ἀστήρ

ἀστήρ, έρος, ὁ (Hom.+; ins, a few times in astron. and magic. pap [e.g. PGM 4, 574; 580; 2891; 2894; 2939], LXX, pseudepigr., Philo [e.g. Plant. 12 ἀστέρες as living beings endowed w. reason], apolog., loanw. in rabb.) a luminous body (other than the sun) visible in the sky, star, single star, planet (Achilles, Comm. in Arat. p. 41 ἀστήρ ἐστιν εἷς ἀριθμῷ; schol. on Pind., O. 1, 9d) IEph 19:2. Of the star of the Magi Mt 2:2, 7, 9f; GJs 21:1; περὶ τοῦ ἀ. vs. 2; εἶδον ἀστέρας … καὶ προῆγαν αὐτούς vs. 3 (pap). (FBoll, ZNW 18, 1918, 40–48. Diod S 16, 66, 3: a marvelous, divinely sent heavenly body leads the fleet of Timoleon toward Italy. When he and his companions noticed this heavenly manifestation, περιχαρεῖς ἦσαν [16, 66, 5].—On the star s. μάγος 1.) Falling fr. heaven in the last tribulation Mt 24:29; Mk 13:25; Rv 6:13 (all three Is 13:10; cp. Artem. 2, 36 p. 137, 15 καταπίπτοντες εἰς γῆν οἱ ἀστέρες). Single stars 8:10; 9:1 (cp. Artem. 5, 23 τ. οὐρανοῦ ἀστέρα ἐκπεσεῖν; Ps.-Callisth. 3, 33, 26: at the death of Alexander μέγας ἀστὴρ πεσὼν ἐκ τ. οὐρανοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν.—Boll, Offb. 135). Changed at Christ’s parousia B 15:5. W. sun and moon (Dt 4:19; TestNapht 3:2) 1 Cor 15:41; Rv 8:12; 12:1 (Eratosth. 33 ἔχει ἀστέρας ἐπὶ τ. κεφαλῆς); 1 Cl 20:3; B 15:5. Of the stars as numberless (Gen 22:17; 1 Ch 27:23 al.) 1 Cl 10:6 (Gen 15:5); 32:2 (Gen 22:17).—As to the seven stars that the Son of Man holds in his right hand Rv 1:16; 2:1; 3:1, it has been conjectured that the imagery is based on a constellation, prob. that of the Great Bear (Strabo 1, 1, 21 τοὺς ἑπτὰ τῆς μεγάλης ἄρκτου ἀστέρας; almost the same thing in Diod S 3, 48, 1.—Philo, Op. M. 114, Leg. All. 1, 8; PGM 4, 700; ADieterich, Mithraslit. 1903, 14; 16f; 72f; Boll, Offb. 21f). In 1:20 they are interpr. to mean the ἄγγελοι (PGM 1, 74f star=angel; cp. 154; Chrysipp., Stoic. II 1076 and Diod S 2, 30, 6 stars=gods; En 18:14=heavenly beings) of the seven churches, by which are meant the guardian angels (so fr. Origen, Hom. 12 and 13 In Luc., De Orat. 11, to Bousset, Charles, Lohmeyer; JSickenberger, Röm. Quartalschr. 35, 1927, 135–49), not overseers/bishops (Primasius and Bede to Zahn, JWeiss, Billerb., Allo.—ἀ. to designate a prominent pers.: Plut., Marcell. 316 [30, 8] ὁ μέγας πατρίδος ἀ.). ἀ. ὁ πρωϊνός the morning star (Venus) likened to Christ 22:16; δώσω αὐτῷ τὸν ἀ. τὸν πρωϊνόν 2:28 (on both passages s. Boll, Offb. 47–50). Other pass. that associate pers. w. celestial bodies—a practice going back largely, as some hold, to Babyl. apocalyptic—are 8:11, 12; 12:1, 4, which also contain the word ἀ.—ἀστέρες πλανῆται wandering stars (Cicero, De Nat. Deor. of stars ‘quae falso vocantur errantes’), perh. meteors, typical of dissident teachers Jd 13 (cp. En 18:14; also chap. 21).—FBoll, Sternglaube u. Sterndeutung⁴ ’31 (lit.); EZimer, Sternglaube u. Sternforschung ’53.—B. 56. 1530–40. DELG. EDNT. M-M. TW.