Archaeology Magazine - November/December 1998 - 2

6 *November/December
Volume
1998
51.Number
Star

PhyllisPollakKatz
anwuMP
PeterA.Young

Wonder

Examining a legend
grew up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a medium-size city north of
Philadelphia noted for its meticulously preserved eighteenth-century Moravian settlement, its slate-gray steel mills strung along the banks of the
Lehigh River, and, atop a wooded foothill known as South Mountain, a 91I foot-high star whose electric lights could be seen from miles away on clear
nights during the Christmas season. The earliest settlers named their village
Bethlehem after spending their first night, Christmas Eve, under a rustic shelter resembling a manger. Naturally the town became known as the Christmas
City, and people came from far and wide for a glimpse of the star shining
down on streets and bridges festooned in white lights. In keeping with timehonored tradition, many of the Moravian descendant families opened their
homes to visitors, displaying elaborate miniature nativity scenes, including
mountains, running rivers, verdant plains,
and, of course, the Advent Star.
In those days, no one I knew questioned
the historicity of these events. That Matthews Wise Men might have been lifted
from Isaiah 60: 10-1 1 (which speaks of a
messianic age when foreign kings would
journey to Jerusalem to bring offerings), that
the Bethlehem birth was a literary device
intended to link Jesus to the lineage of
David (who was born there, according to 1
Samuel 17:12), and that the star event itself
may have come from the famous messianic
©I
oracle of the Moabite seer Balaam in NumA 91-foot star shines over
bers 24:17 (who predicted that "a star shall
Bethlehem,Pennsylvania.
come forth out of ^Jacob and a scepter
J. shall
rise out of Israel") were simply not considerations. Today, many scholars suggest that such stories are simply interpretive tales, based on older Jewish
sacred material and designed to point readers toward that which the New Testament writers believed to be holy.
To examine this and other readings, we asked archaeoastronomer Anthony F.
Aveni to look into the Star of Bethlehem (see pp. 34-42). Was it a real celestial
event - a bright star, supernova, conjunction of planets, or comet? How about a
theophany, an aura of light surrounding God? Or was it simply a story told by
Matthew? Aveni presents a number of possible natural causes, tiptoes around
theological explanations ("penetrating the mind of God is no mean task!"), and
explores the value of story as an indicator of truth and meaning.
Among his conclusions: "Like searching for unicorns, the quest for the
star. . .may tell us more about what lies in ourselves rather than in our stars."

Peter
A. Young
Editor-in-Chief
2

MarkRose
«nomai
P.M.Harrington
Spencer
E.Saraceni
Jessica
M.H.
Angela
Schuster
Andrew
L.Slayman
PaulG.Bahn,
Ricardo
J.Elia,BrianFagan,
EllenHerscher,
Giovanni
Lattanzi,
andNoelleSoren,
NeilAsherSilberman,
David
Andrew
Wiseman
Szegedy-Maszak,
James
Amy
Lubelski
Daniel
J.McGlain
Lynda
D'Amico
M.Kane
Francine
Zaida
Loperena
Amélie
A.Walker
Charlene
Sugihara
«MB
*MMMKIM
MMMM
D.DelTosta
William
MCQWTMMMWI
Steven
A.Mesulam
Marilyn
Hamilton
OrvilleGrant

F.Bass,
George
Lionel
Casson,
deGrummond,
JohnL.Cotter,Nancy
Vishakha
N.Desai,
G.Dever,
William
Stephen
L.Dyson,
Ronald
Hubun,
Hicks,
Jean-Jacques
Roderick
MarkLehner,
J.McIntosh,
OscarWhiteMuscaäella,
JeraldT.Milanich,
A Sabloff,
Russell,
Jeremy
James
R.Willey
KCSmith,
Gordon

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Archaeology Magazine - November/December 1998

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - November/December 1998