The Great Christ Comet (8 page)

However, it is unclear whether the phrase “at [the time of] its rising” is being used narrowly or generally. If narrowly, the Magi would be referring only to what they saw during the short window (or, in the case of extended objects, windows) of time when the celestial entity appeared over the eastern horizon before the dawning Sun's rays bleached the sight. If the phrase is being used generally, the Magi would presumably be referring to the period when the Star was in the eastern sky, beginning with its heliacal rising.
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By and large, after a celestial body has heliacally risen over the eastern horizon, it continues to separate itself from the Sun and so appears earlier and in a darker sky, becoming easier to see. The remarkable conclusion reached by the Magi—that the celestial wonder was announcing the birth of the divine Messiah—may favor the view that the Magi were speaking generally of the Star's whole time in the eastern sky.

We suggest therefore that the Magi were convinced that the Messiah's birth was taking place when they saw the Star at or around the time of its heliacal rising. Evidently, the Magi perceived significance in the Star's location within the constellations, its form, and/or its behavior, and/or in the timing of the heavenly wonder.

Bab­ylo­nian astrology and births.
Bab­ylo­nian astrologers in the last centuries of the first millennium BC were convinced that a person's fate was encoded in the heavens at the point of birth.
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Accordingly, they created horoscopes for the date (occasionally even the part of the day or night or the hour) of the subject's birth,
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based on their astronomical almanacs, diaries, and other collections of data.
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Twenty-eight Bab­ylo­nian tablets con
taining horoscopes have survived, covering 410 to 69 BC.
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Typically, they specify the positions of the Moon, Sun, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, and Mars within the zodiacal signs, in that order, noting where a planet was not visible due to conjunction with the Sun.
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They also detail other astronomical data relevant to the month or year of the birth, particularly lunar phenomena and eclipses.
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In essence, Bab­ylo­nian astrologers could detail two kinds of omens to mark a nativity: one (horoscopic) type related to the zodiacal sign in which the subject was born; the other (non-horoscopic) type related to some astronomical phenomenon that occurred on the birthdate (e.g., Jupiter's heliacal rising or a solar eclipse) which was perceived to disclose the subject's destiny.
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It is clear from Matthew that what impressed the Magi and prompted them to travel to Jerusalem related to what a Star did at or around the time of its heliacal rising. Obviously, therefore, what they saw occurred in the period shortly before dawn, around the time when certain other stars and constellations were heliacally rising. To that extent, what they saw was reminiscent of a horoscopic omen. However, in this case the focus was not on the place of the planets within the zodiacal signs but rather on the behavior of the one particular “star” that they associated with the Jewish Messiah. What the star did that was so meaningful to the Magi, it did in connection with its own heliacal rising, against the backdrop of the constellations. So the celestial sign was fundamentally non-horoscopic in nature, concerning an astronomical event that coincided with the Messiah's birth.

Normally, the relevance and significance of an astronomical natal omen was determined retrospectively, decades after the birthdate. However, in the case of Jesus's birth omen, the Magi perceived the meaning and significance of the celestial phenomenon as it happened. Based on it, they were able to deduce that the Messiah had been born in Judea.

The Magi's Response to the Wonder.
The Magi were deeply impacted by the behavior of the Star in the eastern sky.

Pilgrimage.
The astrologers set out on their long journey to Jerusalem, inspired by what the Star had done in connection with its heliacal rising.

Intention: worship.
The Magi were intent on worshiping the messianic child. The Greek verb
proskune
ō
often means “to express by attitude and possibly by position [namely, prostration] one's allegiance to and regard for deity.”
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It may also be used in nonreligious contexts of simple kneeling before one of higher rank, and is used thus in Matthew 18:26. However, Matthew almost always used the verb of an act of worship. When he is speaking of what people do in Jesus's presence, it always refers to worship.
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This is in keeping with Matthew's high Christology and his strong emphasis on Jesus as the Son of God.
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W. D. Davies and Dale Allison argue strongly that the verb implies worship here in Matthew 2:2, based on the fact that the verb “come” (
erchomai
) followed by “worship” (
proskune
ō
) in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (LXX) usually refers to a cultic act, and because Jews regarded full prostration (
proskynesis
) as appropriate only when directed to
God (cf. Matt. 4:9–10; Acts 10:25–26; Rev. 19:10; 22:8–9; Philo,
Legatio ad Gaium
31, line 116; idem,
De decalogo
64).
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The Magi, then, seem to have come with the intention not just of paying homage to the newborn King of the Jews, but of worshiping him as a deity. This obviously forces us to ask the question, What convinced the Magi that the recently born ruler was worthy of worship? This is difficult to explain unless the celestial sign that they saw directly or indirectly convinced them that the King of the Jews was both human and divine.

Herod and the People of Jerusalem

The Magi clearly expected the people of Jerusalem, or at least some of them, to know that the Messiah had been born, and where he was now. However, in this and in their trust of Herod later in the story, the Magi were mistaken: “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born” (Matt. 2:3–4).

Herod the Great.
The repetition of Herod's title “the king” here stands in sharp tension with the Magi's claim in verse 2 that the King of the Jews has just been born.

Historical backdrop.
Herod had been endowed with the title King of the Jews by the Roman Senate.
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As the reigning king in his final years, Herod was utterly obsessed with securing his dynasty by choosing from his sons a worthy successor or successors.

Herod had ten wives and many sons. His most important children as regards the succession were Alexander and Aristobulus (sons of Mariamne I); Antipater (son of Doris); Archelaus and Antipas (sons of Malthrace); Philip I (son of Mariamne II); and Philip II (son of Cleopatra of Jerusalem).

When Alexander and Aristobulus returned from Rome to Judea in 17 BC, Herod let his favorable sentiment toward them be known. However, Herod's sister Salome spread the rumor that these sons were conspiring against him. As a result, Herod turned his favor upon his eldest son and the child of his first marriage, Antipater, appointing him the sole heir. As for Alexander and Aristobulus, he decided to make charges against them before the Roman emperor. However, Herod in due course changed his mind about Alexander and Aristobulus and was reconciled with them. Thereafter, in 12 BC he incorporated them back into his will, so that each of them would be a ruler over a part of the territory. Unfortunately for Herod, this ideal state of affairs did not last for long. In 7 BC new rumors began to circulate to the effect that Alexander and Aristobulus were plotting to assassinate Herod; whether these rumors had a basis in fact or were merely manufactured by Antipater we do not know. Certainly Herod believed them, and he responded with fury and had the two siblings tried and executed. The king decided that Antipater should be the sole king, although now he specified that Philip I would be Antipater's successor. Then, in 6 BC, Philip I was removed from the will, because Herod suspected that his mother was guilty of conspiracy against him, leaving Antipater as the sole specified heir.
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It is around this time, in 6 or 5 BC, when Herod was acutely paranoid and focused on the succession, and perhaps thinking that he had finally sorted out the whole messy business, that the Magi entered Jerusalem asking where the newborn King of the Jews was and
declaring that they had seen his star in the eastern sky.

In fact, Herod's paranoia and dynastic woes continued until his death. Early in 5 BC the king discovered that Antipater, before departing for Rome in 6 BC, had been conspiring to poison him. When Antipater returned to Judea late in 5 BC, Herod had him imprisoned and reported the crime to the emperor. He then named his youngest son, Antipas, sole heir. However, just prior to his death in the spring of 4 BC, Herod had yet another change of heart and divided up his kingdom between Antipas, Archelaus, and Philip II. Five days before Herod died, Antipater, his firstborn son, was executed.

Herod's Response to the Magi.
Herod was “troubled” by the announcement of the Magi concerning the birth of the newborn King of the Jews. The historical context helps us make sense of this. As we have seen, during the last four years of Herod's life he was extremely paranoid, and with some justification. He had already killed two of his sons and 300 military officers supposedly conspiring with them in 7 BC and, within a few years, would have cause to have another son tried for conspiracy and executed. Consequently, Herod was unlikely to take kindly to any threat to his dynasty.

In addition, Richardson suggests that Herod may have been strongly hostile to messianic movements generally.
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At the same time, Herod clearly believed that the one who had just been born was the actual Messiah. Later, Matthew tells us of how Herod assembled the chief priests and scribes to determine where the Messiah had been born, based on the Hebrew Scriptures, and passed this information on to the Magi, anticipating that they would find the newborn King of the Jews there (Matt. 2:4–8). So convinced was Herod that the Messiah had been born that he slaughtered every baby boy in the region of Bethlehem in their first or second year of life in a desperate attempt to assassinate him (v. 16). His fear therefore probably reflects his belief that the prophesied Messiah would pose a formidable threat to his dynasty.
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Herod was part Jewish and has been generously described by one biographer as a man of “piety” who adhered to “simple and uncluttered” Judaism.
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Certainly he was, at the very time when the Magi visited, overseeing the reconstruction and beautification of the Jerusalem temple. And yet Herod, though persuaded by the Magi that the Messiah had been born, did not rejoice, but recoiled with horror, because this momentous event did not accord with his succession plans.

The People of Jerusalem.
Surprisingly, “all of Jerusalem” was also “troubled” (v. 3) by the Magi's announcement. Although some scholars have argued that the city's religious leaders are in view here,
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that is too narrow a reading of the phrase. The more natural interpretation is that it refers to the general population of the city. However, we might well wonder why the people of Jerusalem responded so negatively to the Magi's proclamation. It can hardly be that the Jerusalemites preferred Herod to the Messiah. More likely the people in Jerusalem were troubled because they liked the status quo and were certain that Herod would respond with brutality to any serious threat to his dynasty. They may also have been afraid that Judea could degenerate into civil war. While some degree of fear
might be expected, the lack of any positive rejoicing at the news that the long-awaited Messiah has finally been born is disturbing and, within the context of Matthew's Gospel, anticipates the city's rejection of Jesus at his trial (Matt.
27:15–26
).

Had Herod and the Jerusalemites Seen the Star?
The response of Herod and the people of Jerusalem has sometimes been taken to indicate that they had not seen the Star themselves.
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However, this is most unlikely. It would be very surprising if the people of Judea would have accepted as a celestial sign of the Messiah's birth any phenomenon capable of being observed only by pagan Gentiles in Bab­ylon and not at all by the Messiah's own people in Judea. Moreover, the strength of the reaction of the king and people to the arrival of the Magi's entourage and their query makes better sense if they had seen for themselves and been deeply impressed by the Star but had not perceived its momentous messianic significance.
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Had they not seen the Star for themselves, they would hardly have been so shaken by the Magi's enquiry. What was new to the people of Jerusalem was not that there was a Star or even that the Star had done something unusual in connection with its heliacal rising, but rather that the Star had categorically signaled that the Messiah had recently been born. Exposed to that startling and evidently compelling interpretive key by some of the world's most respected astronomers and astrologers, who were so certain of their interpretation that they had just traveled hundreds of miles to welcome the newborn Messiah, suddenly Herod and the Jerusalemites became disturbed concerning the Star.

Of course, it is possible that not everything the Star did was detected by those in Jerusalem, whether because of inclement weather, a lack of dedicated observation, or an inopportune time of occurrence.

Herod's Meeting with the Jewish Teachers

Herod's Ignorance.
It is clear that Herod did not know where the Messiah was to be born. Apparently Micah 5:2, with its disclosure of the location of the Messiah's birth, was not widely known or, at any rate, not widely understood. The Magi, Herod, and the population in Jerusalem as a whole were, it would seem, unaware that this verse held the key to identifying the place of the Messiah's birth.