Date of the birth of Jesus

Birth of Jesus
Nativity by Robert Campin (c. 1420), depicting the birth of Jesus during Spring
Part of a series on
Jesus
Jesus in Christianity
Jesus in Islam
Background
Jesus in history
Perspectives on Jesus
Jesus in culture

The date of the birth of Jesus is not stated in the gospels or in any historical sources and the evidence is too incomplete to allow for consistent dating.[1] However, most biblical scholars and ancient historians believe that his birth date is around 4 to 6 BC.[2][3][4][5][6][7] Two main approaches have been used to estimate the year of the birth of Jesus: one based on the accounts in the Gospels of his birth with reference to King Herod's reign, and the other by subtracting his stated age of "about 30 years" when he began preaching.

Aside from the historiographical approach of anchoring the possible year to certain independently well-documented events mentioned in Matthew and Luke, other techniques used by believers to identify the year of the birth of Jesus have included working backward from the estimation of the start of the ministry of Jesus[8] and assuming that the accounts of astrological portents in the gospels can be associated with certain astronomical alignments or other phenomena.[9]

The day or season has been estimated by various methods, including the description of shepherds watching over their sheep.[10] In the third century, the precise date of Jesus's birth was a subject of great interest, with early Christian writers suggesting various dates in March, April and May.[11]

Steven Hijmans of the University of Alberta writes that "cosmic symbolism" inspired the Church leadership in Rome to choose December 25, the Roman date of the winter solstice and the birthday of Sol Invictus ('Invincible Sun'), as the birthday of Christ.[12]

  1. ^ Doggett 2006, p. 579.
  2. ^ Dunn 2003, p. 344.
  3. ^ D. A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo & Leon Morris. (1992). An Introduction to the New Testament, 54, 56. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
  4. ^ Michael Grant, Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels, Scribner's, 1977, p. 71.
  5. ^ Ben Witherington III, "Primary Sources," Christian History 17 (1998) No. 3:12–20.
  6. ^ Rahner 1975, p. 731.
  7. ^ "Jesus - Jewish Palestine, Messiah, Nazareth | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  8. ^ Maier 1989, pp. 113–129.
  9. ^ Molnar 1999, p. 104.
  10. ^ Niswonger 1992, p. 121–124.
  11. ^ Hijmans, S.E., Sol: The Sun in the Art and Religions of Rome, 2009, p. 584.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hijmans was invoked but never defined (see the help page).