Star of Bethlehem - Matthew's Narrative

Matthew's Narrative

The Gospel of Matthew states that Magi (usually translated as "wise men" but in this context probably meaning "astronomer" or "astrologer") arrived at the court of Herod in Jerusalem and told the king of a star which signified the birth of the King of the Jews:

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 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. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

Herod was "troubled", not because of the appearance of the star, but because the magi told him that a "king of the Jews" had been born, which he understood to refer to the Messiah, a leader of the Jewish people whose coming was believed to be foretold in scripture. So he asked his advisors where the Messiah would be born. They answered Bethlehem, birthplace of King David, and quoted the prophet Micah. The king passed this information along to the magi.

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also. When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

Matthew's account suggests that the magi knew from the star that the "king of the Jews" had already been born even before they arrived in Jerusalem. The magi presented Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. In a dream, the magi were warned not to return to Jerusalem, so they "left for their own country by another road". When Herod realized that he had been tricked, he ordered the execution of all male children in Bethlehem age 2 and younger, based on the information the magi had given him concerning the time the star first appeared. Joseph, warned in a dream, took his family to Egypt for their safety. The Gospel links the escape to a verse from scripture, interpreted as a prophecy: "Out of Egypt I called my son." This was a reference to the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt under Moses, so the quote suggests that Matthew saw the life of Jesus as recapitulating the story of the Jewish people, with Judea representing Egypt and Herod standing in for pharaoh. After Herod died, Joseph and his family returned from Egypt, and settled in Nazareth in Galilee. This is said to be a fulfillment of, "He will be called a Nazorean," (NRSV) a prophecy of unknown origin.