The year Jesus was born is around 5 or 6 B.C. Nowhere in Scripture, nor in secular writings, is there given an exact date. However, based upon the timeline of the census when Quirinius was governor of Syria (Luke 2:2), which we know was 8 B.C., and Herod’s death (Matthew 2:19), which we know was around 4 B.C., we can reasonably determine that Jesus was born approximately 5-6 B.C. How do we get from 8 B.C. to 5-6 B.C.? Scholars have determined it would have taken approximately two years for the decree to reach everyone and for all to then travel to their birthplaces to participate in the census.
