The Census

The Census

The census is a key element in Luke’s account of the Nativity (although not mentioned by Matthew!). As such it may provide valuable clues about the exact date of the Nativity – at least in so far as supporting a particular date - or simply be a red herring.

Certainly, for Joseph to make a long journey, with a heavily pregnant wife, back to the town of his birth requires a strong motivation. Joseph would have needed to leave his workshop (and presumably his only source of income) to make the journey. Only if he had some kind of deadline to meet is it likely that he would risk such a journey just before the baby was due to be born. An imperial decree to report for registration before a certain date would certainly give him such motivation.

Many experts believe that the 8BC census ordered by Caesar Augustus is the one which was referred to by Luke. However, there is a further problem. The census would have been for Roman citizens only and would not have included Joseph as a citizen of a Roman protectorate (a euphemism for "conquered territory". Thus the census would not have been for "the whole world" (typical hyperbole), nor would Joseph have needed to participate if this were the case. Similarly, if Jesus was born in 5BC, it seems odd that as much as 3 years should elapse between the census decree and its being carried out. Even a 6BC date for the Nativity still makes the delay unusually great.

Various solutions have been proposed:

The decree might have been "retroactive" – in other words, Caesar issued the decree and then stated that it should be acted on at a certain, later date. In this way there would be no excuse for delays, poor organisation, or omissions in the census. This does not explain though why Joseph needed to travel to participate.
Similarly, the Greek phrasing of the reference to the census in Luke’s Gospel is somewhat complicated and, in translation, could be made to mean "a census like the one held when Quirinius was Governor of Syria". In other words, Luke may just have been using the example of the 14 AD census to illustrate the procedure. This would explain the reference to Quirinius.
It is possible that Luke may have referred to a census for registration, not one for taxation. Such a census would have been used to draw up the roll of those available for military service, which even a non-Roman citizen, such as Joseph, would have been.

However, we have to conclude that the matter of the census and its meaning remain uncertain to this day and may never be completely resolved.