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; 2000'>Re 1:16,20; 12:1). (See Astrologer.)
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And he dreamed yet another dream and told it to his brethren, saying, Behold, I have dreamed another dream; and, behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars made obeisance to me.
I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not near by; there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel and shall smite the corners of Moab and destroy all the sons of Seth.
And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, and should be driven to worship them and serve them because the LORD thy God has conceded them unto all the peoples under all the heavens.
And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah, shall be as the place of Tophet, defiled, because of all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of the heaven and have poured out drink offerings unto other gods.
look unto him that makes the seven stars and Orion and turns the shadow of death into the morning and makes the day dark with night, that calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name;
saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. read more. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he asked them where the Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea, for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda, for out of thee shall come a Leader that shall shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod, calling the wise men unto him secretly, understood of them with diligence the time of the appearing of the star; and sending them to Bethlehem, he said, Go there and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went before them until it arrived and stood over where the young child was. Seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own abominations; erratic stars, to whom is reserved gross darkness eternally.
And he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword, and his countenance was as the sun when it shines in its strength.
The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven congregations , and the seven lampstands which thou sawest are the seven congregations .
And there appeared a great sign in the heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon 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 brought him forth abroad and said, Look now toward the heavens and count the stars, if thou art able to number them. And he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not near by; there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel and shall smite the corners of Moab and destroy all the sons of Seth.
And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, and should be driven to worship them and serve them because the LORD thy God has conceded them unto all the peoples under all the heavens.
And he put down the religious persons 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; likewise, those that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
And he put down the religious persons 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; likewise, those that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
So we laboured in the work, and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared.
He who made Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the secret places of the south.
He who made Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the secret places of the south.
when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth the signs of the heavens in their season, or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?
Canst thou bring forth the signs of the heavens in their season, or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?
Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now those that contemplate the heavens, those that speculate regarding the stars, those that teach the courses of the moon, stand up and defend thee from these things that shall come upon thee.
The sons gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough to make cakes to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods that they may provoke me to anger.
Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee. read more. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goes forth out of our own mouth to burn incense unto the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings unto her as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings unto 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 unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men? Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and 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 princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them and did it not come into his mind? So that the LORD could no longer bear because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation and an astonishment and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day. Because ye have burned incense and because ye have sinned against the LORD and have not listened to the voice of the LORD nor walked in his law nor in his rights, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil has come upon you, as at this day.
And those that understand shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and those that teach righteousness to the multitude as the stars in perpetual eternity.
look unto him that makes the seven stars and Orion and turns the shadow of death into the morning and makes the day dark with night, that calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name;
look unto him that makes the seven stars and Orion and turns the shadow of death into the morning and makes the day dark with night, that calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name;
But ye have offered unto Sicut your king, and unto Chiun your idols, the star of your gods which ye made.
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him.
saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him.
Then there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars, and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
On the contrary, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them; and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
One thing is the glory of the sun, and another the glory of the moon, and another the glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.
We have also the most sure word of the prophets, unto which ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts,
raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own abominations; erratic stars, to whom is reserved gross darkness eternally.
And he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword, and his countenance was as the sun when it shines in its strength.
The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven congregations , and the seven lampstands which thou sawest are the seven congregations .
And there appeared a great sign in the heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars;
I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify unto you these things in the congregations . I AM the root and the offspring of David and the bright and morning star.