Naturally, one secular answer would be to suggest that the Star of Bethlehem never existed at all\u2014that it was merely an invention by the author of Matthew to have Jesus of Nazareth fulfill another Messianic prophecy. The Gospel of Matthew is full of narrative elements that align with various Old Testament prophecies, from the virgin birth<\/a> prophesied in Isaiah 7:14<\/a> to the thirty pieces of silver from Zechariah 11:13<\/a>. In that sense, the Star of Bethlehem could be seen as an effort to answer the prophecy written in Numbers 24:17, the Star of Jacob:<\/p>\n \u201cI shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.\u201d<\/p>\n But any attempt to dismiss the Star of Bethlehem as a mere literary flourish has to contend with the fact that there are real astronomical phenomena<\/a>\u2014and, in some cases, even documented events\u2014that could explain the appearance of that famed \u201cstar of royal beauty bright<\/a>, westward leading.\u201d A new study has even put one cosmic candidate to the test.<\/p>\n The Star of Bethlehem by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, painted some time between 1887 and 1891<\/p>\n As reported in Scientific American<\/a>, while some have posited that the Star of Bethlehem was a conjunction between Saturn and Jupiter, new research written by planetary scientist Mark Matney and published in the Journal of the British Astronomical Association puts considerable weight behind an alternative theory: that the star of Bethlehem was actually a comet.<\/p>\n \u201cMatney recalls how, as a student, he worked at a planetarium that ran a Christmas sky show telling the story of the Star of Bethlehem, which rose in the southern sky until it appeared to come to a stop overhead,\u201d Scientific American wrote. \u201cThe planetarium show said that no known astronomical object could act in the way described by the story of the magi\u2014Earth\u2019s<\/a> rotation means that everything in the sky rises in the east and sets in the west.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Story<\/p>\n But Matney disagreed. He believed that one celestial object could fit that description, \u201ca long-period comet from the mysterious Oort Cloud.\u201d<\/p>\n To strengthen his case, Matney turned to ancient Chinese writings, particularly the Astronomical Treatise of the History of the Former Han Dynasty, which told of a \u201chui\u2010hsing,\u201d or broom star, that appeared in the spring of 5 B.C.E. Scientific American summarizes that this Chinese treatise appears to suggest that \u201cthe strange star remained in the same constellation for 70 days\u2014far too long for a comet.\u201d<\/p>\n Chinese astronomical records, like the Mawangdui silk from around 300 B.C.E., can provide a vital insight on ancient astronomical events like the hui hsing, or \u201cbroom star,\u201d which we now call comets.<\/p>\n This particular astrological event isn\u2019t just an example of what type of \u201cstar\u201d the Star of Bethlehem was\u2014it could very well have been the very same star<\/a>. That\u2019s because, even though our contemporary dating system of B.C.E. and C.E. is rooted in what\u2019s called the Anno Domini dating system, meant to chart all history based on whether or not it occurred \u201cBefore Christ,\u201d it turns out one of the things that came into existence in that \u201cBefore Christ\u201d period was likely… Christ.<\/p>\n Most scholars now agree that Jesus was likely born during the B.C.\/B.C.E. period<\/a>, with 5 B.C.E. as a strong contender, largely because the Gospels of both Luke and Matthew depict the birth of Jesus as occurring during the reign of King Herod<\/a>. The famed monarch died in 4 B.C.E., so Jesus\u2019 birth needs to have occurred before then.<\/p>\n The Adoration of the Magi by Giovanni di Paolo, circa 1450 <\/p>\nPrint Collector\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Pictures from History\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Heritage Images\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
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