Luke 2:12
And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
Scripture: Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain
- WHERE
- Bethlehem
- WHEN
- 6-4 BC?
- WHO
- Jesus
ON THE MAP
WHO APPEARS
WHEN
6-4 BC?
dated by the text itself
The most debated date in the Bible, and the disagreement is between the sources, not our reading. The two reconstructions put forward place the birth between 6 and 4 BC.
WHO RULED
- Augustus emperor of Rome 27 BC – AD 14
- Herod the Great king of Judea 37-4 BC
- Archelaus ethnarch of Judea 4 BC – AD 6
- Herod Antipas tetrarch of Galilee 4 BC – AD 39
- Philip tetrarch of Ituraea 4 BC – AD 34
SOURCES
- date — Luke 2:1-2 dates itself by the census of Quirinius. Josephus (Antiquities XVIII.1) puts that census in AD 6; Matthew 2 puts the birth under Herod, who died in 4 BC.
- Augustus — Suetonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Augustus; Res Gestae Divi Augusti
- Herod the Great — Josephus, Antiquities XIV-XVII
- Archelaus — Josephus, Antiquities XVII.13; Jewish War II.7
- Herod Antipas — Josephus, Antiquities XVII.8-XVIII.7
- Philip — Josephus, Antiquities XVII.8, XVIII.4
SEE ALSO
- Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
- Isaiah 53:1-2 Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? …
- Isaiah 7:11 “Ask for a sign from the LORD your God, whether from the depths of Sheol or the heights of heaven.”
- Psalms 22:6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
Cross-references: OpenBible.info, CC BY 4.0
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