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 {For we saw his star in the east} (eidomen gar autou ton
astera en t(8869) anatol(8869)). This does not mean that they saw the
star which was in the east. That would make them go east to
follow it instead of west from the east. The words "in the east"
are probably to be taken with "we saw" i.e. we were in the east
when we saw it, or still more probably "we saw his star at its
rising" or "when it rose" as Moffatt puts it. The singular form
here (	(8869) anatol(8869)) does sometimes mean "east" ( Re 21:13 ),
though the plural is more common as in  Mt 2:1 . In  Lu 1:78  the
singular means dawn as the verb (aneteilen) does in  Mt 4:16 
(Septuagint). The Magi ask where is the one born king of the
Jews. They claim that they had seen his star, either a miracle or
a combination of bright stars or a comet. These men may have been
Jewish proselytes and may have known of the Messianic hope, for
even Vergil had caught a vision of it. The whole world was on
tiptoe of expectancy for something. Moulton (_Journal of
Theological Studies_, 1902, p. 524) "refers to the Magian belief
that a star could be the _fravashi_, the counterpart or angel
(cf.  Mt 18:10 ) of a great man" (McNeile). They came to worship
the newly born king of the Jews. Seneca (_Epistle_ 58) tells of
Magians who came to Athens with sacrifices to Plato after his
death. They had their own way of concluding that the star which
they had seen pointed to the birth of this Messianic king. Cicero
(_De Divin_. i. 47) "refers to the constellation from which, on
the birthnight of Alexander, Magians foretold that the destroyer
of Asia was born" (McNeile). Alford is positive that no miracle
is intended by the report of the Magi or by Matthew in his
narrative. But one must be allowed to say that the birth of
Jesus, if really God's only Son who has become Incarnate, is the
greatest of all miracles. Even the methods of astrologers need
not disturb those who are sure of this fact.

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