The Gospel of Luke (2:1) records that before Jesus was born Emperor Augustus issued a census to be made throughout “the entire Roman world.” Bible skeptics have argued that this is historically inaccurate since the Romans never conducted a census over the entire Roman world at one single time.[1] I hate to tell Christians this, but this is correct. There is indeed no evidence of an empire-wide census ever taking place. However, this does not mean that Luke was incorrect. Luke does not say that Augustus ordered a universal census throughout the entire Roman Empire.
The Greek that Luke uses indicates that Augustus issued a decree that censuses were to be taken regularly throughout the Roman world, and not one great, individual census at one single time. Luke uses the present tense in 2:1.[2] In Greek, whenever the present tense was used it carried with it the sense of repetitiveness, continuation, or a generalizing function.
Scholar William Ramsey says it well: “The decree of Augustus which Luke mentions is commonly interpreted as ordering that a single census should be held of the whole Roman world. This is not a correct interpretation of Luke’s words. He uses the present tense, and he means that Augustus ordered enrollments to be regularly taken, according to the strict and proper usage of the present tense. What Augustus did was to lay down the principle of systematic ‘enrollment’ in the Roman world, not to arrange for the taking of one single census.”[3]
The point is simple. Luke 2 indicates that Augustus issued a decree specifying that every province in the Roman Empire must hold a regular census although this did not necessarily have to happen at the same time. It was part of an empire-wide policy of taking censuses.[4] Even scholar Raymond Brown, a skeptic of the Bible, believes that this is a possible solution to the alleged problem.[5]
A decree for a universal census system is consistent with what we know about Caesar Augustus. Scholar Robert Stein has noted that although no record of a universal census exists, “under Augustus a tax assessment of all the Roman Empire did take place, even if this was not the result of a single census.”[6] Augustus was known for having a strong zeal for the financial affairs of the Empire. He even set up a register of the resources for the entire empire. A universal census system is a logical outcome for this.[7]
In conclusion, Luke is not incorrect. He never mentioned that Augustus issued a universal census. He declared that a system of census-taking was to be instituted throughout the Roman world. This is consistent with what we know about Augustus and how he administered his empire. This is an argument that skeptics should quit making.
(Note: other arguments have been used against Luke’s reliability of the census. For example, see here for the problem of Joseph returning to Bethlehem for the census).
[1] Scholar Raymond Brown said that “we have no evidence of one census under Augustus that covered the whole empire…” (Raymond E. Brown. The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1977), 413.) https://archive.org/details/birthofmessiahco0000brow/page/554/mode/2up. Another scholar, John Nolland, says the same thing: “There is no solid evidence for an imperial edict requiring an empire-wide census in the time of Augustus” (John Nolland, Luke 1:1-9:20, Volume 35A [HarperCollins Christian Publishing, 2016], 99.)
[2] This is in contrast to what is known as an aorist infinitive. Just a few verses later, Luke uses the aorist infinitive to describe when Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem. This was a one-time event.
[3] William Ramsey, Was Christ Born at Bethlehem? (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1898), 123-124. https://archive.org/details/waschristbornatb00ramsuoft/page/124/mode/2up
[4] David E. Garland, Luke. Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Clinton E. Arnold. Gen. Ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Chapter 6. John Thorley, “The Nativity Census: What Does Luke Actually Say?” Greece & Rome, Vol. 26, No. 1 Apr., 1979, 81-82. Scholar Harold Hoehner says, “…Luke uses the present tense indicating that Augustus ordered censuses to be taken regularly rather than only one time. Thus, it is reasonable to believe that there was an order of a general census in the time of Augustus” (Harold W Hoehner. Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 1977), 15).
[5] Brown, 548-549. Another scholar, Mark Smith, has come to a similar conclusion when he says, “Perhaps Luke means to refer to the census of Judaea as part of a larger census-taking strategy on the part of Augustus” (Mark D. Smith, “Of Jesus and Quirinius.” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly. Vol. 62, Iss. 2 (April 2000): 288).
[6] Robert A Stein, Luke: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture (B&H Publishing Group, 1993), 98).
[7] John Nolland (p. 99) says, “…Augustus did manifest an unprecedented zeal for rationalizing the financial affairs of the empire by setting up a register of the resources of the whole empire (Tacitus, Ann. 1.11; Dio Cassius 53.30.2; Sherwin-White, Roman Society, 168 n. 1, takes this to imply the completion of the census of the whole provincial area of the empire in some form) and is known to have been responsible for wide-ranging census activity in the provinces (Corbishley, Klio 29 [1936] 89; Braunert, Historia 6 [1957] 204). Luke’s words may intend no more than to express simply the fact that the census in Palestine took place as part of a coordinated empire-wide policy of Augustus. Indeed there is no good reason for denying the possibility that reference to such a general policy formed part of the edict for each particular provincial registration.”
Sources
Brown, Raymond E. The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1977. https://archive.org/details/birthofmessiahco0000brow/page/554/mode/2up
Garland, David E. Luke. Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Clinton E. Arnold. Gen. Ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. 2011.
Hoehner, Harold W. Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 1977. https://archive.org/details/chronologicalasp0000haro
Nolland, John. Luke 1:1-9:20, Volume 35A, HarperCollins Christian Publishing, 2016.
Ramsey William M. Was Christ Born at Bethlehem? London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1898. https://archive.org/details/waschristbornatb00rams/page/n5/mode/2up
Smith, Mark D. “Of Jesus and Quirinius.” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly. Vol. 62, Iss. 2 (April 2000): 278-293).
Stein, Robert A. Luke: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture, B&H Publishing Group, 1993.
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