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Is there any historical evidence for the journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem for a census?
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
While we know nothing about this journey, which many scholars regard as a fable, the historical record makes nonsense of a Roman census in Palestine during the reign of King Herod the Great. Uta Ranke-Heinemann (Putting Away Childish Things) says the author of Luke wants to make the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem plausible by fabricating the story of the census. But since he handles the facts arbitrarily, the facts themselves refute him.
There was a census under Quirinius in 6 CE, but Luke knew this was too late for Jesus to be old enough to be accepted as a religious leader, so Jesus had to be born earlier - during the reign of King Herod.
Judea has been allowed to be autonomous under King Herod and then his son, Archelaus, so that Rome did not have to concern itself with administrative matters in a minor territory on the very edge of its empire. In 6 CE, ten years after the death of Herod, the Roman government sacked Archelaus for incompetence and sent him into exile. It appointed Quirinius as governor of Syria, with oversight of Judea.
In order that Judea could be taxed on the same basis as the rest of the Roman Empire, Quirinius was to undertake a census in Judea as soon as possible after he took over. This was the first census to affect part of Palestine, but did not involve Galilee, as that territory was ruled by another of Herod's sons, Herod Antipas. The census took place in 6 CE, but possibly quite early in 7 CE.
The author of Matthew knew nothing of the census or the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, but wrote an entirely different account in which Bethlehem was the home town of Joseph and Mary.
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
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What was Joseph's job before he took the journey to Bethlehem with Mary in the Story of the Nativity?
cartpeter
What was Mary and Joseph's journey?
A:In Matthew's Gospel their journey was to Egypt, where they fled from their home in Bethlehem for fear of King Herod. They bega the return journey some years later, after the death of Herod, but turned aside and travelled instead to a city called Nazareth in Galilee. In Luke's Gospel their journey was from Nazareth to Bethlehem to Bethlehem, where Joseph was required for a census. A few days after the birth of Jesus they journeyed to Jerusalem, where they presented Jesus at the Temple, then returned peacefully to the home in Nazareth. Each year thereafter, the young family made the journey to Jerusalem for the Passover.
Was Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem long?
Very difficult, especially because Mary was pregnant with baby Jesus.
When is the time for counting all the people?
Are you referring to the census that luke mentions as the reason for why Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem? We have no historical record of such a census.
Why was Joseph going to return to Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus?
A:It is in Matthew's Gospel that Joseph and Mary were going to return to Bethlehem some time after the birth of Jesus. In Luke's Gospel, Joseph had no reason ever to go to Bethlehem again, and the gospel makes it plain that although the young family travelled from Nazareth to Jerusalem each year for the Passover, they never went to Bethlehem. Bethlehem, not Nazareth, was the home town of Joseph and Mary in Matthew's Gospel. They fled from Bethlehem to Egypt for fear of King Herod, who sought to have Jesus killed. After Herod had died, they began the return journey to their home in Bethlehem but, being warned in a dream, Joseph turned aside with his family and travelled to Galilee instead. There they settled in a city called Nazareth (Matthew 2:23).
Where did Mary and Joseph live with Jesus?
Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth before Jesus was born. Following Jesus' birth, they fled to Egypt to escape King Herod's order to kill all male infants in Bethlehem. They later resettled in Nazareth after returning from Egypt.
Why did Mary and Joseph travel alone to Bethlehem?
Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem , as it was told to go to their respective hometowns for the census.
Why did Mary move to Bethlehem?
She traveled there with her husband Joseph, whose family was from Bethlehem.
Where was Mary's husband from?
Joseph's ancestral home was Bethlehem. However, at the time he took Mary as his wife he was living in Nazareth.
Where did Joseph and Mary enroll for the cendsus?
Bethlehem
What kept Joseph and Mary going to Bethlehem?
A:In Luke's Gospel, Mary and Joseph travelled to Bethlehem once only, for the census under Quirinius. They lived in Nazareth, Galilee and did go the Jerusalem each year for the Passover, but had no reason to go to Bethlehem and are never depicted as doing so. In Matthew's Gospel, Mary and Joseph already lived in Bethlehem, their home town. They thus had no reason to travel to Bethlehem before the birth of Jesus, but had to flee to Egypt after his birth, for fear of King Herod. Presumably some years later, after word reached them that Herod had died, they began the return journey to their home in Bethlehem but never arrived. On the way, Joseph was warned in a dream of further danger from Herod's son and Successor, Archelaus, so they turned aside and travelled to Galilee, where they settled in a city called Galilee. Although they planned to do so, Joseph and Mary never went to Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus and the flight to Egypt.
Where did Mary and Joseph live at the start of the infancy narrative?
In Matthew's Gospel, Bethlehem was the home town of Mary and Joseph. Jesus was born there in Bethlehem, but the young family fled from Bethlehem to Egypt after the birth of Jesus, for fear of Herod. Years later, after the death of Herod, they began the journey home but, being warned in a dream, turned aside and travelled to Nazareth in Galilee. In Luke's Gospel, Mary and Joseph began their journey in Nazareth in Galilee, travelling to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. A few weeks after his birth, they went from Bethlehem to Jerusalem to present Jesus at the Temple, then journeyed peacefully home to Nazareth.
