- King Herod ordering the slaughter of the innocents - there is no chronicler of the times that ever recorded what surely would have been a pretty major event.
Forget about those paintings and movies which show 1st century Bethlehem as a big city, with infants in every house, with Herod’s soldiers launching this, dramatic massive genocide. For all we know, the killing of the infants could have been a more low-key, covert event.
After all, Bethlehem in the 1st century was just a small village. One archaeologist, William Albright, put the estimate for its population as low as 300 people; most scholars think it would not have exceeded a thousand.
A population of 300-1,000 would yield about six or seven babies at the minimum, a far cry from later speculations that put the numbers at the thousands or tens of thousands (!)
Re. the Star of Bethlehem: I know nowadays many folks tend to interpret this in a naturalistic way and say that the star is a kind of visible, prominent planetary conjunction or a comet or a supernova or whatever. But this is actually newer than one might think.
Historically, people have interpreted the Star in a more miraculous way - either an angel or the Holy Spirit manifested in the form of a moving star to guide the Magi to Bethlehem, which would fit in with how people thought of stars back then. Ancient peoples did not see the stars as inanimate, luminous balls of gas, but living creatures who looked back at them and communicated with them (that’s why astrology and astronomy overlapped back then). Ancient Jews in fact saw the stars as angels, the “host of heaven.”
In fact, they pointed out that the Star, if you read the text carefully, does not really act like natural stars or any other kind of astronomical phenomena that it couldn’t have been anything than a miracle. ‘Real’ stars don’t leave the sky and come to earth, nor literally go before people to guide them, nor ‘stand’ over a person, a city or a house. (A textual variant in Matthew’s text doesn’t just say that the Star “stood over where the child was,” but “stood over the child” - i.e. it hovered above baby Jesus’ head.)
For if you can learn what the star was, and of what kind, and whether it were one of the common stars, or new and unlike the rest, and whether it was a star by nature or a star in appearance only, we shall easily know the other things also. Whence then will these points be manifest? From the very things that are written. Thus, that this star was not of the common sort, or rather not a star at all, as it seems at least to me, but some invisible power transformed into this appearance, is in the first place evident from its very course. For there is not, there is not any star that moves by this way, but whether it be the sun you mention, or the moon, or all the other stars, we see them going from east to west; but this was wafted from north to south; for so is Palestine situated with respect to Persia.
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In the third place, from its appearing, and hiding itself again. For on their way as far as Palestine it appeared leading them, but after they set foot within Jerusalem, it hid itself: then again, when they had left Herod, having told him on what account they came, and were on the point of departing, it shows itself; all which is not like the motion of a star, but of some power highly endued with reason. For it had not even any course at all of its own, but when they were to move, it moved; when to stand, it stood, dispensing all as need required: in the same kind of way as the pillar of the cloud, now halting and now rousing up the camp of the Jews, when it was needful.
In the fourth place, one may perceive this clearly, from its mode of pointing Him out. For it did not, remaining on high, point out the place; it not being possible for them so to ascertain it, but it came down and performed this office. For you know that a spot of so small dimensions, being only as much as a shed would occupy, or rather as much as the body of a little infant would take up, could not possibly be marked out by a star. For by reason of its immense height, it could not sufficiently distinguish so confined a spot, and discover it to them that were desiring to see it. … How then, tell me, did the star point out a spot so confined, just the space of a manger and shed, unless it left that height and came down, and stood over the very head of the young child? And at this the evangelist was hinting when he said, “Lo, the star went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.” (John Chrysostom,
Homily 6 on Matthew)
The star descended from the heights and came closer to the earth to show the place to them [the magi]. For if it had appeared to them in the heights, how would they have been able to perceive the particular spot where Christ was? For the stars are visible over a great area. You may accordingly behold the moon over your house while it appears to me that it is over my house only. In short, the moon or a star appears to one and all to stand over them alone. So this star could not have indicated where Christ was unless it descended and stood over the head of the child. (Theophylact,
Commentary on Matthew 2.9)
And at His birth the star appeared to the Magi who dwelt in the east; and thereby they learned that Christ was born; and they came to Judaea, led by the star; until the star came to Bethlehem where Christ was born, and entered the house wherein was laid the child, wrapped in swaddling-clothes; and it stood over His head, declaring to the Magi the Son of God, the Christ. (Irenaeus,
Proof of the Apostolic Preaching 58)
[The star] came down to the very place where the infant was [and it remained] on the Christ [just as, when he later submitted to John’s baptism, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descended] and remained on him. (Origen,
Homily on Numbers 18.3 [4])
him.