FEATURE

Early Human Life of Jesus

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THE Bible’s record of Jesus’ early life is brief but specific. It is not a fanciful story but is historical fact. It involves places that can be visited even now—Bethlehem, Egypt, Nazareth, and Jerusalem. The Bible’s dating and explanation of events involves such prominent persons as Caesar Augustus, Governor Quirinius, King Herod the Great, and Archelaus—all of whom are known from secular history.

A view of Bethlehem, where Jesus was born

A drawing depicting the circumstances under which Jesus was born

A model of the palace of Herod the Great, now on display in Jerusalem. It was King Herod who tried to have young Jesus killed

A bronze coin of Archelaus. When Joseph heard that Archelaus was ruling in Judea, he settled his family outside Archelaus’ jurisdiction, up in Nazareth

Bronze coin minted by Herod the Great and bearing his name

A reconstruction of the temple area as it may have appeared in first-century Jerusalem

At 12 years of age, Jesus was in the temple in Jerusalem, sitting in the midst of the teachers and listening to them and questioning them

As a young man in Nazareth, Jesus worked at carpentry under the supervision of his adoptive father

En Nasira (Nazerat) in Galilee, the likely site of ancient Nazareth, where Jesus grew up

Insight on the Scriptures