Matthew 2:1

From Errancy Wiki
Revision as of 22:10, 30 May 2009 by JoeWallack (talk | contribs) (→‎Pro)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigationJump to search

Previous Verse < Matthew 2 > Next Verse

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, Wise-men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, (ASV)

Pro

See John 7:52 for a discrepancy over Jesus' birthplace.


When was Jesus born?

Bible scholar Bart Ehrman points out the following contradiction in Jesus, Interrupted:

Per "Matthew" Jesus is born during Herod the King's reign:

Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, Wise-men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

Per Josephus and other ancient sources Herod the Great died c. 4 BCE.

Per "Luke" Jesus is born during the census of Quirinius:

Luke 2:1-5

1 Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be enrolled.
2 This was the first enrolment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3 And all went to enrol themselves, every one to his own city.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;
5 to enrol himself with Mary, who was betrothed to him, being great with child.

Per Josephus and other ancient sources the census of Quirinius started c. 6 CE. So there is a difference of at least 10 years between when "Matthew" and "Luke" say Jesus was born.

See Luke 2:2 for a detailed analysis.

--JoeWallack 18:09, 30 May 2009 (EDT)

Where was Jesus' home?

JW:

Bible scholar Bart Ehrman points out the following contradiction in Jesus, Interrupted:

Per "Matthew" Jesus' home is Bethlehem:

Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, Wise-men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

Per "Luke" Jesus' home is Nazareth:

Luke 2:4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;

--JoeWallack 10:20, 21 May 2009 (EDT)

Explanation of the contradiction

JW:

If there is a reasonable explanation of how a contradiction occurred this is support for a contradiction. Ehrman points out here that both "Matthew" and "Luke" inherit a source, "Mark", which says that Jesus came from Nazareth for his baptism. Therefore, they only need to place Jesus at Nazareth at that time and not necessarily at his birth, which "Mark" does not describe. The important objective of "Matthew" and "Luke" is to place Jesus' birth in Bethlehem in order to supposedly fulfill prophecy. Not important is to agree with the other Gospel. Therefore they can have their Jesus come from different places to get to Nazareth which is their common source's starting point.

--JoeWallack 09:36, 24 May 2009 (EDT)

Con

Edit this section if you doubt error.

Neutral

Edit this section to note miscellaneous facts.

External links