Birth and childhood

The nativity — Nazareth, Bethlehem and the flight to Egypt

Luke 1:5 to 2:52; Matthew 1:18 to 2:23 · 11 stops · 12 readings

From the Temple where Zechariah is struck silent to the hill country, Nazareth, Bethlehem and back again — the thirty years before the ministry begins.

Luke opens inside the Jerusalem Temple rather than at Bethlehem: an old priest serving his course is struck silent for doubting the angel who promises him a son. The story then moves north to Nazareth, an unremarkable Galilean village, for the annunciation to Mary, and back south to the hill country of Judea, where two pregnant women greet one another. A census pulls Joseph and Mary the length of the country to Bethlehem, and the birth is announced first to shepherds working the fields outside the town. Forty days later the family is in the Temple again for the presentation, where Simeon and Anna recognise the child. Then the magi arrive from the east, Herod turns murderous, and the flight into Egypt puts the family beyond his reach until he dies. They settle afterwards at Nazareth, and the record goes quiet for nearly twenty years. It breaks once, when a twelve-year-old is left behind in Jerusalem at Passover and found days later among the teachers.

The stops

1. 1

   Jerusalem Temple

   High confidenceTemple Mount platform · Jerusalem area

   • The annunciation of the birth of the Baptist to zachariasLuke 1:5-25
2. 2

   Nazareth

   High confidenceNazareth · Northern Israel

   • The annunciation to the virgin Mary of the birth of JesusLuke 1:26-38
3. 3

   Hill country of Judea

   DebatedRepresentative point near Ein Karem · Jerusalem hills

   • The song of elisabeth to Mary upon her visitLuke 1:39-45
4. 4

   Nazareth

   High confidenceNazareth · Northern Israel

   • The annunciation to Joseph of the birth of JesusMatthew 1:18-25
5. 5

   Bethlehem

   High confidenceBethlehem · West Bank

   • The birth of JesusLuke 2:1-7
6. 6

   Fields near Bethlehem

   ProbableBethlehem and Beit Sahour environs · West Bank

   • The praise of the angels and the homage of the shepherdsLuke 2:8-20
7. 7

   Jerusalem Temple

   High confidenceTemple Mount platform · Jerusalem area

   • The presentation in the temple with the homage of simeon and annaLuke 2:22-38
8. 8

   Bethlehem

   High confidenceBethlehem · West Bank

   • Magi visit the new-born king of the jewsMatthew 2:1-12
   • The child Jesus carried to egypt, and the children at Bethlehem slainMatthew 2:13-18
9. 9

   Nazareth

   High confidenceNazareth · Northern Israel

   • The child brought from egypt to NazarethMatthew 2:19-23; Luke 2:39
10. 10

    Jerusalem Temple

    High confidenceTemple Mount platform · Jerusalem area

    • The visit of the boy Jesus to Jerusalem when twelve years oldLuke 2:41-50
11. 11

    Nazareth

    High confidenceNazareth · Northern Israel

    • The eighteen years at NazarethLuke 2:51-52

The line drawn on the map connects these stops in narrative order. It is schematic: it does not claim to trace the exact road between them, and each place carries its own confidence rating.

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