- Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Mat 2:1). The place was prophesied
(Micah 5:2, John 7:42). - Wise men came from the east and asked for the born king of the Jews
(Mat 2:1–2). They were probably from Persia. They were respected scholars with great knowledge in astronomy. In the ancient world, astronomy was about the movement of celestial bodies. At that time,
some scholars even had the knowledge to predict eclipses. - The wise men believed that the star indicated on a born king of the Jews. They might be familiar with the Old Testament. Balaam's fourth prophecy (Num (4 Mos) 24:17) mentions that a star will come out of Jacob (Israel). The Jews had been refugees in Babylon (Persia) 500 years earlier, where Daniel held a high position. The book of Daniel (Dan 9:25) may be familiar, which gave them the time when Messiah would appear, see
5) The 69 Weeks in the Book of Daniel in When Did Jesus Die and when Was He Born? They may therefore believe that the rising of the star at that time indicated the birth of Messiah in Israel. - The wise men first went to Jerusalem (Mat 2:1) (it's very close to
Bethlehem), where they asked for the newborn king (Mat 2:2). They received the answer that Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Mat 2:3–8). - Herod the Great and the Jews didn't know about the star (Mat 2:7), so it was probably not brighter than other stars. It was only unique in such a way that experienced astronomers like the wise men could notice it.
- Herod killed all the male children in Bethlehem and that region that were two years old or younger, according to the time he had learned from the wise men (Mat 2:16), see time 1:09–8:00 in How a non-Jewish family ruled in Israel for nearly a century and made it into the Bible forever!
The wise men probably came from a place in Persia, 650 miles (~1000 km) east of Jerusalem. After they saw the star, it probably took a number of months before they got to Jerusalem. Jesus was brought to the temple in Jerusalem when he was at least 41 days old according to the law, where they sacrificed two turtledoves or two pigeons because they were poor
(Luk 2:22–24, Lev (3 Mos) 12:2–4, 6, 8). This indicates that they hadn't yet received the gold from the wise men. Herod was a very cruel man and probably wanted a significant margin when he killed all male children up to two years of age. The shepherds met Jesus when he was just born
(Luk 2:8–20), but the wise men came a number of months later to the house where Jesus was (Mat 2:11). See When was Jesus born? in
When Did Jesus Die and when Was He Born? - The wise men saw the star on at least two occasions. First in Persia when they went to Jerusalem, and the second time when it showed them the place in Bethlehem where Jesus was. The star then moved and led the
wise men to the house where Jesus was, where it stayed (Mat 2:9),
see time 27:23–29:28 in Matthew 2 – Called a Nazarene.
They knew it was in Bethlehem, but the star showed them the house in Bethlehem where Jesus was.
In the ancient world the star meant all celestial bodies including planets and comets. A popular explanation is that the star was a triple conjunction of Jupiter and Regulus. But it isn't a star, and the wise men were probably familiar with the conjunction of
celestial bodies. And the triple conjunction occurred after Herod died. Later there was another conjunction between Jupiter and Venus, also after Herod died.
celestial bodies. And the triple conjunction occurred after Herod died. Later there was another conjunction between Jupiter and Venus, also after Herod died.
The wise men saw the star on at least two occasions, over a period of several months. The second time the star moved to the place where Jesus was where it stopped (Mat 2:9). There is no natural celestial body that acts in that way.
The conclusion is that the star was a supernatural manifestation of God's power.
Why did the wise men go west? A natural star rises in the east and sets in the west, but it appears this one rose in the west. This strange behavior brought it to the attention of the wise men, trained in astronomy. That explains why only the wise men noticed it. It didn't have to be brighter than any other star. It explains Balaam's fourth prophecy (Num (4 Mos) 24:17). This star rose from Israel, west of Persia.
To summarize:
- The star was a supernatural source of light.
- It wasn't brighter than other stars.
- It rose over the place where Jesus was.
- It took a number of months for the wise men to come to Jesus' place.
- The star rose in the west as seen from Persia.
- The star moved and stopped over the house where Jesus was.
See also Some stories in the gospels at the bottom of The Four Gospels.
