This book is an interesting attempt to understand the origin of the Star of Bethlehem. The author claims that the 'star' cannot be a true star, supernova, or comet as these explanations would have been noted by many at the time and the only account we have of it is the nativity story from the book of Matthew. A supernatural explanation is considered but the author thinks he has found a more likely explanation involving astrological interpretations of the sky at the time. The Magi are assumed to be astrologers (considered wise men at the time) who would have relied on the positions of the planets to reveal momentous events. As such, his interpretation of the biblical account is not that a star appeared announcing the birth of Jesus, but that astronomical alignments did which is why it was not noticed by everyone. A major portion of the book is devoted to an explanation of the astrology involved (as it was practiced at the time) which does help bolster the argument. I found the argument to be both interesting and persuasive, the summary of the history of astrology being almost as interesting as the main thrust of the book.
-Lyle Ford
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Lyle Ford
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Department of Physics and Astronomy
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Last Updated: August 23, 2005