Roman Governors of Syria

Revised for 2 BC                                        

March   12 BC —   Summer 8 BC         Marcus Titus      

Summer   8 BC —     June 2 BC         Sentius Saturninus

June     2 BC —  October 2 BC         Quirinius         

October  2 BC —    March AD 1         Quinctillius Varus

March   AD 1  —    March AD 3         Caius Caesar/ with Varus

March   AD 3  —    March AD 6         Volusius          

March   AD 6  —    June  AD 12        Quirinius         

According to the 4 BC Theory      

13/12-10/9 BC   Marcus Titus      

9-7/6 BC        Sentius Saturninus

7/6-4 BC        Quinctillius Varus

4-1 BC          UNKOWN            

1 BC - 4 AD     Caius Caesar      

AD 4-5          Volusius          

AD 6 - AD 12    Quirinius         

Messiah was born September 1, 2 BC. This is our starting point in straightening out the mess of Roman governorships of Syria. I have to start here because of the overwhelming biblical evidence that this is when he was born. So let us review it briefly. Revelation 12:1-2 gives the astronomical synchronism. The Magi state that star rose on the day of his birth. The priestly divisions point exactly to the same day. Luke states that Messiah was about 30 in the 15th year of Tiberius. Luke knew how old he was and when he was born. So he means “almost 30”, and not plus or minus five years. Neither Yoɦanan nor Yeshu‘a were born before the term date. Both were conceived on a new moon day. All these data put together point uniquely to Sept. 1, 2 BC.

Now let us apply this Scriptural finding against the scholars who would argue from their interpretations of sources outside scripture against the scripture. First Herod died after Messiah was born. Therefore, Herod died after September 1, 2 BC. Josephus alleges that the governors of Syria passed straight from Saturninus to Varus (Ant. 17:89). Josephus claims that Herod ruled 37 years from his appointment in Rome (War 1:665) in 40 BC (Ant. 14:389). Counting inclusively between 40 BC and 4 BC is 37 years (40 - 4 + 1 = 37). Josephus also says that Herod died after a lunar eclipse (Ant. 17:167) and before the Passover (Ant. 17:213).

The 4 BC eclipse was March 13th at about 3 AM JMT. The following Passover was April 14th, 4 BC, just 29 days later. But as pointed out by Ernest Martin, Josephus records 10 to 12 weeks of events between the eclipse and the Passover, almost three times what can fit into 29 days. Therefore, we must say Josephus has contradicted himself. And this is right at the critical point relating to what year Herod died. So did Josephus manufacture all the events, or did he get his number 37 years incorrect? It is either he got the number 37 wrong or he goes onto the bonfire with the rest of historical fiction. The best choice is to say Josephus has his number wrong, and to pick another year with an eclipse. That other year is 1 BC, and the eclipse was Jan. 10 at about 1 AM JMT. Now all the events will fit.

What automatically follows in this case are the beginning dates for Varus in the chart above and the end dates for Saturninus. Into the gap goes Quirinius since Messiah was born on Sept. 1. Now some may suppose that the so called Varus coins show that Varus was governor earlier than 2 BC. But there is a problem. The alleged Varus coins, allegedly dated in the Actian Era from Sept. 31 BC, years 25, 26, and 27 (7-4 BC), would show that Varus became governor well before the summer of 5 BC! Josephus clearly places Sentius Saturninus as governor less than a year before Herod’s death! So what is alleged to show that Varus was governor in 4 BC also contradicts Josephus. Edward Greswell, who was a supporter of 4 BC, correctly saw the problem, and rightly proposed that the Varus coins were really Varo coins, and that Varo governed Syria in 25-22 BC, and that the coins are dated in the Caesarian Era of Julius Caesar’s dictatorship, where year one was 49/48 BC. Therefore, the alleged coin evidence that Varus governed Syria before 2 BC evaporates. Greswell also shows that Antioch likely switched from the Caesarian Era to the Actian Era when Augustus visited in 20 BC.

Oxford Scholar Greswell convincingly shows that Saturninus took office in 8 BC following Marcus Titius. Likewise, he shows that Titius took office in 12 BC. This gives Titus a tenure of 5 years. Now I depart from Greswell with the end of Saturninus’ tenure. Saturninus ended his stay in office about June of 2 BC. His total tenure was 6 years, which is fitting for a legate with exceptional privileges. There is another confirmation that Saturninus was the legate in the spring of 2 BC.

Tertullian puts Messiah’s birth in the 41st year of Augustus, and he dates this between August 3 BC and August 2 BC. He also puts the census under Sentius Saturninus instead of Quirinius. This shows at the very least that he allows for Saturninus to be governor in the spring of 2 BC. Why has Tertullian picked Saturninus? He has picked Saturninus because he believes in a birth date earlier than June 2 BC, which is the last date this governor was on duty. Tertullian would have had access to other records now lost. Quirinius filled the gap between Saturninus and Varus. But Tertullian must have believed Luke to be in error, and so he corrected Luke and said Saturninus was overseeing the census when Yosɛf, Miryam, and Yeshu‘a were enrolled. Tertullian’s dating of Saturninus is correct, and so also citing the fact that Saturninus oversaw at least part of the census. But his moving the birth back from the term of Quirinius some months into the term of Saturninus is not correct.

Saturninus was followed by Quirinius who finished the census in Judea. Under Saturninus there had been an attempt to enroll the Pharisees, which had failed. They had been fined. Saturninus being a legate of the highest privilege was allowed to retire after five and a part years, and he went back to Rome to enjoy Augustus’ special celebrations in Rome. Quirinius was appointed to fill the gap and to finish the census. After about five months of service he is replaced by Varus who serves until the death of Caius Caesar for about 3 years.

Quirinius First Census

It is well known from Josephus that Quirinius, while governor of Syria a second time, conducted a registration of property in Judea between AD 6 and AD 12. Augustus had made the decision to depose Archelaus, king of Judea, and to turn Judea into a regular Roman province. To accomplish this, Augustus sent his most expert administrator Quirinius. Therefore, all the property of Archelaus had to be inventoried. It should be noted that the word for “census” means “inventory,” and that it was applied as either an inventory of people or an inventory of property and goods. English uses separate words for counting people vs. counting goods or property. But the Greek language understood both by one word. When Quirinius was governor of Syria the first time, he inventoried the people in the jurisdiction of Syria, which then included the client kingdom of Judea. When he was governor the second time, he inventoried only the relevant property the Herodian State to turn it over to Rome in making Judea a province.

Besides Luke, there are two witnesses to the two governorships of Quirinius, and one extra witness to a prior census during his first governorship. The first is the Titulus Venetus and the second is the Titulus Tibertinus. The Titulus Venetus testifies to both a prior governorship and census of persons in Syria under Quirinius. Titulus Tibertinus says that a person fitting Quirinius description served twice as governor of Syria.

I turn to the Titulus Tibertinus first. Scholars have speculated that this referred to several governors, since the inscription is broken. They have proposed Varus, Saturninus, and Quirinius. Some proposed Piso also. But only Quirinius matches the whole description. Gerard Gertoux explains:

Now Ernest Martin contended that Varus was the unknown person of the Titulus Tibertinus. His basis for doing so was the so called “Varus coins,” which I mentioned above, allegedly in the 25th, 26th, and 27th year of the Actian Era (7/6 to 5/4 BC). But these coins are really Varo coins dating to 25-22 BC in the Caesarian Era. The Varus coins were called into question with good reasoning long ago. Martin cites Mommsen in his book, but he omitted to mention Mommsen’s conclusion that the man was Quirinius, in favor of his own conclusion: Varus. It is possible that Martin overlooked Quirinius because other scholars, committed to Luke’s errancy, would no consider Mommsen’s identification with Quirinius, precisely because it vindicated Luke.

Notes:

Antipater left for Rome in late April, and returned in October. This means that Quirinius was not in office in the spring of 2 B.C.