. The Magi

2. The Magi

   The tradition that the Magi were kings dates from the sixth century AD, and is almost certainly legendary. According to Herodotus (1:101), 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. Babylon (in Mesopotamia) was the world centre of astronomy and astrology at that time and Magi were important members of the Babylonian royal court. 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 (e.g. Plato, The Republic, 529). Thus the first century AD Jewish scholar Philo of Alexandria stated that the student of astronomy perceives 'timely signs of coming events' since 'the stars were made for signs' (De Opificio Mundi, 22). 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 Rome⁶, associated frankincense and myrrh, two of the gifts of the Magi, with 'the East, that is the districts near Arabia'.⁶ Clarke, W. K. L., 1937, The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. Macmillan, London & New York. 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 (Suetonius, Nero 13 and 30; Tacitus, Annals, 16:23: Dio Cassius, Roman History, 63:1), and Josephus records that Magi also visited Herod in about 10 BC. 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. 

3. 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' (Matthew 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' (Matthew 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 later).

(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 stable in which Christ was born, but Matthew neither states nor implies this: according to Matthew, viewed from Jerusalem the star stood over the place where the child was born, i.e. Bethlehem.

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'allah⁷ and has been widely supported in more recent times⁴, ⁸  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 (see also Sachs and Walkerg⁹) and it has received considerable recent support.¹⁰ A supernova has also been suggested.¹¹ 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.