Out of curiousity... How do Christians Reconcile this...?

Question

Mathew and Luke record Jesus as being born during the Reign of Herod, King of Judea... Luke happens to also record that the reason of the travel to Bethlehem was the Census of Quirinius, which took place 10 years after this particular Herod's death... How does this work?...

(For the record, the later Herod, who Married his brother's wife, killed John the Baptist, and so forth is another man entirely, in fact, both his brothers were Herod as well.... But that is another matter entirely)

spiker:
There were more than 4, you're at least forgetting:

Herod Archelaus - the guy who slaughtered 3000 pharisees who were trying to revolt, and ruled all of Judea for a couple years before an exile, for re-marrying before his ex-wife had died.
Herod Philip II - the son of Cleopatra and Herod the Great, who ruled another part of the region, and
Herod Philip I - who seems to have been a bit of a slacker... No wonder his wife left him.

Answer 1

I'd like to give this one a shot...

Just because Caesar Augustus made the decree, it doesn't mean that the tax was instituted that day.

First, you had to declare the census, then you had to spread the word that you wanted the census taken, then you gather the results, etc, etc.

Given that they didn't have instant communication in those days, it doesn't surprise me in the least that it took 10 years to finalize. Heck, even today, when Congress passes a law, they generally allow 3 to 5 years for it to actually go into effect.

My version says, "(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor or Syria.)" (Luke 2:2, KJV) Nowhere does it say the decree, nor the census took place at that time. Only that the tax itself was initiated during his reign.

Hope that makes sense and answers your question.

Answer 2

Luk 2:2 -
And this taxing was first made ... - This verse has given as much perplexity, perhaps, as any one in the New Testament. The difficulty consists in the fact that “Cyrenius,” or “Quirinius,” was not governor of Syria until 12 or 15 years after the birth of Jesus. Jesus was born during the reign of Herod. At that time “Varus” was president of Syria. Herod was succeeded by “Archelaus,” who reigned eight or nine years; and after he was removed, Judea was annexed to the province of Syria, and Cyrenius was sent as the governor (Josephus, “Ant.,” b. xvii. 5). The difficulty has been to reconcile this account with that in Luke. Various attempts have been made to do this. The one that seems most satisfactory is that proposed by Dr. Lardner. According to his view, the passage here means, “This was the “first” census of Cyrenius, governor of Syria.” It is called the “first” to distinguish it from one “afterward” taken by Cyrenius, Act_5:37. It is said to be the census taken by “Cyrenius; governor of Syria; “not that he was “then” governor, but that it was taken by him who was afterward familiarly known as governor. “Cyrenius, governor of Syria,” was the name by which the man was known when Luke wrote his gospel, and it was not improper to say that the taxing was made by Cyrenius, the governor of Syria,” though he might not have been actually governor for many years afterward. Thus, Herodian says that to Marcus “the emperor” were born several daughters and two sons,” though several of those children were born to him “before” he was emperor. Thus, it is not improper to say that General Washington saved Braddock’s army, or was engaged in the old French war, though he was not actually made “general” until many years afterward. According to this Augustus sent Cyrenius, an active, enterprising man, to take the census. At that time he was a Roman senator. Afterward, he was made governor of the same country, and received the title which Luke gives him.

Answer 3

Actually there were four Herods over about 150 yrs.

Herod the Great
Son Herod Antipas
Grandson Herod Agrippa I
Great grandson Herod Agrippa II

Answer 4

Quirinius (Cyrenius) served two terms as governor of Syria. Recently Roman coins have been found with microinscriptions stamped in them showing that he served a second term starting in about 11 A.D.

Jesus was born in the fall of 7 B.C. and Herod the Great of whom you speak died in 4 B.C. Quirinius was serving his first term as governor of Syria during the time of Jesus' birth.

Answer 5

Jesus was born on April 17th 4BC. This has been ascertained by astronomical data as well as historical records of census and such. There are lots of errors in the KJV but then again it has only been translated a few dozen times with bits dropped and others inserted so who would expect any flaws.

Answer 6

Quirinius was GOVONOR of Syria. I assume it is like in today's society-- Bush is President and at the same time each state has it's own Governor. That's about the way I see it.

Answer 7

I have a footnote in my Bible that says that Quirinus served two separate terms as Governor--one from 6-4 BC and one from AD 6-9. He must have a thing for censuses, I guess--everyone needs a hobby.

Answer 8

Yes, it can seem very confusing, but there is a very reasonable explanation. I'm barely able to keep my eyes open at present, so here are links to it, in excellent detail:

Answer 9

Probably as being an understandable factual error on someone's part. If I was writing about someone's life based primarily upon anecdote, I would be bound to get something wrong.

Answer 10

for me i just beleive i dont really bother who was king its good to know though but i just want jesus i dont care his colour the country or all that, that is ur job to disprove my job is to beleive