Comparative Theology · Internal Contradictions
The Census of Quirinius
Handle with care. There is a minority proposal of an earlier Quirinius term. Mention that it exists and that it has little support, rather than pretending the debate is closed.
In short
- 1.Herod died in 4 BCE; Quirinius' census was in 6 CE
- 2.No Roman census ever required travel to an ancestral town
- 3.Luke and Matthew also disagree on where the family lived before and after
The claim being examined
Luke dates the nativity by a Roman census under Quirinius. Matthew dates it in the reign of Herod the Great. The two dates are about a decade apart.
The Islamic position
The Qur'an gives the nativity without a Roman administrative frame, focusing on the sign given to Mary (Q 19:16-26). It makes no datable claim that history can falsify.
Analysis
Josephus dates the census of Quirinius to the year Judea became a Roman province, a decade after Herod's death, and describes it as the occasion of Judas the Galilean's revolt. Luke needs the census to move the family from Nazareth to Bethlehem; Matthew needs no journey because the family already lives in Bethlehem and only settles in Nazareth after returning from Egypt. The two infancy narratives are constructed to reach Bethlehem by opposite routes, and the census as Luke describes it — requiring registration in an ancestral town — has no parallel in Roman practice.
Side by side
| Matthew | 2:1-23 | Family lives in Bethlehem; flees to Egypt; settles in Nazareth afterwards. Herod is alive. |
|---|---|---|
| Luke | 2:1-39 | Family lives in Nazareth; travels for the census; returns straight to Nazareth. No Herod, no Egypt. |
From the Qur'an
Qur'an 19:22-23
فَحَمَلَتْهُ فَانتَبَذَتْ بِهِ مَكَانًا قَصِيًّا
So she conceived him, and withdrew with him to a remote place.
From the Bible
Luke 2:2
αὕτη ἀπογραφὴ πρώτη ἐγένετο ἡγεμονεύοντος τῆς Συρίας Κυρηνίου
This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
Read it in their BibleMatthew 2:1
ἐν ἡμέραις Ἡρῴδου τοῦ βασιλέως
Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king.
Read it in their BibleSources
Raymond E. Brown, The Birth of the Messiah · E. P. Sanders, The Historical Figure of Jesus · Josephus, Antiquities 18.1-2
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