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NASB | Isaiah 61:2 To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Isaiah 61:2 To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance and retribution of our God, To comfort all who mourn, [Matt 11:2-6; Luke 4:18, 19; 7:22] |
Bible Question: I've read several reference books/commentaries which state that Jesus was actually born in 3 b.c. Does anyone know the actual year in which our Lord was born? |
Bible Answer: 1) The Bible does not tell us the exact date of Jesus’ birth. It does say, however, that he was born “in the days of Herod the king.” (Matthew 2:1) Many Bible scholars believe that Herod died in the year 4 B.C.E. and that Jesus was born before then—perhaps as early as 5 or 6 B.C.E. They base their conclusions about Herod’s death on statements by the first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus. 2) According to Josephus, shortly before King Herod died, there was an eclipse of the moon. Bible scholars point to a partial lunar eclipse on March 11, 4 B.C.E., as proof that Herod must have died in that year. However, in the year 1 B.C.E., there was a total lunar eclipse on January 8 and a partial eclipse on December 27. No one can say whether Josephus was referring to one of the eclipses in 1 B.C.E. or to the one in 4 B.C.E. So, we cannot use Josephus’ words to pinpoint the precise year of Herod’s death. Even if we could, without more information we still could not determine when Jesus was born. 3) The strongest evidence we have of the date of Jesus’ birth comes from the Bible. The inspired record states that Jesus’ cousin John the Baptizer began his career as a prophet in the 15th year of Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar. (Luke 3:1, 2) Secular history confirms that Tiberius was named emperor on September 15, 14 C.E., so his 15th year would run from the latter part of 28 C.E. to the latter part of 29 C.E. John began his ministry during that time, and Jesus evidently started his ministry six months later. (Luke 1:24-31) This, combined with other evidence, would place the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in the fall of 29 C.E. The Bible states that Jesus was “about thirty years old” when he began his ministry. (Luke 3:23) If he was 30 years old in the fall of 29 C.E., he must have been born in the fall of 2 B.C.E. Truthfinder |