The Exegesis:
(1) ―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,
(2) Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and
are come to worship him.
(3) When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
(4) And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of
them where Christ should be born.
(5) And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
(6) And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee
shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
(7) Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star
appeared.
(8) And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go 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.
(9) When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went
before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was‖. (Matt 2:1-9)
―We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that
shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:‖ (2 Peter 1:19)
―I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the
offspring of David, and the bright and morning star‖. (Rev 22:16)
Why gazing at the stars during Succoth (The Feast of Tabernacles)?
There is one time of the year when Jews would typically look at the stars. That time was during the Festival
of Tabernacles. They would build a tabernacle or booth known as a "succah" out of green tree branches.
They would eat their meals and sleep in this succah for seven days. It was customary to leave enough holes
in the roof of the succah so that one could look at the stars. This is an instruction from YHWH that has been
handed down from generations till today. This was to serve as a reminder to the Jews of YHWH‘s protection
during the time they wondered in the wilderness in succas. The succah served as protection during the day
from the blazing wilderness sun and at nighttime as a reminder of YHWH‘s presence when they look at the
stars. This ―presence‖ became a reality when Y‘shua was born, the night when all the Jewish people stared
at the stars from within their succas.
As proven so many times already, the birth of Y‘shua is shown to have occurred in the autumn (In Israel) of
the year during the Feast of Tabernacles, on the first day of the feast.
John 1:14 in the original Greek says: ―And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us‖ – literal
English.
Look at what Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi has to say concerning the Feast of Tabernacles: ―To introduce the
nature and mission of Christ, John in his Gospel employs the metaphor of the "booth" of the Feast of
Tabernacles. He explains that Christ, the Word who was with God in the beginning (John 1:1), manifested
Himself in this world in a most tangible way, by pitching His tent in our midst: "And the Word became flesh
and tabernacled among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, as of the only Son from the
Father". (John 1:14)
The Greek verb ―skenoo‖ used by John means "to pitch tent, encamp, tabernacle, dwell in a tent‖. The
allusion is clearly to the Feast of Tabernacles when the people dwelt in temporary booths. In his article, "The
Feast of Tents: Jesus‘ Self-Revelation‖, published in Worship (1960), David Stanley notes that this passage
sets the stage for the later self-revelation of Y‘shua at the Feast of Tabernacles in John 7 and 8. Stanley
writes: "The most basic clue to the mystery pervading this entire narrative [John 7 and 8] is provided by the
symbolic action that gives this feast its name: the ceremonial erection of little bowers, made with branches of
trees, in which every Jew was expected to live during the festival. These shelters were commemorative of
the forty years‘ wandering in the desert when Israel had lived as a nomad in such intimate union with her
God. For John this dwelling in tents is a primordial symbol of the Incarnation: ̳Thus the Word became a
mortal man: he pitched his tent in the midst of us‘ (John 1:14). It is this insight which presides over the
composition of John‘s narrative which we are considering [John 7-8]. All that happened, all that Jesus said
on this occasion has some reference to the Incarnation‖.
According to the Companion Bible, Appendix 179: ―The word tabernacled here receives beautiful
significance from the knowledge that "the Lord of Glory" was "found in fashion as a man", and thus