The Star of Bethlehem and the Magi : : interdisciplinary perspectives from experts on the ancient Near East, the Greco-Roman world, and modern astronomy / / edited by Peter Barthel and George van Kooten.

• Superior document: Themes in biblical narrative: Jewish and Christian traditions, volume 19
• Author: Star of Bethlehem: Historical and Astronomical Perspectives
• TeilnehmendeR: Barthel, Peter,; Kooten, George van,; Star of Bethlehem: Historical and Astronomical Perspectives
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, [2015]; ©2015
• Year of Publication: 2015
• Language: English
• Series: Themes in biblical narrative ; v. 19.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (718 p.)
• Notes: Papers edited from a colloquium The Star of Bethlehem: Historical and Astronomical Perspectives held October 22-24, 2014 in Groningen, Netherlands.
• Other title: Preliminary Material --; 1 Kepler’s De Vero Anno (1614) /; 2 The Historical Basis for the Star of Bethlehem /; 3 A Critical Look at the History of Interpreting the Star of Bethlehem in Scientific Literature and Biblical Studies /; 4 An Astronomical and Historical Evaluation of Molnar’s Solution /; 5 Astronomical Thoughts on the Star of Bethlehem /; 6 De Ster der Wijzen (1920): A Forgotten Early Publication about the Star of Bethlehem /; 7 What, If Anything? /; 8 The Astronomical Resources for Ancient Astral Prognostications /; 9 Mesopotamian Astrological Geography /; 10 The Story of the Magi in the Light of Alexander the Great’s Encounters with Chaldeans /; 11 Pre-Islamic Iranian Astral Mythology, Astrology, and the Star of Bethlehem /; 12 Matthew’s Magi as Experts on Kingship /; 13 Greco-Roman Astrologers, the Magi, and Mithraism /; 14 The Star of Bethlehem and Greco-Roman Astrology, Especially Astrological Geography /; 15 The World Leader from the Land of the Jews: Josephus, Jewish War 6.300–315; Tacitus, Histories 5.13; and Suetonius, Vespasian 4.5 /; 16 Stars and Powers: Astrological Thinking in Imperial Politics from the Hasmoneans to Bar Kokhba /; 17 Balaam’s ‘Star Oracle’ (Num 24:15–19) in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Bar Kokhba /; 18 The Star of the Magi and the Prophecy of Balaam in Earliest Christianity, with Special Attention to the Lost Books of Balaam /; 19 Matthew’s Star, Luke’s Census, Bethlehem, and the Quest for the Historical Jesus /; 20 Matthew, the Parthians, and the Magi: A Contextualization of Matthew’s Gospel in Roman-Parthian Relations of the First Centuries bce and ce /; Epilogue /; Indices --; 4. Subject Index.
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
• ISBN: 9004308474
• ISSN: 1388-3909
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: edited by Peter Barthel and George van Kooten.

This book is the fruit of the first ever interdisciplinary international scientific conference on Matthew's story of the Star of Bethlehem and the Magi, held in 2014 at the University of Groningen, and attended by world-leading specialists in all relevant fields: modern astronomy, the ancient near-eastern and Greco-Roman worlds, the history of science, and religion. The scholarly discussions and the exchange of the interdisciplinary views proved to be immensely fruitful and resulted in the present book. Its twenty chapters describe the various aspects of The Star: the history of its interpretation, ancient near-eastern astronomy and astrology and the Magi, astrology in the Greco-Roman and the Jewish worlds, and the early Christian world – at a generally accessible level. An epilogue summarizes the fact-fiction balance of the most famous star which has ever shone.