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First Census, Quirinius and Archaelogy The matter of Luke's
Census is resolved with archeology [The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence
for the Life of Christ (1996) by Gary Habermas, pp.
171-173]... Luke's
Census In
Luke 2.1-5 we read that Caesar Augustus decreed that the Roman Empire should
be taxed and that everyone had to return to his own city to pay taxes. So
Joseph and Mary returned to Bethlehem and there Jesus was born. Several
questions have been raised in the context of this taxation [1. See
Bruce, Christian Origins, p. 192, for example]. Even if such a
taxation actually did occur, would every person have to return to his home?
Was Quirinius really the governor of Syria at this
time (as in v.2)? Archeology has had a bearing on the answers to these
questions. It has been
established that the taking of a census was quite common at about the time of
Christ. An ancient Latin inscription called the Titulus Venetus indicates that a census took place in
Syria and Judea about AD 5-6 and that this was typical of those held
throughout the Roman Empire from the time of Augustus (23 BC-AD 14) until at
least the third century AD. Indications are that this census took place every
fourteen years. Other such evidence indicates that these procedures were
widespread [2. Ibid., pp. 193-194]. Concerning persons returning to their
home city for the taxation-census, an Egyptian papyrus dating from AD 104
reports just such a practice. This rule was enforced, as well [3. Ibid. p.
194]. The question
concerning Quirinius also involves the date of the
census described in Luke 2. It is known that Quirinius
was made governor of Syria by Augustus in AD 6. Archaeologist Sir William
Ramsay discovered several inscriptions that indicated that Quirinius was governor of Syria on two occasions, the
first time several years prior to this date [4. Robert Boyd, Tells,
Tombs, and Treasure (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1969), p. 175]. Within the
cycle of taxation-censuses mentioned above, an earlier taxation would be
dated from 10-4 BC [5. Cf. Bruce, Christian Origins, pp. 193-194 with
Boyd, Tells, p. 175. Bruce prefers the date 10-9 BC for the
empire-wide census, with that which took place in Judea occurring a few years
later. Boyd places the date of the earlier census 6-5 BC, which coincides
closely with the accepted dates for Jesus' birth]. Another possibility is
Bruce's suggestion that the Greek in Luke 2.2 is equally translatable as
"This enrollment (census) was before that made when Quirinius
was governor of Syria" [6. Bruce, Christian Origins, p.
192]. This would mean that Luke was dating the taxation-census before Quirinius took over the governorship of Syria. Either
possibility answers the question raised above [7. While ruling out the
two-date approach to the governorship of Quirinius,
Sherwin-White basically vindicates Luke's account, while still finding more
problems that does Bruce (pp. 162-171)]. Therefore,
while some questions have been raised concerning the events recorded in Luke
2.1-5, archaeology has provided some unexpected and supportive answers.
Additionally, while supplying the background behind these events, archaeology
also assists us in establishing several facts. (1) A taxation-census was a
fairly common procedure in the Roman Empire and it did occur in Judea, in
particular. (2) Persons were required to return to their home city in order
to fulfill the requirements of the process. (3) These procedures were
apparently employed during the reign of Augustus (37 BC-AD 14), placing it
well within the general time frame of Jesus' birth. (4) The date of the
specific taxation recounted by Luke could very possibly have been 6-5
BC, which would also be of service in attempting to find a more exact
date for Jesus' birth. Herod the Great
died in 4 B.C. and Jesus was born before then (Matt. 2.19). Luke was a very
reliable historian, proven trustworthy over and over again. (And in Acts 5,
Luke shows that he was well aware of the census under Quirinius
in 6 AD which makes it very doubtful that he would have been confused about
the census he describes in Luke 2.) For
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