Census of Quirinius - Misplaced Pages

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The Census of Quirinius was a census of the Roman province of Judaea taken in 6 CE, upon its formation, by the governor of Roman Syria, Publius Sulpicius Quirinius. The census triggered a revolt of Jewish extremists (called Zealots) led by Judas of Galilee.

The Gospel of Luke uses the census to date the birth of Jesus, which the Gospel of Matthew places in the time of Herod the Great (who died between 5 BCE and 1 CE). Most critical scholars acknowledge that Luke is in error, while some religious scholars have attempted to defend the gospel, sometimes invoking unproven claims.

Overview

Herod I (Herod the Great, c. 72 – c. 4 BCE), was a Roman client king whose territory included Judea. Upon his death, his kingdom was divided into three, each section ruled by one of his sons. In 6 CE, Emperor Augustus deposed Herod Archelaus, who had ruled the largest section, and converted his territory into the Roman province of Judaea.

In order to install an ad valorem property tax in the new province, Publius Sulpicius Quirinius, the legate (governor) of the province of Roman Syria starting in 6 CE, was assigned to carry out a census in Judaea. This would record the names of the owners of taxable property, along with its value, for which they would be taxed.

The census triggered a revolt of Jewish extremists (called Zealots) led by Judas of Galilee. (Galilee itself was a separate territory under the rule of Herod Antipas.) Judas seems to have found the census objectionable because it ran counter to a biblical injunction (the traditional Jewish reading of Exodus 30:12) and because it would lead to taxes paid in heathen coins bearing an image of the emperor.

Gospel of Luke

Contrary to the Gospel of Matthew, which places Jesus's birth in the time of Herod I, the Gospel of Luke (2:1–5) correlates it with the census:

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from . He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.

Most critical biblical scholars have acknowledged that the Gospel of Luke is erroneous. Its author seems to have invoked the census as Joseph and Mary's motivation for departing "their own city" of Nazareth, Galilee, for Bethlehem. Additionally, the author may have wished to contrast Joseph and Mary's obedience to the Roman edict with the rebelliousness of the Zealots, and also to find a prophetic fulfilment of Psalm 87:6: "In the census of the peoples, will be born there." (Luke and Matthew also give different accounts of the family's departure from Bethlehem.) Catholic priest and biblical scholar Joseph Fitzmyer states:

It is clear that the census is a purely literary device used by him to associate Mary and Joseph, residents of Nazareth, with Bethlehem, the town of David, because he knows of a tradition, also attested in Matthew 2, that Jesus was also born in Bethlehem. He is also aware of a tradition about the birth of Jesus in the days of Herod, as is Matthew; Luke's form of the tradition, unlike Matthew's, tied the birth in a vague way to a time of political disturbance associated with a census.

Scholars point out that there was no single census of the entire Roman Empire under Augustus and the Romans did not directly tax client kingdoms; further, no Roman census required that people travel from their own homes to those of their ancestors. A census of Judaea would not have affected Joseph and his family, who lived in Galilee under a different ruler; the revolt of Judas of Galilee suggests that Rome's direct taxation of Judaea was new at the time. Catholic priest and biblical scholar Raymond E. Brown postulates that Judas's place of origin may have led the author of Luke to think that Galilee was subject to the census. Brown also points out that in the Acts of the Apostles, Luke the Evangelist (the traditional author of both books) dates Judas's census-incited revolt as following the rebellion of Theudas, which took place four decades later.

Attempted defences

The 2nd-century Christian apologist Justin Martyr claimed, without evidence, that the record of the census was still available and that it showed that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Another Christian apologist, Tertullian (c. 155 – c. 220), suggested that Jesus's family was recorded in a census of Judaea conducted by Sentius Saturninus, the governor of Syria from 9–7 BCE.

Some modern scholars have attempted to defend Luke's account, which according to Géza Vermes contradicts historical fact, assuming Luke refers to the Census of Quirinius. Some conservative scholars have generally posited that an earlier census took place, invoking unproven claims. Ralph Martin Novak explains that both Quirinius's career and the names and dates of the governors are well documented and there is no time before 6 CE when Quirinius could have served an earlier term as governor of Syria. Novak points out that such views spring from biblical inerrancy, the belief that the Bible is without error. Vermes describes attempts to defend the historicity of the biblical birth narratives as "exegetical acrobatics". The USCCB states that the various attempts to resolve the difficulties have proved unsuccessful, suggesting that Luke may simply be combining Jesus's birth in Bethlehem with the census for theological reasons, perhaps vaguely remembering that one was conducted by Quirinius.

Several unsubstantiated versions of the two-census hypothesis have been advanced by some conservative scholars. Paul Barnett theorizes that a census unrelated to taxation took place before Quirinius's tenure. Wayne Brindle argues that the gospel's translation is ambiguous and thus refers to an earlier census held during Herod the Great's reign, as a result of the turbulent circumstances towards the end of his life; Brindle further argues that Quirinus held administrative power in the Syria region around that time, as part of a dual governorship with Gaius Sentius Saturninus, the former holding military and the latter political power. James A. Nollet asserts that Quirinius served two terms as governor of Syria and took two censuses in Judea, the earlier one being a universal census by Augustus allegedly taken in 2 BCE. Dominican scholar Anthony Giambrone calls for "a more generous interpretation" of Luke to counter Augustan propaganda which purportedly could have been used to obscure a universal census of Roman regions conducted separately over a number of years.

Additionally, some writers state that in ancient literature, strict chronology is secondary to narrative coherence, and thus events could be excusably reordered. David Armitage claims Luke 3 as an example because it gives an overview of John the Baptist's ministry up to his imprisonment before discussing his baptism of Jesus. Armitage argues that Luke refers to the Census of Quirinius as a similar anachronistic digression, flashing years forward from the nativity before returning to it, with the confusion ostensibly stemming from the author's "overly generous estimation of the historical literacy of his readers".

Gallery

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Census at Bethlehem (1566), oil on wood panel, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
Jan Luyken, Joseph and Mary taking the census (1700), etching and book print, Haarlem, Netherlands
Jan Luyken, Joseph and Mary taking the census (1703), etching and book print, Haarlem, Netherlands

References

Footnotes

The earlier Gospel of Mark, probably a source for Matthew and Luke, contains no birth narrative.
In place of the "princes" stated to be born in the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament), the English translation invokes the phrase "this one".
The Gospel of John portrays Christ's birth in Bethlehem as fulfilling a prophecy of Micah.
In Luke, Jesus's parents bring him first to Jerusalem and then to Nazareth. In Matthew, they go to Nazareth to avoid Judaea because of Archelaus's appointment (4 BCE), then flee to Egypt.
Luke 3:1 distinguishes Galilee from Judaea.
Acts also depicts the revolt of Theudas being discussed ten years before it occurred.
Some Christian defenders have postulated that Acts was referring to a different Theudas from the one mentioned by Josephus.
Armitage proposes that the gospel could logically be rendered:
The child grew and was strengthened in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel. As it happens, it was during that time that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus to register all the Roman world (this was the first registration, when Quirinius was governor of Syria), and everyone went – each into their own town – to be registered. Joseph also went up: out of Galilee, away from the town of Nazareth, into Judea, to David's town (which is called Bethlehem) because he was from the house and family of David; he went to be registered with Mary (she who was his betrothed when she was pregnant).

Now, it transpired that the days were completed for her to give birth when they were in that place, and she gave birth to her firstborn son ...