Things in the Bible not really in the Bible ...and a few surprises
Surprise of the Day
THIS IS A CORRECTION OF MY POST ON JANUARY 9:
Jesus first went to the temple when he was 12 and had celebrated his bar-mitzva
Luke 2:31-42 – Matthew 2:19-23
Fact of the Day
No! Bar-Mitzva was first recorded in history in the 13th century in France. Jesus’ parents went to the temple every year. The likely reason they did not take Jesus until he was age twelve was that cruel King Archaelaeus was so mean.
“After Herod [the Great] died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”
21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went from Egypt to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in the province of Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the province of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.”
Based on Jesus probably being 2 when Herod sent the soldiers to kill all boy babies 2 and under, Jesus was actually born BC 6. Herod died in BC 4. So, when Joseph took Jesus back to Palestine, he was about age 4. One of the first thinks Herod’s successor, Arhaelaus, did was order 3000 worshipers to be killed right in the temple. So, Joseph took Jesus up to the province of Galilee and to Nazareth where he would be safe.
But young king Archelaus kept getting worse, So, the same year Jesus turned 11, Caesar banished Archelaus to Vienna, Gaul.
FINALLY, it was safe to take Jesus to Jerusalem the following year when he was 12.
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