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On December 21, 2020, Jupiter and Saturn will intersect in the night sky and for a moment appear to shine together as one body. While planetary conjunctions such as these are not everyday events, they are not particularly rare either.
This year’s conjunction is different for at least two reasons. The first is the degree to which the two planets will be aligned. Experts predict they will appear closer during this conjunction than in nearly eight centuries and brighter too.
But the second factor, and the one that put this event in the spotlight, is that it will take place during the winter solstice, just before the Christmas holidays. The timing has led to speculation as to whether this could be the same astronomical event that, according to the Bible, led the wise men to Joseph, Mary and the newly born Jesus – the star of Bethlehem.
As an early Christian literary scientist writing a book on the three wise men, I argue that the coming planetary conjunction is probably not the legendary Star of Bethlehem. The biblical story of the star is intended to convey theological rather than historical or astronomical truths.
Guiding light
The story of the star has long fascinated readers, both ancient and modern. In the New Testament, it is found only in the Gospel of Matthew, a first-century account of Jesus’ life that begins with the story of his birth.
In this account, wise men arrive in Jerusalem and say to Herod king of Judea: “Where is the child that was born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the rising and have come to pay him tribute. The star then leads them to Bethlehem and stops at the house of Jesus and his family.
Many have read this story on the premise that Matthew must have referred to an actual astronomical event that took place around the time of Jesus’ birth. For example, astronomer Michael R. Molnar has claimed that the star of Bethlehem was a solar eclipse of Jupiter in the constellation Ares.
There are at least two issues involved in associating a specific event with Matthew’s star. The first is that scholars do not know exactly when Jesus was born. The traditional date of birth can deviate by up to six years.
The second is that measurable, predictable astronomical events occur with relative frequency. The quest to find out what event, if any, Matthew had in mind is therefore complicated.
Beliefs about the star
The theory that the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn could be the star of Bethlehem is not new. It was proposed in the early 17th century by Johannes Kepler, a German astronomer and mathematician. Kepler argued that the same planetary conjunction in or around 6 BC. Might have inspired Matthew’s story about the star.
Kepler was not the first to suggest that the Star of Bethlehem may have been a recognizable astronomical event. Four hundred years before Kepler, between 1303 and 1305, Italian artist Giotto painted the star as a comet on the walls of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy.
DEA / A. Dagli Orti / De Agostini via Getty Images
Scholars have suggested that Giotto did this as a tribute to Halley’s comet, which astronomers determined was visible in 1301, on one of its regular flights past Earth. Astronomers have also determined that Halley’s Comet passed Earth in or around 12 BC, between five and ten years before most scholars claim that Jesus was born. It is possible that Giotto believed that Matthew was referring to Halley’s comet in his story about the star.
Attempts to discover the identity of Matthew’s star are often creative and insightful, but I would say they are also misguided.
The star in Matthew’s story may not be a ‘normal’ natural phenomenon, and Matthew suggests just as much in the way he describes it. Matthew says the wise men come to Jerusalem “from the east.” The star then leads them to Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem. The star therefore makes a sharp turn to the left. And astronomers will agree that stars don’t make sharp turns.
Additionally, when the wise men arrive in Bethlehem, the star will be low enough in the sky to lead them to a specific home. As physicist Aaron Adair puts it, “The star is said to stop in place and hover over a certain enclosure, like an old GPS unit.” The “description of the star’s movements,” he noted, “fell beyond what is physically possible for any observable astronomical object.”
Theological foundation
In short, there doesn’t seem to be anything ‘normal’ or ‘natural’ about the phenomenon Matthew describes. Perhaps the point Matthew is trying to make is another point.
Matthew’s story about the star is based on a tradition of connecting stars with rulers. The rising of a star means that a ruler has come to power.
For example, in the Bible book of Numbers, which dates back to the 5th century BC, the prophet Balaam foretells the coming of a ruler who will defeat Israel’s enemies. “A star will come from Jacob, [meaning Israel] … it will crush the borderlands of Moab. ”
One of the best-known examples of this ancient tradition is the so-called “Sidus Iulium” or “Julian Star”, a comet that emerged a few months after the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC. Popped up. Roman authors Suetonius and Pliny. the Elder reports that the comet was so bright that it was visible late in the afternoon, and that many Romans interpreted the spectacle as evidence that Julius Caesar was now a god.
In light of such traditions, I believe that Matthew’s story about the star does not exist to inform readers of a specific astronomical event, but to support claims he makes about the character of Jesus.
In other words, I argue that Matthew’s purpose in telling this story is more theological than historical.
The forthcoming conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn is therefore unlikely to be a return of the Star of Bethlehem, but Matthew would likely be pleased with the awe it arouses in those who anticipate it.
(Check out our roundup of other holiday legends.)
Eric M. Vanden Eykel, associate professor of religion, Ferrum College
This article has been republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.