Birth and Infancy of Jesus

In mid-August, 7 BCE, Joseph prepared to go to Bethlehem to register for a census of Herod’s kingdom for taxation purposes. Mary insisted on accompanying him. They set off from Nazareth, with Mary riding on a donkey while Joseph walked. When they reached Bethlehem, due to a lack of available rooms, they found lodging in a cleaned-up stable below an overcrowded inn. Mary was weary and asked Joseph to stay with her instead of enrolling immediately. The next day, on August 21st, 7 BCE, Mary gave birth to Jesus. A few weeks later, priests from Mesopotamia, guided by a dream, arrived in Bethlehem and left gifts with Mary for the baby. The legend of the star of Bethlehem originated from an astronomical event involving the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, but later generations turned it into a myth surrounding the birth of Jesus. Many weeks after Jesus’ birth, Joseph and Mary went to the temple in Jerusalem to present their baby to the priests, redeem him, and perform the purification ceremony. Simeon and Anna, who were close to the priest Zacharias, had all conspired to dramatize the event. Anna had written a stirring poem that Simeon sang proclaiming Jesus a child of promise, surprising Joseph, Mary, and others present. Joseph and Mary were overwhelmed by this public event. After the visit of the priests of Ur to Bethlehem, Herod became suspicious and summoned them for questioning. Unsatisfied with their explanation, he sent them to find the child and report back. Meanwhile, Herod's informers brought him news of the event in the temple but failed to follow Joseph and Mary. Herod, growing angry, demanded the child be brought to him, but failing to find him after a year of searching, he ruthlessly ordered all male babies in Bethlehem under two years old be killed. Joseph and Mary, warned by a member of Herod’s court and believer in the coming Messiah, fled the night before the massacre occurred to Alexandria in Egypt with Jesus, where they stayed for two years before returning to Bethlehem.