“…when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.” (Luke 2:2)
Herod the Great is believed to have died in B.C. 4, And since it is evident from Matthew 2:1 that he was still alive when Jesus was born, B.C. 5 is now commonly adopted as the year of our Lord’s birth. Yet Luke 2:2 seems to indicate that Jesus was born during the time when Cyrenius (R.V. Quirinius) was Governor of Syria. Historians, however, tell us that Cyrenius was actually Proconsul of Syria and Cilicia from B.C. 4 to B.C. 1.
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Author: P. H. Adams
Keywords: Census, Bethlehem, Roman census, Quirinian census, Lukan census, Cyrenius, proconsul of Syria, proconsul, Quirinius, Varus, taxing, tax, Roman tax, Roman taxes
Bible reference(s): Luke 2:1-5
Source: “Difficulties with the Daily Readings,” The Testimony, Vol. 20 No. 237, September 1950, p. 357.
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