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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And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers. And said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream again. And, behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars made obeisance to me.
I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. There shall come forth a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite through the corners of Moab, and break down all the sons of tumult.
And lest thou lift up thine eyes to heaven, and when thou see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, thou be drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which LORD thy God has allotted to all the peoples
And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, which are defiled, shall be as the place of Topheth, even all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven, and have poured out dr
[seek him] who makes the Pleiades and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night, who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth (LORD is his name),
Where is he who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him. And Herod the king having heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. read more. And having gathered together all the chief priests and scholars of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ is born. And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea. For thus it is written through the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the rulers of Judah, for out of thee will come forth a man who rules, who will tend my people Israel. Then Herod having called the wise men privately, ascertained from them what time the star appeared. And having sent them to Bethlehem, he said, After going, search diligently about the child. And when ye find him, report to me, so that I also having come, may worship him. And when they heard the king, they departed. And lo, the star that they saw in the east went before them until, having come, it stood over where the child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
wild waves of the sea foaming out their own shame, wandering stars for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved into an age.
and having in his right hand seven stars, and a sharp two-edged sword coming out of his mouth. And the sight of him was as the sun shines in its strength.
The mystery of the seven stars that thou saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are agents of the seven congregations, and the seven lampstands that thou saw are the seven congregations.
And a great sign was seen in heaven. A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars upon her head.
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 brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them. And he said to him, So shall thy seed be.
I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. There shall come forth a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite through the corners of Moab, and break down all the sons of tumult.
And lest thou lift up thine eyes to heaven, and when thou see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, thou be drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which LORD thy God has allotted to all the peoples
And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and
And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and
So we labored in the work, and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till 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 thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Can thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season? Or can thou guide the Bear with her train?
Can thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season? Or can thou guide the Bear with her train?
Thou are wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from the things that shall come upon thee.
The sons gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, even all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, As for the word that thou have spoken to us in the name of LORD, we will not hearken to thee. read more. But we will certainly perform every word that has gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our rulers, in the ci But since we left off burning incense to the queen of heaven, and pouring out drink-offerings to her, we have lacked all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink-offerings to her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink-offerings to her, without our husbands? Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men, and to the women, even to all the people who had given him that answer, saying, The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye and your fathers, your kings and your rulers, and the people of the land, did LORD not remember them, and did it not come into his mind? So that LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed. Therefore your land has become a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without inhabitant, as i Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies, therefore this evil has happened to you, as it is t
And those who are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.
[seek him] who makes the Pleiades and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night, who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth (LORD is his name),
[seek him] who makes the Pleiades and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night, who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth (LORD is his name),
Yea, ye have borne the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god {Remphan (LXX/NT)}, your images which ye made to yourselves.
Now Jesus having been born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.
Where is he who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.
And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, roaring of sea and of tossing,
And ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, the images that ye made to worship them. And I will deport you beyond Babylon.
another glory is of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for star differs from star in glory.
And we have the prophetic word sure, to which ye do well giving heed, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the daystar arises in your hearts.
wild waves of the sea foaming out their own shame, wandering stars for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved into an age.
and having in his right hand seven stars, and a sharp two-edged sword coming out of his mouth. And the sight of him was as the sun shines in its strength.
The mystery of the seven stars that thou saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are agents of the seven congregations, and the seven lampstands that thou saw are the seven congregations.
And a great sign was seen in heaven. A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars upon her head.