Albert Barnes Commentary Luke 2:1

"Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be enrolled." — Luke 2:1 (ASV)

LUKE

CHAPTER II.

In those days. About the time of the birth of John and of Christ.

A decree. A law commanding something to be done.

Caesar Augustus. This was the Roman emperor. His first name was Octavianus. He was the nephew of Julius Caesar and obtained the empire after his death. He took the name Augustus—that is, august, or honorable—as a compliment to his own greatness; and from him the month August, which was previously called Sextilis, received its name.

That all the world. There has been much difficulty concerning this passage, because no such taxing of all the world is mentioned by ancient writers. It should have been translated the whole land—that is, the whole land of Palestine. The phrase the whole land is mentioned to show that it was not Judea only, but that it also included Galilee, the place where Joseph and Mary lived.

That the passage refers only to the land of Palestine, and not to the whole world or to all the Roman empire, is clear from the following considerations:

1. The fact that no such taxing is mentioned as pertaining to any other country.

2. The account of Luke demands only that it should be understood of Palestine, or the country where the Savior was born.

3. The words world and whole world are often used in this limited sense, confined to a single country. See Matthew 4:8, where Satan is said to have shown Christ all the kingdoms of the world, that is, of the land of Judea. See also Joshua 2:3; Luke 4:25 (Greek); Luke 21:26; Acts 11:28.

Should be taxed. Our word tax means to levy and raise money for the use of the government. This is not the meaning of the original word here. It means rather to enroll, or take a list of the citizens, with their occupations, the amount of their property, etc., equivalent to what was meant by a census.

Judea was at that time tributary to Rome. It paid taxes to the Roman emperor; and, though Herod was king, he held his appointment under the Roman emperor and was subject to him in most matters.

Furthermore, as this enrolment was merely to ascertain the numbers and property of the Jews, it is probable that they were very willing to be enrolled in this manner; therefore, we hear that they went willingly, without tumult—unlike the usual way when they were to be taxed.