saying, "Where is He who was born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the East and came to worship Him."
Truth to Learn
On this Christmas Day, let’s truly worship the true King.
Behind the Words
“Was born” is translated from the verb tiktō, meaning “to bring forth a child.” It is expressed here as an aorist passive participle. In Greek, participles are among the trickiest verb forms to translate. Literally, the word here means “having been born.” However, it could also be translated as “was born” or “has been born.”
The word translated “King” is basileus, which is probably from basis, meaning “a base or foundation.” Therefore, basileus most likely refers to a “foundation of power.” It is most often translated as “king” or “monarch.”
“Star” is from the Greek word astera (from which we get our English word asteroid), which refers to any shining heavenly body.
The word “East” is translated from anatolē, which is from the verb anatellō, meaning “to rise.” Therefore, anatolē refers to “the rising,” or the direction from which the sun rises.
“Worship” is translated from the Greek verb proskuneō. This is a compound word made up of pros, meaning “to or toward” and kuneō, meaning “to adore” or “to kiss,” like a dog licking its master’s hand. This is different from the normal word for kiss, which is phileō. Thus, proskuneō carries the notion of kneeling or bowing down before someone as an act of homage, adoration, or worship.
Meaning Explained
As we mentioned in the previous verse, the magi had come to Jerusalem seeking the one who had been born King of the Jews. They had come, probably because of a prophecy that had been handed down from Daniel the Jewish prophet (who was raised in Babylon and had become the chief among the wise men of that time). They were also astrologers who studied the stars and based their belief of the new born king on the unusual character of the star they observed. It appears that they had come to the city of Jerusalem and started inquiring among the people there, expecting that all the people would have known about the birth of this king.
When Herod heard about these inquisitive magi and the questions they were asking, he gathered all the religious leaders together and asked them where the Christ (the Messiah) was prophesied to be born. Upon learning that Bethlehem was the location foretold by Micah, he secretly called the magi to him and asked them about when they first saw the star. Then Herod informed them of the place and asked them to come back and tell him so that he could go worship the baby also. In reality, however, Herod had no intention of worshipping the Christ-child. He only wanted to know where He was so that he could kill this newest rival of his.
One thing to notice in today’s verse is that the star did not appear in the eastern sky. Rather, the magi said that the star appeared to them while they were themselves in the East. The kingdom (or kingdoms) from which they had come was east of Jerusalem. One belief is that the star appeared to them in the western part of the sky and they followed it to the land of Judea.
The Constellations Virgo and Coma
This section of today’s study is long and complex. For those of you interested in delving deeper into the stars that were studied by the Magi, read on. For those of you who aren’t really interested in such detail, skip down to “Application.” Much of what follows is taken from a manuscript entitled “Is There a Gospel in the Stars?” by Dr. Barry Setterfield.
The constellation Virgo (the virgin) is made up of nine stars, which are referred to as “the alpha star, the beta star, the gamma star, the delta star, etc.” as a listing of the stars from the brightest one to the dimmest one. Note the names of some of these stars:
- The alpha star is Spica (Roman name), but in Hebrew it is referred to as Zerah, meaning “seed.” This is the very word used to describe Messiah to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:15.
- The beta star (Beta Virginis in most modern astronomy books), in Hebrew is referred to as Tsebiyahweh. This is an interesting name, because Tsebi means “beautiful” and Yahweh is the Hebrew word for “LORD.” Thus, the name of this star is “Beautiful LORD.”
- The gamma star (Gamma Virginis in most modern astronomy books) has the Roman name Porrima, the Roman goddess of childbirth. However, in some very ancient star maps, this star is named Al Tzemech. In Hebrew, Tzemech means “branch.” Tzemech is the word used to describe the Messiah in Isaiah 4:2, Jeremiah 23:5,6 & 33:15, and Zechariah 3:8 & 6:12.
- The epsilon star (Epsilon Virginis) is commonly called Vindemiatrix, which means “grape gatherer.” However, ancient Arabic star maps called this star Al Muridin (The One Sent Forth.) In Chinese star maps, this star was called Tsze Tseang, meaning The Second General (believed to be a reference to the second person of the Trinity).
Thus, part of the story indicated by the constellation Virgo is that Messiah, the Beautiful Branch of the LORD, the Second Person, the Sent One, was to come as the Seed of the Virgin from the nation of Israel. That is the beginning of the Gospel story.
Many of the constellations we know today have lesser constellations associated with and very close to them. These constellations are called Decans. The first Decan of Virgo is called Coma. The original Hebrew name for this Decan was Kamah or Comah, meaning “the Desired One, or Longed for One.” In the Egyptian temple of Denderah there is a Zodiac depicted. It contains a figure of a woman and child representing Virgo and Coma. The Egyptian name for Coma was Shes-nu, meaning “the Desired Son.”
Albumazar (or Abu Masher, who lived from 787 AD to 885 AD), an Arabian astronomer to the Caliphs of Grenada, said:
There arises in the first Decan [of Virgo], as the Persians, Chaldeans, and Egyptians … teach, a young woman, whose Persian name denotes a pure virgin sitting on a throne, nourishing an infant boy (the boy, I say) having a Hebrew name, by some nations called IHESU, with the signification IEZA, which in Greek is called CHRISTOS.”
This is all the more interesting given that Albumazar was a Muslim.
Some scholars today believe that what the Magi saw while they were in the East is an event that took place in the constellation Coma, which they knew to be a representation of the Messiah, the King of the Jews. Although some of this is speculation, I still find it very interesting, indeed!
Application
As we approach yet another Christmas Day, may we be as focused on the King of Kings as the magi were. They probably travelled for months, through foreign countries, for a single opportunity to worship at the feet of Jesus. For most of us it’s just a ten minute drive on Sunday morning, and even then we often have “more important” things on our mind than to bow at the feet of our Savior. That’s something to think about, isn’t it?
In God's service, for His glory,
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