The Great Christ Comet (82 page)

95
 On the tradition that Balaam was a father of the School of the Magi, see Tim Hegedus, “The Magi and the Star in the Gospel of Matthew and Early Christian Tradition,”
Laval théologique et philosophique
59 (2003): 87–89, who mentions that, among others, Ambrose of Milan, Origen, and “a certain history” used by Eusebius all held this view.

96
 Richard A. Parker and Waldo H. Dubberstein,
Babylonian Chronology 626 B.C.—A.D. 75
(Providence, RI: Brown University Press, 1956), 45, match the Babylonian luni-solar calendar with the Julian calendar, and their accommodation of the intercalary months at that time can be relied upon. We know this because the Babylonian almanac for 7/6 BC indicates that an intercalary month was added in the spring of 6 BC (Addaru II) (A. J. Sachs and C. B. F. Walker, “Kepler's View of the Star of Bethlehem and the Babylonian Almanac for 7/6 B.C.,”
Iraq
46 [1984]: 49). With respect to the Hebrew calendar at the time, like the Bab­ylo­nians, the Jews evidently added 7 months in a 19-year cycle, but the method they used is not entirely clear. It seems that they attempted to make sure that the Passover fell shortly after the vernal equinox, and so declared Nisan 1 only on or close to the vernal equinox. According to this principle, September–October in 6–5 BC would have corresponded to the Hebrew Tishri–Heshvan.

97
 William Ramsay,
Was Christ Born at Bethlehem? A Study on the Credibility of St. Luke
(New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1898), 193.

98
 Cf. Martin,
Star
of Bethlehem
(
http://
www
.askelm
.com
/star
/star006.htm
[accessed March 26, 2014]).

99
 The astronomical scene of Rev. 12:1 occurred in the western evening sky, when Virgo's belly was hosting the Sun. The scene in v. 2 evidently took place in the eastern sky not long afterwards (since it is part of the same wonder), when Virgo's belly was beginning to reemerge after its encounter with the Sun. The narrowly inclined comet—as we have seen, only a narrowly inclined comet could have played the role of Virgo's fetus and newborn—must therefore have been in conjunction with the Sun before rising to play the part of Virgo's child (that is, it heliacally rose in the eastern sky).

100
 Matthew's Star rose over the eastern horizon after being in conjunction with the Sun, which implies that it had previously been present in the western evening sky. Since, after its performance in the eastern sky, the Star seems to have guided the Magi westward and, later, southward, it must have shifted quickly from the eastern to the western sky. As for the comet of Rev. 12:1–5, since it was narrowly inclined, it must have been present in the western sky before heliacally rising in Virgo's womb in the eastern sky. Then, after descending toward the eastern horizon and the sunlight to be born and to be delivered from the dragon, it must have returned to the western sky.

101
 My translation of the Greek text in Emile de Strycker,
La forme la plus ancienne du Protevangile de Jacques
(Brussels: Société des Bollandistes, 1961), 168–170.

102
 We shall explore, in a moment, the significance of “House of Grain.” This meaning would have been evident to Hebrew/Aramaic readers of the Gospel of Matthew if the Gospel was originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic (as seems to be suggested by the early church father Papias, as cited by Eusebius,
Hist. Eccl.
3.39).

103
 A mother who had just delivered a baby boy was permitted to enter the temple only after 40 days of purification, day 1 of which was the day of childbirth (Lev. 12:2, 4, 6–8). In Western exclusive counting, therefore, the mother went to the temple to be purified on the fortieth day.

104
 See F. Richard Stephenson, “The Ancient History of Halley's Comet,” in
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
, ed. Norman Thrower (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990), 244.

105
 Koch-Westenholz,
Mesopotamian Astrology
, 43n6, 78, following David Pingree, “Mesopotamian Astronomy and Astral Omens in Other Civilizations,” in
Mesopotamien und seine Nachbarn: Politische und kulturelle Wechselbeziehungen im alten Vorderasien vom 4. bis 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr
., ed. Hans Jorg Nissen (Berlin: Reimer, 1982), 613–631; Hermann Hunger and David Edwin Pingree, eds.
MUL.APIN: An Astronomical Compendium in Cuneiform
(Horn, Austria: Ferdinand Berger, 1989), 67–69, 144. J. Koch,
Neue Untersuchungen zur Topographie des babylonischen Fixsternhimmels
(Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1989), 34–52, thinks that it was composed around 700 BC.

106
 Van der Waerden,
Science Awakening II
, 288.

107
 Francesca Rochberg,
Babylonian Horoscopes
(Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1998), 46–50; cf. Koch-Westenholz,
Mesopotamian Astrology
, 134–136.

108
 Curiously, the Syriac
Cave of Treasures
, perhaps attributable to Ephrem in the fourth century, states, “Now, it was two years before Christ was born that the star appeared to the Magi. They saw the star in the firmament of heaven, and the brilliancy of its appearance was brighter than that of every other star. And within it was a maiden carrying a child, and a crown was set upon his head” (
The Book of the Cave of Treasures
, trans. E. A. Wallis Budge [London: Religious Tract Society, 1927], 203–204). The Ethiopic
Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan
has a very similar section but lacks mention of the two years: at the time of Jesus's birth, “a star in the east made it known, and was seen by Magi. That star shone in heaven, amid all the other stars; it flashed and was like the face of a woman, a young virgin, sitting among the stars, flashing, as it were carrying a little child of a beautiful countenance. From the beauty of His looks, both heaven and earth shone, and were filled with His beauty and light above and below; and that child was on the virgin woman's arms . . .” (translation from S. C. Malan,
The Book of Adam and Eve, also Called the Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan
[London: Charles Carrington, 1882], 204). It is conceivable that these late sources reflect a garbled awareness of the original sign, although more likely they simply reflect speculation.

109
 No doubt the appearance of the baby in Virgo's womb at the point of the heliacal rising proper deeply impressed the Magi and played an important part in disclosing to them that a divine figure was coming into the world, the offspring of a virgin's womb. In a sense, everything that the Star did thereafter within Virgo unpacked the meaning of that unforgettable opening scene. Moreover, since the comet as a whole probably looked like a scepter as it heliacally rose, this might well have seemed a powerful fulfillment of Balaam's oracle (Num. 24:17). Therefore the Magi could have been referring to the heliacal rising proper alone in Matt. 2:2 (“at its rising”). However, it was in the predawn observing sessions following the heliacal rising proper that the Magi would have come to appreciate that the sign consisted not just of a single snapshot but of a developing drama; not just of the first trimester of a virgin's pregnancy but of the virgin's whole pregnancy and delivery; not just of a fetus but also of a newborn baby; not just of a bright scepter but also of an extraordinarily long one that eventually stretched from one horizon to the other; and not just of a remarkable cometary rising but also of an extraordinary astronomical wonder. In the days following the rising, the allusions to key Old Testament oracles concerning the Messiah's birth would have become clearer and stronger. Moreover, only at the climax of the drama was the Messiah's birthday disclosed. So, while it is possible that when the Magi spoke of “his star at its rising” they were reflecting narrowly on the heliacal rising proper alone, it seems more likely that they were speaking generally (perhaps using synecdoche) of all that the Star did in the eastern sky at its rising proper and in the following days and weeks. Since ancient Near Eastern astronomers who observed comets took special note of key moments in an apparition, such as heliacal risings, it was natural for them to identify a particular stage of a comet's apparition with reference to such chronological astronomical landmarks.

110
 On this note, it is interesting that in Luke 1:78–79 Zechariah, at the birth of John the Baptist, prophesied that, on account of God's tender mercy, “the rising [star]” (not “sunrise,” contra ESV and many English versions) (
anatol
ē
; cf. Matt. 2:2, 9) shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” This striking prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah draws heavily on astronomical imagery, particularly from Isa. 9:2. As I. Howard Marshall (
The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text
, New International Greek Testament Commentary
[Grand Rapids, MI: Eerd­mans, 1984], 94–95) points out, although
anatol
ē
could be used by metonymy for “the rising Sun,” it could equally refer to a rising celestial body other than the Sun. He observes that here, where its second intended meaning is “Shoot” or “Branch,” alluding to Isaiah's oracle concerning the Messiah's coming (Isa. 11:1ff.; cf. LXX Jer. 23:5; Zech. 3:8; 6:12;
Testament of Judah
24:1, 6), the rising entity is probably the rising “star” prophesied by Balaam (Num. 24:17). Astronomically, what Luke writes in Luke 1:78–79 seems most compatible with an extremely bright comet that rises and shines into the heart of darkness. Observe that the “rising” entity will “visit us from on high.” Visiting from on high most naturally suggests descent. Stars that rise keep rising. However, like inferior planets (Mercury and Venus), many comets descend after rising, and certainly the comet that announced Jesus's birth did—it rose within Virgo and then descended to be born. On
anatol
ē
here being double entendre, see, for example, François Bovon,
Das Evangelium nach Lukas
, Evangelisch-Katholischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament, 3 vols. (Zurich: Benziger, 1989–2001), 1:109; Darrell L. Bock,
Proclamation from Prophecy and Pattern: Lucan Old Testament Christology
(Sheffield: JSOT, 1987), 73; Luke Timothy Johnson,
The Gospel of Luke
, Sacra Pagina (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1991), 47. It is also just possible to detect in
anatol
ē
a quiet allusion to the palm branch in Virgo's right hand. Incidentally, the Christ Comet would have been visible by this time, but its heliacal rising (and the birth of the Messiah) was still some months off (note the future tense: “the rising [star] shall visit”).

111
 In the light of our findings in this chapter, representations of Mary as Virgo in Christian history (on which see Wilhelm Gundel, “Parthenos,” in
Paulys Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft
18.4 [Stuttgart: Druckmüller, 1949], 1936–1957) do not seem inappropriate.

112
 Cf. Richard Hinckley Allen,
Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning
(New York: G. E. Stechert, 1899), 465, who claimed that Pliny “said that the appearance of a comet within [Virgo's] borders implied many grievous ills to the female portion of the population.” To the best of my knowledge, Pliny said no such thing.

113
 In the Israelite tradition Yahweh is portrayed as “the sun of righteousness” with “healing in its wings” (Mal. 4:2; cf. Ps. 139:9). On Yahweh as the Sun, see Num. 6:24–26; Ps. 84:11; 1 Sam. 6:9, 12–21 (note Beth-shemesh, “House of the Sun”); and 2 Sam. 23:3–4. On the portrayal of Yahweh in terms of the Sun, see Karel van der Toorn, “Sun,” in Freedman,
Anchor Bible Dictionary
, 6:237–239; M. S. Smith, “The Near Eastern Background of Solar Language for Yahweh,”
Journal of Biblical Literature
109 (1990): 29–39. In an astronomical drama, the Sun is the most natural candidate to play the role of God.

1
 My translation.

2
 For example, Donald A. Hagner,
Matthew
, 2 vols., Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, 1993–1995), 1:27.

3
 The discovery in 1967 of the Deir ‘Alla Inscription in Jordan from the eighth century BC confirmed that “Balaam son of Beor” was revered as a renowned seer in the Jordan Valley at that point and strengthened the case for regarding him as a historical figure. See especially P. Kyle McCarter Jr., “The Balaam Texts from Deir ‘Alla: The First Combination,”
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research
239 (1980): 49–60.

4
 See chapter 6, note 44.

5
 So also the
Good News Bible: Today's English Version
, 2nd ed. (New York: American Bible Society, 1992), 187 (“Like a comet he will come from Israel”). Hans-Jürgen Zobel, “Å¡
ēḇ
e
á¹­
,” in
Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament
, vol. 14, ed. G. J. Botterweck, H. Ringgren, and H.-J. Fabry (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerd­mans, 2004), 305, comments: “Since the term Å¡
ēḇ
e
á¹­
parallels ‘star' (kô
ḵāḇ
) here, Berend Gemser offered the attractive suggestion that one understand Å¡
ēḇ
e
á¹­
as ‘comet' (
BHS: stella crinata
) (Berend Gemser, “Der Stern aus Jacob [Num. 24.17],”
Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
43 [1925]: 301–302).” While acknowledging that Num. 24:17 is referring to a comet, it seems preferable to me to maintain the formal translation “scepter.”

6
 Timothy R. Ashley,
The Book of Numbers
, New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerd­mans, 1993), 503.

7
 11QMelch 11:4–9; cf. 1QSb 5:27–28; 4QTest 9–13. Translation from Craig A. Evans,
Jesus and His Contemporaries: Comparative Studies
(Leiden: Brill, 1995), 71.

8
 Damascus Document (CD) 7:18–21. Translation from ibid., 87–88.

9
 
De praemiis et poenis
16 §95 (my translation).

10
 As cited by Justin Martyr,
Dialogue with Trypho
106.5–6.

11
 See A. P. Hayman, ed.
The Old Testament in Syriac, According to the Peshitta Version: Numbers
(Leiden: Brill, 1991), 78.

12
 Kevin J. Cathcart, “Numbers 24:17 in Ancient Translations and Interpretations,” in
The Interpretation of the Bible: The International Symposium in Slovenia
, ed. J. Krašovec (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998), 512–513. Cf. B. Grossfield,
The Targum Onqelos to Leviticus and Numbers
, The Aramaic Bible (Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, 1988), 138–139.

13
 Martin McNamara,
Targum Neofiti 1: Numbers
, The Aramaic Bible (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1995), 140.

14
 Evans,
Jesus and His Contemporaries
, 71.

15
 Ibid., 71–72.

16
 For portrayals of Bar Kokhba in Jewish rabbinical sources, see Richard G. Marks,
The Image of Bar Kokhba in Traditional Jewish Literature: False Messiah and National Hero
(University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1994), 14–18, 20–56. Some Jewish traditions claim that the name was inspired by the similarity of Simon's name (which was taken to be
Koziba
) and the Hebrew word for “star” (
kokhba
).

17
 H. C. Kee, “Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs,” in
The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha
, ed. James H. Charlesworth, 2 vols. (New York: Doubleday, 1983), 1:801. Many believe that this chapter reflects a Christian perspective (see, for example, J. J. Collins,
The Scepter and the Star: The Messiahs of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Ancient Literature
, 2nd ed. [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerd­mans, 2010], 91; W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison,
A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew
, 3 vols., International Critical Commentary [Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1988–1997], 1:234).

18
 Kee, “Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs,” 794. On the allegedly Christian nature of this statement, see Cathcart, “Numbers 24:17,” 516.

19
 For some rabbinical interpretations of Num. 24:17, see Marks,
Bar Kokhba
, 18–20.

20
 On the messianic interpretation of Num. 24:17, see Martin McNamara, “Early Exegesis in the Palestinian Targum (Neofiti 1) Numbers Chapter 24,”
Proceedings of the Irish Biblical Association
16 (1993): 57–79; idem,
Targum Neofiti 1
, 140; Cathcart, “Numbers 24:17,” 511–519.

21
 For more on early Christian interpretation of Num. 24:17, see Jean Daniélou,
Primitive Christian Symbols
, trans. Donald Attwater (London: Burns & Oates, 1964), 102–123. 2 Pet. 1:19 is also heavily dependent on Isa. 8:11–22.

22
 Cf. Rev. 2:26–28: vv. 26–27 draw on Ps. 2:9, and Rev. 2:28 draws on Num. 24:17.

23
 
Dialogue with Trypho
106:5–6. Translation from
The Ante-Nicene Christian Library: Translations of the Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325
, vol. 2, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1868), 233. See also
Dialogue with Trypho
126:1; and
First Apology
32:12–13.

24
 
Adversus Haereses
3.9.2–3; and
Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching
58.

25
 
Contra Celsum
1:60 (my translation).

26
 
Homilies on Numbers
13.7. Origen also reflected a new development in the tradition, namely the idea that Balaam was highly respected by the Mesopotamian Magi and indeed was a founding figure of the Magian community; Origen maintained that the Magi had the text of all of Balaam's oracles, including Num. 24:17 (
Homilies on Numbers
13.7; cf. Eusebius,
Demonstratio Evangelica
9.1).

27
 As Joachim Gnilka,
Das Matthäusevangelium
, 2 vols., Herders theologischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament (Freiburg: Herder, 1986–1992), 1:41, comments, for Matthew the coming of the Magi to Jesus anticipates the eschatological reign of the Messiah over the world. In my opinion, the Magi themselves probably acted out of this same paradigm.

28
 Ahaz's subsequent appeal to Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, is recorded in 2 Kings 16:6–9.

29
 Most scholars accept that at least the core of Isaiah 7–8 is attributable to the prophet Isaiah during the Syro-Ephraimite Crisis. Many are willing to concede that all or most of it should be assigned to him. My own study suggests that the whole of Isaiah 7–12 is a unity and was composed by Isaiah son of Amoz during the Syro-Ephraimite Crisis. For a defense of Isaiah 7–12's unity, see John N. Oswalt, “The Significance of the ‘Almah Prophecy in the Context of Isaiah 7–12,”
Criswell Theological Review
6.2 (1993): 223–235. According to John H. Hayes and Stuart Irvine (
Isaiah the Eighth-Century Prophet: His Times and His Preaching
[Nashville: Abingdon, 1987], 13), virtually all of Isaiah 1–39 “derives from the eighth-century B.C.E. prophet,” and chapters 7–12 were written at the time of the Syro-Ephraimite Crisis.

30
 See Stuart A. Irvine,
Isaiah, Ahaz, and the Syro-Ephraimite Crisis
(Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990), 107.

31
 Martin Buber,
Der Glaube der Propheten
(Zürich: Conzett & Huber, 1950), 201.

32
 It is generally reckoned to be his second, Maher-shalal-hash-baz—so, for example, Robert H. Gundry,
Matthew
:
A Commentary on His Handbook for a Mixed Church under Persecution
, 2nd ed. [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerd­mans, 1994], 25; John N. Oswalt,
The Book of Isaiah
, 2 vols., New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerd­mans, 1986–1998), 1:207–213; Walter Mueller, “A Virgin Shall Conceive,”
Evangelical Quarterly
32 (1960): 206; and Herbert M. Wolf, “A Solution to the Immanuel Prophecy in Isaiah 7:14
–
8:22,”
Journal of Biblical Literature
91 (1972): 449–456.

33
 E.g., Walter C. Kaiser, “The Promise of Isaiah 7:14 and the Single-Meaning Hermeneutic,”
Evangelical Journal
6 (1988): 64.

34
 E.g., John H. Walton, “Isaiah 7:14: What's
in a Name?,”
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
30 (1987): 289–297.

35
 E.g., John Calvin,
Calvin's Bible Commentaries: Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Part 1
, trans. William Pringle (Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society, 1845), 99–102; idem,
Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah—Volume 1
, trans. William Pringle (Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society, 1850), 244–249; Donald A. Carson, “Matthew,” in
Expositor's Bible Commentary
, rev. ed., ed. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, vol. 9 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010), 104–105.

36
 Of course, the fact that the “sign” is a response to Ahaz's rebellion (7:12–13) and is expressly directed at “you” (plural), namely, the Davidic house, favors a fulfillment in the near future.

37
 Brevard S. Childs,
Isaiah: A Commentary
, Old Testament Library (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2000), 66; Edward J. Young,
The Book of Isaiah: A Commentary
, 3 vols. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerd­mans, 1965), 1:287.

38
 Walton, “Isaiah
7:14,” 292; Paul Wegner,
An Examination of Kingship and Messianic Expectation in Isaiah 1–35
(Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen, 1992), 110.

39
 As R. Dick Wilson, “The Meaning of
‘Almah
(A.V. ‘Virgin') in Isaiah VII. 14,”
Princeton Theological Review
24 (1926): 316, put it, “the presumption in common law and usage was and is, that every
‘almâ
is a virgin, until she is proven not to be.”

40
 Wolf, “Solution,” 450.

41
 The Hebrew word
netser
seems to be a wordplay on “Nazareth.” This wordplay is recognized by Matthew in Matt. 2:23. It seems to presuppose that the village existed in the prophet's day and indeed was called Nazareth at that time. There is evidence of habitation there in the Bronze and Iron Ages and in the period running up to Tiglath-pileser's devastating invasion of Galilee in 733 BC (2 Kings 15:29), which transpired very shortly after Isaiah delivered his prophetic oracles of chapters 7–12 (for an imminent announcement of Galilee's doom, see Isa. 9:1). Thereafter the site seems to have been unoccupied until the third century BC (James F. Strange, “Nazareth,” in
The Anchor Bible Dictionary
, ed. D. N. Freedman, 6 vols. [New York: Doubleday, 1992], 4:1051). Of course, it later became the hometown of Mary and Joseph and Jesus.

42
 The king's decision to begin worshiping the gods of Syria is difficult to explain in the aftermath of the Assyrian campaign against Syria and Israel. If, however, he had been seeking to secure their aid against the Syrians during the Syro-Ephraimite Crisis, the Assyrian campaign against Syria would have confirmed his faith in the Syrian divinities rather than undermining it. I note that Josephus represented Ahaz as beginning his worship of the gods of Syria “even when he was at war with [the Syrians]” (
Ant
. 9.12.3 [§255]). The fact that Ahaz gave the instruction for a model of the altar of Ben-Hadad in Damascus to be constructed and put in the place of the altar of burnt offering of the Jerusalem temple at the time of his meeting with Tiglath-pileser in 732/731 BC (2 Kings 16:10–16) is consistent with this interpretation.

43
 See especially Martin Rösel, “Die Jungfrauengeburt des endzeitlichen Immanuel. Jesaja 7 in der Übersetzung der Septuaginta,”
Jahrbuch für Biblische Theologie
6 (1991): 135–151. Also W. F. Albright and C. S. Mann,
Matthew
, Anchor Bible
(Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971), 8; Hagner,
Matthew
, 1:20;
Craig Blomberg, “Matthew,” in
Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament
, ed. G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007), 4. Even though Rodriga F. de Sousa,
Eschatology and Messianism in LXX Isaiah 1–12
(New York: T. & T. Clark, 2010), 70–102, rejects the idea that the translation
parthenos
reflected a high Christology on the part of the LXX translator, he does think that there are other indications in LXX Isa. 7:14–16 that are consistent with a messianic reading of this passage. For a general discussion of the history of interpretation of this controversial verse in the early centuries AD, see Adam Kamesar, “The Virgin of Isaiah 7:14: The Philological Argument from the Second to the Fifth Century,”
Journal of Theological Studies
41 (1990): 51–75.