Possible Evidence for the Historicity of the Star of Bethlehem

by Ken Elchert

Keywords: Essenes, jubilees, magi, Nativity, Seventy Weeks Prophecy, Star of Bethlehem

AbstractDead Sea Scrolls indicate that the Qumran sectarians, believed by the majority of biblical scholars to have been the Essenes, used the 70 Weeks Prophecy in Daniel to determine the time of the Messiah’s arrival by interpreting the 490 year span of this prophecy as a continuous series of ten jubilee periods following the return of the Jews from exile. Wacholder’s scheme of Sabbatical years indicates that the last year of this period was 2/1 BCE, possibly an Essene jubilee year. The first day of this year coincided with the heliacal rising of Jupiter in Leo which matches Mt. 2:2 and 2:9 stating that the magi had seen “his star at its rising” -- possible evidence Matthew’s story about the star is true.

IntroductionEvidence of a connection between the Essene chronology of Jewish history recorded in several manuscripts recovered with the Dead Sea Scrolls, the infancy narrative of Jesus in the gospel attributed to Matthew, and an astronomical event in 2 BCE has been found which indicates that the account of the visit of the magi could be historical. This connection provides an answer to how the magi knew when to make their trip to Judaea to seek the Jewish Messiah and the reason why they believed that the Messiah had been born. This discovery relies on the following premises: Jupiter was the Star of Bethlehem, 2/1 BCE was a jubilee year, the Hebrew calendar year for 2/1 BCE was a normal year with no intercalated month, the Nativity took place in 3/2 BCE, and King Herod the Great died in early 1 BCE. Rationale for each of these premises is provided in this paper.

Except for quotes from the Septuagint where noted, quotes from the Bible are from the New American Bible, revised edition. All BCE/CE dates are Julian calendar dates. The Hebrew calendar used in this study is based on www.torahcalendar.com but without an intercalated month in 2 BCE. All astronomical data were obtained using Stellarium 0.11.0.

The Infancy NarrativesThe only sources we have of the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus are the infancy narratives in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, two of the three synoptic gospels of the New Testament. Further, Matthew’s gospel is the only source document we have that mentions the appearance of a star indicating the arrival of the Messiah. Even though it has been claimed that these two narratives contradict each other, the chronology of the events recorded in these gospels (Table 1) shows no conflict between them. It has been speculated that the source of these infancy narratives was Mary, the mother of Jesus.

The MagiAt the time of the Nativity, only Media, Persia, Assyria, and Babylonia in the Parthian Empire had a Magian priesthood. [Catholic Encyclopedia] What we know about the magi mentioned in Matthew’s gospel is the following:

1) They came from the east2) They were seeking the newborn king of the Jews to pay homage to him3) They had seen a star at its rising which they attributed to the Messiah and

which they saw again on their trip from Jerusalem to Bethlehem4) They knew the exact time of the star’s appearance5) They needed to know where the Messiah was born

Fact (1) confirms that they almost certainly came from the Parthian Empire which lay east of the Roman Empire. Fact (2) suggests that they were men of faith who were either Jewish or were very much influenced by the Jews and/or the Hebrew Scriptures. Facts (3) and (4) suggest that the men were keen observers of the night skies implying that they were astronomers. This suggests that if they were from the Parthian empire, they were from the Babylonian region, noted for its astronomers. Fact (5) suggests that they probably were not Jews since they were unaware of the Book of Micah stating that Bethlehem would be the place from where the ruler of Israel would come.

The Babylonia – Jewish ConnectionThe Babylonians, under Nebuchadnezzar, invaded Judah which resulted in the fall of the southern Kingdom, the destruction of the Temple, the fall of Jerusalem, and the deportation of the Jews to Babylonia in 605 BCE, 597 BCE, and 587/586 BCE. According to Ezr 2:59 and 8:17, 21 and Ez 3:15, the Jews were resettled in the region of Chebar and Euphrates Rivers in the Babylonian region south of Babylon. The Exile ended when the Persian king, Cyrus II (r. 559 BCE – 530 BCE), aka Cyrus the Great, conquered Babylon in 539 BCE and issued a decree ca 538/537 BCE allowing the Jews to return. However, after nearly seventy years of exile, spanning about three generations, many of the Jews decided to remain in Babylonia. By the time of the

Nativity, Babylonia, along with Alexandria, had the largest population of Jews living outside of Herod’s kingdom.

The Babylonian ZodiacThe zodiac is the band in the sky in which the sun, moon, and planets appear to move. The Babylonian zodiac of twelve equally-spaced constellations was invented by the Babylonians in the late fifth century BCE. It provided the Babylonians a way of tracking the motion of the moon and planets. Steele and Gray have analyzed all the known Babylonian astronomical diaries, almanacs and Goal Year texts to determine the boundaries of the Babylonian zodiac signs (Table 2). Their results show that the Babylonian zodiac was fixed sidereally rather than tropically and that the signs were intended to be of equal length (30 degrees) although the boundaries between adjacent signs could vary by a couple of degrees. In addition, they also showed that the Vernal Equinox was located 3.08 degrees inside the Babylonian boundaries for the constellation Aries in 1 BCE, which (although not stated in their paper) proves that the stars Aldebaran and Antares marked the mid-point of the Babylonian signs of Taurus and Scorpius, respectively. These results facilitate the accurate reconstruction of the Babylonian zodiac.

Identification of the Star of BethlehemThere have been many theories about what the Star of Bethlehem was if it had been a natural body. These have included a nova [Kepler, Kidger, Clark, Parkinson, and Stephenson], a variable star [Sigismondi], meteors [Moore], a comet [Collins, Nicholl], and the planet Jupiter [Mosley, Martin, Hutchison].

Although the account of the star in Matthew’s gospel is very brief, it provides some very important characteristics that can be used as criteria in determining its identity. These include the following ones used in this study: 1) visible for months since it probably took a couple of months for the magi to reach Jerusalem after they had first seen the star, 2) rises heliacally in the east since this is the natural interpretation of Mt. 2:2 as heliacal risings were recorded by the Babylonians, 3) can be seen south of Jerusalem since Bethlehem is located slightly west of due south from Jerusalem, 4) a common object since the star was unnoticed by the Herod, the chief priests and scribes, 5) bright since it was seen clearly by the magi both at its rising and on their trip to Bethlehem, 6) star-like since the magi referred to it as a star, 7) its motion stops since the star stopped over the house where the child was located, 8) associated with kings since the magi were seeking the king of the Jews and referred to the star as “his star”.

The astronomical objects that were chosen as candidates for the star in this study were 1) a meteor 2) the Sun, 3) the Moon, 4) Mercury, 5) Venus, 6) Mars, 7) Jupiter, 8) Saturn, 9) Uranus, 10) an asteroid, 11) a comet, 12) a star, 13) a planetary nebula, and 14) a nova/supernova.

The resulting assessment matrix showing how each candidate fared against the criteria is in Table 3. The results show that only one candidate meets all the criteria: Jupiter, the celestial body the Babylonians named Sharru, “the king star”.

The average synodic period (time between successive oppositions or heliacal risings) of Jupiter is 398.884 days but varies from 395 days to 403 days due to the eccentricities of the orbits of Earth and Jupiter. This results in the location in the zodiac where each succeeding heliacal rising of Jupiter occurs to advance about 30 to 37 degrees (Table 4). Since each of the Babylonian zodiac signs extended 30 degrees, this then means that the location of the heliacal risings followed a progression along the zodiac from one zodiac sign to the adjacent one every 399 days or so, making a complete circuit in 12 years (Figure 1). This made it easy for the Babylonian astronomers to predict both where and when the next heliacal rising of Jupiter would take place.

The Babylonian Astronomical Diaries and AlmanacsThe Babylonians were noted for their astronomers and advanced knowledge of astronomy. Babylonian astronomers recorded their observations and predictions of the Moon and the known planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) in cuneiform on clay tablets referred to as astronomical diaries and almanacs, respectively. Both the diaries and almanacs record heliacal risings and settings of the planets, stationary points, eclipses, dates of opposition, and dates of entry into zodiac signs. Substantial numbers of these have been found only in Babylon and Uruk [Steele]. A few have also been found in Nippur, Sippar, and Ur [Steele]. All of these locations are in the same area where the Jews had been resettled during the Exile and were sites of ziggurats where astronomical observations could have been made. Being the city of Marduk, the chief Babylonian god, Babylon had the largest ziggurat ever built, Etemenanki (“house of the foundation of heaven and earth”). In ruins by the time of the Nativity, it had a temple dedicated to Marduk whose star was Jupiter.

All of the astronomical diaries and almanacs date from the third century BCE to the first century CE. The latest one, W22340a, having been dated to 79/80 CE, was found at the ancient site of Uruk. The extant almanac nearest to the time of the Nativity is for 7/6 BCE. Analysis of clay tablet BM 40054 and others dated from 350 BCE to 50 BCE show that the Babylonians used geometry and integral calculus to calculate the motion of Jupiter in the sky for 60 days starting with the heliacal rising of Jupiter. [Ossendrijver] This is indicative of the importance the Babylonians gave to Jupiter.

The Year of the NativityHaving determined that Jupiter is the likeliest candidate for the star, it is necessary to determine the approximate date of the Nativity to uncover its motion in the sky before the magi made their journey in search of the Messiah.

Three ways can be used to determine the time of the Nativity. The first is by using Lk. 3:1 and 3:23. These verses say that John the Baptist, who was about six months older than Jesus, started his ministry “…in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar ….” and soon afterward, “When Jesus began his ministry he was about thirty years of age….” Tiberius started his reign on September 18, 14 CE following the death of Augustus Caesar. That places the fifteenth year of Tiberius and the start of John’s ministry sometime between September 28 CE and September 29 CE. The start of Jesus’s ministry, when he was about thirty, would have been sometime between March 29 CE and March 30 CE. If he was thirty between those two dates then the Nativity would have been between March 2 BCE and March 1 BCE. Since Luke says he was “about thirty” the range for the Nativity can be extended a year each way which would place it somewhere between March 3 BCE and March 1 CE.

The second way to estimate the time of the Nativity is by dating Herod’s death, commonly given as 4 BCE which conflicts with the range of dates for the Nativity obtained by using information in Luke’s gospel. However, there are excellent reasons given by Filmer, Steinmann and Hutchison to believe that this date is incorrect due to chronological problems having to do with the year of the beginning of Herod’s reign as well as those of his sons.

Josephus says that Herod was about seventy years old when he died (J. Antiq. 17.6.1), that he had reigned thirty-four years after he had Antigonus executed, and thirty-seven years after he was declared king by the Romans (J. Antiq. 17.8.1 and J. War 1.33.8). It has been argued [Hutchison, Steinmann] that Herod was named king in 39 BCE which would therefore place his death around 2 BCE.

Although it is known that Herod’s sons who succeeded him in ruling his kingdom claimed that their reigns started in 4 BCE, Fuller provides evidence that they backdated the start of their reigns to add legitimacy to their rule over the Jews. According to Josephus (J. Antiq. 16.11.7), Herod had two of his sons, Alexander (ca 35 BCE – ca 4 BCE) and Aristobulus (31 BCE – ca 4 BCE), executed about three years before he himself died. These were the sons he had by Mariamne (d. 29 BCE) who was the last

of the Hasmoneans who ruled Judaea before Herod became king. Alexander and Aristobulus therefore had the legitimate right to succeed Herod’s reign. This provides a reason for the backdating, a practice common at the time.

The third approach is also based on Josephus who mentioned a lunar eclipse that took place shortly before Herod died (J. Antiq. 17.6.4). This is the only lunar eclipse mentioned by Josephus in his works. There are two candidates (Figure 2) for this eclipse – a partial eclipse on March 13, 4 BCE, and a total eclipse on January 9-10, 1 BCE. The second eclipse is favored since it was a total eclipse and agrees with the time period determined from the first two methods. The timing of this eclipse then places Herod’s death in late January 1 BCE. Since Herod ordered the massacre of all boys under the age of two based on the date of the appearance of the star, the Nativity might have been as early as early 3 BCE.

These lines of evidence therefore indicate that the Nativity was sometime around 3 BCE to 2 BCE.

Celestial Events in 3/2 BCEHutchison has made a thorough analysis of the astronomical events of 3/2 BCE. A summary of the first eleven of what he has identified as “Primary Star Signs” is provided in Table 5. These occurred over a span of thirteen months from July 29, 3 BCE, to August 29, 2 BCE. As shown in Tables 6 and 7, these eleven dates contained an amazing number of interesting astronomical events of various degrees of rarity involving Jupiter, Venus, the Moon, and Regulus. These include 5 risings/settings, two 2 Jupiter stationary points, 8 groupings, 7 conjunctions, 3 occultations or grazings by the Moon, and two eclipses. Amazingly, all of these involved Jupiter, Regulus, and Leo and, except for a solar eclipse, were all visible from the Ancient Near East.

Notable events include a triple conjunction of Jupiter and Regulus (Table 8) and an extremely rare conjunction between Jupiter and Venus on June 17, 2 BCE, in which Jupiter was partially occulted by Venus on the night of a Full Moon. There was also a series of thirteen consecutive monthly grazings and occultations of Regulus and Jupiter by the Moon from May 20, 3 BCE, to April 12, 2 BCE (Table 9). However, only a few of these were visible from the Ancient Near East.

Additional astronomical data are provided in Tables 10 and 11. As will be explained later, with the exception of the heliacal risings of Jupiter in 3 BCE and 2 BCE, whether the magi might have given any significance to these events with respect to a coming Messiah and how they might have interpreted them is unknown. However, the prominent presence of Jupiter (the king star) and Regulus (the royal star) in the constellation Leo in 3/2 BCE suggests that the magi may have associated the Messiah

with Jupiter and that its presence with Regulus may have been an indication to them that the Messiah would soon be arriving.

The Hebrew and Essene CalendarsThe Hebrew calendar is a lunisolar calendar. Each month began with the first sighting of the crescent moon following its conjunction with the sun, i.e., the heliacal rising of the moon in the west. A thirteenth month, Adar II, was periodically intercalated into the calendar after Adar, the twelfth month. The primary criterion for intercalation was the ripeness of the winter wheat crop which makes it virtually impossible to know in which years the Jews intercalated a month into their calendar. Another consideration for intercalation was the feast of Pesach (Passover). Josephus (J. Antiq. 3.10.5) states that Passover was celebrated “…on the fourteenth day of the lunar month [of Nisan] when the sun is in Aries.” The Hebrew calendar used in this study has both 3 BCE and 2 BCE as normal years of twelve months. Without a month added to the calendar in 2 BCE, Passover would have been observed on March 22, two days after the sun entered the Babylonian sign of Aries (First Point of Aries located at an ecliptic longitude of 357 deg) but one day before the true Vernal Equinox.

The Jewish day began at sunset and ended at the time of the sunset the following day. The last day of the week was the Sabbath which was a day of rest. Every seventh year was a Sabbatical year in which the fields lay fallow. The Jews also celebrated the New Moon on the first day of each month and had feasts and festivals throughout the year (Table 12). There were four New Years in the Hebrew calendar but two, Nisan 1 and Tishri 1 (Rosh ha-Shana or Trumpets) were by far the important ones. Nisan 1 was the start of the religious year and Tishri 1 was the start of the civil year as well as the Sabbatical years. The correlation between the Hebrew calendar used for this study and the Julian calendar for 3 BCE to 1 BCE is provided in Table 13.

The calendar described in the Dead Sea Scrolls written by the sectarians at Qumran (referred to here as the Essene calendar) was a septenary solar calendar of 364 days divided into 52 weeks; four quarters of 13 weeks consisting of 91 days each. One characteristic of this calendar is that all dates occurred on the same day of the week every year. However, since this Essene calendar is 1.24 days short of the tropical year, it would have quickly become asynchronous with the seasons. It is not known if this calendar was intercalated or if it was ever used except for a short time.

The 70 Weeks ProphecyOne of the keys to solving the mystery of how the magi knew when to go to Jerusalem to seek the Messiah is the 70 weeks Prophecy found in Dan. 9:24-27. This prophecy consists of seventy “weeks of years”, or 490 years, starting at the end of the Exile in which several future events would occur, including the appearance of “the Messiah the

Prince” near the end of that period of time. It is the only prophecy in the Bible that allows one to calculate when the Messiah would appear. It is therefore not unreasonable to think that the magi may have either read the Book of Daniel or heard about this prophecy to enable them determine when the Messiah would arrive. At the time of the Nativity this book was available in Hebrew in the Hebrew Scriptures and in Greek in what is known as the Septuagint.

The SeptuagintThe Torah, the Hebrew Scriptures containing the five books of the Pentateuch, also known as the Law, was translated in the third century BCE in Alexandria under Ptolemy II (285 BCE – 246 BCE) to accommodate the Jews who spoke only Greek. Eventually, all the books in the Hebrew Scriptures, including the Book of Daniel, were translated into Greek as well and collectively known as the Septuagint (aka LXX). The Septuagint became a favorite of the Jews as attested by the fact that nearly all the quotes from the Hebrew Scriptures in the New Testament are from the Septuagint.

Today, there are only two extant manuscripts of the Book of Daniel from the Septuagint that are known: the Codex Chisianus 88 (aka MS88) from the ninth century AD and Papyrus 967, containing parts of 59 pages, from the third century AD. MS88 is the only one that has the complete Book of Daniel of the Septuagint. There have been five principle translations of the Septuagint into English:

1) Charles Thompson (1808)2) Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton (1851 and 1870)3) Cambridge Septuagint (1906 – 1940) based on the Codex Vaticanus4) Gottingen Septuagint (published between 1931 and 2006)5) New English Translation of the Septuagint (NETS) (published 2009, 2014)

A comparison of the texts of the 70 Weeks Prophecy from (2), (5), and the New American Bible, revised edition (Table 14), shows significant differences between the Septuagint and the New American Bible and even between the Septuagint versions. This was obviously not a result of scribal error in the Septuagint but was deliberate -- an indication of the interest in this prophecy at the time.

The Dead Sea ScrollsAlthough no one knows for sure who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls found in the caves around Qumran, the majority of biblical scholars believe that they were probably written by the Essenes, a Jewish sect of Sadducees who broke away after the Maccabean revolt and settled there from about 134 BCE to 68 CE. Among the remains of the 825 to 870 scrolls (including about 225 biblical texts) recovered from the caves near Qumran, fragments of eight manuscripts of the Book of Daniel (Table 15) were found in three caves (Caves 1, 4 and 6), the oldest one dated ca 125 BCE. These texts include variants related to the Hebrew archetype of the Septuagint; indeed, the texts from Cave 4, although written in Hebrew, agree significantly with the Septuagint [Gilmore].

Unfortunately, none of the fragments of the Book of Daniel recovered from the Qumran caves include any part of the 70 Weeks Prophecy.

In addition, 15 copies of the Book of Jubilees, which presents a chronology of history based on jubilees and “year weeks”, were also found in five caves (Caves 1, 2, 3, 4, and 11), the oldest having been dated to no later than 100 BCE. The large number of these and similar books found at Qumran provides evidence of the Essenes’ interest in chronology of Jewish history and determining when the Messiah would arrive.

The Essene JubileesSabbatical years occurred every seven years to cancel debts and jubilee years were to occur every seven sabbatical years. Although there is no existing record of a jubilee year actually having been observed, they were intended, among other things, to provide freedom to slaves that had been sold into slavery for their debt.

The Essenes held the numbers seven and ten as being “sacred numbers” which were prominent in their writings. This is evident in the Book of Jubilees which provides a chronology of important events to the Jews starting with creation and continuing to the entry into the Promised Land. This chronology covers five decades of jubilees with one jubilee consisting of seven “year weeks” or 7 x 7 = 49 years. So a decade of jubilees consists of 10 x 7 x 7 = 490 years.

The Pseudo-Moses Documents (4Q387a, 388a, 389 and 390) found at Qumran indicate that the eighth decade of jubilees after the Creation in the Essene chronology started immediately after the return of the Jews from Exile. The Damascus Document (CD 1:5-8; composed ca 100 BCE) indicates they believed the beginning of the Exile was around 560 BCE [Beckwith, Stegemann] and the return from the Exile was seventy years later around 490 BCE [Beckwith]. This eighth decade coincides with the 70 Weeks Prophecy in the Book of Daniel which shows that the Essenes believed the 70 weeks constituted a continuous period of 490 years. In addition, the Melchizedek Document (11QMelch) indicates the Messiah was expected in the tenth and last jubilee of this decade of jubilees.

Messianic Views and Expected Appearance of the MessiahThe Dead Sea Scrolls show the Essenes held two different messianic views: one in which there would be two messiahs (the Messiah of Israel and the Messiah of Aaron) and one in which there would be one messiah from the House of David [Schiffman]. Since the Seventy Weeks Prophecy in the Book of Daniel mentions only one Messiah and the chronology of the ten jubilees leading to the messiah was constructed by the Essenes based on this prophecy, they must have believed that it would be the Messiah of the House of David who would appear at the end of the ten jubilees.

Information in the Testament of Levi concerning the fifth and seventh year-weeks of the seventh jubilee in this decade of jubilees puts tight limits on the dating of the end of the last jubilee when the Messiah was expected. Levi 17:10 states

In the 5th week they will return to the land of their desolation and will renew the house of the Lord. And in the 7th week there will be priests who are idolators, adulterers, lovers of money, proud, lawless, licentious, corrupters of boys and corrupters of beasts.

Of this, Beckwith says the following: The rededication of the Temple by Judas Maccabaeus (after his return from the wilderness) took place in 164 BC, and the assumption of the high priesthood by Jonathan Maccabaeus, the first of the Hasmonean high priests … took place in 152 BC. This fixes the dates of the 7th jubilee within narrow limits. If 164 BC was in the last year of the 5th week, then the 7th jubilee began in 199 BC and ended in 150 BC. If, on the other hand, 152 BC was in the 1st year of the 7th week, then the 7th jubilee began in 195 BC and ended between 150 and 146 BC. If, however, the 7th jubilee began between 199 and 195 BC and ended between 150 and 146 BC, the 10th jubilee would begin between 52 and 48 BC and would end between 3 BC and AD 2. Moreover, the 7 th week of the 10th jubilee, when the Messiahs were to be manifested, would begin between 10 and 6 BC, and would end between 3 BC and AD 2.

The Evidence: Connecting Matthew’s Gospel to an Astronomical EventBased on the scheme by Zion ben Wacholder (1924 – 2011) for the Jewish sabbatical years following the Exile, the only sabbatical year between 3 BCE and 2 CE is the year 2/1 BCE. It is then likely that the Essenes identified this year as the jubilee year that ended the decade of jubilees (490 years) following the return from the Exile. Data on the reconstructed Essene decades of jubilees are tabulated in Tables 16, 17, 18, and 19. As indicated in Table 16, significant events important to the Jews occurred in the last year of many of the Essene decades of jubilees following the Creation. The first day of the last jubilee year of the eighth decade was Tishri 1 A.M. 3920 (the Day of Trumpets), which was September 1, 2 BCE, in the Julian calendar. It was the first day of the seventh year of the seventh jubilee of the tenth and last Essene decade of jubilees following the Exile.

In light of Matthew’s infancy narrative, what is significant about this day is that it was the occurrence of the heliacal rising of Jupiter in the sign of Leo. It could have been seen as early as August 29, 2 BCE, but since the observance of the heliacal rising is dependent on seeing conditions in the eastern sky, it may not have been seen until a few days later on September 1. Jupiter’s heliacal rising matches what Matthew quotes the magi saying in Mt. 2:1

“… We saw his star at its rising ...”

This is significant because it ties Matthew’s account of the magi and the star of Bethlehem to a known astronomical event providing strong evidence for the historicity of both the star and Matthew’s infancy narrative concerning the magi. With the heliacal rising of Jupiter, the king star, taking place on a major Jewish feast day, which was also the first day of the new year in the Jewish calendar, the year when the Jewish messiah was to appear based on Jewish prophecy, it would have left no doubt that this was a sign that the Jewish messiah, not a Zoroastrian one, had been born.

The historical occurrence of the star and journey of the magi would explain why Matthew had magi coming from the east instead of kings coming from Sheba in the south per Isaiah 60:6 and Psalms 72:10. Had the story been fictitious, it is almost certain that Matthew would not have had magi from the east in his infancy narrative because of his fondness to quote the Hebrew Scriptures to show how events in the life of Jesus fulfilled prophecy. In his infancy narrative alone, Matthew quotes the Hebrew Scriptures four times (Mt. 1:22-23; 2:5-6; 2:17-18; and 2:23) to show fulfillment of prophecy.

Additionally, July 29, 3 BCE, the approximate date of the heliacal rising of Jupiter the previous year may have been the date of the star’s appearance given Herod by the magi in Mt. 2:7 and 2:16. The elapsed time between this date and the date of the meeting between the magi and Herod would have been a year and five months which Herod may have rounded up to two years for good measure when he ordered the slaughter of the innocents (Mt. 2:16).

It may be noteworthy that, with one exception, all the then-known celestial objects that move through the zodiac (the Sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter) were grouped together within a span of only 12 degrees along the ecliptic on the morning of August 29, 2 BCE – only a few days before the Day of Trumpets. The Sun was in Virgo and the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter were located in Leo in a span of only 7 degrees. The exception was Saturn which stood alone high in the sky in Gemini 90 degrees from the sun (Table 20). Whether this had any significance to the magi is not known.

The Essene-Babylonian Magi ConnectionJosephus and Philo (ca 25 BCE – ca 50 CE) indicate that the Essenes became widespread throughout the Palestine region. Philo says in his treatise Quod Omnis Probus liber sit (Every Good Man is Free) that the Essene hospitality was such that “…the house is open to all those of the same notions, who come to them from other quarters….” He also ranks the Essenes of Palestine-Syria with the magi of Persia. And

Josephus says that Herod the Great granted the Essenes the only exemption from taking an oath of loyalty in his kingdom (J. Antiq. 15.10.4).

It is therefore very possible that contacts made between the Essenes and Jews on pilgrimage from Babylonia to the Temple in Jerusalem resulted in an oral transfer of knowledge of the Essene decade of jubilees predicting the arrival of the Messiah. This information could then have been provided to the Resh Galusa (“Head of the Diaspora”) in Babylonia who was a direct descendant of the House of King David. Being the Jewish representative to the Babylonian authorities, he could have then passed this information on to the Babylonian magi who may have also been interested in the coming of a messiah.

ConclusionsBased on Luke’s gospel and Josephus, the Nativity took place sometime in 3 BCE or 2 BCE. The magi probably came from the Babylonian region and the star was likely Jupiter, the only natural body meeting all the characteristics of the star described in Matthew’s gospel. Celestial events involving both Jupiter and Regulus in 3 BCE and 2 BCE may have been important signs to the magi of the coming of the Messiah. The heliacal rising of Jupiter on September 1, 2 BCE, may be the “star at its rising” mentioned in Mt. 2:2 and 2:9. If there was no intercalation of a month in the Hebrew calendar in 2 BCE, this date would have been 1 Tishri in the Hebrew calendar, the feast of Trumpets, and the first day of the Essene jubilee year marking the end of the Essene decade of jubilees following the Exile, the year they expected the appearance of the Messiah. This is possible evidence the story is true. July 29, 3 BCE, the date of the heliacal rising of Jupiter before it entered Leo, may have been the date of the star’s appearance given Herod by the magi in Mt. 2:7 and 2:16.

AcknowledgementsThe author gratefully thanks Dwight Hutchison and Dennis Elliott for reviewing the draft of this paper and providing valuable comments which resulted in significant improvements. The results documented in this paper would not have been possible without the benefit of the important works of several people. These include the works of Dwight Hutchison, Dr. Ernest Martin, Roger Beckwith, and Ben Zion Wacholder which provided key information on the Star of Bethlehem, Essene chronology, and Jewish Sabbatical years.

Table 1. Chronology of the Nativity Narratives by Luke and Matthew

Event Luke’s Gospel Matthew’s GospelJoseph’s genealogy 1:1 - 16Mary’s genealogy 3:23 - 38Gabriel visits Mary 1:26 - 38Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth 1:39 - 55Mary returns home in Nazareth 1:56An angel visits Joseph in a dream 1:18 - 25Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem 2:4 - 5Jesus is born in Bethlehem 2:6 - 7Shepherds visit the Holy Family 2:8 - 20Circumcision of Jesus 2:21Jesus presented in the Temple 2:22 - 38Holy Family returns to Nazareth 2:39[Holy Family makes home in Bethlehem]Magi bring gifts in Bethlehem 2:1 - 12The Holy Family escapes to Egypt 2:13 - 15Slaughter of the Innocents 2:16 - 18The Holy Family returns to Nazareth 2:19 - 23

Jesus grows up in Nazareth 2:40

Table 2. Approximate Locations of the Babylonian Zodiac Signs

Babylonian Sign

Beginning Boundary(Ecliptic Longitude of Date*, deg)

Aries 357Taurus 27Gemini 57Cancer 87

Leo 117Virgo 147Libra 177

Scorpius 207Sagittarius 237

Capricornus 267Aquarius 297Pisces 327

*Year 0 (1 BCE)

Table 3. Data for the Heliacal Risings of Jupiter, 13 BCE to 2 BCE

Approximate Date

Ecliptic Longitude

of Date (deg)

Location in Babylonian

Zodiac

Change in Ecliptic

Longitude (deg)

Elapsed Time Since Previous

Rising (days)

Sept 24, 13 BCE 168.88 22 Virgo 30.18 396Oct 24, 12 BCE 199.04 22 Libra 30.16 395Nov 24, 11 BCE 230.21 23 Scorpius 31.17 396Dec 28 10 BCE 263.33 26 Sagittarius 33.12 399Feb 4, 8 BCE 299.05 2 Aquarius 35.72 404

Mar 17, 7 BCE 336.30 9 Pisces 37.25 406Apr 23, 6 BCE 12.73 16 Aries 36.43 402May 26, 5 BCE 47.62 21 Taurus 34.88 399Jun 28, 4 BCE 80.90 24 Gemini 33.28 398Jul 29, 3 BCE 112.38 25 Cancer 31.48 396Sep 1, 2 BCE 142.91 26 Leo 30.53 396

based on Stellarium 0.11.0

Table 4. Assessment of Candidates for the Star of Bethlehem

Visible for

Months

Heliacal Rising in the East

Seen South of

Jerusalem

Common Object

Bright Star-like

Motion

Stops

Associated with Kings

Atmospheric

Meteor No No Yes Yes Yes No No No

Large Sun Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes?Objects Moon Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No

Mercury No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes NoVenus Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No

Planets Mars Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes NoJupiter Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes YesSaturn Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes NoUranus Yes? Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No

Small Asteroid No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes NoObjects Comet Yes Yes Yes No Some No Some No

Star Yes Some Yes Yes Some Yes No SomeStellar Nebula Yes Some Yes Yes No Yes No No

Nova Yes Some Yes No Yes Yes No No

Table 5. Important Astronomical Events of 3/2 BCE

ID No. Date Event(s)1 July 29, 3 BCE Heliacal rising of Jupiter;

Sun-Regulus conjunction; Full Moon

2 Aug 12, 3 BCE Heliacal rising of Regulus; Jupiter-Venus conjunction;

New Moon3 Sep 14, 3 BCE Jupiter-Regulus conjunction #14 Nov 27, 3 BCE Jupiter at stationary point #1;

Regulus occulted by the Moon5 Jan 20, 2 BCE Regulus occulted by the Moon; Jupiter

acronychal rising; Full Moon;

Lunar Eclipse6 Feb 17, 2 BCE Jupiter-Regulus conjunction #2;

Regulus grazed by the Moon7 Mar 29, 2 BCE Jupiter at stationary point #28 May 9, 2 BCE Jupiter-Regulus conjunction #3 with the Moon9 June 17, 2 BCE Jupiter-Venus conjunction/merger;

Full Moon10 July 28, 2 BCE Heliacal setting of Jupiter;

Sun-Regulus conjunction11 Aug 29, 2 BCE Grouping of planets;

Heliacal rising of JupiterNew Moon

Source: Hutchison, Dwight 2015. “The Lion Led the Way.” Third Edition

Table 6. Astronomical Events in 3 BCE and 2 BCE

Date Rising/Setting

StationPoint

Grouping* Con-junction

Occult./Grazing

Eclipse New/Full

MoonJul 29, 3 BCE x x x FMAug 12, 3 BCE x x x x

(solar)NM

Sep 14, 3 BCE xNov 27, 3 BCE x x xJan 20, 2 BCE x x x x

(lunar)FM

Feb 17, 2 BCE x x xMar 29, 2 BCE xMay 9, 2 BCE x xJun 17, 2 BCE x x FMJul 28, 2 BCE x xAug 29, 2 BCE x x NM

based on Stellarium 0.11.0*any three or more of the following in the same region of the sky: Jupiter, Venus, Moon, Regulus

Table 7. Participation of Jupiter, Venus, Moon and Regulus in the Astronomical Events

Date Moon Venus Jupiter Regulus ConstellationJul 29, 3 BCE x x x x Cancer & LeoAug 12, 3 BCE x x x x Cancer & LeoSep 14, 3 BCE x x LeoNov 27, 3 BCE x x x LeoJan 20, 2 BCE x x x LeoFeb 17, 2 BCE x x x LeoMar 29, 2 BCE x x LeoMay 9, 2 BCE x x x LeoJun 17, 2 BCE x x x x LeoJul 28, 2 BCE x x x LeoAug 29, 2 BCE x x x x Leo

based on Stellarium 0.11.0

Table 8. The Jupiter-Regulus Triple Conjunction of 3/2 BCE

Date Visible from Ancient Near East?

Moon Phase

Sep 14, 3 BCE Yes Waxing CrescentFeb 16, 2 BCE Yes Waxing GibbousMay 9, 2 BCE Yes Waxing Crescent

based on Stellarium 0.11.0

Table 9. Grazes and Occultations of Regulus and Jupiter by the Moon in 3/2 BCE

Date Celestial Body

Event Type Visible from Ancient Near East?

Moon Phase

May 20, 3 BCE Regulus Graze No Waxing CrescentJun 16, 3 BCE Regulus Graze No Waxing CrescentJul 13, 3 BCE Regulus Occultation No New MoonAug 10, 3 BCE Regulus Occultation No Waning New MoonSep 6, 3 BCE Regulus, Jupiter Graze Yes Waning CrescentOct 3, 3 BCE Regulus Occultation No Waning Crescent

Oct 30, 3 BCE Regulus Occultation No 3rd QuarterNov 27, 3 BCE Regulus Occultation Yes Waning GibbousDec 24, 3 BCE Regulus Graze No Waning Full MoonJan 20, 2 BCE Regulus Occultation Yes Full MoonFeb 17, 2 BCE Regulus, Jupiter Graze No Waxing Full MoonMar 16,, 2 BCE Regulus Graze No Waxing GibbousApr 12, 2 BCE Regulus Graze No 1st QuarterMay 10, 2 BCE Regulus Close encounter Yes Waxing Crescent

based on Stellarium 0.11.0

Table 10. Jupiter Stationary Points in 3/2 BCE

Date Ecliptic Longitude of Date(deg)

Position in the Babylonian Zodiac

Nov 27, 3 BCE 129.64 13 LeoMar 29, 2 BCE 119.64 3 LeoDec 27, 2 BCE 159.90 13 Virgo

based on Stellarium 0.11.0

Table 11. Approximate Rising, Setting and Opposition Dates of Regulus and Jupiter

Event Jupiter RegulusHeliacal Rising Jul 29, 3 BCE

Sep 1, 2 BCEAug 12

Acronychal Rising Jan 20, 2 BCE Jan 22Opposition Jan 27, 2 BCE Jan 24

Heliacal Setting Jul 28, 2 BCE Jul 9based on Stellarium 0.11.0

Table 12. Dates of Jewish Feast Days

Feast Day Date Pilgrimage Feast?

(Shalosh Regalim)

Other Names

Pesach Nisan 15 Yes PassoverReishit Katzir Nisan 16 No Day of First Fruits (the Omer)

Chag Ha Motzot Nisan 16 through 22 No Feast of Unleavened BreadShavu’ot Sivan 6 Yes Festival of Weeks;

PentecostRosh Ha-shanah Tishri 1 No Feast of Trumpets;

New YearYom Kippur Tishri 10 No Day of Atonement

Sukkot Tishri 15 through 21 Yes Feast of TabernaclesHanukkah Kislev 25 through

Teveth 2 or 3No Rededication of the Temple

Purim Adar 14 No Feast of Lotsbased on www.hebrew4christians.com

Table 13. Correlation between the Hebrew and Julian Calendars 3 BCE to 1 BCE

3 BCE - 2 BCE 2 BCE - 1 BCEHebrew

CalendarJulian Calendar* Number of

days in the Month

Julian Calendar* Number of days in the

MonthNisan 1 Mar 17/18, 3 BCE 30 Mar 7/8, 2 BCE 29Iyyar 1 Apr 16/17, 3 BCE 29 Apr 5/6, 2 BCE 30Sivan 1 May 15/16, 3 BCE 29 May 5/6, 2 BCE 29

Tammuz 1 Jun 13/14, 3 BCE 30 Jun 3/4, 2 BCE 29Av 1 Jul 13/14, 3 BCE 30 Jul 2/3, 2 BCE 30Elul 1 Aug 12/13, 3 BCE 30 Aug 1/2, 2 BCE 30

Tishri 1(Rosh Ha-shanah)

Sep 11/12, 3 BCE 30 Aug 31/Sep 1, 2 BCE 30

Heshvan 1 Oct 11/12, 3 BCE 30 Sep 30/Oct 1, 2 BCE 30Kislev 1 Nov 10/11, 3 BCE 29 Oct 30/31, 2 BCE 29Teveth 1 Dec 9/10, 3 BCE 29 Nov 28/29, 2 BCE 30Shevat 1 Jan 7/8, 2 BCE 30 Dec 28/29, 2 BCE 29Adar 1 Feb 6/7, 2 BCE 29 Jan 26/27, 1 BCE 30

2nd Adar 1 ----- ----- Feb 25/26, 1 BCE 29*Hebrew calendar date starts at sunset on the first day indicated and ends at sunset on the second day; dates based on calendar at www.torahcalendar.com

Table 14. Comparison of Texts of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks Prophecy

Verse Septuagint translated by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton

New English Translation of the Septuagint

New American BibleRevised Edition

9:24 Seventy weeks have been determined upon thy people, and upon the holy city, for sin to be ended, and to seal up transgressions, and to blot out the iniquities, and to make atonement for iniquities, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal the vision and the prophet, and to anoint the Most Holy.

Seventy weeks have been decided for your people and for the city, Sion: for sin to be consummated and to make iniquities scarce and to blot out iniquities and to comprehend the vision and for everlasting righteousness to be given and for the vision to be consummated and to gladden a holy of holies.

Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and for your city: Then transgression will stop and sin will end, guilt will be expiated, Everlasting justice will be introduced, vision and prophecy ratified, and a holy of holies will be anointed.

9:25 And thou shalt know and understand, that from the going forth of the command for the answer and for the building of Jerusalem until Christ the prince there shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks; and the time shall return, and the street shall be built, and the wall, and the times shall be exhausted.

And you will understand and will rejoice and will discover ordinances to respond, and you will build Jerousalem as a city for the lord.

Know and understand: From the utterance of the word that Jerusalem was to be rebuilt Until there is an anointed ruler, there shall be seven weeks. In the course of sixty-two weeks it shall be rebuilt, With squares and trenches, in time of affliction.

9:26 And after the sixty-two weeks, the anointed one shall be destroyed, and there is no judgment in him: and he shall destroy the city and the sanctuary with the prince that is coming: they shall be cut off with a flood, and to the end of the war which is rapidly completed he shall appoint the city to desolations.

And after seven and seventy and sixty-two weeks, an anointing will be removed and not be. And a king of nations will demolish the city and the sanctuary along with the anointed one, and his consummation will come with wrath even until the time of consummation. He will be attacked through the war.

After the sixty-two weeks an anointed one shall be cut down with no one to help him. And the people of a leader who will come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. His end shall come in a flood; until the end of the war, which is decreed, there will be desolation.

9:27 And one week shall establish the covenant with many: and in the midst of the week my sacrifice and drink-offering shall be taken away: and on the temple shall be the abomination of desolations; and at the end of time an end shall be put to the desolation.

And the covenant will prevail for many, and it will return again and be rebuilt broad and long. And at the consummation of times [even after seven years and seventy times and sixty-two times][until the time of the consummation of the war even desolation will be removed][when the covenant prevails for many weeks]. And in half of the week the sacrifice and the libation will cease, and in the temple there will be an abomination of desolations until the consummation of season, and a consummation will be given for the desolation.

For one week he shall make a firm covenant with the many; Half the week he shall abolish sacrifice and offering; In their place shall be the desolating abomination until the ruin that is decreed is poured out upon the desolator.

Table 15. Fragments of Manuscripts of the Book of Daniel Found at Qumran

Manuscript Number Content Range Date1QDan(a) 1Q71 1:10-17, 2:2-6 50-68 CE1QDan(b) 1Q72 3:22-30 50-68 CE

or earlier4QDan(a) 4Q112 1:16 – 2:33; 4:29-30; 5:5-7, 12-14, 16-19;

7:5-7, 25 – 8:5; 10:16-20; 11:13-16ca 50-60 BCE

4QDan(b) 4Q113 5:10-12, 14-16, 19-22; 6:8-22, 27-29; 7:1-6, 26-28; 8:1-8, 13-16

ca 20-68 CE

4QDan(c) 4Q114 10:5-9, 11-16, 21; 11:1-2, 13-17, 25-29 Late 2nd cy BCE4Q Dan(d) 4Q115 3:23-25; 4:5(?)-9; 4:12-14 Mid 1st cy BCE4QDan(e) 4Q116 9:12-17 Late 2nd cy BCEPap6QDan 6Q7 8:16, 17, 20, 21; 10:8-16, 11:33-36, 38 ca 50 CE

Source: home.earthlink.net/~ironmen/qumran.htm

Table 16. The Essene Decades of Jubilees: Chronology of History

Jubilee since Creation

Year since Creation

Julian Year Significance

Start of Chronology ---- A.M. 0 3922/3921 BCE CreationEnd of 1st decade 10th A.M. 490 3432/3431 BCE JaredEnd of 2nd decade 20th A.M. 980 2942/2941 BCE NoahEnd of 3rd decade 30th A.M. 1470 2452/2451 BCE EberEnd of 4th decade 40th A.M. 1960 1962/1961 BCE AbrahamEnd of 5th decade 50th A.M. 2450 1472/1471 BCE Entry into CanaanEnd of 6th decade 60th A.M. 2940 982/981 BCE First Temple BuiltEnd of 7th decade 70th A.M. 3430 492/491 BCE Return from ExileEnd of 8th decade 80th A.M. 3920 2/1 BCE Arrival of the Messiah

Table 17. The Jubilees of the Essene Eighth Decade of Jubilees

JubileeNumber

First Year Last Year(Jubilee Year)

Comments

1 491/490 BCE 443/442 BCE Starts after return from ExileA.M. 3430 = 492/491 BCE

2 442/441 BCE 394/393 BCE3 393/392 BCE 345/344 BCE4 344/343 BCE 296/295 BCE5 295/294 BCE 247/246 BCE6 246/245 BCE 198/197 BCE7 197/196 BCE 149/148 BCE Includes the intervention of

Antiochus Epiphanes from 171 BCE to 164 BCE

8 148/147 BCE 100/99 BCE9 99/98 BCE 51/50 BCE

10 50/49 BCE 2/1 BCE Ends with the 7th year of the 7th

week of years of the 10th jubilee; A.M. 3920 = 2/1 BCE

Table 18. Sabbatical Years in the Tenth Jubilee of the Essene Eighth Decade of Jubilees

Year Year of the 8th

Decade of JubileesSabbatical Year

NumberYear of the 10th

Jubilee44/43 BCE 448th 64th 7th 37/36 BCE 455th 65th 14th 30/29 BCE 462nd 66th 21st 23/22 BCE 469th 67th 28th 16/15 BCE 476th 68th 35th

9/8 BCE 483rd 69th 42nd 2/1 BCE 490th (7 x 7 x 10) 70th (7 x 10) 49th (7 x 7)

Table 19. The Last (7th) Week of Years of the Essene Eighth Decade of Jubilees

Year in the Last “Week of Years”

Year of the Eighth Decade of Jubilees

Julian Year

1st year 484th 8/7 BCE2nd year 485th 7/6 BCE3rd year 486th 6/5 BCE4th year 487th 5/4 BCE5th year 488th 4/3 BCE6th year 489th 3/2 BCE7th year 490th 2/1 BCE

Table 20. Planetary Data 13 Minutes before Sunrise on Aug 29, 2 BCE*

Planet in order of Altitude

Ecliptic Longitude

(deg)

Position in the

Babylonian Zodiac

Altitude(deg)

Apparent Magnitude

Visible?

Saturn 62.00 5 Gemini +75.33 0.91 YesVenus 140.41 23 Leo +6.53 -4.09 YesJupiter 142.91 26 Leo +6.30 -1.54 YesMars 143.91 27 Leo +5.36 +1.76 No (?)Moon 144.90 28 Leo +3.95 New Moon No

Mercury 147.46 30 Leo/0 Virgo +2.17 -1.39 NoSun 152.30 5 Virgo -2.80 ------ No

based on Stellarium 0.11.0*as seen from Babylon

References

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Abbreviations

AD Anno Domini (year of our Lord)aka also known asA.M. Anno Mundi (year after creation)Apr Aprilarcmin arcminutesAug AugustBC Before ChristBCE Before the Common Eraca circaCE Common Erad. diedDan. DanielDC District of ColumbiaDec Decemberdeg degreesEz EzekialEzr EzraFeb FebruaryFM Full Moonhr/hrs hour/hoursID No. Identification numberi.e. id est (that is)IL IllinoisInc. IncorporatedJ. Antiq. Jewish AntiquitiesJ. War The Jewish WarJan JanuaryJul JulyJun Junekm kilometer(s)Lk. LukeMar MarchMI MichiganMt. Matthewmi mile(s)min minutesNJ New JerseyNM New Moon

no. numberNov Novemberoccult. OccultationOct OctoberOR OregonPhD Doctor of Philosophyr. reignedSep Septembertrans. translated byvol. volume