When Was Jesus Born?

Every year around Christmas with a lot of attention directed to the birth of Jesus, the question almost inevitably arises as to when exactly Christ was born. Was it really in December, or was it some other time of year? If it wasn’t in December, why is that when it is celebrated? After studying the topic periodically through the last few years, I have concluded that most of the evidence seems to be consistent with a birth in the fall of 3 BC. This past Christmas, I decided to write a summary of what I believe are the most compelling lines of evidence leading to this conclusion.

Temple Construction & Jesus’s Age

In Jesus’s interaction with the Jews when he cleanses the Temple in John 2, He declares that if they destroy the Temple, He will rebuild it in three days. The Jews, not understanding He was referring to his future crucifixion and resurrection rather than the Second Temple, state that it had taken 46 years to build the Temple. In their derision, we find interesting chronological information. This statement is made by the Jews very close to the beginning of Jesus’s ministry, which according to Luke 3:23, would have been when He was about 30 years old. It is generally accepted that Herod began working on the Temple in the year 20-19 BC. That would place the comments by the Jews in early AD 27. Since there is no year zero, that too points to a birth of Jesus in 3 BC.

Luke’s Registration

The Gospel of Luke states that Jesus is born while Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem having traveled there for a registration or census of some sort on the command of Caesar Augustus. This census or registration has been the subject of much controversy, much of which is beyond the scope of this article. However, the controversy over the census is indicative of it being one of the most important historical and chronological events surrounding Christ’s birth, and any attempt at reconciling His birth to the historical record without accounting for it would be, in my opinion, deficient.

I propose, as have others before, that the oath and registration in connection with Augustus being declared Pater Patriae (Father of the Country) by the Roman Senate is the enrollment described by Luke. In February of 2 BC, Augustus was given the title Pater Patriae, but since he was aware that this was going to happen long before, he declared that everyone in the empire swear an oath of allegiance to him. This oath is confirmed by inscriptions discovered in Paphlagonia dated to August of 3 BC as well as Josephus in Antiquities of the Jews where he discusses an oath that was commanded by Caesar shortly before the death of Herod. If this is in fact Luke’s census, and Jesus was born during the registration, that would place the birth of Christ in late 3 BC.

Star of Bethlehem

Another key event associated with the birth of Jesus is the Star of Bethlehem. It is recorded only in the Gospel of Matthew, but it plays a significant part in his narrative. It is this star that causes the magi to travel from the east to see the newborn Jesus and leads them to where He is living when they arrive. Herod also uses the information he was told about the Star in his order to murder all the baby boys in the vicinity of Bethlehem in an attempt to kill the infant Jesus.

Many things have been proposed as the source for this event, however, I believe the most convincing is the astronomical movements of Jupiter and Venus in conjunction with the star Regulus in 3-2 BC proposed by Fredrick Larson in his documentary published in 2007, The Star of Bethlehem. Larson lays out all the criteria that an object qualifying as the Star would have to meet according to the account in the Gospel of Matthew. It also describes how the interactions of these three objects together fulfill all those criteria from August 3 BC to December 2 BC, particularly the two conjunctions of Jupiter and Venus ten months apart which is the closest the two planets come together in the night sky within 2000 years before or after.

Where I would differ with Larson is when he says the first conjunction is likely the time of Jesus’s conception. Due to this being the time of the registration recorded by Luke, I believe that this planetary conjunction would have to be sometime near His birth. The June conjunction 9 months later, the closer of the two, would send the magi on their way. They would follow the movement of Jupiter to Jerusalem where it would disappear for a time, but then reappear in late 2 BC and, due to retrograde motion, stop over Bethlehem when viewed from Jerusalem exactly as Matthew describes.

Death of Herod the Great

Any article that seeks to discuss the birth date of Jesus must address the death of Herod the Great. Most scholars generally place Herod’s death at 4 BC based on Josephus’s statements about the length of his and his sons’ reigns. They then date Christ’s birth based on that, but there are a few scholars, such as Professor Andrew Steinmann, that believe he died in 1 BC. He notes in his book, From Abraham to Paul, that the traditional view fails to consider all the information from Josephus and the possibility that Herod’s sons may have backdated their reigns to 4 BC.

In my opinion, evidence for the 4 BC date is weak and survives mostly due to the lack of solid chronological markers in the period, especially when we consider the other significant piece of evidence that Josephus notes, the eclipse. The 4 BC eclipse was a partial eclipse that reached its fullest extent just after midnight. This makes it somewhat unlikely that it would have been seen as a significant event. However, the eclipse of early 1 BC would have the moon rise at near totality and achieve its fullest extent while many people would still active shortly after nightfall.

Conclusion

When considered collectively, I believe the preponderance of the evidence discussed above supports a date for Jesus’s birth in the fall of 3 BC. This is consistent with most ancient authors dating his birth to 3/2 BC. I also believe it presents a clear example of how the Bible can be used as a historical source that brings clarity to the information found in other sources.

Timeline of Chronological Events Surrounding the Birth of Christ

August 12/September 11, 3 BC – Jesus Born (Jupiter/Venus 1st Conjunction), Census

February 2 BC - Augustus made Pater Patriae

June 2 BC – Magi begin following Star (2nd Conjunction)

September/October 2 BC – Magi meet with Herod

November/December 2 BC – Magi arrive in Bethlehem

December 2 BC – Joseph and Mary Flee to Egypt after Joseph’s dream

Sources

1) Lewis and Reinhold, Roman Civilization, II.34–35.

2) https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus- historical-jesus/herods-death-jesus-birth-and-a-lunar-eclipse/

3) https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2007/12/21/december-21-2007-star-of-bethlehem/4677/