Matthew's Gospel Bethlehem was the home town of Joseph and Mary. After the birth of Jesus they fled to Egypt, for fear of King Herod. They returned after some years, following the death of Herod, but being warned in a dream, turned aside and went to Nazareth in Galilee. This journey would have taken place some time after 4 BCE and before Archelaus was deposed in 6 CE.

Luke's Gospel

Nazareth was the home town of Joseph and Mary. Shortly after the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, they went to Jerusalem to present Jesus in the Temple, then returned home immediately to Nazareth. According to this gospel, Mary probably always lived in Nazareth, apart from the family's short absence in Bethlehem.

Though it would normally take about 4 days to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem, because Mary was nearing her pregnancy term and riding a donkey, it would require more than 4 days for fear of miscarriage. So perhaps a week (or more) would have been needed.

Various responses from our users:

• The common form of travel in those days was by caravan, especially with long trips. Such a mode was far safer in case of accident or injury or possible attack by bandits, as well as being more enjoyable. With a census like this involving as many people as it did, a caravan going to Bethlehem would not be hard to find or join. Caravans would travel about 20 miles in a day, and the distance between Nazareth and Bethlehem (80 miles) would translate into a 4-day journey.

• It's worth noting, though, that the Bible never mentions a donkey - that's a later tradition.

According to Luke, Elisabeth's husband, Zechariah's occupation was as a priest, which meant that he lived in Jerusalem, but even if not (Luke 1:23 can be read with that meaning), he would have lived not far from Jerusalem. Passing through Jerusalem, Mary and Joseph would have stayed at the home of Elisabeth, just a few hours walk from Bethlehem. In fact, Ranke-Heinemann wonders why Joseph took his wife at such a late stage of pregnancy to Bethlehem, where they knew no one and could not even find accommodation.

Another Answer:

There is no Scriptural description of travelling accomodations mentioned. People in those days did not have hotel/motel bookings, food stops, etc. They travelled with all their needs with them. All that is said is that at the end of their trip, there was no room anywhere usually considered rentable space for them to rest/sleep. So they stayed in the enclosed area adjoined to living quarters, where livestock usually bedded down for the night. Recent archaeology has proven this type of housing.

Concerning the time the Romans would have called an Empire-wide Census, they would not have been concerned with the local people's religious events - as there were many diverse beliefs throughout the Empire. Their only concern would have been the weather and they would not conduct a Census in the Winter seasons.

Two good historical sources for this event are from the 'Chronicles of John Malalas, translated by Matthew Spinka (University of Chicago Press, 1940). Malalas was a historian from Antioch, Syria circa 491-578 A.D.. Also, Suidas, another reliable author, etal, have added information about Augustus' decree proving the Census was conducted in Palestine in 4 B.C.. Also, a great article is in Unger's Bible Dictionary under "Chronology").

No, the Bible does not say this. However, as early as the second century, the Infancy Gospel of James, soon dismissed by the Church as unhistorical, speculated that the young couple did have a donkey.

Based on exegesis of Luke's Gospel, we can arrive at an informed view that they could not have had a donkey, in spite of Mary's pregnancy. Luke 2:24 says that they offered two doves as a sacrifice at the Jerusalem temple, instead of the usual sheep. This was a concession available to the very poorest in society, evidence that Joseph could not afford to own or hire a donkey and in keeping with his status as a village carpenter. Apart from this, anyone willing to lend a donkey would have risked the loss of a valuable asset if the young family were waylaid on this long and hazardous journey or if Joseph simply failed to return.

Luke's Gospel gives us the story of Joseph and Mary travelling from Nazareth to Bethlehem, but he does not mention how they got there, nor whether Mary was fortunate enough to have ridden an animal.

Since such a long and arduous journey on foot seems so improbable for a young woman in her late pregnancy, later Christian tradition says that she rode a donkey. Against this, a poor village carpenter, who could only offer two pigeons at the Temple (Luke 2:24), could never have afforded to hire a donkey for this long journey.

This journey only happens in Luke's Gospel, but Uta Ranke-Heinemann (Putting Away Childish Things) says the nativity accounts in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke are both a collection of legends. Mary did not really have to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem in her late pregnancy.

Not a great deal is known about Nazareth in the time of Jesus and it is continues to be debated whether a town even existed until long after his childhood. The town certainly existed by around 80 CE, since it is mentioned several times in Matthew's Gospel, which most New Testament scholars now date to the 80s of the first century.

Whether Nazareth existed before 70 CE, when Mark's Gospel was written, is less certain. In the original Greek language, this Gospel contains only one reference to Nazareth, which some scholars consider to have been interpolated much later. In some English translations, Mark refers to Jesus of (or from) Nazareth five times (Mark 1:9,24; 10:47; 14:67; 16:6). However, in the original Greek, four of these references actually refer to Jesus the Nazarene (Ναζαρηνοῦ). Now, calling someone a Nazarene could arguably mean that he is from the town of Nazareth, but also there was a sect known as the Nazarenes and this could also have meant that Jesus was a leader of the Nazarene sect.

Wikipedia describes the state of archaeology in Nazareth, indicating that no worthwhile evidence of a settlement has yet been found from the time of Herod or the start of the first century CE. We must wait for further evidence.

about 100 miles

About 113 kilometers - or about 70-80 miles.

That most certainly isn't a country song. The song is "The Weight" by the Canadian folk rock band The Band. How about you learn the differences in genres?

"I pulled into Nazareth, I was feeling about half past dead, I just need some place, where I can lay my head"

It's not really country, but the song is called "The Weight" by The Band.