The Star of Bethlehem in the probable scientific calendar of Jesus of Nazareth

To talk about the possible date of the birth of Jesus, one could start by remembering that due to its accurate geographical details (Roitman, 2010, p. 156), customs and ideas of first century Judaism, the Gospel of John is considered a document with greater overtones of historicity by researchers.

It is considered to be a reliable source of information (Roitman, 2016, p. 255), better (Vermes, 1977, p. 135), and above the other gospels (Sanders, 2000, pp. 306-309), in general.

But there is something that stands out. The data that is known about the author’s biography leads to suggest that the writer was one of the people who spent the longest time with Jesus of Nazareth (Yeshua). From the first days when he was baptized by John the Baptist until the end of his days.

Now, in a passing saying, the writer of the book mentioned that on a certain «Saturday» day, when there was a Jewish feast (probably on Iyyar 15°, [5/24/31]), there was an invalid person who He was next to one of the pools of the Second Temple.

According to the translation of the Gospels by Mr. Antonio Piñero, the biblical writer describes the episode thus:

John 5 “1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 There is in Jerusalem, next to the probatical gate, a pool called Betzata in Hebrew, which has five porticoes. 3 In them lay a multitude of the sick, the blind, the lame, the crippled. 5 There was a man there with thirty-eight years of illness;… «

The question that should be asked is what could be the author’s reason for recording the age of this person (who hardly knew), and avoid giving the birth or the years of the age of Jesus?…

Assuming that the author was «John» the apostle, the dominant thesis postulates that this author knew Jesus for about three and a half years, more than enough time to know that age. Consequently, why apparently does not say so?

In other words, what would have been the selection criteria of the writer of the Gospel of John to privilege the specific number of «38 years» of the sick man, but not to say the age of Jesus?

And assuming that Jesus omitted it, but John would know more intimate people in the family, such as his mother, whom he would take care of after the crucifixion (John 19:27), so he surely had a better chance than Luke to know the data in question.

On the other hand, the vast majority give more value to Luke 3: 3, for an age of 30 years. But if Jesus really was this age for the year when he was baptized, for what reason do those who know him and see him, reply against Jesus that he was not “50 years old”?

Says a text:

«In turn, the Jews said to him:» Are you not yet fifty years old… «John 8: 57

Wouldn’t it have been more reasonable to have been told that he was not even around 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 years old, etc., for example?…

It should be noted that Luke never made personal contact with Jesus and does not know his birth and real age. He only tentatively assumes and gives a general range.

In order to enter the subject, remember that around the year 1614 the great German astronomer Johannes Kepler after determining a series of three conjunctions of the planets Jupiter and Saturn that occurred on June 5, September 22 and November 2, all in the year -7 BC, he related this fact to the star of Bethlehem.

It should be noted that at that time, there was no difference between stars and planets.

The advancement of science is step by step, and in 1925 archaeologists also discovered a clay tablet, about 100 km from Babylon, with cuneiform characters, which spoke of these triple conjunctions between Jupiter and Saturn, so it was visible in all that area. The tablet is in the Berlin State Museum.

Both the Latin word «magi» and the Greek word «magou» mean «wise», which may well be linked to the ancient astronomical priests.

In the opinion of one of the most renowned astronomers in the world, Dr. David Hewitt, who has been investigating the subject for more than 30 years and concludes that the Star of Bethlehem was ´by effect of the similar conjunction of today, by the planet Jupiter.

Here the following documentary fragment will be able to review its position:

https://youtu.be/_rf1zn-9B7Q

Assuming the suggested hypothesis, the wise men of the East would know that an astronomical event like that would be repeated for several months in the constellation of Pisces.

The sages could interpret this phenomenon as that a new great king would be born among the Jews (by the constellation Pisces). Pisces, for that culture would represent the people of Israel. There was the cultural idea, which was expected at the time, the arrival of a «Messiah», and the signs would indicate that the event could be happening, at least for the wise men of the East.

And if the year suggested by Kepler were indeed correct, based on this, if a selection had to be made from any of the 3 birth dates, we ask ourselves today which one could offer greater possibilities?

If it were necessary to choose, with the evidence so far available, we will suggest here a birth of Jesus during the evening of Friday September, 23, -7 and at dawn on the day September, 24, -7, on the day JDE N° 1719135.

Why? What could be the reasons?… Based on the following considerations:

1.- In the first place, because the first conjunction of June 5 must be ruled out, because according to tests analyzed by researcher Miguel Gilarte Fernández, with astronomical programs, that day could not be observed with the naked eye, as it would happen in full day.

On the other hand, if it was perfectly visible for the days September, 23, -7 and November, 2, -7, for this researcher of the Astronomical Association of Spain.

2.- Secondly, the date of Friday September, 23, -7, was the 56th birthday of Augustus, and the 20th year of his reign. Therefore, an ideal opportunity to order on his 55th birthday, the previous year, that the subjects of the empire take vows of fidelity to Augustus and Caesar, after registering.

In the opinion of the researcher Josep Emili Arias, the mention of Lucas (Lc 2,2), would be precisely a census that would have been

“… Decreed in Rome by Caesar Augustus in the year –8 BC, and it took place in the region of Judea in –7 BC, to register and swear allegiance to Caesar. With certainty it is not known who was the governor in this province of Syria, and ancient Palestine, in the year -7 BC, it could have been both Quintilo Varus and Sento Saturninus. If it is quite clear, that the emperor Augustus Caesar appointed, temporarily, attorney in this province of Syria, his best man of confidence, Publio Sulpicio QUIRINO (proconsul of Asia), also known as Cirino. A good general and strategist who came temporarily from the campaigns in Asia (today Turkey), carried out this Roman census in lands where the Jews were reluctant to swear allegiance to Caesar. There has always been a certain historical confusion due to the fact that the chronicler Flavius Josephus only speaks of a second census of collection taxes that took place in 6 AD, and where this time Quirinus was the governor of the province of Syria. Therefore, according to most historians, Jesus was born, quite likely, in the second half of the year –7 BC, or at the latest, early –6 BC «

3.- On the other hand, if Zacharias, father of John the Baptist, of the order of Abijah, were to minister incense at the end of May, and John brought Jesus six months of age, the suggested date of Jesus’ birth for September, 24, -7, agrees.

For the Calendar of ancient Israel, Friday September, 23, -7 would conclude on the 30th day of the 6th month (Elul), and during dusk it was Saturday September, 24, -7 it was the beginning of the new month and year, on the 1st of Tisrhi [Etaim], Ros hashanah, and the Feast of Trumpets.

This being the case, Jesus would have been circumcised on the 8th day of the month and of his birth, on the date of October, 1, -7 during the Sabbath [so that the Law of Moses would not be broken (John 7:23)], in accordance with the prevailing cultural ideas at the time. That is, just 2 days before the day of the feast of forgiveness on “Yom Kippur”.

And obviously, under this assumption, they would be propitious days for the previous ritual purification of the faithful, and to find the encounters of «Simeon» (Luke 2:25), and «Ana, the prophetess» (Luke 2:36), which by for that reason they lived in those days in Jerusalem.

It was also a date close to the Autumn «equinox» on September, 23, -7, following the equations of Professor Jean Meeus, and therefore, a fully compatible summer time to be grazing animals around the fields, in the night the shepherds. Not in winter.

4.- The astronomical events of the year -7 were of such magnitude and for about 5 months, which could be consistent to illuminate the long journey from Mesopotamia.

Supposing that these three wise men from Persia (today Iran) had existed, they may have related the 2nd conjunction with Micah’s prophecy and therefore, they searched when the conjunction pointed to the western horizon, that is, the lands of Judea.

In this way, the best date to head towards Bethlehem could be in the interval between September 10 to October 5, when at morning twilight, Jupiter and Saturn were pointing to the western horizon for more than four hours before get into the sunset.

Josep Emili Arias, shares a Image of his study in computational simulation, of that day Saturday 24 September of the year -7 BC

 In short, if Jesus was born during the early morning of Saturday, September 24 of the year -7, and taking into account a crucifixion for the 14th of Nisan 3791 (Friday, April 1, 33), it could be understood that in John 8 : 58 they have told him that he was not yet 50 years old, since in fact, Jesus would already be 40 years old, in the old account, according to the dates of his probable calendar.

And in any case, it seems more reasonable to respect an older Rabbi leader of about “40 years” of age, instead of or in comparison to a young man of only 30 years of age. Even more so, if he was an aspiring Messiah.

Let’s remember that for the culture of the time, it was the way of thinking of the rabbis, that the age of the Messiah should be 40 years.

A study of the time, estimates that:

“Some rabbis, according to Sanh 99a, even dare to venture how long the days of the Messiah will last:

– 40 years (vba ohgcrt jhanv, unh):

                                    – R. Eliezer has been taught to say:

The messianic epoch will last forty years, as the writing says: Forty years I was displeased with the generation (Ps 95, 10).

– According to another teaching, R. Eliezer said:

The time of the Messiah will last forty years, because here it says: And he afflicted you, and made you hungry, and fed you with manna (Dt 8, 3), and there it says: Rejoice us according to the days that you afflicted us (Ps 90 , fifteen). » (Miralles, 2003, pp. 105-106).

In other words, those who believed him to be the «Messiah», in fact must have identified him also by fulfilling the age and numerical condition of 40 years of age.

Also by the way, the year -7 BC was the seventh sabbatical year, in terms of Leviticus 25: 4-7, according to a count within ancient Israel.

In conclusion, following Kepler’s position, it seems quite plausible that the «Star of Bethlehem» was the planetary conjunction between the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn, taking into account these analyzed data.

And so, a possible answer to our initial question could be that the enigmatic author of the Gospel of John, when he recorded the number of “38 years” of the paralytic of Bethesda, he did so because at that date, for the year 31, it would have been the same age as Jesus of Nazareth.

Friends, whether the estimate is correct or not, we invite you to know the dates of the Jesus of Nazareth Calendar in www.elcalendario.org now join the study group https://www.facebook.com/groups/elcalendario.org/?ref=shareto discover a new way of investigating the ancient world. A tool based on accumulated astronomical evidence in combination with ancient ancient cultural practices, recovered thanks to the archeastronomical investigation of the historical Jesus.

And on this day, take a unique opportunity to look into the vastness of the skies and see Jupiter and Saturn very close, just 6 minutes apart, in order to understand what the men and women of the ancient world could see.

Hoping you enjoy a new intellectual experience and that you can contribute personally in a meaningful way, I appreciate spreading this courtesy among friends and contacts.

Peace and health to all people of good will.

Kind regards José Marcel Cámpora

Puerto Varas, Chile, December 21, 2020.