Reference: Stars
Easton
The eleven stars (Ge 37:9); the seven (Am 5:8); wandering (Jude 1:13); seen in the east at the birth of Christ, probably some luminous meteors miraculously formed for this specific purpose (Mt 2:2-10); stars worshipped (De 4:19; 2Ki 17:16; 21:3; Jer 19:13); spoken of symbolically (Nu 24:17; Re 1:16,20; 12:1). (See Astrologer.)
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Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, "Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."
"I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel, And shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth.
"And beware not to lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.
"The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like the place Topheth, because of all the houses on whose rooftops they burned sacrifices to all the heavenly host and poured out drink offerings to other gods."'"
He who made the Pleiades and Orion And changes deep darkness into morning, Who also darkens day into night, Who calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the surface of the earth, The LORD is His name.
"Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. read more. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: 'AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.'" Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him." After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.
In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.
"As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;
Hastings
The stars form part of the Divine creation in Ge 1. They are invisible in the sunlight, but begin to appear about sunset (Ne 4:21). In poetical passages hyperbolical expressions are used concerning them. At the creation 'the morning stars sang together' (Job 38:7); at the battle between Barak and Sisera 'the stars in their courses fought against Sisera' (Jg 5:20): in the former passage it may be that the angels are described as stars (cf. Re 1:20 'the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches'). The difference of magnitude in the stars is recognized by St. Paul: 'one star differeth from another star in glory' (1Co 15:41). The stars were looked upon as innumerable: 'tell the stars, if thou be able to tell them' (Ge 15:5). The appearance of a bright particular star was supposed to portend some great event. Thus Balaam prophesied 'There shall come forth a star out of Jacob' (Nu 24:17), and this was afterwards interpreted as applying to the Epiphany star (Mt 2:2; see Star of the Magi); and so in 2Pe 1:19 we read of the day-star arising in men's hearts. Caution is given against the worship of the stars, in the legislation of Deuteronomy (De 4:19), and the punishment of death assigned for the convicted worshipper (see Host of Heaven). In Apocalyptic literature (Re 22:16) our Lord describes Himself as 'the bright, the morning star'; whilst 'they that turn many to righteousness' are to shine 'as the stars for ever and ever' (Da 12:3). The day of the Lord is to be heralded by signs in the stars as well as in the sun and moon (Lu 21:25). The appearance of shooting stars, which come out of the darkness and go back into it, is alluded to in Jude 1:13 'wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved for ever.' Special numbers of stars are mentioned; in Rev (Re 1:16; 12:1), the seven stars and twelve stars illustrate a conventional use of those numbers common in apocalyptic literature. In the OT the seven stars of the AV of Am 5:8 are the Pleiades; and the 'eleven stars' which made obeisance to Joseph in his dream are simply a conventional number to correspond with that of his brethren.
Of individual stars or constellations, the Bear (AV Arcturus), Orion, and the Pleiades occur; all three in Job 9:9; 38:31-32, the last two also in Am 5:8. The mazzaroth (Job 38:32) are most probably the signs of the Zodiac (Revised Version margin; cf. 2Ki 23:5. margin). In 2Ki 23:5 the Heb. form of the word mazzaloth is different, and RV (text) renders it 'the planets.' The chambers of the south (Job 9:9) are probably the stars of the southern hemisphere.
Of worship connected with the stars we have two notable instances. That of 'the queen of heaven' was popular in Jerusalem (Jer 7:18) immediately before the Captivity, and to the neglect of it the captives in Egypt ascribed their disasters, in an address to Jeremiah (Jer 44:15-23) at Pathros. This worship consisted of the offering of incense and drink-offerings, and the making of cakes, with her figure, apparently, upon them. This Queen of Heaven seems to have been without doubt Venus, or Istar, whose star was considered the most beautiful in the heavens. This goddess is identical with Ashtoreth or Astarte. The second instance of star-worship is one that presents some difficulty. In Amos (Am 5:26) we meet with an image of Chiun, if the word be a proper name, who is called 'the star of your god.' This passage is quoted by St. Stephen (Ac 7:43), where the expression is rendered 'the star of the god Rephan.' There seems little reason to doubt that Chiun is the same as the Assyrian Kaiw
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And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them " And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
"I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel, And shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth.
"And beware not to lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.
He did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem, also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the host of heaven.
He did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem, also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the host of heaven.
So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from dawn until the stars appeared.
Who makes the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades, And the chambers of the south;
Who makes the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades, And the chambers of the south;
When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
"Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, Or loose the cords of Orion? "Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, And guide the Bear with her satellites?
"Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, And guide the Bear with her satellites?
"You are wearied with your many counsels; Let now the astrologers, Those who prophesy by the stars, Those who predict by the new moons, Stand up and save you from what will come upon you.
"The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to spite Me.
Then all the men who were aware that their wives were burning sacrifices to other gods, along with all the women who were standing by, as a large assembly, including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying, "As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we are not going to listen to you! read more. "But rather we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food and were well off and saw no misfortune. "But since we stopped burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have met our end by the sword and by famine." "And," said the women, "when we were burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and were pouring out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?" Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and women--even to all the people who were giving him such an answer--saying, "As for the smoking sacrifices that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your forefathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them and did not all this come into His mind? "So the LORD was no longer able to endure it, because of the evil of your deeds, because of the abominations which you have committed; thus your land has become a ruin, an object of horror and a curse, without an inhabitant, as it is this day. "Because you have burned sacrifices and have sinned against the LORD and not obeyed the voice of the LORD or walked in His law, His statutes or His testimonies, therefore this calamity has befallen you, as it has this day."
"Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
He who made the Pleiades and Orion And changes deep darkness into morning, Who also darkens day into night, Who calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the surface of the earth, The LORD is His name.
He who made the Pleiades and Orion And changes deep darkness into morning, Who also darkens day into night, Who calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the surface of the earth, The LORD is His name.
"You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves.
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him."
"Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him."
"There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,
'YOU ALSO TOOK ALONG THE TABERNACLE OF MOLOCH AND THE STAR OF THE GOD ROMPHA, THE IMAGES WHICH YOU MADE TO WORSHIP. I ALSO WILL REMOVE YOU BEYOND BABYLON.'
There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.
wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.
In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.
"As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;