The Christmas season conjures images of tree trappings and midnight mass. Rarely are Chinese astronomers considered a part of the holiday. Surprisingly, wise men from the Far, Far East may provide some historical answers to the Star of Bethlehem, and the Magi from the Near East coming on its trail.
The star has long been part of Nativity imagery. However, St. Matthew’s description of it was rather vague in **Matthew 2:1-10. He gave no exact details of what the star was and when it appeared. Nor did he give details of who the Magi were. The Chinese may have answers to what the star was and the year it appeared.
Chinese astronomers at the time of Jesus
When it comes to ancient astronomy, the Chinese were among the best at observing and recording celestial objects. Many of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) astronomers were employed by the emperor. They served as scholars, but were also valuable advisors and government officials. Throughout this dynasty, during the life of Jesus, they mapped the movements of planets and the moon, noted comets, eclipses, meteors, novae, the orbit of Saturn, and observed sunspots.
In reporting comets, the Chinese made thorough drawings of the comets they observed. This included detailed images of the tails and shapes of the coma (head that always points toward the sun). Attached is one such drawing from the Han Dynasty. Printed on silk, it shows the types of comets according to size and shape. These drawings, even though “grainy,” show how serious and skilled the Chinese were in making their observations.
The Chinese reported 3 comets of interest around the time of the Nativity. Comets were seen in 10, 5 and 4 BCE. The 10 BCE comet was too old to be the Star of Bethlehem—Jesus would have been ~40 years old when Crucified. The 4 BCE comet was in the same year Herod died, so it was difficult for all the events in the New Testament to occur before the death of Herod in the same year. The 5 BCE comet seems just right. This comet was observed for 70 days starting in March of that year. Spring is the time that many theologians believe Jesus was born because of certain clues in Luke and the Talmud.
Getting to Bethlehem in 70 days while a comet was still visible
Seventy days was enough time for the Magi to travel from the Parthia to Jerusalem. (The Parthian Empire encompassed much of present day Persia-Iran and Iraq). The route they took may have included traveling on the Persian royal road which would have saved time. If they had help from the Parthian king and client kings they may have used horses for part of the trip. If they traveled across the Arabian dessert they likely rode on camels. The Chinese comet may have been in the sky for even longer than the 70 days that the Chinese observed. This is due to the Chinese monsoon season which brings heavy rains in China from May to September making observations difficult.
St. Matthew tells us that Herod and his court were disturbed when the Magi asked about the newborn king. This makes sense since 1st century Jewish astronomy was very simple compared to their neighbors the Babylonians, Greeks, and Egyptians. The Jewish calendar is lunar based; therefore, they watched the phases of the moon. Passover is always after the spring-equinox, so they watched the sun also. But, comets played no role in Jewish astronomy. They were baffled by the Magi’s interest in comets and newborn kings.
How could a star/comet “stand over Bethlehem”?
The comet observed by the Chinese was of a “morning star” type. A computer software program by Stellarium shows us that in March of 5 BCE the constellation of Capricorn was hidden most of the night below the earth’s horizon. It rose above the horizon just before sunrise, and then disappeared back below the horizon around high noon. A comet in Capricorn was viewable only from just before dawn to just before noon. Before sunrise the head of the comet pointed to sun. This gave the effect that the comet was pointing to the ground since the sun was still below the earth’s horizon. According to scholar Colin Humphries, the terminology in Matthew 2:9 that the star stood over Bethlehem is uniquely similar to other ancient literature (Dio Cassius and Josephus) describing comets. Bethlehem in the time of Jesus was a small town. This makes tracking down a newborn king an easier task.
Critics of comets believe that a comet could not be the Star of the Bethlehem because they were considered an evil symbol. But, to Zoroastrians (the religion of the Magi according to Greek historian Herodotus), comets were good symbols that indicated the birth of an important person.
Mithridates VI (120—63 BCE) of Pontus, a Zoroastrian king and possible Magi who ruled the Kingdom of Pontus around the Black Sea, was born while 2 comets were in the sky. Ancient historian Justinus states, in his recounting of earlier historian Pompeius Trogus’s Historiae Philippicae, the story of how two comets lit the night sky for 70 consecutive days. Mithridates considered this a good sign. The event was memorialized in a series of small bronze coins struck from 119 to 100 BCE (See photo).
Broom comet heralds sweeping changes?
Interestingly, the Chinese comet of 5 BCE was also 70 days in the sky. The Chinese scholar Ho Peng-Yoke, who translated the original Chinese astronomical texts, informs us that the comet was a broom comet first seen between March 10 and April 7 in the constellation of Capricorn. To the Chinese a broom comet was viewed as a time for “sweeping” change. This could be something good or bad depending how it changed those who ruled. Sweeping changes certainly followed the humble, royal birth in Bethlehem – for Herod, for Israel, for the Roman empire and beyond.
Editor’s notes:
We trust you have enjoyed this treatment of a fascinating subject. Perhaps this is indeed the most likely astronomic correlation to the sign described in Matthew 2 and Numbers 24. One way or another the star signaled the most wondrous of divine interventions in history. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Our thanks to the author.
The Magi may have learned from the exiled Israelites, about the Messianic “star prophecy” from Torah “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.” (Numbers 24:17)
For reference, camels would have been able to travel 20 to 30 km per day from Eastern Iraq/Southwestern Persia and arrive in Bethlehem within a 70 day window of time. Calculation example: 20km/day x 60 days = 1200 km which is approximately the distance from Baghdad to Bethlehem along the fertile crescent.
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*About the author: Robert William Weber is a teacher and historian working in Normal Illinois, USA. He has a MA in history from the University of Nebraska—Kearney. He became interested in the Star of Bethlehem after watching a documentary of Michael Molnar’s theory of the star being a lunar occultation involving the moon, Jupiter, and Saturn on April 17, 6 BCE. When researching for Star of Bethlehem candidates, he believes the key to finding the Star of Bethlehem is the timing of the event, and how the Magi from Parthia interpreted it. Currently, he is writing about the long historiography of Star of Bethlehem research, and theories by modern scholars that either embellish primary sources, or error historically.
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**Matthew 2:1-10 (NIV)
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.
“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
“ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ” Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
Additional recommended reading on a related topic:
Rabbis bring Jesus home for Christmas
A lot of “ifs” and conjecture.
The birth of Christ in the Spring threw me, it has to be at Succot to be consistent with Immanuel taking on flesh for the purpose of becoming our salvation. As the apostle Paul says in 2 Cor 5 our bodies are only earthly tents we temporarily dwell in for our time on earth. Our eternal dwelling in our resurrection body takes place either in the spiritual dwelling of the new earth and heavens (Rev 21) or the lake of fire (Rev 20:15) depending on whether our eternal soul (Gen 2:7) accepted Christ’s salvation.
Great article; first I have heard about the comets.
Regarding the Magi origins, another theory is the Nabateans as they were traders of such things as the gold, frankincense and myrrh. A much closer version of East in the current Jordan region.
What clues in Luke? I’ve been teaching Luke/Acts for years and never come across any. The stars are not for divination. God would not break His own Laws. Matthew frames his account round Genesis and Exodus. The star did not move until the Magi reached “Egypt” (Jerusalem under Herod including the killing of little boys). The Star should be seen as the Shekinah that led Israel. John tell us that “The Light that lightens every man was coming into the World – Chanukah. He also tells us that the Word became flesh and tented/tabernacled among us. Succoth.
If you follow the link there are links in the article to a powerpoint presentation and also an article on ‘When was Jesus born?’
Link removed. Sorry, links are not allowed in comments.
We have a biblical example of God leading a group of people by a supernatural light — the pillar of fire leading the Hebrew people in the exodus. It is known as the Shekinah glory. Why do we not consider the star in the sky over the Christ child to be the Shekinah glory? Makes more sense to me than a comet or a configuration of several planets. But I never hear that mentioned. Might we be missing something?
Greetings Edwin,
Excellent point. Thank you for writing!
Many miracles and miraculous signs seem to be absolutely sovereign, with no “physical/scientific” explanation at all.
Perhaps there are others which are “hyper-natural” with a certain built-in physical/scientific context which does not detract
from the awe and impossibility of divine “coincidence.”
The pillar of fire by night is a fascinating parallel.
Interesting, but there are still a number of questions surrounding the event and visit of the Magi. Note that in Matt 2:7, when the Magi arrive in Jerusalem, Herod asked them for the exact time the “star” first appeared to them (we get a clue to their response later). In Matt 2:9 we see that this “star” is still appearing, visible to the Magi. And in Matt 2:16 we see that based on the what the Magi had told him in 2:7, Herod kills all the young boys in Bethlehem age 2 and below. This would imply that the Magi told Herod that the “star” first appeared nearly two years before, and therefore their “trip” could well have taken more than merely 70 days (and they may not have left immediately, at first appearance).