tabernacling in human flesh. And in turn it shows in equally beautiful significance that our Lord was born on
the first day of the great Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, viz. the 15th of Tishri, corresponding to September 29,
4 B.C. (modern reckoning)‖. I fully agree with the 15th of Tishri but not to the 4 B.C.
The Circumcision of Y‘shua took place, therefore, on the eighth day; the last day of the Feast, the "Great Day
of the Feast" of John 7.37. ―Tabernacles" had eight days including Simchat Torah. The Feast of Unleavened
Bread had seven days, and Pentecost one, which is an extension of Unleavened Bread. Both have eight,
and ―eight‖ speaks of new beginnings in YHWH‘s order. The Messiah was given during Tabernacles for the
Jews and the Holy Spirit was given to the church during Pentecost. This pattern is exactly as per YHWH‘s
order stated in Rom 1:16: ―For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto
salvation (Y‘shua) to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (non-Jew = Gentile)‖
The Season of Our Joy
The Feast of Succoth (Tabernacles) is also called "the season of our joy" and "the feast of the nations‖. With
this in mind, in Luke 2:10 it is written, ―And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good
tidings (basar in Hebrew; otherwise known as the gospel) of great joy (Sukkot is called the 'season of our
joy‘), which shall be to all people (Sukkot is also called 'the feast of the nations')‖. So, we can see from this
that the terminology the angel used to announce the birth of Y‘shua were themes and messages associated
with the Feast of Succoth (Tabernacles).
As said, during the seven days of Succoth, people were actually required to build succas. Every Jew and his
family had to stay for a period of seven days in their temporary booth made of tree boughs, etc., and gazed
toward the east hoping to see the star, or phenomenon, that would herald the birth of their Messiah
(Lev 23:34, 41). During September/October (Tishri) when this feast is celebrated, the nights in Israel are not
cold as the summer only ended, and the winter only starts in November/December.
The prophet Isaiah also bears witness to the occasion of the birth of Y‘shua HaMashiach during the Feast of
Tabernacles when he said, ―They joy before thee according to the joy in harvest‖. (Isaiah 9:3). This feast
was in the fall of the year (autumn) at the time of ingathering, or harvesting of all things out of the field (Exod
23:16). Isaiah explains this joy in the sixth verse of this ninth chapter when he declared, ―For unto us a child
is born, and unto us a son is given‖ indicating that the "joy of harvest" was actually the birth of Y‘shua, at the
time of Harvest, or Ingathering.
The Story of the Star in the East
The Star of Bethlehem is certainly a mystery and a puzzle, involving not only theology and astronomy, but
also history.
The actual New Covenant account of the Star of Bethlehem comes from the second chapter of the Gospel of
Matthew (told here in the Revised English Bible translation):
―Jesus was born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of Herod. After his birth astrologers (Magi) from the
east arrived in Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We observed the rising of his
star, and we have come to pay him homage‖. King Herod was greatly perturbed when he heard this, and so
was the whole of Jerusalem. He called together the chief priests and scribes of the Jews and asked them
where the Messiah was to be born. "At Bethlehem in Judaea‖, they replied, " for this is what the prophet
wrote: 'Bethlehem in the land of Judah, you are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you
shall come a ruler to be the shepherd of my people Israel‘‖.
Then Herod summoned the astrologers to meet him secretly, and ascertained from them the exact time
when the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, ―Go and make a careful search for the
child, and when you have found him, bring me word, so that I may go myself and pay him homage‖.
After hearing what the king had to say they set out; there before them was the star they had seen rising, and
it went ahead of them until it stopped above the place where the child lay. They were overjoyed at the sight
of it and, entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother and bowed low in homage to him; they
opened their treasure chests and presented gifts to him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then they returned
to their own country by another route, for they had been warmed in a dream not to go back to Herod‖.
It is also the only account we have of the star in our Bible. Later, various non-canonical sources did elaborate
on it. Books like the Protevangelium of James and an epistle of Ignatius say this star was the brightest star in
the sky, brighter than all other stars combined; even including the sun and the moon, which bowed down
before it. But Matthew is very matter-of-fact. It has been suggested that this is a commentary by Matthew,