My comment to an entry 'BIBLE FOLKLORE, Part III' by aefenglommung
I bow to others knowlege of architecture in Israel of this period and acomadation customs for overflow guests.
What I have theory about is "the star" or "the sign we have scene in the East" as I believe "it" is described to Herod as I have also seen ot heard it translated. Someone once noted that those shepherds out in the fields watching their flocks by night would not have had their livestock in the fields in the winter, but rather in a cozy barn. So this person theorized the time of year was spring lambing season.
I know nothing about the ancient weather patterns at that time, but I do believe it was probably cold in Bethlehem in winter, so if we accept the shepherds out in the fields with their flocks it probably was spring. Do we accept the theory of shepherds coming to visit? I'm not a Biblical scholar, but for the sake of this argument, let us accept the shepherds and that Jesus was probably born in late March or early April. If so, his Zodiac sign would have been Aries, the Ram. Remember that the Magi were astrologers. I propose that there was no particular star (since I don't know the stars in that constellation), but rather the Magi were looking for a baby boy born under the sign of Aries in a particular year. They would also have been skilled in navigation by the stars which is how they got to Jerusalem. Perhaps Aries signifies the Lamb of God who will be sacrificed. Just a theory I reasoned out of suppositions. We know Jesus's birthdate was arbitrarily selected by the early church. It was convnient to have it coincide with Roman festivals, including the army cult of Mithra whose birth date was celebrated on December 25.
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What I have theory about is "the star" or "the sign we have scene in the East" as I believe "it" is described to Herod as I have also seen ot heard it translated. Someone once noted that those shepherds out in the fields watching their flocks by night would not have had their livestock in the fields in the winter, but rather in a cozy barn. So this person theorized the time of year was spring lambing season.
I know nothing about the ancient weather patterns at that time, but I do believe it was probably cold in Bethlehem in winter, so if we accept the shepherds out in the fields with their flocks it probably was spring. Do we accept the theory of shepherds coming to visit? I'm not a Biblical scholar, but for the sake of this argument, let us accept the shepherds and that Jesus was probably born in late March or early April. If so, his Zodiac sign would have been Aries, the Ram. Remember that the Magi were astrologers. I propose that there was no particular star (since I don't know the stars in that constellation), but rather the Magi were looking for a baby boy born under the sign of Aries in a particular year. They would also have been skilled in navigation by the stars which is how they got to Jerusalem. Perhaps Aries signifies the Lamb of God who will be sacrificed. Just a theory I reasoned out of suppositions. We know Jesus's birthdate was arbitrarily selected by the early church. It was convnient to have it coincide with Roman festivals, including the army cult of Mithra whose birth date was celebrated on December 25.
View the entire thread this comment is a part of