What was the Star of Bethlehem?

The Gospel of Matthew records a unique story about the birth of Jesus where “Magi from the East” follow a star to Bethlehem where they find the Christ-child. But this story raises all kinds of questions. In last weeks video we discussed who the magi were and this week we look at a few ideas about the star of Bethlehem. What could it have been? Did it happen? And most importantly what is Matthew trying to communicate to us by including this story in his gospel?

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If you're interested in learning more we suggest you start here:

M. David Litwa, How the Gospels Became History: Jesus and Mediterranean Myths. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2019.

Peter Barthel and George van Kooten editors, The Star of Bethlehem and the Magi: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from Experts on the Ancient Near East, the Greco-Roman World, and Modern Astronomy. Leiden: Brill, 2015.

Michael R. Molnar, The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1999.

Images:

Possible Josephus Bust
Public Domain

Roman Era Bust; Possibly Herod
Credit: Keith Schengili-Roberts

Bust of Mithridates VI
Credit: Eric Gaba / Sting

All other text, images, and maps are creations of the Beneath the Bible team.

All images used at Beneath the Bible are for educational purposes and are used under Fair Use.

[davidadamovic]

What do you think of Heiser's view based on Revelation 12? You have a Greta channel btw, you deserve more viewers and subs :)

[bluellamaslearnbeyondthele]

Yeah, wonderful. He sold a lie you say? Someone lying like this has lost all credibility beyond that of a mythomaniac. That is someone with a clinical lying problem. Do you even hear yourselves?