The Star of Bethlehemor Christmas Star[1] appears in the nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew chapter 2 where "wise men from the East" Magi are inspired by the star to travel to Jerusalem. There, they meet King Herod of Judeaand ask him:.
Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him. Herod calls together his scribes and priests who, quoting a verse from the Book of Micahinterpret it as a prophecy that the Jewish Messiah would be born in Bethlehem to the south of Jerusalem.
Secretly intending to find and kill the Messiah in order to preserve his own kingship, Herod invites the wise men to return to him on their way home. The star leads them to Jesus' Bethlehem birthplace, where they worship him and give him gifts. The wise men are then given a divine warning not to return to Herod, so they return home by a different route.
Many Christians believe the star was a miraculous sign. Some theologians claimed that the star fulfilled a prophecy, known as the Star Prophecy. The subject is a favorite at planetarium shows during the Christmas season. The account in the Gospel of Matthew describes Jesus with the broader Greek word παιδίονpaidionwhich can mean either "infant" or "child" rather than the more specific word for keplers stjärna, βρέφοςbréphos.
This possibly implies that some time has passed since the birth. However, the word παιδίονpaidíon is also used in the Gospel of Luke specifically concerning Jesus' birth and his later presentation at the temple. The Gospel of Matthew tells how the Magi often translated as "wise men", but more accurately astrologers [12] arrive at the court of Herod in Jerusalem and tell the king of a star which signifies the birth of the King of the Jews:.
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 2 "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him.
Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Herod is "troubled", not because of the appearance of the star, but because the Magi have told him that a "king of the Jews" had been born, [14] which he understands to refer to the Messiah, a leader of the Jewish people whose coming was believed to be foretold in scripture.
He asks his advisors where the Messiah would be born. In a dream, they are warned not to return to Jerusalem, so they leave for their own country by another route. Joseph, warned in a dream, takes his family to Egypt for their safety.
The word Nazareth is related to the word netzer which means "sprout", [24] and which some Bible commentators [25] think refers to Isaiah [26] "There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. Scholars who see the gospel nativity stories as later apologetic accounts created to establish the messianic status of Jesus regard the Star of Bethlehem as a pious fiction.
Some scholars suggest that Jesus was born in Nazareth Diverse intressen, and that the Bethlehem nativity narratives were later additions to the gospels intended to present his birth as the fulfillment of prophecy. According to Bart D.
Ehrmanthe Matthew account conflicts with that given in the Gospel of Luke, in which the family of Jesus already lives in Nazareth, travel to Bethlehem for the census, and return home almost immediately.