As part of the usual in-depth study I am doing on the Gospel of Matthew, I tacked the question of the Census of Quirinus, which is considered an apparent contradiction between Luke and Matthew.
My study Bible wasn't helping much, nor the commentaries I saw. The summary was "well, maybe it was some other appointment he had before being Legate of Syria".
Thankfully, a friend gave me this detailed article, which establishes very clearly that imperial census orders were not rare in those days, and it was very likely that Quirinus had a de-facto administrative resonsibility in Syria near the time of Herod's death.
If you ever had this intellectual struggle, I urge you to have a read at this article!
My study Bible wasn't helping much, nor the commentaries I saw. The summary was "well, maybe it was some other appointment he had before being Legate of Syria".
Thankfully, a friend gave me this detailed article, which establishes very clearly that imperial census orders were not rare in those days, and it was very likely that Quirinus had a de-facto administrative resonsibility in Syria near the time of Herod's death.
If you ever had this intellectual struggle, I urge you to have a read at this article!
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