Luke 2:1

“And it came to pass in those days, etc.] When John the Baptist was born, and Christ was conceived, and his mother pregnant with him, and the time of his birth drew on. The Ethiopic version reads, “in that day”; as if it was the same day in which John was circumcised, and Zacharias delivered the above song of praise: that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus; second emperor of Rome; the name Caesar was common to all the emperors, as Pharaoh to the Egyptians, and afterwards Ptolemy. His name Augustus, was not his original surname, but Thurinus; and was given him, after he became Caesar, to express his grandeur, majesty, and reverence; and that by the advice of Munatius Plancus, when…”

“BIRTH OF CHRIST. (Luk 2:1-7) CÃ&brvbrsar Augustus--the first of the Roman emperors. all the world--so the vast Roman Empire was termed. taxed--enrolled, or register themselves.”

“In those days - About the time of the birth of John and of Christ. A decree - A law commanding a thing 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 - i. e., august,” or honorable - as a compliment to his own greatness; and from him the month “August,” which was before called “Sextilis,” received its name. That all the world - There has been much difficulty respecting this passage, from the fact that no such taxing of “all the world” is mentioned by ancient writers. It should have been rendered “the whole land” - that is, the whole land of…”

“That all the world should be enrolled - That all the inhabitants, male and female, of every town in the Roman empire, with their families and estates, should be registered. Luke 2:2”

“2:1-7 Having described John’s birth, Luke gives a parallel account of Jesus’ birth, with emphasis on its lowliness. Although he was the glorious Messiah, Jesus entered the world in humble circumstances. 2:1 Caesar Augustus, whose given name was Octavian, ruled the Roman Empire from 27 BC to AD 14. Prior to his time, Rome was a republic ruled by a senate. The Roman senate gave Augustus supreme authority as emperor, and the republic became an empire. Augustus secured the empire’s borders and established the Pax Romana (“Roman Peace”), a period of unprecedented stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean world. • A census registered the people for tax purposes.”

“Caesar: Luk 3:1; Act 11:28, Act 25:11, Act 25:21; Phi 4:22 all: Mat 24:14; Mar 14:9, Mar 16:15; Rom 1:8 taxed: or, enrolled Luke 2:2”