Two ancient records involving astronomy might help date the birth of Jesus Christ. They are from the Bible and the writings of Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian. Josephus lived from A.D. 37 to 100 and is a principle source for many incidents of the era.
Because the Bible says Jesus was born in the reign of King Herod and that Herod died when Jesus was a young child, knowing when Herod died would help in determining when Jesus was born. (This King Herod is the one sometimes called Herod the Great and is not the same man as the later King Herod who ordered the execution of John the Baptist.)From the Bible, we have only one account of the star of Bethlehem, recorded by Matthew. It is in Matthew 2:1-10:
"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
"Saying, `Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.'
"When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
"And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
"And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
"And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
"Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
"And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
"When they had heard the king, they departed; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
"And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy."
Matthew goes on to report that God warned the Wise Men not to return to Herod, who wanted to kill the Christ child because he imagined this king to be a threat to his own rule. An angel warns Joseph of the danger from Herod and the holy family flees to Egypt.
Two years later, Herod orders the murder of all Jewish children in Bethlehem and on the nearby coasts who were two and younger.
Because the holy family is in Egypt, they escape the slaughter. They stay there "until the death of Herod," when an angel tells Joseph they can return to Israel. At the time, Christ is a "young child."
The other reference is in Josephus' book, "The Antiquities of the Jews," in which he records a lunar eclipse that happened shortly before the first Herod died.
A religious conspiracy to defy Herod had been instigated by intellectuals named Judas, son of Saripheus (not to be confused with Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus), and Matthias, son of Margalothus. Judas and Matthias were "the most celebrated interpreters of the Jewish laws," Josephus adds.
Jewish law forbade the use of graven images. But Herod was a puppet of the Romans, Israel's actual rulers. In a gesture of subservience to Rome, Herod had erected the golden image of an eagle, the symbol of Rome, over the great gate to the temple in Jerusalem.
Judas and Matthias incited young men to pull down images that Herod had put up that were contrary to the ancient laws. "So, in the very middle of the day they got upon the place, and pulled down the eagle, and cut it into pieces with axes, while a great number of people were in the temple."
In another book, "The Wars of the Jews," Josephus gives details: ". . . they therefore let themselves down from the top of the temple with thick cords, and that at mid-day, and while a great number of people were in the temple, and cut down that golden eagle with axes."
Soldiers caught 40 of the young men who stayed behind when the rest ran away. They also captured Judas and Matthias, who "thought it an ignominious thing to retire" when the authorities approached, according to The Antiquities.
Herod "burned Matthias, who had raised the sedition, with his companions, alive. And that very night there as an eclipse of the moon." Herod died soon afterward, "by God's judgment upon him for his sins."