A star (as strown over the sky), literally or figuratively
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Ἀστήρ (astēr) means star, a heavenly light visible in the night sky and used in biblical image and vision. The Magi see the king's star and come to worship Jesus, while Matthew's narrative, not astrology, interprets its guidance.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀστήρ (G792) · Open the biblical lexicon
Ἀστήρ (astēr) means star, a heavenly light visible in the night sky and used in biblical image and vision. The Magi see the king's star and come to worship Jesus, while Matthew's narrative, not astrology, interprets its guidance.
The BSB source-word alignment has 24 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include stars (12), star (9), [the] stars (1), a star (1), from star (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 2:2. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (14), Matthew (5), 1 Corinthians (3), Jude (1).
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
Ἀστήρ (astēr) means star, a heavenly light visible in the night sky and used in biblical image and vision. The Magi see the king's star and come to worship Jesus, while Matthew's narrative, not astrology, interprets its guidance. Jesus says stars will fall and heavenly powers shake in apocalyptic language about the Son of Man's coming. Paul notes that stars differ in splendor while explaining the diverse glory of resurrection bodies.
Jude calls false teachers wandering stars destined for darkness, evoking unreliable guides. Revelation shows seven stars in Christ's right hand and identifies them within the book's own symbolism. A star may be a created light, providential sign, image of cosmic upheaval, analogy of glory, false guide, or visionary symbol. Context must control each use.
Ἀστήρ names a star and serves several literary roles: guiding Magi to the king, signaling cosmic upheaval, illustrating differing glory, portraying wandering false teachers, and symbolizing figures held by Christ.
Asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
The Magi identify a star associated with the newborn Jewish king and travel to worship Him, but Matthew centers the journey on Jesus and scriptural location rather than astrological practice.
The stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’
Stars falling from heaven belong to prophetic-apocalyptic upheaval surrounding the Son of Man's coming and the gathering of His elect.
The sun has one degree of splendor, the moon another, and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
Paul compares sun, moon, and stars, then notes star differing from star in glory to prepare readers for continuity and transformation in resurrection.
They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
Jude's false teachers are wandering stars reserved for darkness, an image of impressive movement without a reliable course for those who follow them.
He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.
The risen Christ holds seven stars in His right hand, and Revelation interprets them as the angels of the seven churches under His sovereign possession.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. Literal heavenly bodies or symbolic representations of divine agents, particularly angels in Revelation's visionary language.
Literal heavenly bodies or symbolic representations of divine agents, particularly angels in Revelation's visionary language.
a star: Mat.2:2, 7-10 :, Mrk.13:25, 1Co.15:41, Rev.6:13 8:10-12 9:1 12:1, 4; metaphorically, ὁ ἀ. ὁ πρωϊνός Rev.2:28 22:16; ἀ. πλαῆται, Ju 13; ἀ. ἑπτά, symbolizing the angels of the seven churches, Rev.1:16, 20 2:1 3:1 (cf. ἄστρον, and see DCG, ii, 674 f.; MM, see word).
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 24 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
a star
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Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 6 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 24 lexical occurrence verses.
ἀστήρ is built from this root:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Stars attract attention, but Scripture directs that attention toward the Creator and His purposes. The Magi's star serves a journey whose goal is worship of Jesus, and Matthew immediately grounds the king's birthplace in prophetic Scripture. Jesus' falling stars belong to a prophetic register in which cosmic order shakes before His public coming. Paul uses differing stellar glory as an analogy within resurrection teaching, not as a map of human rank in heaven.
Jude reverses the star's guiding association: false teachers wander and lead toward darkness. Revelation restores sovereign orientation as Christ holds the seven stars and explains their place in His address to the churches. Teachers should resist astrology and speculative charts while honoring the varied literary force of celestial imagery. Created lights serve the King; they never govern His people independently of His word.
Matt.2.2
Ἀστήρ is the common noun for star. Literal referents can carry metaphorical or visionary force. Comparisons, genitives, and explicit interpretations identify whether a star is created object, sign, analogy, or symbol.
God creates and numbers the stars, promises Abraham innumerable offspring, uses heavenly imagery in prophecy, and reveals the risen Christ as Lord over the stars and churches.