The Lord Jesus Christ was not born on

the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles

Paul Wong

Some people are promoting the theory that the Lord Jesus Christ was born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Here are some of their claims and also my objections to them.

1. John’s father Zacharias was a priest of the Abijah division (Lk. 1:5) Elizabeth conceived after Zacharias had completed his temple service which is around Winter time. Elizabeth was already six months pregnant when Mary visited her. Since Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months she must have been present when John was born. Jesus must have been born six months later than John which makes it during the Feast of Tabernacles.

Objection: In order for us to determine whether or not Jesus was born during the time of the Feast of Tabernacles there has to be a clear biblical statement that it is so. There is very clear biblical evidence that Jesus was born six months after the birth of John, but beyond that the Bible does not tell us exactly when Elizabeth and Mary had conceived. If the “sixth month” of Elizabeth’s pregnancy coincides with the “sixth month” of the Biblical calendar, which is very possible, then we can say that Jesus was born between the seasons of Spring and Summer, and around the months of May and June which has one of the most ideal weather conditions in Israel.

2. The writer of the Gospel according to Luke was a physician and a church historian. He also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. In both books he recorded the events as accurately as he could. He was familiar with all the Feasts of Yahweh. In Luke 2:41 he wrote about Jesus’ parents going “to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.” He wrote about the “custom of the Feast ” (Lk. 2:42); the “Feast of the Unleavened Bread" (Lk. 22:1); and the release of a prisoner at the Feast (Lk.23:17). In the second chapter of Acts of the Apostles Luke gave an accurate account of what took place in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost.

My question is this. Since Luke has written a detailed account of the births of John and Jesus in his first two chapters, why did he not give even the slightest hint that the Messiah was born during the Feast of Tabernacles if this is actually true. Luke knew Mary, the mother of Jesus, personally and she must have given him all the facts and data from which to write about the Messiah’s birth. The Feast of Tabernacles is one of the three important Feasts of Yahweh (Ex. 23:14-17; 34:22-23). If Luke did not mention the Feast of Tabernacles in connection with the Messiah’s birth he had either completely missed this important fact on the time of Jesus’ birth or there is absolutely no truth is this theory that Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles. The fact that Luke did not record the time of the Messiah’s birth is on the Feast of Tabernacles, and none of the other Gospel writers had written about it, there is no validity in this theory at all.

3. Theory Claim: Joseph and Mary had gone to Bethlehem during the Feast of Tabernacles and because of too many pilgrims in the village “there was no room for them in the inn” (Lk. 2:7)

Objection: Luke wrote Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem to be registered for the census (Lk. 2:1-5). Luke wrote nothing about the Feast of Tabernacles. All the other visitors had come to Bethlehem for the same reason as Joseph and Mary – to register in the census. There was not enough room in the inn to accommodate all the visitors.

4. Theory Claim: Many people from different parts of the world had gone to the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem in accordance with the Mosaic Law. Since not everyone could find accommodation in Jerusalem during the Feast therefore they had to stay in Bethlehem which is only about six miles south of Jerusalem. This is the reason why there was no room for Joseph and Mary in the inn in Bethlehem.

Objection: The main purpose of the Feast of Tabernacles is for the Children of Israel to “dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths.” (Lev. 23:42) The booths are to be constructed of “branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook” (Lev. 23:40). If the birth of the Messiah had actually happened on the Feast of Tabernacles there would be no lack of rooms in the inn in Bethlehem because people would be dwelling in outdoor booths which they constructed themselves. The fact that “there was no room for them in the inn” it goes to prove that the time of the Messiah’s birth could not have been during the Feast of Tabernacles.

5. Theory Claim: The fact that the baby Jesus was laid “in a manger” suggests that He was born in a temporary booth that was probably constructed by the inn management for the Feast of Tabernacles.

Objection: During the time when Jesus was born people traveled by either walking, riding on horses, donkeys or camels. The inn during the time of Jesus’ birth is like an American motel in our time. Just as we have spaces for motel guests to park their cars they had permanent outbuildings for the animals to rest and feed. The manger in which the baby Jesus was laid is a trough in which animals eat their feed. It is not a table for guests to eat their meals. It was not the Feast of Tabernacles when Jesus was born.

6. Theory Claim: The shepherds were living in booths while they were watching their flock by night because it was the time of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Objection: Luke recorded: “Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.” (Lk. 2:8) The “shepherds [were] living out in the fields” not in temporary booths that were constructed for the Feast of Tabernacles. Shepherds do not live in booths in one location but keep on moving with their flocks in search of pastures (1 Chron. 4:39-41)

The fact that the shepherds were “living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night” is an indication that the Messiah’s birth most likely occurs at a time when the outdoor weather condition is mild which is the best, probably around May and June between the Spring and Summer seasons. The Feast of Tabernacles occurs around September and October which does not have the best outdoor weather condition for the shepherds to be living out in the open fields.

My Personal Experience in Bethlehem

I have been to Israel twice and I have visited Bethlehem each time I went there. The first time I went to Bethlehem was in the Spring, and the weather condition was really nice. I could easily visualize our Lord Jesus Christ was born at that time of the year. The second time it was in the beginning of November. I remember our party of about 40 Christians from various denominations was holding a candlelight service at night out in the open field on the outskirts of Bethlehem. We were trying to duplicate what the shepherds were doing on the night Jesus was born. We were singing “Silent Nigh, Holy Night” and other Christmas songs, trying to recreate the atmosphere of the Messiah’s birth, but it was not very successful, honestly. The candlelight service was a complete washout because it was raining very hard and that night was a bit chilly. Every time someone tried to light a candle, even under an umbrella, the cold and gusty wind would blow it out, so we completely gave up lighting the candles. Autumn can be very wet and cold in Israel. I find it difficult to believe our Lord Jesus Christ was born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, and neither do I believe He was born on December 25. Lack of Biblical evidence and my personal experience in Bethlehem has borne out this conviction that I cannot deny.

May God bless you

Please click on the Titles below:

The Lord Jesus Christ was possibly born in
the Spring after the Feast of the Passover

Timeline of the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ

Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ

This Research Article is presented by Paul Wong

to the ARK Forum on January 5, 2005

For comments please write first to: ark@pdq.net

Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the President of ARK International.
His ministry also serves as an architectural service company in Houston.
The ARK Forum on the Internet is international and non-denominational.

Click here to this Website

Write to: ARK International P.O. Box 19707, Houston, Texas, 77224-9707, U.S.A. Tel. No. (713) 467-1462