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Luke 2:3 Commentaries: And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0; maximum-scale=1.0; user-scalable=0;"/><title>Luke 2:3 Commentaries: And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/newcom.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../vmenus/luke/2-3.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmcom/luke/2-3.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="http://biblehub.com/commentaries/">Commentaries</a> > Luke 2:3</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../luke/2-2.htm" title="Luke 2:2">◄</a> Luke 2:3 <a href="../luke/2-4.htm" title="Luke 2:4">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="topverse">And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.</div><div id="jump">Jump to: <a href="/commentaries/alford/luke/2.htm" title="Henry Alford - Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary">Alford</a> • <a href="/commentaries/barnes/luke/2.htm" title="Barnes' Notes">Barnes</a> • <a href="/commentaries/bengel/luke/2.htm" title="Bengel's Gnomen">Bengel</a> • <a href="/commentaries/benson/luke/2.htm" title="Benson Commentary">Benson</a> • <a href="/commentaries/illustrator/luke/2.htm" title="Biblical Illustrator">BI</a> • <a href="/commentaries/calvin/luke/2.htm" title="Calvin's Commentaries">Calvin</a> • <a href="/commentaries/cambridge/luke/2.htm" title="Cambridge Bible">Cambridge</a> • <a href="/commentaries/clarke/luke/2.htm" title="Clarke's Commentary">Clarke</a> • <a href="/commentaries/darby/luke/2.htm" title="Darby's Bible Synopsis">Darby</a> • <a href="/commentaries/ellicott/luke/2.htm" title="Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers">Ellicott</a> • <a href="/commentaries/expositors/luke/2.htm" title="Expositor's Bible">Expositor's</a> • <a href="/commentaries/edt/luke/2.htm" title="Expositor's Dictionary">Exp Dct</a> • <a href="/commentaries/egt/luke/2.htm" title="Expositor's Greek">Exp Grk</a> • <a href="/commentaries/gaebelein/luke/2.htm" title="Gaebelein's Annotated Bible">Gaebelein</a> • <a href="/commentaries/gsb/luke/2.htm" title="Geneva Study Bible">GSB</a> • <a href="/commentaries/gill/luke/2.htm" title="Gill's Bible Exposition">Gill</a> • <a href="/commentaries/gray/luke/2.htm" title="Gray's Concise">Gray</a> • <a href="/commentaries/guzik/luke/2.htm" title="Guzik Bible Commentary">Guzik</a> • <a href="/commentaries/haydock/luke/2.htm" title="Haydock Catholic Bible Commentary">Haydock</a> • <a href="/commentaries/hastings/luke/2-7.htm" title="Hastings Great Texts">Hastings</a> • <a href="/commentaries/homiletics/luke/2.htm" title="Pulpit Homiletics">Homiletics</a> • <a href="/commentaries/icc/luke/2.htm" title="ICC NT Commentary">ICC</a> • <a href="/commentaries/jfb/luke/2.htm" title="Jamieson-Fausset-Brown">JFB</a> • <a href="/commentaries/kelly/luke/2.htm" title="Kelly Commentary">Kelly</a> • <a href="/commentaries/king-en/luke/2.htm" title="Kingcomments Bible Studies">King</a> • <a href="/commentaries/lange/luke/2.htm" title="Lange Commentary">Lange</a> • <a href="/commentaries/maclaren/luke/2.htm" title="MacLaren Expositions">MacLaren</a> • <a href="/commentaries/mhc/luke/2.htm" title="Matthew Henry Concise">MHC</a> • <a href="/commentaries/mhcw/luke/2.htm" title="Matthew Henry Full">MHCW</a> • <a href="/commentaries/meyer/luke/2.htm" title="Meyer Commentary">Meyer</a> • <a href="/commentaries/parker/luke/2.htm" title="The People's Bible by Joseph Parker">Parker</a> • <a href="/commentaries/pnt/luke/2.htm" title="People's New Testament">PNT</a> • <a href="/commentaries/poole/luke/2.htm" title="Matthew Poole">Poole</a> • <a href="/commentaries/pulpit/luke/2.htm" title="Pulpit Commentary">Pulpit</a> • <a href="/commentaries/sermon/luke/2.htm" title="Sermon Bible">Sermon</a> • <a href="/commentaries/sco/luke/2.htm" title="Scofield Reference Notes">SCO</a> • <a href="/commentaries/ttb/luke/2.htm" title="Through The Bible">TTB</a> • <a href="/commentaries/vws/luke/2.htm" title="Vincent's Word Studies">VWS</a> • <a href="/commentaries/wes/luke/2.htm" title="Wesley's Notes">WES</a> • <a href="#tsk" title="Treasury of Scripture Knowledge">TSK</a></div><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="comtype">EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)</div><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/luke/2.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(3) <span class= "bld">All went to be taxed.</span>—As a rule the practice in a Roman census was to register people in their place of residence; but this was probably modified in Palestine, in deference to the feelings of the people. After the death of Herod and the division of his kingdom, such a method as that implied hero could hardly have been feasible, as the subjects of one tetrarchy would not have been registered as belonging to another, so that here again we have not an error, but a special note of accuracy.<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/benson/luke/2.htm">Benson Commentary</a></div><span class="bld"><a href="/luke/2-3.htm" title="And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.">Luke 2:3</a></span>. <span class="ital">And all went to be taxed, </span>(enrolled,) <span class="ital">every one to his city </span>— “When the census was made in any country, the inhabitants were obliged to attend in the cities to which they belonged, Livy, 50. 42. c. 10. The reason was, without a precaution of this kind, the census would have been excessively tedious, and people who were abroad might have been omitted, or registered among the inhabitants of other cities, where they would not have been found afterward, or they might have been enrolled twice, which would have produced confusion in the registers.” In the dominions of Herod, however, probably by his order, a small alteration seems to have been made in the method of executing the census. For instead of the people being directed to appear, as usual, in the cities where they resided, or to whose jurisdiction the places of their abode belonged, they were ordered to appeal according to their families; every one in his native city, or the place where his paternal inheritance lay, to be there enrolled; a circumstance wisely ordered by Providence to verify the truth of ancient prophecies; for thus the parents of Christ were providentiatly brought to Bethlehem, the place where the Messiah was to be born, without leaving any room to suspect them of artifice and design. And thus, also, by their coming to be registered among the subjects of the Roman empire, the subjection of the Jews to the Romans was very remarkably manifested.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="mhc" id="mhc"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/mhc/luke/2.htm">Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary</a></div>2:1-7 The fulness of time was now come, when God would send forth his Son, made of a woman, and made under the law. The circumstances of his birth were very mean. Christ was born at an inn; he came into the world to sojourn here for awhile, as at an inn, and to teach us to do likewise. We are become by sin like an outcast infant, helpless and forlorn; and such a one was Christ. He well knew how unwilling we are to be meanly lodged, clothed, or fed; how we desire to have our children decorated and indulged; how apt the poor are to envy the rich, and how prone the rich to disdain the poor. But when we by faith view the Son of God being made man and lying in a manger, our vanity, ambition, and envy are checked. We cannot, with this object rightly before us, seek great things for ourselves or our children.<a name="bar" id="bar"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/barnes/luke/2.htm">Barnes' Notes on the Bible</a></div>And this taxing was first made ... - This verse has given as much perplexity, perhaps, as any one in the New Testament. The difficulty consists in the fact that "Cyrenius," or "Quirinius," was not governor of Syria until 12 or 15 years after the birth of Jesus. Jesus was born during the reign of Herod. At that time "Varus" was president of Syria. Herod was succeeded by "Archelaus," who reigned eight or nine years; and after he was removed, Judea was annexed to the province of Syria, and Cyrenius was sent as the governor (Josephus, "Ant.," b. xvii. 5). The difficulty has been to reconcile this account with that in Luke. Various attempts have been made to do this. The one that seems most satisfactory is that proposed by Dr. Lardner. According to his view, the passage here means, "This was the "first" census of Cyrenius, governor of Syria." It is called the "first" to distinguish it from one "afterward" taken by Cyrenius, <a href="/acts/5-37.htm">Acts 5:37</a>. It is said to be the census taken by "Cyrenius; governor of Syria; "not that he was "then" governor, but that it was taken by him who was afterward familiarly known as governor. "Cyrenius, governor of Syria," was the name by which the man was known when Luke wrote his gospel, and it was not improper to say that the taxing was made by Cyrenius, the governor of Syria," though he might not have been actually governor for many years afterward. Thus, Herodian says that to Marcus "the emperor" were born several daughters and two sons," though several of those children were born to him "before" he was emperor. Thus, it is not improper to say that General Washington saved Braddock's army, or was engaged in the old French war, though he was not actually made "general" until many years afterward. According to this Augustus sent Cyrenius, an active, enterprising man, to take the census. At that time he was a Roman senator. Afterward, he was made governor of the same country, and received the title which Luke gives him.<p>Syria - The region of country north of Palestine, and lying between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates. "Syria," called in the Hebrew "Aram," from a son of Shem <a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/10-22.htm">Genesis 10:22</a>, in its largest acceptation extended from the Mediterranean and the river Cydnus to the Euphrates, and from Mount Taurus on the north to Arabia and the border of Egypt on the south. It was divided into "Syria Palestina," including Canaan and Phoenicia; "Coele-Syria," the tract of country lying between two ridges of Mount Lebanon and Upper Syria. The last was known as "Syria" in the restricted sense, or as the term was commonly used.<p>The leading features in the physical aspect of Syria consist of the great mountainous chains of Lebanon, or Libanus and Anti-Libanus, extending from north to south, and the great desert lying on the southeast and east. The valleys are of great fertility, and yield abundance of grain, vines, mulberries, tobacco, olives, excellent fruits, as oranges, figs, pistachios, etc. The climate in the inhabited parts is exceedingly fine. Syria is inhabited by various descriptions of people, but Turks and Greeks form the basis of the population in the cities. The only tribes that can be considered as unique to Syria are the tenants of the heights of Lebanon. The most remarkable of these are the Druses and Maronites. The general language is Arabic; the soldiers and officers of government speak Turkish. Of the old Syriac language no traces now exist. <a name="jfb" id="jfb"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/jfb/luke/2.htm">Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary</a></div>3. went … to his own city—the city of his extraction, according to the Jewish custom, not of his abode, which was the usual Roman method.<div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/poole/luke/2.htm">Matthew Poole's Commentary</a></div> <span class="bld">See Poole on "<a href="/luke/2-1.htm" title="And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.">Luke 2:1</a>"</span> <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="gil" id="gil"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/gill/luke/2.htm">Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible</a></div>And all went to be taxed,.... Throughout Judea, Galilee, and Syria; men, women, and children, <p>every one into his own city; where he was born, and had any estate, and to which he belonged. <a name="gsb" id="gsb"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/gsb/luke/2.htm">Geneva Study Bible</a></div><span class="cverse2">And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.</span></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><div class="comtype">EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)</div><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/meyer/luke/2.htm">Meyer's NT Commentary</a></div><a href="/luke/2-3.htm" title="And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.">Luke 2:3</a> ff. <span class="greekheb">Πάντες</span>] in the Jewish land, for which <a href="/luke/2-2.htm" title="(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)">Luke 2:2</a> has prepared, and see <a href="/luke/2-4.htm" title="And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)">Luke 2:4</a>. Obviously only all those are meant, who did not dwell in their <span class="greekheb">ἰδία πόλις</span>; <span class="greekheb">ἕκαστος</span> is a distributive apposition (Ameis on Homer, <span class="ital">Od.</span> x. 397).<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="greekheb">εἰς τ</span>. <span class="greekheb">ἰδίαν πόλιν</span>] the more precise definition is furnished by <a href="/luke/2-4.htm" title="And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)">Luke 2:4</a>. This statement, too, does not suit a <span class="ital">census</span> proper; for to this every one was required to subject himself at his <span class="ital">dwelling place</span>, or at <span class="ital">the</span> place where he had his <span class="ital">forum originis</span> (see Huschke, p. 116 ff.), whereas in our passage the Jewish principle of <span class="ital">tribe</span> is the basis. And if the matter were not a census, but a mere registration (see above), there was no reason for departing from the time-hallowed division of the people, or for not having the matter carried out in <span class="ital">Jewish form</span>. The actual historical state of the case shines here through the traditional dress of a census.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="greekheb">πόλιν Δαυ</span>.] The city where David was born, <a href="/1_samuel/17-11.htm" title="When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.">1 Samuel 17:11</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="greekheb">Βεθλεέμ</span>] see on <a href="/matthew/2-1.htm" title="Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,">Matthew 2:1</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="greekheb">ἐξ οἴκου κ</span>. <span class="greekheb">πατριᾶς Δαυ</span>.] The tribes proceeding from the sons of Jacob were called <span class="greekheb">φυλαί</span> (מַטּו<span class="greekheb">̇ת</span>); the branches proceeding from the sons of these patriarchs, <span class="greekheb">πατριαί</span> (מִשְׁפְּהו<span class="greekheb">̇ת</span>); the single families of such a tribal branch, <span class="greekheb">οἶκοι</span> (בֵּיח אָבו<span class="greekheb">̇ח</span>). See Kypke, I. p. 213; Winer, Realwörterb. s.v. Stämme; Gesenius, Thes. I. p. 193, III. p. 1463. Joseph was thus of the family descending from David, and belonged to the same branch of the tribe to which David bad belonged. A circumstantial designation of this important relationship. As to <span class="greekheb">πατριά</span>, moreover, see on <a href="/ephesians/3-15.htm" title="Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,">Ephesians 3:15</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="greekheb">σὺν Μαριάμ</span>] does not belong to <span class="greekheb">ἀνέβη</span> (Paulus, Hofmann, Ebrard), but to <span class="greekheb">ἀπογράψ</span>. beside which it stands: in order to have himself enrolled with Mary, etc. But that Mary had of necessity to share the journey with him (which was not requisite in the case of a census, when only the names of the women and children had to be specified, Dion. Hal. iv. 14; see Strauss, I. p. 235, and Huschke, p. 121, in opposition to Tholuck, p. 191) is the less to be supposed, as in the main the form of the execution of the <span class="greekheb">ἀπογραφή</span> was the Jewish one, <a href="/luke/2-3.htm" title="And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.">Luke 2:3</a>. Nevertheless, wives (in this case Mary as one betrothed, who according to Jewish law was placed on the same footing as the wife) had to be likewise entered in the register, which must have been a matter of Roman enactment, but for which it was not necessary that they should come personally with their husbands to the spot. We have consequently to abide by the view that Mary undertook the journey with her husband voluntarily, according to her own and Joseph’s wish, in order to remain under the protection of her betrothed (not exactly on account of the troublous times,—an idea which Ebrard imports). There are various arbitrary hypotheses, such as: that she travelled with him on account of the poll-tax (Huschke); that she wished still as a maiden to represent her father’s house, and longed after Bethlehem in the theocratic feeling of maternity (Lange); that the command for the taxing extended also to the children and contained a definite point of time, just about which Mary expected her delivery (von Gumpach). And the hypothesis that Mary was an heiress, who had an estate in Bethlehem (Michaelis, Kuinoel, Olshausen; with hesitation Bleek and Köhler), is utterly unfounded as regards Luke in particular, since he has not the smallest trace of any earlier connection with Bethlehem and makes Mary in her travail not find even friendly lodging there.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="greekheb">τῇ ἐμνηστ</span>. <span class="greekheb">αὐτῷ</span>] Thus, according to Luke, she was still only his betrothed (<a href="/luke/1-27.htm" title="To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.">Luke 1:27</a>; <a href="/matthew/1-18.htm" title="Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.">Matthew 1:18</a>), and the marriage was not yet completed. At variance with <a href="/matthew/1-24.htm" title="Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took to him his wife:">Matthew 1:24</a>. A different form assumed by the tradition of the virgin birth. Evasive suggestions are resorted to by Beza, Grotius, and others, including Schegg and Bisping (that Luke expresses himself thus, because Joseph had only conducted himself as one betrothed towards Mary).<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="greekheb">οὔσῃ ἐγκύῳ</span>] not: because she was pregnant (von Gumpach), but: who was pregnant (<a href="/acts/24-24.htm" title="And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.">Acts 24:24</a>; <a href="/romans/1-16.htm" title="For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God to salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.">Romans 1:16</a>, and frequently). The observation forms the transition to what follows.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span> REMARK.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>From Mary’s sharing in the journey we are not to conclude that she likewise was of the family of David (Grotius, Kuinoel, and others). She journeyed voluntarily with Joseph <span class="ital">as his future wife,</span> and <span class="ital">Joseph</span> journeyed as a member of the house of David. If Luke had had in his mind the thought that Mary shared the journey as a descendant of David, he must have written, and that at the end of <a href="/luke/2-5.htm" title="To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.">Luke 2:5</a>, <span class="greekheb">διὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτους κ</span>.<span class="greekheb">τ</span>.<span class="greekheb">λ</span>. But comp. on <a href="/luke/1-36.htm" title="And, behold, your cousin Elisabeth, she has also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.">Luke 1:36</a>, and on <a href="/matthew/1-17.htm" title="So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.">Matthew 1:17</a>, Remark 2.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/egt/luke/2.htm">Expositor's Greek Testament</a></div><a href="/luke/2-3.htm" title="And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.">Luke 2:3</a>. <span class="greekheb">πάντες</span>: not all throughout the world, but all in Palestine—the execution of the decree there being what the evangelist is interested in.—<span class="greekheb">εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν πόλιν</span> (or <span class="greekheb">ἑαυτοῦ π</span>., W.H[22]). Does this mean to the city of his people, or to the city of his abode? If the former, what a stir in Palestine, or in the world if <span class="greekheb">πάντες</span> be taken widely! A regular “Völkerwanderung” (Holtzmann in H. C.). Sensible of this, some (Hahn, <span class="ital">e.g.</span>) take the reference to be to the place of residence (Wohnort not Stammort), implying that Bethlehem was for Lk. as for Mt. Joseph’s home, and that they merely happened to have been living in Nazareth just before. But <a href="/luke/2-7.htm" title="And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.">Luke 2:7</a> implies that Joseph and Mary had no house in Bethlehem. Feine quotes, with a certain amount of approval, the view of Schneller (<span class="ital">Kennst du das Land</span>) that Joseph was not a carpenter but a mason, and that Bethlehem was therefore his natural home, being the headquarters of that craft then as now. On this view, Joseph had simply been in Nazareth building a house, not at home, but away from home for a time as an artisan.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>[22] Westcott and Hort.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/cambridge/luke/2.htm">Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges</a></div><span class="bld">3</span>. <span class="ital">every one into his own city</span>] This method of enrolment was a concession to Jewish prejudices. The Roman method was to enrol each person at his own place of residence. Incidentally this unexplained notice proves that St Luke is dealing with an historical enrolment.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/bengel/luke/2.htm">Bengel's Gnomen</a></div><a href="/luke/2-3.htm" title="And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.">Luke 2:3</a>. <span class="greekheb">Εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν πόλιν</span>, <span class="ital">into his own city</span>) Joseph seems to have left Bethlehem only a short while before.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>Luke 2:3<a name="vws" id="vws"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/vws/luke/2.htm">Vincent's Word Studies</a></div>Went (ἐπορεύοντο)<p>The A. V. and Rev. alike miss the graphic force of the imperfect tense, were going. The preparation and bustle and travel were in progress.<p>To his own city<p>The town to which the village or place of their birth belonged, and where the house and lineage of each were registered. <div class="vheading2">Links</div><a href="/interlinear/luke/2-3.htm">Luke 2:3 Interlinear</a><br /><a href="/texts/luke/2-3.htm">Luke 2:3 Parallel Texts</a><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/niv/luke/2-3.htm">Luke 2:3 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/luke/2-3.htm">Luke 2:3 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/luke/2-3.htm">Luke 2:3 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/luke/2-3.htm">Luke 2:3 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/luke/2-3.htm">Luke 2:3 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="http://bibleapps.com/luke/2-3.htm">Luke 2:3 Bible Apps</a><br /><a href="/luke/2-3.htm">Luke 2:3 Parallel</a><br /><a href="http://bibliaparalela.com/luke/2-3.htm">Luke 2:3 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="http://holybible.com.cn/luke/2-3.htm">Luke 2:3 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="http://saintebible.com/luke/2-3.htm">Luke 2:3 French Bible</a><br /><a href="http://bibeltext.com/luke/2-3.htm">Luke 2:3 German Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a><br /></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td align="center"><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br /> <!-- /1078254/BH-728x90-ATF --> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br /> <!-- /1078254/BH-300x250-ATF --> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br /> <!-- /1078254/BH-728x90-BTF --> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br /> <!-- /1078254/BH-300x250-BTF --> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br /> <!-- /1078254/BH-728x90-BTF2 --> <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script><br /><br /> </div> <div id="left"><a href="../luke/2-2.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Luke 2:2"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Luke 2:2" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../luke/2-4.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Luke 2:4"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Luke 2:4" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div> <div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>