Was Jesus born in Bethlehem? A Historical Inquiry

When Christmas comes, the nativity story is the primary focus of sermons, movies, pictures, and music. If you go to the Church, a priest will develop his speech around the story of Jesus’ birth. If you watch a TV, you’ll certainly stumble upon a movie or a show about Jesus and his birth! According to Matthew and Luke, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. However, since the Enlightenment biblical scholars have called the identification of Bethlehem into question. Today, the communis opinio is that Jesus was both born and raised in Nazareth! As Helen Bond asserts:

the probability is that Jesus was born in Nazareth, the small Galilean village where he grew up. Such a conclusion is generally held by most historical Jesus critics.

A great Biblical scholar and priest, Raymond Brown concurs! Brown wrote a massive book (see: here) where he analyzed every single aspect of the infancy narratives from a theological and a historical point of view. His work remains unsurpassed in its thoroughness. In what follows, I shall present the basic historical problems in connecting Jesus’ birth with the city of Bethlehem. Obviously, his birthplace has no bearing on the crucial theological elements of the Christian faith. Therefore, my approach here is strictly historical and the purpose of this post (as with all others on this blog) is to educate laypeople about the historical studies of the origin of Christianity. Without a doubt, the infancy narratives are the most popular part of Jesus’ life. And Christmas is regarded by many (even practicing Christians) as the most exciting part of the year! People may be surprised to find out that Jesus’ birth is mentioned only in two Gospels: Matthew, and Luke. They both independently claim that even though he was raised in Nazareth, he was actually born in Bethlehem. However, the way they describe his birth is quite different – a fact that becomes obvious in a closer (parallel) analysis.

JESUS’ BIRTH IN BETHLEHEM – ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

In Matthew’s account, the story starts with a long genealogy – that people almost never read! And then, we are told that Jesus was born to Mary, who had been made pregnant by the Spirit of God. Joseph first thought that someone else was “involved” so he naturally wanted the divorce! But before he could do that, he was told in a dream that the child was indeed conceived by the Holy Spirit, in fulfillment of a prediction of Scripture! Then Matthew informs us about the visit of the wise men or μαγοι (not kings!). Here comes the first big implausibility. The wise men (we are not told how many there are!) have been following a star shining in the east. It leads them to Jerusalem where it apparently disappears. After they made some inquiries, King Herod finds out they are looking for the newborn king of Jesus. Filled with rage, Herod asks his Bible scholars where will this king be born. They look up the Old Testament (Micah 5,2) and inform Herod that according to this Bible prophecy, the ruler will come from Bethlehem. In the meantime, the star reappears and leads the kings from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. In fact, the star points to the exact house where Jesus was born. How is that possible, remains a mystery! They bring three presents for Jesus and go off their own way. In fear of a potential usurper, Herod sends out the troops to kill every male child two years and under, again in fulfillment of a prophecy from the Old Testament that Matthew quotes. Luckily for the “new family”, Joseph learns about Herod’s evil plan in a dream and takes the mother and child to Egypt, where they stay until the death of Herod. Upon their return, Joseph finds out that they cannot come back to Bethlehem, because Herod’s vicious son Archelaus is now the ruler. And he is even worse than his evil father! So, Joseph moves the family to Nazareth, which is where, then, Jesus is raised.

One aspect of this story is not often realized. Where is Joseph and Mary’s hometown? Where are they from? If you read Matthew’s account carefully, the answer is straightforward: it is Bethlehem! That’s where they are stationed. When the wise men come, they find the family in their house! And the wise men did not come a few days after Jesus’ birth. It appears that they visited Jesus and his parents over a year later! They told Herod (Mt 2,16) that the boy must be about two years old. It means that it took them approximately a year and a half to come, following the star, from the east to Jerusalem! A decisive proof that their hometown was Bethlehem emerges just a few passages later! Where does Joseph want to return to when he comes back from Egypt after Herod’s death? Where he plans to go with his family? Initially, he wants to come back to Judea (where Bethlehem is), but he can’t because Archelaus is now the king. So he has to change his plan and move with his family up to Nazareth (in Galilee). Why are Joseph and Marry from Bethlehem? In Matthews’s account, it is clearly implied: because the Scriptures predict that the future messiah will come from Bethlehem! But, when we compare Matthew’s story of Jesus’ birth with Luke’s, several discrepancies emerge.

JESUS’ BIRTH IN BETHLEHEM – ACCORDING TO LUKE

As I mentioned, Luke completely agrees with Matthew in regard to the birthplace of Jesus. It’s Bethlehem! However, the way Luke explains Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem is (almost!) completely different. To begin with, in Luke, Bethlehem is not Joseph and Mary’s hometown! The whole point of Luke’s story is that it is not. They are from Nazareth. That is the place they live. But then, how did Jesus come to be born in Bethlehem? According to Luke, it is because of a “decree” that Caesar Augustus issued. “All the world” (meaning: the whole empire!) had to participate! In other words, there was a worldwide census. Luke tells us that this was “the first enrollment (ἀπογραφὴ πρώτη)” made when Quirinius was the governor of Syria”. Everybody had to move to their ancestor town. Since Joseph is “of the house and lineage of David”, and since David (who lived about 1000 years earlier!) had been born in Bethlehem, Joseph had to register for the census there. In other words, Luke claims that everyone in the Roman empire had to return to the home of their ancestors. That is another big implausibility. Can you imagine everyone in the Roman Empire moving because of that census? This kind of a massive shift in population? And no other source even bothers to mention it? Moreover, how would you know where to go? Do you know who is your ancestor from the 11th century? Of course, you don’t. Nobody does! Anyways, in Luke, because Joseph has to register in Bethlehem and because Mary is pregnant, they made a trip to Bethlehem. It just so happens that during their stay in Bethlehem, Mary goes into labor. Since there is no room for them in καταλύματι, (A word wrongly assumed to mean “an inn”. In this context, κατάλυμα has a generic sense of ‘place to stay’. Unfortunately, we can’t go in details) they lay the child in a cattle manger. Eight days later, they have Jesus circumcised. And since they are close to Jerusalem, 32 days after Jesus’ birth, parents went to the Temple and performed the offering for Mary’s ritual cleansing “according to what is said in the Law of Moses”. After that, Luke tells us, the happy family returned to their own town, Nazareth.

JESUS’ BIRTHPLACE: CONCLUDING REMARKS

But, wait a second! What about the wise men from Matthew? Luke mentions that shepherds (ποιμένες) came to visit the newborn Jesus. Not the wise men! And not a year and a half after his birth! Moreover, how can they return to Nazareth a month after Jesus’ birth (as Luke claims), fled from Bethlehem to Egypt on foot where they stayed for a while until Herod died, and then go back to Nazareth (as Matthew claims)? In Matthew, they want to return from Egypt to their hometown Bethlehem, but they can’t because of Archelaus. However, in Luke, their hometown isn’t Bethlehem at all, but Nazareth. Furthermore, Luke’s account has internal irreconcilable historical problems (e.g. census under Quirinius – see here!). So, what does all of this means? Historically speaking, I think that both Matthew and Luke knew that Jesus was from Nazareth. With their birth stories, both evangelists wanted to explain how Jesus could be the Messiah if he was from Nazareth instead of Bethlehem. So they (or more probably: their oral sources) developed early on two different stories of Jesus’ birth. The two stories are at odds with each other on multiple points. These two stories have several internal historical problems and improbabilities. But they share one important feature in common: Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem! By putting his birth there, Matthew and Luke wanted to ensure fellow believers that Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Micah 5:2 where it is clearly stated that the future Jewish ruler will come from Bethlehem! And for them, this was another proof that Jesus was Messiah! As a historian, I think it is more probable that Jesus was born and raised in Nazareth. That, of course, has no bearing on the issue of Jesus’ Messianic identity. Is Jesus really a Messiah? To answer that question is to move beyond the realm of history and enter the domain of theology and philosophy.

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