The star. Sign of the King

A coin from the year 80 BC

“We have seen his star and have come to worship him” say the wise men from the East in the 2nd chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. They are looking for a new king. In the year 7 BC there was a Great Conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in the sign of Pisces. Is it the sign of the birth of a new king in Judea? King Herod knows nothing.

A symbol as provocation
Since Alexander the Great, kings have marked their power with the symbol of the star. In the Bibelhaus Erlebnis Museum you can see the coin of the priest-king Alexander Jannai, who reigned as king of Judea in the year 80 BC. He came from the house of the Maccabees-Hasmoneans, who were Jewish kings in Jerusalem for about one hundred years. A bronze coin shows the Star of Power. The Roman Emperor Augustus also used the star as a sign of his divine power. Even coins of King Herod show a star.