The exact date of Jesus’ birth is something that always sparks debate and research.
Rodrigo Silva
The topic of Jesus’ birth date always comes up at the end of the year. Historically, it is important to understand some aspects. The gospel confirms that the birth of Jesus would have occurred during the rule of Herod the Great. Taking into account that this terrible king died in the year 4 or 3 BC, it is possible to conclude that Jesus could not have been born after that time. Therefore, it is more likely to point to the birth of Christ at some time before 3 or 4 BC and not in year 1 as some conventionally do.
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It is also necessary to consider that there is a possible cycle of every 14 years, verified in the remaining Roman censuses. Therefore, the second census of Quirinus would have taken place in the year 6 AD, therefore, the first census could have been around the year 8 BC Thus, Jesus would have been born in any period between the years 8 and 3-4 BC It is very unlikely that his birth took place outside this interval.
And December 25th?
The date of December 25th as the birth of Jesus was fixed by the Catholic Church in 525 to coincide with the pagan festivals of the East and Rome. According to some historians, it was Pope John I who made the celebration official, although some say that it had existed since the time of Emperor Constantine. In any case, Eastern Christians never accepted this date and to this day Armenians celebrate Christmas on January 6th.
There is almost no chance that Jesus was born at Christmas, celebrated by Western Christians on December 25th. In the Northern Hemisphere, winter occurs in the months of December, January and February of each year. Therefore, if Jesus had been born in one of these months, it would be a very cold time and it would make no sense why there were shepherds and flocks camped at night on the hills of Judea (Luke 2:8). This is a typical hot season scene. While there is nothing to stop the symbolic celebration on December 25th, that is definitely not the historically appropriate date of his birth.
The Bible says that when Jesus was born, there were shepherds with their flocks out in the open on the hills (Luke 2:8-20). Keeping animals in the field even at night was a common practice in those days, but it was suitable for the months from spring to autumn. December, which corresponds to the Jewish calendar month of Kislev, is the period of winter and heavy rain (Jeremiah 36:22; Ezra 10:9; Zechariah 7:1).
No one would leave the herd out in the open at this time of year. Likewise, Mary and Joseph’s trip would not be appropriate in a winter season. Due to the limitations of the time, any journey of more than 100 kilometers required great effort. Thus, the appropriate times for long trips would be: Easter (or Pessá, in April), at the beginning of planting; Pentecost or Shavuot (June), seven weeks later, when the first fruits were ripe, and Tabernacles (or Sukkot, in October), when the last fruits were harvested.
What is the most likely correct date?
What would therefore be the correct date for the birth of Christ? The day is difficult to say, but there is a possibility regarding the month. To find out which one it would be, simply analyze three sources: the gospel of Luke, the Jewish calendar and the book of I Chronicles 24:10. Starting with Luke, this evangelist gives the information that, before the birth of Jesus, there was the birth of John the Baptist. In Luke 1:5, 23-28 it is said that Elizabeth became pregnant by John when her husband, Zechariah, was ministering in the Temple as a priest. Now, Zechariah worked on the so-called Abijah shift. What would that be?
I Chronicles 24 explains how David divided the priests into 24 shifts of 15 days each. Thus, the shifts would cover the entire year. Verse 10 says that Abijah took the eighth shift. Considering that there were two shifts per month and that the Jewish calendar began in the month of Nisan, which is equivalent to March/April, it is understood that the second fortnight of Tammuz (July) would be the time of the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist and the beginning of Isabel’s pregnancy.
At nine months old, Isabel must have given birth in the month of Nisan, which would be March/April. What about Jesus? Luke 1:26-36 says that Mary became pregnant when Elizabeth, her relative, was in her sixth month of pregnancy, the month of Tibet (December/January). Therefore, Jesus would be born nine months after that, in the month of Ethanim, which would be September/October. This, therefore, would be a very reasonable hypothesis for the time of Jesus’ birth.
Biblia.com.br Team
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Rodrigo Silva is a Theologian with a postgraduate degree in Philosophy, a master’s degree in Historical Theology and a specialist in Archeology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. PhD in Classical Archeology from the University of São Paulo (USP), he is a professor at the Centro Universitário Adventista de São Paulo (Unasp), curator of the Paulo Bork archaeological museum, and presenter of the program Evidências, on TV Novo Tempo.