The messiah part 5

  A consensus of scholar's state that Jesus was born sometime between 6 and 5 B.C.

      Luke chapter 2 1-3: Now it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all were proceeding to register for the census, everyone to his own city. New American Standard Bible

       Mainstream "Biblical Scholars" according to Wikipedia and other publications have stated the Gospel of Luke contains errors. These scholars point out a few criticisms.

1. Matthew and Luke state that Jesus was born before the death of Herod and not 10 years later when Quirinius was governor of Syria in 6 A.D.

2. There was no single census of the entire Roman empire under Augustus.

3. The Romans did not directly tax client kingdoms like Herod's domain.

4.No Roman census required that people travel from their own homes to those of their ancestors.

5. Scholars presuppose (without evidence) that Luke made up the census so that Joseph and Mary would have an excuse to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem in order to fulfill Bible prophecy.

6. They also state that Matthew and Luke give different accounts of the family's departure from Bethlehem. 

      The archaeologist William Ramsay was skeptical of Luke when he started his research. He traveled throughout Asia Minor for thirty-four years following Luke's account of Paul's journeys in the book of Acts. At the end of that time, he found "that all of my prepossessions and preformed opinions were wrong." (1) He came to the conclusion that Luke was a first-rate historian. Bryan Windle states the best translation of Luke 2:2 is the New King James version of the bible that Quirinius was not governor of Syria but that that he was "governing" Syria. Luke uses the Greek verb "Hegemoneuo" which means that Quirinius was exercising authority in some capacity in Syria during the "first census." (2) Secular scholars are happy to conclude that Luke made a mistake, confusing the census in 6 A.D. when Quirinius governor or simply making up one before Herod's death.   

       However, as many conservative scholars have noted, Luke mentions the 6 A.D. census in Acts 5:37, showing he was referring to an earlier unknown census by modern scholars in Luke chapter 2. The 6 A.D. census was a one-time event, after Augustus deposed Herod's son Archelaus for incompetence, and banished him to Gaul.

   THE ROMAN SYSTEM UNDER AUGUSTUS

       Historian Bryan Windle has shown the Roman system under Augustus could be fluid.

Caesar Augustus would typically appoint one Roman governor to a province. However, in "extraordinary circumstances, usually involving wars or putting down rebellions, he and his successors dispatched if needed a second imperial legate to lead a war effort and to deal with other external affairs while the resident governor managed the normal domestic affairs of a province. "For example, when the Jews rebelled against Rome, Vespasian was dispatched as imperial legate to crush it in 67 A.D. While Mucionus was the resident governor in Syria taking care of domestic affairs, Vespasian launched his attack from Syria into Judea. Likewise, during the Roman-Parthian war in 63-68 A.D, Corbola was dispatched to lead the Roman army in Syria against the Parthians while Quadratus the resident governor managed local affairs." (3) In 12 B.C. a rebellion broke out in Asia Minor and Augustus sent his consul, one of his most capable generals, Quirinius to deal with the problem. Quirinius arrived in Syria around 12 B.C. while Titius was governor and most likely took control of the three legions stationed there to prosecute the war in Asia Minor. In 9 B.C. Titius was succeeded by Saturninus as governor of Syria. Josephus mentions that there were two Roman governors of Syria at that time. He stated that Herod had to get permission from both of them to launch an attack against Arabia around 9 B.C. (4) In 6 B.C. during the last years of Herod the Great, Varus took over as Legate of the province.  "Augustus may have considered Varus a capable commander and not an exceptionally gifted one" since he was only sent to provinces that were considered to be pacified. (5)

       Quirinius would have launched his campaign into Asia (Galatia) from Syria and according to Pliny, Tacitus states this people were one of "the most barbarous tribes" and that their land contained "forty-four fortresses." (6) "They were conquered in the time of Augustus." (7) Strabo said Cyrinius (Quirinius) "overthrew their country and captured alive four-thousand men"..."leaving their country destitute of all its men." (8) The war must have been over by 6 B.C. when the network of Roman roads were laid out and completed in Galatia. (9) Quirinus was probably named legate of Galatia (10) and led the legions back to Antioch Syria where they were stationed. There were no Roman troops permanently stationed in Galatia and Roman veteran colonies served as the military defense of the province. (11) After Quirinius finished his campaign, there was no reason to stay in a province devoid of troops. Quirinius would have most likely stayed in Antioch with the legions he had once commanded, in the event Augustus called upon him again for service. He would have governed his province remotely in the same way that Marcus Agrippa "administered Syria for ten years, through deputies from the Island of Lesbos." (12) Quirinius would have remained in Antioch Syria, the center for Roman power in the East until 2 B.C, when he returned to Rome. Hallak states that in the province of Egypt "The evidence suggests that in the Augustan period there was no fixed order for offices: officials could be moved from one post to another according to local need and could hold two or three posts at the same time... (13) So Quirinus would have been positioned in Syria, right where Luke said he was, in the last years of Herod the Great. Goldsworthy states it is possible Quirinius could have been legate of Syria for a few months while Varus was governing Syria, however, he considers it unlikely. (14) When Herod the Great was summoned by Mark Anthony to leave his kingdom and go to Laodicea, in Asia Minor, he made his uncle temporary procurator of Judea. This shows there was never a void in Roman government, someone was always left in charge, when a king or governor was away. (15)

       NOTES: (1) William Mitchell Ramsay, The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament, p.31; (2) and (3) Bryan Windle, The Bible Archaeology Report, Where does Quirinius fit in? December 19, 2019; (4) The New Complete Works by Josephus, translated by William Whiston, Jewish Antiquities, Chapter 9, 1, p.544; (5) Adrian Goldsworthy, Augustus, (5) p.447; (6), (7) and (8) Bryan Windle, The Bible Archaeology Report, Where does Quirinius fit in? (9) Jack Finegan, The Handbook of Biblical Chronology, p.302; (10) and (11) Ronald Syme, The Roman Revolution, (10) P.399 and (11) p.393; (12) Adrian Goldsworthy, Augustus, p.272; (13) Hassna Hallak, Capponi: Augustan Egypt, The Creation of a Roman Province, p. 35; (14) Adrian Goldsworthy, Augustus, p.489; (15) The New complete works of Josephus, Translated by William Whiston, Commentary by Paul L. Maier, Jewish Antiquities, Book 15, chapter 3, 5.

   THE ROMAN CENSUS

       Critics of Luke state that Augustus never initiated an empire wide census during his reign. However, "Our understanding of the Augustan census is hindered by the scarcity of documents. Up to a certain point in the reign of Augustus or Tiberius, for instance, the census may be based on oral reports to officials rather than written self-declarations" (16) Hallak argues "It is not impossible that Augustus took a multi-provincial census at the beginning of his reign, after completing the census of Roman citizens in 28 B.C. In the years of 27 to 25 B.C. he held provincial censuses in Gaul, probably in Spain and possibly also in Egypt." (17) I think it makes sense that there was an empire wide census at that time as Augustus was organizing his empire after the defeat of Anthony and Cleopatra. "No other Source (besides Luke) mentions a single decree imposing a census and levy throughout the provinces. This does not mean we can say with absolute certainty that Augustus never issued such a decree, but it does mean that we should be cautious..." (18) "What is clear that under Augustus the taxation system of the empire was tidied up...As a part of this process-most perhaps all-provinces were subjected to one or more censuses..." (19) There seems to have been a bias by the ancient writers concerning the provinces. "It should not surprise us in any way, as there was no reason for Greek or Roman accounts to mention the birth of anyone in the provinces." (20) I think it would also be true that only Luke mentions the empire-wide census, because it was important to his narrative. The Greek and Roman writers didn't seem to be concerned much with the provinces unless a war happened, or a Greek or Roman went there.

        "According to Bagnall and Frier the Roman census registered everyone" in Egypt. (21) We know that in 47/48 A.D. there was a census in Egypt of both Roman citizens and the general population at the same time. (22) "It is likely that in spite of its peculiar history and culture, Egypt was similar to other Roman provinces, such as Syria, or the Greek provinces in Asia minor." (23) The Romans under Augustus undertook regular censuses in Egypt every seven years from 26/25, 19/18, and 12/10 B.C. (24) In Rome Augustus held censuses in 28 B.C. and about 12/10 B.C. of Roman citizens. (25) The 12/10 census in Rome was completed in 8 B.C. (26) So, in 12/10 B.C. there was an on-going census in Rome and Egypt at or around the same time. As Bryan Windle and John Elder have noted, "this seems to be the empire wide census spoken of by Luke." (27) After the 12/10 B.C. census, Augustus changed the census to every 14 years in Rome. So, the 12/10 census seems to be the beginning of a new system of registration for taxation, as Augustus continued to reorganize and streamline his empire. Also, a papyrus dated to 104 A.D. records a Roman governor in Egypt who ordered Egyptians to return to their ancestral homes so a census could be taken. (28)

       NOTES: (16) and (17) Hassna Hallak, Capponi: Augustan Egypt, Creation of a Roman Province, (16) p.83 and (17) p.89; (18), (19) and (20) Adrian Goldsworthy, Augustus, (18) p.488, (19) p.488, (20) p.487; (21), (22), (23) and (24) Hassna Hallak, Capponi: Augustan Egypt, The creation of a Roman Province, (21) p.87, (22) p.87, (23) p.63, (24) p.91; (25) Bryan Windle, Caesar Augustus, An Archeology Biography, December 13, 2019; (26) Adrian Goldsworthy, Augustus, p.381; (27) Bryan Windle, Caesar Augustus An Archaeology Biography, December 13, 2019, also John Elder, Elder, 3. 1960, Prophets, Idols and Diggers; (28) Krista Wenzell, December 23, 2014, Was there really a census during the time of Caesar Augustus?

   HEROD THE GREAT

        When the Roman general Pompey the Great, swept through Syria with his powerful legions, Herod's father Antipater, a wealthy Idumaean decided it was useless to resist and decided to help them.  After Pompey conquered Jerusalem in 62 B.C., he left Antipater in charge of Judea, and Herod was given Gallilee to rule by his father. (29) Herod cultivated friendships with powerful Romans like Mark Anthony, and this benefited him in the future. In 37 B.C. the Parthians invaded Judea and drove Herod out of the land, so he sailed to Rome to see what could be done. When Herod arrived in Rome, he was tall, muscular, and looked like the natural leader the Romans were seeking to recapture Jerusalem. (30) Mark Anthony and Octavian promoted Herod to be the new King of the Jews, and the Roman Senate agreed, sending him back to Judea at the age of 33 with an army. After a four-month siege, Herod recaptured Jerusalem and reestablished control of the land. (31) For the remainder of his long reign, he would rule his kingdom with an iron grip, ruthlessly disposing of his enemies, real and imagined. When his patron Mark Anthony was defeated in the Roman civil war at Actium in 31 B.C, Herod knew his life was in danger, since he had supported Anthony and Cleopatra in the war. Herod gathered all the treasure he could get his hands on and rushed to meet Octavian, the winner of the war, on the island of Rhodes. He laid the treasure and his crown at the feet of Octavian and stated he had been a loyal friend and supporter of Anthony and that if given the chance he would be the same devoted friend to Octavian himself. Octavian took the crown and placed it back on Herod's head and reestablished him in his kingdom. (32)

        Herod kept that promise to Augustus, but late in his reign in 8 B.C. an incident occurred which would cause a crisis in his kingdom. Some outlaws from Arabia were raiding into Herod's kingdom and as said before, he went to the two Roman governors of Syria, Saturninus and Volumnius and asked permission from both of them to launch an attack against the bandits. The two Romans gave their consent and Herod's army invaded Arabia, defeated the robbers, scattered them, and took prisoners. However, an Arabian at Augustus' court heard about the incident and accused Herod of unjustly laying waste to Arabia and killing many important people. Augustus was furious with Herod for disturbing the Roman peace and operating his army outside Judea without cause. (33)

 Augustus sent a scathing letter to Herod and demoted him from "friend of Rome" to a subject Kingdom. (34) This letter downgraded Judea into just another province of the empire and removed the special status of Herod's kingdom. This demotion meant that Augustus would make Judea subject to the taxation (35) that was going on across the empire in 12/10 B.C. according to Luke. It took Herod about a year to smooth things over with Augustus and make known the true version of events, but once the emperor gave the order to tax the kingdom it would not be revoked. The reason there was no rebellion during the 12/10 census, was because of the cruelty Herod. In a different incident Josephus reported, "on account of Herod's barbarous temper, and for fear he should be so cruel and to inflict punishment on them." Herod burned to death men on that occasion. (36) Everyone knew resistance was futile during his rule.

         About a year later in 8 or early 7 B.C. Herod's status as "friend of Rome" was restored, but he was always hated by his people for the brutality of his reign as well as the fact that he was considered a foreigner. (37) He executed several of his wives and many others he felt were threats to his power. Herod's health declined in his last years on the throne, and this was possibly the result of circulatory failure. Fluid built up in his lower body and he suffered fatigue, metal lapses and frequent rages. (38) In those days, he was also obsessed by plots against his life. That same year Antipater, Herod's eldest son wanted to eliminate two of his younger brothers who were popular with the people. Antipater made accusations against them and convinced his father to put them on trial for sedition. With permission from Augustus, the boys were given a trial in Syria. Herod himself gave a rambling incoherent speech against his sons. (39) They were eventually executed along with three hundred solders who spoke in their defense. (40) By late 6 B.C. Herod was convinced by his sister, that his son Antipater was plotting against him, and he recalled him from Rome. At the same time Herod asked Varus, the new Roman governor of Syria to join him in Jerusalem as a "councilor and give advice in his present affairs." (41)

         NOTES: (29) Norman Gelb, Herod the Great, p.8-15; (30) and (31) Bruce Chilton, The Herods, P.43 and p.77 and (31) p.82-83; (32), (33) and (34) The New Complete Works of Josephus, Translated by William Whiston, Commentary by Paul L. Maier, (32) Book 15, 6 and 7, (33) Book 16, 9,1-3, (34) Book 16, 9, 3-4; (35) Norman Gelb, Herod the Great, p.121-122; (36) The New Complete Works of Josephus, Translation by William Whiston, Commentary by Paul L. Maier, Book 17, Chapter 6, 2-4, p564-565; (37) Harold W. Hoehner, Herod Antipas, p.14; (38) and (39) Bruce Chilton, The Herods, (38) p.114, and (39) p.111-112; (40) Norman Gelb, Herod the Great, p.129; (41) The New Complete Works of Josephus, Translated by William Whiston, Commentary by Paul L. Maier, Book 17 chapters 4-5.

  THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST

   I believe Jesus was born early in the year 5 B.C., and just before Antipater was put on trial for treason in that same year. (42) Augustus also wanted the new Roman governor of Syria Varus, to preside over the trial and make sure "that Roman legal procedures were followed. Due to the seriousness of the charges of treason, and the Roman oversight, the trial may have lasted several days or weeks."(43) Varus would have left his capitol in Antioch Syria and boarded a ship to Caesarea, in late 6 B.C. or in the Jewish month of Nisan, early 5 B.C. (springtime) about the time the trial was held. The voyage and the overland journey from Caesaria to Jerusalem would take about 10 days or more, depending on how large his entourage was. Although Josephus doesn't give the length of the trial, Varus was out of his province at least a month, probably longer. Since he was the new governor of Syria there would be other matters to discuss besides the trial. (44) As I have shown, it is logical Quirinius was based in Antioch and would have been "governing Syria" in Varus absence.  After Herod fell out of favor in 8 B.C., the census was delayed in Judea, since there had never been a Roman census in Herod's kingdom before.  At least by 5 B.C. the census certainly would have been underway as Luke reported. 

    During this time Christ was born in Bethlehem and according to Luke the angels announced to birth to the shepherds. Eight days after the birth, the family traveled the six miles back to Jerusalem for the circumcision of the child and to present him to the Lord. Luke 2:21, and when the eight days were complete for the circumcision of the child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. Joseph and Mary sacrificed two doves to the LORD, showing that they were very poor and had not received the money from the Wise Men by that time. Simeon and Anna a prophetess, gave their prophecies about Jesus, after which they returned to Bethlehem. Luke was writing to a largely Gentile audience and therefore leaves out the flight into Egypt. Matthew was writing to a mostly Jewish group of people, and his emphasis was on fulfilled prophecy and the rejection of Israel's Messiah is a constant theme in his gospel. From the departure into Egypt, to attacks against Jesus, Matthew portrays Christ's rejection more vividly than any other Gospel. (45)

       Matthew 2:1-3, Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem saying "Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him." And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 

       Herod's favorite residence was his palace at the fortress of Herodium and he would later be buried there. As Matthew stated, Herod happened to be in Jerusalem at the time the Wise Men arrived there (Matthew chapter 2). Herod was preparing Jerusalem and waiting for the arrival of Varus to begin the trial of his son Antipater, when suddenly, unexpectantly, the Maji arrived out of the east seeking the new King of the Jews. Matthew said by the time the Maji arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus had already been born, and that "Herod and all Jerusalem were troubled" at their arrival. Matthew also notes that Herod met with the Wise Men "secretly" and asked what time the star appeared. He also needed these men from Rome's enemy Parthia, to quickly be on their way before the arrival of Varus, his Roman guest. After Herod consulted with his priests and scribes, he sent the Maji on to Bethlehem and asked them to return and report to him when they found the child. The main reason Herod so quickly forgot about the Wise Men was because he had to turn his attention to more pressing matters, and the trial of his own son the crown prince. I have included a section on the Wise Men below.

   NOTES: (42) Harold W. Hoehner, Herod Antipas, p.16; (43) and (44) I used ChatGPT to calculate Varus's travel time from Antioch to Jerusalem, the length of the trial and his entourage. These calculations seem reasonable. (45) John MacArthur, Bible Commentary, p.1115.

        When the Maji left Jerusalem, the star reappeared and led them to Jesus in Bethlehem, who was out of the manger and into a house by then. The Wise Men left, warned by an angel to take a different route home.  After the Maji left, Joseph and Mary were also warned by an angel to flee to Egypt. Goldsworthy states that Matthew's claim that the family fled to Egypt makes sense, since there was a large Jewish community in Alexandria. However, he thinks there's not enough evidence to be certain of the story. (46) The best and safest route would have been by sea from Caesarea to Alexandria, Egypt.

          When the apostle Paul was arrested, he was sent with an escort of almost 500 men including calvary from Jerusalem to Caesaria in Acts 23:23. Next to Egypt, Syria was one of the more important provinces in the Eastern Roman empire. Herod certainly sent a large military escort of several thousand men to convoy Varus from Caesaria to Jerusalem. In addition, Varus would be traveling with his own private escort of bodyguards probably at least 500 Roman solders or more. Varus' entourage would have included between 6 and 12 Roman Lictors symbolizing his authority and also, a large retinue of clerks, scribes, legal advisors, friends and intellectuals for private consultations and of course personal slaves. (47) Herod would be expected to feed and house close to a thousand visitors or more, as well as provide entertainment for his more important guests. Herod's state of mind during these last few years of his life was a "forlorn and wretched period" for him along with bouts of depression. (48) During the trial of Antipater Herod broke down in tears by the weight of the evidence and the testimony of many witnesses to the guilt of his son. (49) When Antipater was found guilty, he was imprisoned for a year and executed, five days before Herod's death. After the trial Herod's thoughts would have returned to the Maji, and he quickly realized he had been deceived. He ordered the execution of the children two years and under in Bethlehem. Herod calculated from the time the Wise Men had first seen the star. Matthew must have heard the story from a first-hand account since he was closer to the events than Josephus writing about sixty years later. Many secular scholars doubt this story, but this was just one of many atrocities committed by Herod and was quickly forgotten in the turmoil after his death.

       As Norman Gelb said, "Herod lived in a violent Age," and many thought violence was necessary to survive. (50) Herod's nineteen-year-old son Archelaus had been chosen by his father to be king of Judea after the death of Antipater. There was unrest in the streets of Jerusalem after the death of his father and the inexperienced Archelaus massacred three-thousand Jews to restore order. Remnants of Herod's army also took to the streets and named their own king. The whole kingdom was thrown in to confusion with bandits and outlaws joining in. Before it was over Varus the governor of Syria had to march south with his three legions into Judea to restore order. The town of Emmaus and several other cities held by the rebels were burned to the ground. Decades later two of Jesus' disciples left the crucifixion of their Master behind and were walking toward Emmaus. They were leaving Jerusalem, a place of despair, toward Emmaus, another scene of failed Jewish resistance, when the risen Christ met them on the road and shared a meal with them. (51) But that was in the future. Varus ended up crucifying two-thousand rebels at Jerusalem before he was through. (52) At this time, Jesus and His family were safe in Egypt. After the death of Herod and order was restored, the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and declared "Arise and take the Child and HIs mother and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child's life are dead." And he arose and took the Child and His mother and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he departed for the regions of Gallilee. Matthew 2: 20-22

        NOTES: (46) Adrian Goldsworthy, Augustus, p.491; (47) Chat GPT, A.I., (48), (49) and (50) Norman Gelb, Herod the Great, (48) p.129, (49) P.134, (50) p.141; (51) and (52) Bruce Chilton, The Herods, (51) p.130-131, (52) p.131.

       On the exact day Jesus born I am less certain. However, there was considerable symbolism with His death and being crucified at the moment the Passover lambs were being sacrificed. I believe it would have been appropriate if Jesus was born on the Jewish New Years Day as established by Moses, the 1st day of Nisan, 5 B.C. This was also the beginning of the calendar for Hebrew kings.  (53) This converts to on or about March 28, 5 B.C. by our calendar according to ChatGPT, A.I. As Gary Delashmutt has shown in his paper "Sejanus and the Chronology of Christ's Death", part of which I reproduced at "The Messiah Part 2", Jesus died on Passover 33 A.D. This would make Jesus 35 when He started His ministry and 38 when He died. In Luke 3:23, Jesus was said to be "about 30" when He began His ministry and in John 8:57, He was said to be "not yet 50 years Old."

    NOTES: (53) Michele Alderin, How Rosh Hashanah became New Years Day

   THE WISE MEN

       The Wise Men were called Maji in the Middle East. The Greek Historian Xenophon said the Maji "were authorities for all religious matters." (54) Another Greek writer Lucian said he visited the Maji in Babylon. (55) The Maji are mentioned in Jeremiah 39:3, "Nergal-sar-ezar, the Rag-mag." The Maji are also referred to in Babylon, at Nebuchadnezzar's palace in the book of Daniel, 1:20; 2:2; 4:7 and 5:11. (56) They were experts in both astronomy and astrology and also were advisors to kings in the middle east during the empires of Babylon and Persia. They were certainly called priests, scientists, mathematicians and philosophers in their culture (57) and some call them kingmakers. Most of them were involved in the occult, but because of Daniel the prophet, a few of them must have believed in and worshiped the one true God. (58) According to Josephus there were Jews in great numbers in Parthian Babylonia which may have given the Maji access to many of the books of the Old Testament. (59) In the late 1600's two brilliant minds argued about who invented calculus first. Sir Isaac Newton and the Mathematician Gottfried Leibniz each accused one another of stealing each other's work. (60) However, clay tablets were discovered in Babylon and were dated from 350 B.C. to near the birth of Christ. No one could make sense of these tablets until 2015 when a retired archaeologist Ossendrijver of Humboldt University in Berlin took a look at and deciphered them. These tablets revealed there were some very wise men in Babylon who were using calculus to chart the movements of stars and planets in the heavens, long before Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz.  Alexander Jones professor at New York University praised Ossendrijver's work, which he said shows the "revolutionary brilliance of the unknown Mesopotamian scholars." (61) The appearance of the Wise Men from the east- which suggests outside the (Roman) empire and probably the heartland of the Parthian empire - is perfectly possible, since plenty of traders made that journey. (62) Babylon was certainly a part of the heartland of the Parthian empire at that time, although it was a city in decline and only a reginal city at the birth of Christ. The Maji made known to Herod they were following a star and perhaps they were influenced in part by the Old Testament. Numbers 24:17, "a star shall come forth from Jacob, and a scepter shall rise from Israel." (63) No one knows what the star was, but it may have been a supernatural phenomenon since it moved across the sky. (64) The star disappeared while the Maji were in Jerusalem, but it reappeared later according to Matthew 2:9. 

        NOTES: (54) and (55) Maji, Wikipedia, Gera, Deborah Levine, (1993) Xenophon's Cyropaedia, Style Genre, and Literary Technique, Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-019-814477-9; (56), (57) and (58) John F. MacArthur, Jr., God With Us, (56) p.105; (57) p.104, (58) p.104; (59) ChatGPT, A.I., (60) and (61) Stuart Gary, ABC Science, Science and Technology, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, Ancient Babylonian astronomers used calculus to find Jupiter 1,400 years before Europeans; (62) Adrian Goldsworthy, Augustus, p.491; (63), and (64) John F. MacArthur, Jr., God With Us, (63) p.110, (64) p.111.