The
Gospel of Luke uses the census to date
the birth of
Jesus, which the
Gospel of Matthew places in the time of
Herod the Great (who died between 5 BCE and 1 CE). Most critical scholars acknowledge that Luke is in error about several details of the census, while religious academics have attempted to defend
biblical inerrancy via historically unverified claims.
In order to install an ad valorem property tax in the new province,
Publius Sulpicius Quirinius, the
legate (governor) of the province of
Roman Syria starting in 6 CE,[1] was assigned to carry out a census in Judaea. This would record the names of the owners of taxable property, along with its value, for which they would be taxed.[2][3]
The census triggered a revolt of Jewish extremists (called
Zealots) led by
Judas of Galilee.[4] (
Galilee itself was a separate territory under the rule of
Herod Antipas.) Judas seems to have found the census objectionable because it ran counter to a biblical injunction (the traditional Jewish reading of
Exodus 30:12) and because it would lead to taxes paid in
heathen coins bearing an image of the emperor.[5]
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered.
Joseph also went from the town of
Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of
David called
Bethlehem, because he was descended from [David]. He went to be registered with
Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
Mainstream
biblical scholars have acknowledged that the Gospel of Luke is erroneous.[8] Its author seems to have invoked the census as Joseph and Mary's motivation for departing "their own city"[9] of Nazareth, Galilee, for Bethlehem.[10] Additionally, the author may have wished to contrast Joseph and Mary's obedience to the Roman edict with the rebelliousness of the Zealots, and also to find
a prophetic fulfilment of
Psalm 87:6: "In the census of the peoples, [princes] will be born there."[10][b][c] (Luke and Matthew also give different accounts of the family's departure from Bethlehem.)[13][d]
Scholars point out that there was no single census of the entire Roman Empire under Augustus and the Romans did not directly tax client kingdoms; further, no Roman census required that people travel from their own homes to those of their ancestors. A census of Judaea would not have affected Joseph and his family, who lived in Galilee under a different ruler; the revolt of Judas of Galilee suggests that Rome's direct taxation of Judaea was new at the time.[16] Catholic priest and biblical scholar
Raymond E. Brown postulates that Judas's place of origin may have led the author of Luke to think that Galilee was subject to the census.[17][e] Brown also points out that in the
Acts of the Apostles,
Luke the Evangelist (the traditional author of
both books) dates Judas's census-incited revolt as following the rebellion of
Theudas, which took place four decades later.[17][f][g]
Religious defences
The 2nd-century Christian apologist
Justin Martyr claimed, without evidence, that the record of the census was still available and that it showed that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.[20][21] Another Christian apologist,
Tertullian (c. 155 – c. 220), suggested that Jesus's family was recorded in a census of Judaea conducted by
Sentius Saturninus,[22][23] the governor of Syria from 9–7 BCE.[24]
Some modern scholars have attempted to defend Luke's account,[25][26][27][28] which according to
Géza Vermes contradicts historical fact, assuming Luke refers to the Census of Quirinius.[29] Religious scholars have generally posited that an earlier census took place, invoking unproven claims. Ralph Martin Novak explains that both Quirinius's career and the names and dates of the governors are well documented and there is no time before 6 CE when Quirinius could have served an earlier term as governor of Syria.[1] Vermes describes attempts to defend the historicity of the biblical birth narratives as "
exegetical acrobatics";[29] Novak points out that such views spring from biblical inerrancy, the belief that the Bible is without error.[30]
Specifically,
Paul Barnett theorizes that a census unrelated to taxation took place before Quirinius's tenure.[25] Wayne Brindle argues that the gospel's translation is ambiguous and thus refers to an earlier census held during Herod the Great's reign, as a result of the turbulent circumstances towards the end of his life; Brindle further argues that Quirinus held administrative power in the Syria region around that time, as part of a dual governorship with
Gaius Sentius Saturninus, the former holding military and the latter political power.[31] James A. Nollet asserts that Quirinius served two terms as governor of Syria and took two censuses in Judea, the earlier one being a universal census by Augustus allegedly taken in 2 BCE.[32]Dominican scholar Anthony Giambrone calls for "a more generous interpretation" of Luke to counter
Augustan propaganda which purportedly could have been used to obscure a universal census of Roman regions conducted separately over a number of years.[33]
^In Luke, Jesus's parents bring him first to
Jerusalem and then
to Nazareth.[14] In Matthew, they go to Nazareth to avoid Judaea because of Archelaus's appointment (4 BCE), then
flee to Egypt.[13][15]
^Funk, Robert W. and the
Jesus Seminar (1998). The Acts of Jesus: The Search for the Authentic Deeds of Jesus. HarperSanFrancisco. "Birth & Infancy Stories" pp. 497–526.
^Graham, Daryn. "Luke's Census and Dating the Birth of Christ" in Archaeological Diggings Volume 20, #6-2013, Issue 119, December 2013–January 2014, pp. 20–25.
^Porter, Stanley E. (2003).
"The Reasons for the Lukan Census". In Christophersen, Alf; Claussen, Carsten; Frey, Jörg; Longenecker, Bruce (eds.). Paul, Luke and the Graeco-Roman World: Essays in Honour of Alexander J.M. Wedderburn. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 165–188.
ISBN978-0-567-06691-6.
Marucci, Corrado (1996). "Storia e amministrazione romana nel Nuovo Testamento". In Haase, Wolfgang; Temporini, Hildegard (eds.). Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt/Rise and decline of the Roman world (in Italian). Vol. 2. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter.
ISBN9783110830880.
Schäfer, Nadja (2000). Die Einbeziehung der Provinzialen in den Reichsdienst in augusteischer Zeit (in German). Stuttgart: Franz Steiner.
ISBN978-3-515-07723-1.
The
Gospel of Luke uses the census to date
the birth of
Jesus, which the
Gospel of Matthew places in the time of
Herod the Great (who died between 5 BCE and 1 CE). Most critical scholars acknowledge that Luke is in error about several details of the census, while religious academics have attempted to defend
biblical inerrancy via historically unverified claims.
In order to install an ad valorem property tax in the new province,
Publius Sulpicius Quirinius, the
legate (governor) of the province of
Roman Syria starting in 6 CE,[1] was assigned to carry out a census in Judaea. This would record the names of the owners of taxable property, along with its value, for which they would be taxed.[2][3]
The census triggered a revolt of Jewish extremists (called
Zealots) led by
Judas of Galilee.[4] (
Galilee itself was a separate territory under the rule of
Herod Antipas.) Judas seems to have found the census objectionable because it ran counter to a biblical injunction (the traditional Jewish reading of
Exodus 30:12) and because it would lead to taxes paid in
heathen coins bearing an image of the emperor.[5]
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered.
Joseph also went from the town of
Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of
David called
Bethlehem, because he was descended from [David]. He went to be registered with
Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
Mainstream
biblical scholars have acknowledged that the Gospel of Luke is erroneous.[8] Its author seems to have invoked the census as Joseph and Mary's motivation for departing "their own city"[9] of Nazareth, Galilee, for Bethlehem.[10] Additionally, the author may have wished to contrast Joseph and Mary's obedience to the Roman edict with the rebelliousness of the Zealots, and also to find
a prophetic fulfilment of
Psalm 87:6: "In the census of the peoples, [princes] will be born there."[10][b][c] (Luke and Matthew also give different accounts of the family's departure from Bethlehem.)[13][d]
Scholars point out that there was no single census of the entire Roman Empire under Augustus and the Romans did not directly tax client kingdoms; further, no Roman census required that people travel from their own homes to those of their ancestors. A census of Judaea would not have affected Joseph and his family, who lived in Galilee under a different ruler; the revolt of Judas of Galilee suggests that Rome's direct taxation of Judaea was new at the time.[16] Catholic priest and biblical scholar
Raymond E. Brown postulates that Judas's place of origin may have led the author of Luke to think that Galilee was subject to the census.[17][e] Brown also points out that in the
Acts of the Apostles,
Luke the Evangelist (the traditional author of
both books) dates Judas's census-incited revolt as following the rebellion of
Theudas, which took place four decades later.[17][f][g]
Religious defences
The 2nd-century Christian apologist
Justin Martyr claimed, without evidence, that the record of the census was still available and that it showed that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.[20][21] Another Christian apologist,
Tertullian (c. 155 – c. 220), suggested that Jesus's family was recorded in a census of Judaea conducted by
Sentius Saturninus,[22][23] the governor of Syria from 9–7 BCE.[24]
Some modern scholars have attempted to defend Luke's account,[25][26][27][28] which according to
Géza Vermes contradicts historical fact, assuming Luke refers to the Census of Quirinius.[29] Religious scholars have generally posited that an earlier census took place, invoking unproven claims. Ralph Martin Novak explains that both Quirinius's career and the names and dates of the governors are well documented and there is no time before 6 CE when Quirinius could have served an earlier term as governor of Syria.[1] Vermes describes attempts to defend the historicity of the biblical birth narratives as "
exegetical acrobatics";[29] Novak points out that such views spring from biblical inerrancy, the belief that the Bible is without error.[30]
Specifically,
Paul Barnett theorizes that a census unrelated to taxation took place before Quirinius's tenure.[25] Wayne Brindle argues that the gospel's translation is ambiguous and thus refers to an earlier census held during Herod the Great's reign, as a result of the turbulent circumstances towards the end of his life; Brindle further argues that Quirinus held administrative power in the Syria region around that time, as part of a dual governorship with
Gaius Sentius Saturninus, the former holding military and the latter political power.[31] James A. Nollet asserts that Quirinius served two terms as governor of Syria and took two censuses in Judea, the earlier one being a universal census by Augustus allegedly taken in 2 BCE.[32]Dominican scholar Anthony Giambrone calls for "a more generous interpretation" of Luke to counter
Augustan propaganda which purportedly could have been used to obscure a universal census of Roman regions conducted separately over a number of years.[33]
^In Luke, Jesus's parents bring him first to
Jerusalem and then
to Nazareth.[14] In Matthew, they go to Nazareth to avoid Judaea because of Archelaus's appointment (4 BCE), then
flee to Egypt.[13][15]
^Funk, Robert W. and the
Jesus Seminar (1998). The Acts of Jesus: The Search for the Authentic Deeds of Jesus. HarperSanFrancisco. "Birth & Infancy Stories" pp. 497–526.
^Graham, Daryn. "Luke's Census and Dating the Birth of Christ" in Archaeological Diggings Volume 20, #6-2013, Issue 119, December 2013–January 2014, pp. 20–25.
^Porter, Stanley E. (2003).
"The Reasons for the Lukan Census". In Christophersen, Alf; Claussen, Carsten; Frey, Jörg; Longenecker, Bruce (eds.). Paul, Luke and the Graeco-Roman World: Essays in Honour of Alexander J.M. Wedderburn. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 165–188.
ISBN978-0-567-06691-6.
Marucci, Corrado (1996). "Storia e amministrazione romana nel Nuovo Testamento". In Haase, Wolfgang; Temporini, Hildegard (eds.). Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt/Rise and decline of the Roman world (in Italian). Vol. 2. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter.
ISBN9783110830880.
Schäfer, Nadja (2000). Die Einbeziehung der Provinzialen in den Reichsdienst in augusteischer Zeit (in German). Stuttgart: Franz Steiner.
ISBN978-3-515-07723-1.