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The Quirinius Question from “The Birth of Jesus” by B

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The Quirinius Question from “The Birth of Jesus” by B The Quirinius Question From “The Birth Of Jesus” by B. Witherington III, “New Testament Chronology” by S. E. Porter, and Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties by Gleason Archer. Luke 2:1-2 presents some problems: 1. There is no evidence for an empire-wide census being taken during the time of Augustus, and we might suspect that such a huge undertaking would have been mentioned by one or another of the ancient historians who recorded the period. 2. Quirinius was sent by Augustus to be governor of Syria (and Judea) in AD 6 (not 6 BC), and thereafter did take a notable census for the empire. Josephus says he visited Judea in 6-7 AD to assess the property of the Jews in preparation for the registering and taxing of that property (Ant. 18.1.1-2). There is no evidence that he was governor of the region twice or that he undertook a census for the region twice. a. Suggested that Luke confused Quirinius with P. Quintilius Varus who was legate of Syria 6-3 BC. But Luke knew enough about Latin names not to have mixed a cognomen (Quirinius) with a mere nomen (Quintilius). 3. A Roman census would not have required Jews to travel to their ancestral home for registration. And is it probable that the Romans would undertake such a census in a client state that already had its own ruler (Herod)? Answers: 1. If there was a census that affected Judea during the reign of Herod the Great, it would probably proceed along the lines of a Jewish census, not a Roman one. In that case it is plausible that Jews would return to their ancestral homes (especially if Mary was also of David’s line). In AD 104 Vibius Maximus issued and edict that states that it is essential for all people to return to their homes for the census. 2. Luke manifests a knowledge of the later census by Quirinius which started the revolt of Judas the Galilean in AD 6-7 (Acts 5:37). It is not likely that he would have confused this census, which he knew to be a later one, with one during the reign of Herod. 3. It does not have to mean that Augustus took one enormous census of the whole empire. The language is general and may mean no more than that the various parts of the empire were subject to various censuses during the time of Augustus. Gr: “all of the Roman world would be enrolled…” Both the present tense and the use of “all” suggest that Luke means Caesar decreed that the enrollment, which had previous been going on in some parts of the empire, should now be extended to all parts, including client states. Roman historian A. N. Sherwin-White states, “A census or taxation-assessment of the whole provincial empire...was certainly accomplished for the first time in history under Augustus.” 4. There is some evidence of a census of Judea under Saturninus between 9-6 BC. We also know that Quirinius undertook more than one census during his governorship, and that he didn’t scruple to enroll a basically autonomous group such as the Apameans. 5. Some evidence indicates that Egyptian censuses were taken at 7-year intervals during Augustus and can be established with indirect and direct evidence for the years of 11/10 BC, 4/3 BC, AD 4/5 and AD 11/12. 6. Luke’s wording is curious, and could mean either that he is referring to the first or former census that was taken under Quirinius’ rule of Syria (which would perhaps imply that this was an earlier census than the one mentioned in Acts 5:37). It is not impossible that this happened. Herod’s power was on the wane at the time of Jesus’ birth, and a census in preparation for the change of power could have been well forced on Herod since he had fallen into some disfavor with Augustus near the end of his life. This might well have led Augustus to extend the Egyptian census of 4/3 BC or perform one something like it in Judea. We know also that Quirinius had been made consul in 12 BC, and a person of this rank serving in the East frequently had far-reaching authority and duties. It is thus not improbable that, acting as Caesar’s agent, he had Herod take a census. 7. It is also possible he was governor more than once in Syria, though the possibility also remains that Luke may be identifying him by his later and, to his audience, more familiar office. 8. Pearson argues that Luke 2:2 may be saying that this was “the previous census, before Quirinius was governor of Syria.” Luke may be using Quirinius’ governorship and his census in AD 6 as a reference point, since it marked Judea’s becoming part of Syria, which was traumatic for the Jews, since it indicated the formal end of even the pretense of self-rule. It was then made a Roman province, and no longer a client state under a puppet king, and came under a Roman governor. Therefore also under the Roman tax administration, which required a census. 9. Gr: hegemoneuontos tes Syrias Kyreniou: He was leading - in charge of - Syria. He is not actually called legatus (the official Roman title for the governor of an entire region). Between 12 and 2 BC Quirinius was engaged in a systematic reduction of rebellious mountaineers in the highlands of Pisidia, and that he was therefore a highly placed military figure in the Near East in the closing years of the reign of Herod the Great. In order to secure efficiency, it may well have been that Augustus put Quirinius in charge of the census in Syria just at the transition period between the close of Saturnius’ administration and the beginning of Varus’ term in 7 BC. It was doubtless because of his competent handling of the 7 BC census that Augustus later put him in charge of the AD 7 census. As for the lack of secular reference to a general census for the entire Roman Empire at this time, this presents no serious difficulty. Every five years the Romans enumerated citizens and their property to determine their liabilities. This practice was extended to include the entire Roman Empire in 5 BC. Lars Olav Gjøra, september 2012.
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