When was messiah born?

Luke 1:5  Note that Zachariah belonged to the priestly division of Abijah.  I Chronicles 24:10 places Abijah as the eighth division in the monthly rotation of priests serving in the Temple.  After the Exile and rebuilding of the Temple, this was changed to a two-week rotation.  So Zachariah would have been in the temple in late June to early July, by our modern calendar.

Luke 1:26  The angel Gabriel appears to Mary six months after Zachariah was serving in the Temple.  Yeshua was conceived around the time of Hanukkah (our December), which celebrates the “Light that came into the world”.  Nine months later places the birth of Yeshua at the time of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) which is now usually in late September to early October.

Luke 2:7  Hebrew word for ‘manger’ or ‘stable’ is ‘sukkah’ (Gen.33:17).  Jerusalem became overcrowded during the three pilgrimage festivals of Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles).  This crowding included the area around Bethlehem, since it is close to Jerusalem.  Yeshua was born in one of these temporary shelters.

Luke 2:21  The eighth day after the seven days of Sukkot is a special High Holy Day.  Yeshua was circumcised on that day.  John 1:14 says ‘The Word became a human being and tabernacled with us’.