Kewkba_ta'_Betlehem
Konġunzjonijiet planetarji
Imma kif setgħu dawn il-konġunzjonijiet planetarji jħajru l-Maġi jmorru għand Erodi? Jidher li l-ġrajja kienet meqjusa eċċezzjonali u li kellha tifsira astroloġika sinjifikanti. Fis-seklu 8 WK, l-astrologu Persjan Maxagħalla ibn Atari, diġà kien isostni bl-użu ta' dati u teoriji astroloġiċi ta' nisel Iranjan u Babiloniż, li kull bidla reliġjuża jew politika bejn it-twelid ta' Kristu u ta' Muħammed, kienet marbuta mal-konġunzjoni bejn Ġove u Saturnu. F'Rosenberg insibu interpretazzjonu iżjed dettaljata, ibbażata fuq aħbarijiet forniti minn Iżakk Abrabanel, kittieb medjevali Lhudi. Il-pjaneta Saturnu setgħet kienet il-Missier Etern, Ġove l-iben u l-kostellazzjoni tal-Ħut setgħet kellha rabta mal-poplu ta' Iżrael. Anki skont l-assirjologu Simo Parpola il-ġrajja tas-7 QK kellha importanza kbira għall-astroloġi Kaldej u ħabbret "it-tmiem tal-ordni l-qadim tad-dinja u t-twelid ta' re ġdid mibgħut minn Alla" ''No Babylonian interpretation of this particular conjunction is extant—surely because of the great rarity of the event—but we know that interpretations of planetary conjunctions were based on an analysis of the astrological significance of the planets and the accompanying circumstances, particularly the zodiacal sign in which the conjunction took place. The fact that Mars, the star of Nergal, the god of war, joined the conjunction in its final phase signified that the new king was to come from the West, specifically, from Syria-Palestine, for Mars was the star of Amurru or the West (Syria-Palestine) in the Babylonian system. The prediction of such a king would have held wide interest in 7 B.C.E., when a power vacuum of sorts prevailed in the Near East. The Seleucid empire created by the successors of Alexander the Great had collapsed in 64 B.C.E., and its remnants, which included Judea, had been annexed to Rome as a province named Syria. The power of Rome had not yet been consolidated in the area, however. Even after Augustus changed Rome into an autocratic monarchy in 27 B.C.E., his authority was questioned in the East, for the Roman emperor, unlike the Seleucid kings and their predecessors, did not derive his authority from God. For this reason, many people considered Roman rule illegitimate and hoped that a local Near Eastern king appointed by God would drive the Romans out of the country and create a better world. These messianic expectations are recorded by Josephus and reflected in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The conjunction of 7 B.C.E. would have been interpreted as a portent of the birth of precisely this kind of king. The political vistas opened by it would not have escaped the attention of any Babylonian astrologer''; Parpola 2001 Bringing the Ancient World to Life -   Biblical Archaeology Society. Fl-aħħar Ettore Bianchi, Mario Codebò u Giuseppe Veneziano issottolinjaw li proprju f'din l-epoka tat-twelid ta' Kristu kien hemm il-mgħodija mill-Era tal-Muntun għall-Era tal-Ħut, li matul l-ekwinozji tagħha ix-Xemx daħlet fil-kostellazzjoni tal-Ħut u tal-Verġni u kienet ġejja lura l-Età tad-Deheb. Kwalinkwe ġrajja astrali fil-kostellazzjoni tal-Ħut bilfors kellha riżonanza qawwija fost l-astroloġi ta' kull kultura tkun liema tkun, kif turi wkoll il-kitba fl-Eclogæ IV ta' Virġilju, dwar jil-ġrajja tas-Saturnia Regna. Skont l-astroloġija Iranjana u Indjana l-età tad-deheb tiġi kull tnax-il elf sena.