In Prague, in 1603, shortly before Christmas, the astronomer and mathematician, Johannes Kepler, was making observations of the stars through his rudimentary telescope. He was observing the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces. The two planets had converged to look like one larger and new "star." Kepler later remembered something he had read by the Rabbinical writer, Abravanel (1437-1508). Jewish astrologers maintained that when there was a conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in Pisces, the Messiah would come. In ancient Jewish astrology, the constellation of Pisces was known as the House of Israel, the sign of the Messiah. Jupiter was the royal star of the house of David and Saturn was the protecting star of Israel, the Messiah's Star Since the constellation of Pisces was the point in the heavens where the sun ended it's old course and began its new, it is understandable why this conjunction would be viewed as a portent of the Messiah.

Kepler concluded that he had found the "star of Bethlehem" but his hypothesis was rejected. It was not until 1925 that the hypothesis was re-examined when references to this conjunction were found in the cuneiform inscriptions of the astrological archives of the ancient School of Astrology at Sippar in Babylonia. Sippar was an ancient Sumerian city lying on a canal which linked the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It was a very important commercial and religious center. Excavations at the site of Abu-Habbah during the latter part of the 19th century unearthed the remains of a temple and ziggurat dedicated to Shamash and the ancient scribal School of Astrology. The most important discovery were tens of thousands of clay tablets from the school archives that dated from the Old Babylonian and Neo-Babylonian periods. In 1925, the German Scholar P. Schnabel found, among the endless cuneiform records of dates and observations, a note on a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces. The position of Jupiter and Saturn, converged in Pisces, had been recorded over a period of five months in 7 B.C.E. Calculations show that the conjunction was observable three times over the course of the year, May 29, October 3, and December 4.

The conjunction in Pisces is observable in the southern sky over Judea and would sit directly over Bethlehem if one were observing along the road leading from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Matthew 2:2 stating "We have seen his star in the east" is a mistranslation of the Greek phrase EN TH ANATOLH "in the east" from the original wording which means idiomatically, "the first light of dawn" (which comes from the east) when the conjunction is visible.

Ther are three possible dates for the birth of Jesus, May 29, October 3, and December 4 in the year 7 BCE. Babylon was as important a center for Judaism as Jerusalem in the ancient world. It is very likely that the "wise men" were scholars of the School of Astrology in Sippar and likely of Jewish ancestry dating to the mass deportations of Jews to Babylon in the 7th century BCE. Steeped in their Jewish messianic hopes and in astrology, these men would have been convinced that the birth of the Messiah was imminent. Given their background, an expedition to the Homeland would seem the most likely course of action for validation of both their scholarly, astrological and religious prognostication. These astrologers would have observed the first conjunction on May 29 and then made preparations to travel to Judea, arriving for the time of a predicted second conjunction. October 3 is within days of the time of other recorded Roman censuses. December 4 would be too late for Shepherds to be tending their flocks. These were usually brought in around the first of November.

The evidence points to Saturday, 10 Tishri, 3755 (October 3, 7 BCE.) as the date of the birth of Jesus. That day was a Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

Matthew 13:55 describes Jesus as "The carpenter's son," O TOU TEKTONOS UIOS, tekton being rendered as "carpenter" in translation. The Aramaic would have be berah d'nagora. More accurately, it is an artificer who could work in wood, fabric, masonry, sort of a general contractor or builder. Certainly carpentry would have been the most common undertaking. The Galilee and the Decapolis (Ten City region) was an area of intense building projects and probably supplied more than enough work for the family. Tradition has it that Jesus was famous in this farming region for his yokes and to own one was a point of pride. There is no actual reference to Jesus himself as a carpenter and the earliest papyri refer to him as the Carpenter's son.

The Galilean dialect was recognizable by Judeans and considered provincial. Galileans had a tendency to drop the gutturals much like the Cockney "Enry" for Henry. An initial aleph was usually dropped, which explains why Jesus' good friend Alazar was called `Lazar by Jesus and eventually Latinized in the Vulgate to Lazarus. It is also why Simon Peter was recognized as a Galilean outside of the house of Caiaphas.