Since childhood, I’ve heard the story of the three Wise Men from the East during the Christmas season. They found baby Jesus in the manger, guided by a star that miraculously showed them the way.
It’s a beautiful image, but I always found it a little puzzling. How could a star point the way? And why only for these three men? As if some mysterious lantern hung in the sky, or a single firefly.
The wonderful thing is that there is a Biblical and verifiable explanation.
It comes in the form of two conjunctions of Venus and Jupiter. A conjunction is when two or more celestial bodies appear close together in the sky. In this case, Earth, Venus, and Jupiter aligned.
The first conjunction occurred on June 17, 2 BC. From the perspective of the Wise Men in the East, this “star” appeared in the west, pointing toward Jerusalem. The Wise Men could track that this conjunction would occur again about a year later, on August 20, 1 BC. This second conjunction explains how they arrived at the right place at the right time.
“We have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.”
– Matthew 2:2
The Wise Men traveled from the East, saw the conjunction above Jerusalem, and were directed by Scripture (Micah 5:2) toward Bethlehem. There, the star appeared above the city – in the south – confirming that they had arrived at the correct location.
Matthew 2:16 indicates that the first sighting of the star helped Herod determine the age of the child:
“Then Herod […] slew all the children that were in Bethlehem […] from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.”
The roughly 14-month period between the two conjunctions aligns perfectly with this.
This story provides a plausible explanation for the timing of Jesus’ birth: calculated as 1 Elul 3760 AM (Jewish calendar), shortly after sunset.
From this date, other key events in Jesus’ life can also be mapped numerically and Biblically, such as his visit to the Temple at twelve, his crucifixion, and his resurrection.
And the beauty of the conjunction? The Wise Men followed the star, but they already knew Bethlehem lay to the south. At that moment, the constellation Crux (the Southern Cross) rose on the horizon, so the celestial sign and the city aligned with Jesus. Both symbolically and astronomically.
The star, therefore, was one phenomenon, composed of two conjunctions of Venus and Jupiter, perceived by the Wise Men as a single guiding sign. A perfect example of how natural events and divine meaning combine throughout the Bible.