three; tradition even
named them, Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar.

It is my guess that the Magi already knew from prophesy (Micah 5:2) where Jesus was born, but
when they arrived in Judea, v. 3, they observed proper protocol by paying their respects to
Herod and inquiring of him where Christ was to be born. Of course, this troubled the king, as he
intended to pass the crown down to his own son, not someone outside his family.

In verses 4-6, Herod gathered the priests and the scribes who quoted Micah 5:2, pinpointing
Bethlehem as the Lord’s birthplace.

In verse 7, Herod secretly calls the Magi and inquires when the star appeared. Although
Matthew doesn’t tell us here what the Magi told Herod, we can deduce from verse 16 that it had
appeared some two years prior to the arrival of the Magi. If we assume that the arrival of the

2
Magi took place near the end of Herod’s life in 4 B.C., this would place Jesus birth sometime in
6 B.C.

The star of Bethlehem

Now, finally, we come to the question posed by this paper, what actually was the phenomenon
called the star of Bethlehem? Modern astronomers conjecture that the new star, seen by the
Magi, may have been a supernova, which would’ve been a spectacular celestial event.
Imagine this, one night, the astrologers saw nothing unusual in the night sky, the next night,
bam, a bright new star appeared!

Others say it may have been a comet. Still others cite several conjunctions of planets which
occurred around the changeover from B.C. to ad. calendar dating, i.e., the time of Jesus’ birth.
While each of these events would’ve been spectacular, readily observable with the naked eye
and would’ve been considered a powerful omen by the Magi. However, none of them could’ve
done the things attributed by Matthew, to the star of Bethlehem.

Evangelical Christians believe that the entire canonized Scripture (39 O.T. books and 27 N.T.
books) is the infallible inspired word of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17). That being the case, we accept as
factual everything recorded in Matthew’s Gospel about the star, Herod, the holy family and the
Magi.

The star is mentioned four times in Matthew chapter 2. First, in verse 2 when the Magi tell
Herod about seeing it in the east. In connection to this mention, they call it his star, i.e., the
natal star of the long awaited king of the Jews. As mentioned earlier, they were probably quite
familiar with the writings of the Jewish prophets.

Second, it is mentioned in verse 7 when Herod ascertained from them what time the star
appeared.

Third, in verse 9, after the Magi were sent by Herod to search for the child, the “star” behaved in
an unprecedented manner, quite unlike any known astronomical body. It acted like an ancient
GPS, guiding them to the exact house where the child was.

Fourth, in verse 10, Matthew tells us that when the Magi saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly
with great joy (NAS). What was the reason for this great joy? Weren’t they seeing this same
star ever since they left their homes in the east? Were they simply elated because they had
finally reached their destination and they could now go in to worship and adore the Christ child?
Perhaps the star revealed its true nature to them at that exact moment.

Incidentally, we don’t know if anyone besides the Magi could see the star; Scripture makes no
mention of other viewers. Did Herod and his court step outside to see it for themselves, or
weren’t they curious? Was the star visible during daytime hours, as the planet Venus
sometimes is?

3
We don’t know the answers to any of the above questions, from Scripture. However, we do
know that after the Magi went into the house and presented their gifts and worshipped Jesus,
we read no more about the star. Therefore, whatever the star really was, it was a temporary
miraculous phenomenon, which performed its function, then was gone from the narrative.

TWO PLAUSIBLE EXPLANATIONS

Now, we shall wrestle with the title question; what was the star of Bethlehem, that played such
an important part in Matthew’s account of the nativity? First, as discussed earlier, the celestial
suggestions of some astronomers (supernova, comet or planet conjunction) are inadequate to
explain the star’s behavior. Thus, the star of Bethlehem had to be some kind of supernatural,
miraculous phenomenon or person.

A. Was the star a Theophany?

The first explanation that comes to mind is that the star was a Theophany. A Theophany has
been defined as the appearance of God, the father in physical form. A variant of Theophany is
a Christophany, in which the second person of the Trinity, i.e., Jesus, the son appears. Such
appearances usually took place before the incarnation, i.e., in Old Testament times. We will cite
several of these Theophanies. First, in Genesis 14:6 ff, Melchizedek, King of Salem, appears.
He brought out bread and wine to refresh Abram’s fighting men. He was thought to be a
Christophany, as Abram gave him a tithe of all the spoils of war. The bread and wine may be
also a foretelling of the Lord’s Supper some two millennia later.

Another Theophany took place at the calling of Moses when the Lord appeared to him in the
burning bush at the foot of Mt. Horeb (Sinai). The Lord spoke to him from the bush, telling him
what he must do, Exodus 2:1-4:31

Another interesting Theophany took place on Mt. Sinai at the time when God gave Moses the
ten commandments. In Ex. 19:9, the Lord told Moses that he would come to him in a thick
cloud so that the people could hear God speak to Moses. It was necessary for the Lord to do
this because no man could see him as he is and live. In Ex. 19:18 we read that Mt Sinai was
covered in smoke because the Lord came down in fire. Thus e have the Lord appearing
in cloud and fire, a Theophany.

Earlier in their exodus from Egypt, the Israelites were guided on the journey by following a pillar
of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Ex.13:21-22). In verse 21, we read that the Lord
was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. This was clearly
and unequivocally a Theophany whose purpose was to guide the Israelites on their way to the
promised land.

Now, having this precedent, let us leap ahead some 1450 years to another occasion where
people needed guidance to reach their destination. I refer of course, to the star of Bethlehem,
the subject of this paper.

4
The star appeared to the Magi first as a sign that the Lord, the king of the Jews, was born, and
secondly, to guide them with pinpoint accuracy to the exact place where the young child was.

Thus we have these two examples of people in Scripture who needed guidance, first the
Israelites and second, the Magi. In the first case, the Israelites were guided for some 40 years
by a Theophany, as explained above. In the second case, the Magi were guided on a long
journey by a “star” which could very well have been a Theophany. I refer again to Mt. 2:10
where the Magi rejoiced exceedingly, with great joy, when they saw the star.. I believe it was at
this point, the last mention of the star, that it was revealed to the Magi who/what the star was.

B. Was the star of Bethlehem an angelic being?

In order to pursue this possibility, it seems logical to conduct a brief outline of what Scripture
says about angelic beings.

First, angels are created beings:

Neh. 9:6, Ps. 148:2, 5 & Col. 1:16-17/
Second, angels are spiritual beings:
Mk. 1:13, Heb. 1:13-14.
Third, angels neither marry nor reproduce:
Mt. 22:30.
Fourth, Scripture mentions several classes of angelic beings, among which are the following:

a. Archangel: I Thes. 4:16, Jude 9

as cited above, Michael, the Archangel is mentioned only twice. It would appear that he is
the chief angelic being.

b. The angel of the Lord:

Gen. 18:, Jud. 13:3, 6, Mt. 1:24
Angelic beings referred to with the definite article, are mentioned many times in the Old
Testament. Some Bible scholars believe the angel of the Lord is often a Theophany,
specifically a Christophany. They hold that as such, they represent the pre-incarnate
Christ. As evidence for this position, they point out that the angel of the Lord does not
appear in the New Testament after the incarnation. Other scholars believe that the angel of
the Lord is a special representative of the Lord.

c. An angel of the Lord:

Mt. 1:20, 2:13 & 19.
It would appear that an angel of the Lord is distinguishable from other angels mainly
because they are said to be of the Lord.

The Cherubim and Seraphim are the only angelic beings in all of Scripture who are specifically
described as having wings.

5
d. Cherubim:
Gen. 3:24, Ex. 25:18-22, 2 Sam. 22:11, Ps. 18:10, Ezek. 10:7
Cherubim are given the job of guarding and protecting.

e. Seraphim:
Is. 6:1-8
Seraphim are given the job of cleansing.

f. Heavenly (angelic) host:

Josh. 5:14-15, 1 Ki. 22:19, Lu. 2:13, Heb. 12:22, Rev. 5:11
Although the Bible doesn’t tell us how many angels there are, it does imply that there are a
great many, probably tens of millions. The Lord certainly created enough to carry out the
many tasks assigned to angelic beings.

g. Heavenly (inanimate) host:

Deut. 4:19, 2 Ki. 23:5, Is. 34:4, 40:26, 45:12.
The references above clearly apply to inanimate, astronomical bodies rather than angelic,
living beings. In the NAS, it is not always easy to distinguish between the angelic beings
and the inanimate objects as both are called the heavenly host. In the NIV, the inanimate
objects are often called the starry host, which clearly distinguishes them from the angelic
beings.

h. Fallen (evil) angels:

Is. 14:12-13, Rev.9:11
The last class of angelic beings to be mentioned here is the fallen (evil) class. This class
includes Satan, Apollyon and a great multitude of other fallen angels and demons.

Now let this brief enumeration and description of the classes of angelic beings suffice. Perhaps
it will seem ironic that we should take a passage about Satan (Is. 14:12-13) to suggest that the
star of Bethlehem was an angelic being. However, this is exactly what we are about to do.

In the Isaiah passage cited above, the title of star is given to Satan, an angel. Moreover, that
same passage reports that Satan wanted to elevate himself above the other stars (angels).
Thus, one may see that the “star” of Bethlehem might well have been an angelic being.
Furthermore, one could easily imagine how privileged and delighted an angel would have been
to carry such glad tidings of Jesus’ birth for all mankind for all eternity!

CONCLUSION

The star of Bethlehem is mentioned just four times in Matthew’s Gospel. As one reads and
understands what Matthew says about the star and what it did, it becomes abundantly clear that
no known, natural astronomical phenomenon, body or entity could have done the things this star
did.

Therefore, one must evoke a supernatural, miraculous explanation for the star. We have said
that the star could have been a Theophany, provided to announce Jesus’ birth and to guide the

6
Magi to the exact house where they found Him. The Israelites were similarly guided by a
Theophany on their journey to freedom. The other possibility is that the star was an angelic
being sent by God to guide the Magi on their way.

No matter which possibility one may prefer, or if one may have another explanation, it is quite
clear that God the father provided the guidance which brought Magi and shepherds to see the
Savior of the World, His precious newborn Son.