One possibility is that Jesus was conceived in the sixth month March counting from the day of Atonement in September and born in January/February. Sheep were bred in late August to be born 144 days later in January when the grass began to grow, thus the shepherds watching their flock then:
Luke 2:1 "And it came to pass in those days,
that there went out a decree from
Caesar Augustus, that all the world
should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when
Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one
into his own city.
4 And Joseph also went up from
Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth,
into Judaea, unto the city of David,
which is called Bethlehem; (because he
was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused
wife, being great with child.
6 And so it was, that, while they were
there, the days were accomplished that
she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn
son, and wrapped him in swaddling
clothes, and laid him in a manger;
because there was no room for them in
the inn.
8 And there were in the same country
shepherds abiding in the field, keeping
watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came
upon them, and the glory of the Lord
shone round about them: and they were
sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear
not: for, behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to
all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the
city of David a Saviour, which is
Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you;
Ye shall find the babe wrapped in
swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the
angel a multitude of the heavenly host
praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace, good will toward men.
15 And it came to pass, as the angels
were gone away from them into heaven,
the shepherds said one to another, Let
us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see
this thing which is come to pass, which
the Lord hath made known unto us.
16 And they came with haste, and found
Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in
a manger.
17 And when they had seen it, they made
known abroad the saying which was told
them concerning this child.
18 And all they that heard it wondered
at those things which were told them by
the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things, and
pondered them in her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God for all the
things that they had heard and seen, as
it was told unto them."
Isaiah 60: 1 "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon
thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings before, or to announce your dawn."
This must be in part the prophesy of the star in the east that the wise men followed.
Numbers 24:17 "I shall see him, but not now: I
shall behold him, but not nigh: there
shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a
Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and
shall smite the corners of Moab, and
destroy all the children of Sheth."
That is, the wisemen may have been
familiar with these verses and when they saw this star appear and perhaps stand over Israel they realized that
it was the prophesy of the birth of the Christ and followed it, until it led them to stand over the house of Joseph
and Mary, where the child Jesus lay. The sixth month must have counted from the day of Atonement in September:
Luke 1:26 "And in the sixth month the angel
Gabriel was sent from God unto a city
of Galilee, named Nazareth,
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose
name was Joseph, of the house of David;
and the virgin's name was Mary."
Thus the sixth month must be March. Lambing season begins at the end of January. Thus Arcturus would be directly above where Jesus was born about 4AM January just before dawn just as in Isaiah 60:1-3. The only single star I know mentioned in the Bible is Arcturus
, which rises in the east at 10 PM January and passes directly above Bethlehem at exactly 90°.
Amos 7:8 "And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the LORD, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:"
The seven stars of the Big Dipper would point straight up to Arcturus at 4AM late January. If the wisemen looked up a plumbline at 4AM in Bethlehem in January/February 4 BC they would see Arcturus. The wisemen came after Jesus was born. So they may have come in March. Herod died at the end of March. Even just looking up you can tell if a star is directly above you.
Matthew 2:1 "Now when Jesus was
born in Bethlehem of
Judaea in the days of
Herod the king, behold,
there came wise men
from the east to
Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he
that is born King of
the Jews? for we have
seen his star in the
east, and are come to
worship him.
3 When Herod the king
had heard these things,
he was troubled, and
all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had
gathered all the chief
priests and scribes of
the people together, he
demanded of them where
Christ should be born.
5 And they said unto
him, In Bethlehem of
Judaea: for thus it is
written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem,
in the land of Juda,
art not the least among
the princes of Juda:
for out of thee shall
come a Governor, that
shall rule my people
Israel.
7 Then Herod, when he
had privily called the
wise men, inquired of
them diligently what
time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to
Bethlehem, and said, Go
and search diligently
for the young child;
and when ye have found
him, bring me word
again, that I may come
and worship him also.
9 When they had heard
the king, they
departed; and, lo, the
star, which they saw in
the east, went before
them, till it came and
stood over where the
young child was.
10 When they saw the
star, they rejoiced
with exceeding great
joy.
11 And when they were
come into the house,
they saw the young
child with Mary his
mother, and fell down,
and worshipped him: and
when they had opened
their treasures, they
presented unto him
gifts; gold, and
frankincense, and
myrrh.
12 And being warned of
God in a dream that
they should not return
to Herod, they departed
into their own country
another way.
13 And when they were
departed, behold, the
angel of the Lord
appeareth to Joseph in
a dream, saying, Arise,
and take the young
child and his mother,
and flee into Egypt,
and be thou there until
I bring thee word: for
Herod will seek the
young child to destroy
him.
14 When he arose, he
took the young child
and his mother by
night, and departed
into Egypt:
15 And was there until
the death of Herod:
that it might be
fulfilled which was
spoken of the Lord by
the prophet, saying,
Out of Egypt have I
called my son.
16 Then Herod, when he
saw that he was mocked
of the wise men, was
exceeding wroth, and
sent forth, and slew
all the children that
were in Bethlehem, and
in all the coasts
thereof, from two years
old and under,
according to the time
which he had diligently
inquired of the wise
men.
17 Then was fulfilled
that which was spoken
by Jeremy the prophet,
saying,
18 In Rama was there a
voice heard,
lamentation, and
weeping, and great
mourning, Rachel
weeping for her
children, and would not
be comforted, because
they are not.
19 But when Herod was
dead, behold, an angel
of the Lord appeareth
in a dream to Joseph in
Egypt,
20 Saying, Arise, and
take the young child
and his mother, and go
into the land of
Israel: for they are
dead which sought the
young child's life.
21 And he arose, and
took the young child
and his mother, and
came into the land of
Israel.
22 But when he heard
that Archelaus did
reign in Judaea in the
room of his father
Herod, he was afraid to
go thither:
notwithstanding, being
warned of God in a
dream, he turned aside
into the parts of
Galilee:
23 And he came and
dwelt in a city called
Nazareth: that it might
be fulfilled which was
spoken by the prophets,
He shall be called a
Nazarene."
Herod slew the children under two because he wanted to make sure he killed the King of Israel, a threat to his throne. He killed so many thousands of people for nothing, everything he did was over kill literally. And his reason for killing the children under two was not because the wise men said the star then appeared and Jesus was then born. Jesus' life was endanger almost immediately and Joseph and Mary probably spent less than two months in Bethlehem before fleeing into Egypt.
Jesus began to be about 30 at the beginning of his ministry. The text says "about". Jesus would be 34 in 31 AD the year of the jubile perhaps the year Jesus began his ministry. He would be 33 in 30 AD when he may have begun his homeless ministry. About the time of the passover:
John 1:36 "And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!"
Luke 3:22 "And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
23a And Jesus began to be about thirty years of age,"
The constellation of Arcturus looks like a Y much like the cross. In ancient times the constellation of Arturus was pictured as the torso of a man. Perhaps God made Arturus brighter or shifted earth to make Arcturus stand still for an hour to get the attention of the wisemen. You can see Arcturus in the circle depicted directly above Bethlehem late January at 4AM in 4 BC:
The Greeks based their first calendars on the rising and setting of Orion, Pleiades and Arcturus. Likewise, as Orion sets in the west in April at sunset Arcturus rises in the east. There must have been something very striking to "the star in the east" to lead the wisemen to Jesus.
Job 38:32 - "canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?"
Arcturus is moving rapidly through our Milky Way Galaxy. God must have guided Arcturus to pass over Bethlehem at 90° as it did in January/February 4 BC.
Luke 3:21 "Now when all the people were
baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus
also being baptized, and praying, the
heaven was opened,
22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a
bodily shape like a dove upon him, and
a voice came from heaven, which said,
Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am
well pleased.
23 And Jesus himself began to be about
thirty years of age, "
Luke 4:1 "And Jesus being full of the Holy
Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led
by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 Being forty days tempted of the
devil."
The year of the jubile began September 15 31 AD and the rest of land the 49th year began the September before. Thus Jesus' ministry may have been two years two months counting from February 31 AD to April 3 33 AD or 3 1/2 years from the beginning of this 49th year September 29 AD. The forty days of temptation in the wilderness may have been before the passover 31 AD or 30 AD. Then Jesus may have been born in lambing season about January/February. Thus the identification of Jesus with the passover lamb. Then John the Baptist's birthday must have been in June and Jesus' birthday about February. There were no more sun miracles recorded after the year of our LORD and the dates of the many sun miracles before Jesus' birth point to the year of his birth in 4 BC.
Herod died in late March 4 BC. Thus he would have ordered all the boys two and under killed in Bethlehem when he saw he was mocked of the wisemen and Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt. Then they would hear of Herod's death in April and return to Nazareth.
Then Jesus would be 36 when he was crucified April 3 33 AD and resurrected April 5.