Timeline of the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ

Paul Wong

The Holy Bible does not give us the exact date of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ but the Gospel according to Luke gives us the exact month in which the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would conceive the Son of God in her womb.

“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’ But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:26-33)

The "sixth month" mentioned here refers to the time of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, but it can also refer to the "sixth month" which is called Elul in the Hebrew-Jewish calendar. God had determined the "first month of the year" to be the month in which the Children of Israel were to commemorate the LORD's Passover (Ex. 12:1-28). The "first month of the year" corresponds to the time between March and April. Even to this present age the Jews have been celebrating their Passover around that time of the year. The "sixth month" corresponds to the time between August and September. If the conception had occured not too long after Gabriel’s announcement to Mary, and if the normal pregnancy period of nine months is applied, then the date of birth of the Lord Jesus Christ would be around May or June. It is highly possible that Jesus was born in the Spring time after the Passover. The climate in Israel at that time of the year is very mild. This makes it possible for the baby Jesus to be delivered and wrapped only in “swaddling cloths” and “laid in a manger” without any form of heating whatsoever (Lk. 2:6-7). Since the climate in Bethlehem is not wet and cold at that time of the year therefore “in the same country shepherds living out in the fields (were) keeping watch over their flock by night.” (Lk.2:8)

Some believe Jesus Christ was born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles which falls on the seventh month called Tishri, but this is unlikely. There is a possibility our Lord was born in the Spring time after the Feast of Passover.

Timeline of the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ

Chart showing Time Frame in International, Biblical and Hebrew-Jewish Calendars
International/ Gregorian	Number of Days	Biblical	Hebrew- Jewish	Number of Days	Season	Period of Pregnancy
		Fourth	Tammuz	29	Summer
July	31				Summer
		Fifth	Av	30	Summer
August	31				Summer
		Sixth Month	Elul	29	Summer	Conception begins
September	30				Summer
		Seventh	Tishri	30	Autumn	Begin Second Month
October	31				Autumn
		Eighth	Heshvan	29 or 30	Autumn	Begin Third Month
November	30				Autumn
		Nineth	Kislev	29 or 30	Autumn	Begin Fourth Month
December	31				Autumn
		Tenth	Tevet	30	Winter	Begin Fifth Month
January	31				Winter
		Eleventh	Shevat	30	Winter	Begin Sixth Month
February	28 or 29 in leap years				Winter
		Twelfth	Adar	29 or 30	Winter	Begin Seventh Month
March	31		Adar Sheni (leap year)	Lear year only - 29	Winter
		First	Nisan	30	Spring	Begin Eighth Month
April	30				Spring
		Second	Iyar	29	Spring	Begin Ninth Month
May	31				Spring
		Third	Sivan	30	Spring	Time of Birth
June	30				Spring

Please go to :à Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ

May God bless you

This Research Article is presented by Paul Wong

to the ARK Forum on December 26, 2004

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.
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