The Star of Bethlehem, the great portent of Christ's birth in the Gospel of Matthew, has been central to Christian imagery for two thousand years. It is still a popular feature of the modern Christmas card. The star was originally seen as a miracle, sent by God to announce the birth of His son. Since the seventeenth century astronomers have speculated that the star was some astronomical events, such as a planetary conjunction or a comet, or that it possessed astrological significance. In this ground-breaking book Martin Wells shows that these claims are all unjustified. By going back to the original texts Wells argues that we should understand the Star as an imaginative story intended to legitimise Christ's role as the new Messiah, a story which resonates powerfully down to the present day.