If..John the Baptist was concieved..?

Question

during the course of Abijah, which fell to Zechariah, on June 23rd,( according to the lots assigned to the priest's of the Temple) and the Angel Gabriel told Mary that she would concieve and also said.." Behold thy cousin Eliabeth she has also concieved....and this is the 6th month with her.." and using 1st grade math, when was Jesus born according to the Book of Luke?

Answer 1

On or about September 29th.

Answer 2

Dear Friend,

I am sure you are refering to 1 Chronicles 24th chapter. There lot is cast and the temple duties are shared among the sons of Eleazer an Ithamer.

A priest's duty at Tabernacle / Temple is for seven days (Read Leviticus 8:35). Many of these Abiah teachers calculate two week duties - which is untenable.

(Remembering that 24 priests and 52 weeks in an year means that 4 weeks - 52 - (24x2) will be left over)

If the Hebrew New Year starts on 14th April in the first year

Abiah's terms will be between:

First Year:
========
April 2nd and April 8th
Nov 17th and Nov 23rd

Second Year:
==========
May 3rd to 9th May
Oct 18th to 24th Oct

Third Year
========
April 4th to 10th April
Sep 19th to 25th Sep

and so on. Now, tell me how you arrived at this June 23rd!

Considering the leap years (they had a complicated system) can we ever know the exact dates?

There are more important questions about the Birth of John the Baptist!

Regards
Tomsan

Answer 3

I never heard this line of reasoning. I've always heard that the sheep would have been out in the fields in the spring or the summer.

But I'm not sure how important this really is. The church I grew up in was pretty open about how we merely celebrate Jesus' birth on December 25th, even if it didn't happen then.

And while others want to make the argument that Christmas is a Pagan holiday, it is just as likely that it represents the squashing of the pagan traditions that existed before Christmas was celebrated. Or how the two faiths weren't really in very much opposition.

I think even the Fundamentalists don't argue this.

So- Merry Christmas!

Answer 4

This, considering that the length of carring a child is more than 9 months (280 days).

Elizabeth concieved in June., June.23 to March 31 is 280 days. If Mary concieved during Elizabeth's 6th month, which would be 168 days into the pregnancy, it would have been Dec. 8th that Mary concieved. 280 days from that date is September 15th in which Jesus would have been born, given that the normal length of a pregnancy is used.

Answer 5

Besides the scholarly objections to the dating raised by Taz, there is another problem. Here is Luke's account in Chapter 1:

"Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. . . . When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion."

Elizabeth and Zechariah did not conceive John during Zechariah's service in the Temple (which would have entailed a time of abstinence), but at some future date.

If Jesus' birthdate were a matter of simple arithmetic, we wouldn't be celebrating it on Dec. 25, right?

Cheers,
Bruce

Answer 6

If Mary was told she would conceive in June then Jesus would have been born in March or April.

My mother went on a trip to Israel back in the 70s. They told her then that Jesus was most likely born in April because of the verse that says the "shepherds were watching their flocks by night. " According to the guide in Israel, shepherds only watched their flocks at night during the lambing season which is late March early April.

Answer 7

This is good stuff! Even though I love history I am far from being that knowledgeable.I do know that months have been added to the Calendar. Were they added before the birth of Christ of after? I am sorry I do not remember.
Unfortunately I have little time for research (being a working mom) but next weekend I am going home for one of my family's Christmas parties. There, that wkend will be ministers and maybe the family historian will show up! I am blessed. Please let me know what your conclusion at the end of this is.
Again.. Good Stuff.
Carla

Answer 8

Royal Racer,

This is the toughest thing I ever tried to chart. September or October 2-10,
born and March 14 to April 14th died. I hope some day I can know that I have it correct.

Answer 9

do not comprehend too a lot about John Calvin. realized it in college yet been a lengthy time period because that I did. All i comprehend is they say they're a "Baptist" church and maximum Baptist church homes i have been are compared to them in any respect. and what's humorous is they communicate enormous and undesirable about the Bible like they comprehend it. yet i ask your self how a lot of them devour pork..or what about the ladies no longer wearing outfits?The Bible says do not placed on outfits meant for adult men and pants are meant for adult men(nicely from what i been instructed,yet i disagree because some pants are definately for females). I propose they are such hypocrites. i might want to discover such an excellent style of regulations that they probable do not stick with.

Answer 10

TaZ seems to have let the fact that this question is not about John the Baptist escape him . This is a question of when Christ was born , using John the Baptist's conception as a benchmark.

Answer 11

Can you cite your references?