What does the “stars” stand for in Scriptures?

They are not known as globes of massive size, light years out in space, anywhere in the Bible. Why? At the time of the writing of the Bible there were no significant telescopes or light spectrum graphs that could identify what the lights, luminaries in the sky were. Many thought they were either gods or angels.

It is my opinion that it is symbolic for the pagan gods of the Israelites in Rev 6:13. Why the Israelites? The symbolic use of fig trees is usually referring to Israel. Secondarily it could stand for angels, good or bad. It is not actual stars like Antaries or the North Star or the Sun. There is a small chance it might be asteroids. The problem with asteroids is that they are not luminaries, they do not shine until they hit the atmosphere. There is a possibility that it stands for Kings or Princes.

Adam Clarke’s Commentary.

Rev 6:13 – The stars of heaven—The gods and goddesses, demi-gods, and deified heroes, of their poetical and mythological heaven, were prostrated indiscriminately, and lay as useless as the figs or fruit of a tree shaken down before ripe by a tempestuous wind.

 

What follows is my in-depth analysis of the word “star(s)”

 

Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary.

The word in Greek is: G792

Greek Word: ἀστήρ

Transliteration: astēr

Phonetic Pronunciation: as-tare’

Root: probably from the base of <G4766> prolonged, furnished, spread

Cross Reference: TDNT – 1:503,86

Part of Speech: noun m

Vine’s Words: Star

 

Usage Notes:

English Words used in KJV:

star 24 [Total Count: 24 in KJV and excluding “host(s)”]

 

probably from the base of <G4766> (stronnumi); a star (as strown over the sky), literal or figurative :- star.

Where in all versions of the Bible?

Mtt 2:2, 7, 9, 10 [all dealing with the star of Bethlehem] = 4

24:29                                                                                  = 1

Mk 13:25                                                                           = 1

Lk 21:25                                                                            = 1

Acts 7:20, 27:42-43                                                           = 3

1Cor 15:41                                                                         = 3

Heb 11:12                                                                          = 1

2Pet 1:19                                                                            = 1

Jude 13                                                                               = 1

Rev 1:16(1), 20(2), 2:1(1), 28(1), 3:1(1), 6:13(1), 8:10(1), 11(1), 12(1), 9:1(1), 12:1(1), 4(1), 22:16(1)                                                                             = 14

= 30 from NT

+ 48 from OT but translate from Hebrew words

= 78 Uses that I reviewed, of them apprx. half are probably referring to angels or pagan deities

“heavenly host” and “host of heaven” are often translated as stars too

ICB has 93 uses of star(s), CEV – 103, NCV – 93, TLB – 81, TEV – 93

 

Matthew 2:2, 7, 9, 10 (NKJV) 2  saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

7  Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. [This is probably an angel]

9  When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. [How is this possible if it is in space?] 10  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. [why? They probably thought it was an angel]

Matthew 2:2 (GW) 2  They asked, “Where is the one who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star rising and have come to worship him.”

Matthew 2:7 (NCV) 7  Then Herod had a secret meeting with the wise men and learned from them the exact time they first saw the star.

Matthew 2:9 (BBE) 9  And after hearing the king, they went on their way; and the star which they saw in the east went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the young child was. [a house, not in space]

Matthew 2:9 (GW) 9  After they had heard the king, they started out. The star they had seen rising led them until it stopped over the place where the child was.

Matthew 2:9 (NCV) 9  After the wise men heard the king, they left. The star that they had seen in the east went before them until it stopped above the place where the child was. [the child was in a house, not a manger]

Matthew 24:29 (NKJV) 29  “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. [how do the stars fall from heaven unless they are angels, and, what is the difference between stars and powers? Are they the same (angels)?] [powers -Transliteration: dynamis = Ability, Able, Meaning, Might (Noun), Mighty, Mightily, Mightier, Miracle, Power, Strength, Strengthen Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary.][Stars are not described as powers or powerful unless they are angels or pagan gods.][Stars are much bigger than the Earth, which means they could not fall to the Earth.][Asteroids do fall to the Earth but they are not called luminaries and they do not stay in place year after year.]

Matthew 24:29 (BBE) 29  But straight away, after the trouble of those days, the sun will be made dark and the moon will not give her light and the stars will come down from heaven and the powers of heaven will be moved:

Matthew 24:29 (HCSB) 29  “Immediately after the tribulation of those days: The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the celestial powers will be shaken.

Matthew 24:29 (TLB) 29  “Immediately after the persecution of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give light, and the stars will seem to fall from the heavens, and the powers overshadowing the earth will be convulsed.

Matthew 24:29 (TEV) 29  “Soon after the trouble of those days, the sun will grow dark, the moon will no longer shine, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers in space will be driven from their courses.

Mark 13:25 (NKJV) 25  the stars of heaven will fall [fall to where?], and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. [probably angels or pagan gods]

Luke 2:13 (HCSB) 13  Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: [heavenly host and host of heaven are often translated as stars]

Luke 2:13 (TEV) 13  Suddenly a great army of heaven’s angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God:

Luke 21:25 (NKJV) 25  “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;

Acts 7:42-43(NKJV) 42  Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets: ‘Did you offer Me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

43  You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch, And the star of your god Remphan, Images which you made to worship; And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.’  [a pagan god being worshiped by the Israelites]

Acts 7:42-43 (TEV) 42  So God turned away from them and gave them over to worship the stars of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘People of Israel! It was not to me that you slaughtered and sacrificed animals for forty years in the desert. 43  It was the tent of the god Molech that you carried, and the image of Rephan, your star god; they were idols that you had made to worship. And so I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’

Acts 27:20 (NKJV) 20  Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. [clouds blocked the illumination by stars]

1 Corinthians 15:41 (NKJV) 41  There is one glory of the sun [Baal or Baalim also known as Molech], another glory of the moon [Allah, Sin, Allak, Bel], and another glory of the stars [Allahs’ daughters]; for one star differs from another star in glory. [shining light(s) in the sky? No, pagan gods and their glory differed] [As we shall see, the hard evidence demonstrates that the god Allah was a pagan deity. In fact, he was the Moon-god who was married to the sun goddess and the stars were his daughters. His symbol was the crescent moon. The Assyrians, Babylonians, and the Akkadians took the word Suen and transformed it into the word Sin as their favorite name for the Moon-God. The Old Testament constantly rebuked the worship of the Moon-god (Deuteronomy 4:19; 17:3; II Kings 21:3, 5; 23:5; Jeremiah 8:2; 19:13; Zephaniah 1:5, etc.] [Bel, a god from Daniels book, is another name for Allah]

Deuteronomy 4:19 (NKJV) 19  And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.

Deuteronomy 17:3 (NKJV) 3  who [anyone inside your gates] has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded,…

Deuteronomy 17:3 (BBE) 3  By becoming a servant of other gods and worshipping them or the sun or the moon or all the stars of heaven, against my orders;

CEV, HCSB, ICB, NCV, NLT, TLB, TEV – stars,

2 Kings 21:3-9 (NKJV) 3  For he [Manasseh] rebuilt the high places [in Judah] which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; he raised up altars for Baal, and made a wooden image, as Ahab king of Israel had done; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4  He also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My name.” 5  And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. 6  Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger. 7  He even set a carved image of Asherah [Ashtarte or the Sidonian Venus or the Babylonian Melitta or Roman Venus or Asheroth – goddess or Athirat] that he had made, in the house of which the LORD had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; 8  and I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers–only if they are careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.” 9  But they paid no attention, and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.

2 Kings 21:3, 5 (BBE) 3  He put up again the high places which had been pulled down by Hezekiah his father; he made altars for Baal, and an Asherah, as Ahab, king of Israel, had done; he was a worshipper and servant of all the stars of heaven.

5  And he put up altars for all the stars of heaven in the two outer squares of the house of the Lord.

CEV, ICB, NCV, TLB, TEV – stars

2 Kings 23:4-5 (NKJV) 4  And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, to bring out of the temple of the LORD all the articles that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel.

5  Then he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem, and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.

2 Kings 23:4-5 (BBE) 4  Then the king gave orders to Hilkiah, the chief priest, and to the priests of the second order, and to the keepers of the door, to take out of the house of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal and for the Asherah and for all the stars of heaven; and he had them burned outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and took the dust of them to Beth-el.

5  And he put an end to the false priests, who had been put in their positions by the kings of Judah to see to the burning of offerings in the high places in the towns of Judah and the outskirts of Jerusalem, and all those who made offerings to Baal and to the sun and the moon and the twelve signs [constellations] and all the stars of heaven.

CEV, ICB, NCV, TLB, TEV – stars

Adam Clarke’s Commentary.

The planets—‏מזלות‎ mazzaloth. The Vulgate translates this the twelve signs, i.e., the zodiac. This is as likely as any of the other conjectures which have been published relative to this word.

Jeremiah 8:1-3 (NKJV) 1  “At that time,” says the LORD, “they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves. 2  They shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served and after which they have walked, which they have sought and which they have worshiped. They shall not be gathered nor buried; they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. 3  Then death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of those who remain of this evil family, who remain in all the places where I have driven them,” says the LORD of hosts.

Jeremiah 8:2 (BBE) 2  And they will put them out before the sun and the moon and all the stars of heaven, whose lovers and servants they have been, after whom they have gone, to whom they have made prayers, and to whom they have given worship: they will not be put together or placed in the earth; they will be waste on the face of the earth.

CEV, ICB, NCV, NLT, TLB, MSG, TEV, GW – stars

Jeremiah 19:1-13 (NKJV) 1  Thus says the LORD: “Go and get a potter’s earthen flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests. 2  And go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the Potsherd Gate; and proclaim there the words that I will tell you, 3  and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle. 4  “Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents[babies], 5  (they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind), 6  therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that this place shall no more be called Tophet or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7  And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hands of those who seek their lives; their corpses I will give as meat for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. 8  I will make this city desolate and a hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues. 9  And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and in the desperation with which their enemies and those who seek their lives shall drive them to despair.” ‘ 10  “Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, 11  and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot be made whole again; and they shall bury them in Tophet till there is no place to bury. 12  Thus I will do to this place,” says the LORD, “and to its inhabitants, and make this city like Tophet. 13  And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled like the place of Tophet, because of all the houses on whose roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven, and poured out drink offerings to other gods.” ‘ ” [host of heaven is rendered stars in some versions.]

Jeremiah 19:12-13 (CEV) 12  I will make Jerusalem as unclean as Topheth, by filling the city with your dead bodies. I will do this because you and your kings have gone up to the roofs of your houses and burned incense to the stars in the sky, as though they were gods. And you have given sacrifices of wine to foreign gods.

ICB, NCV, NLT, TLB, MSG, TEV – stars

End Part 1, go to Part 2 and then 3 to complete this study