An Unusual Star

• Matthew 2:9 (ESV)

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Here we have a "star" doing exceptional things. It is a star that is moving from one place to another. It is a star that has led the three kings to this place and "settled" or "stood over" the house that infant Jesus was in. This is fascinating and obviously not a star as we understand it to be. In fact the word here "ἀστήρ" is used 24 times in the New Testament. In light of the 24 uses of the word it is clear that what is being referred to here is a "light in the sky". What was physically producing the light is unclear but it was not a star in heaven as some might believe. This is akin to the "pillar of cloud" the Israelites followed in the desert. Its simply a description of what it looked like not what it was.

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