Person New Testament
Quirinius
Also known as Quirinius =ESV, NIV; Cyrenius =KJV
Quirinius was the governor of Syria when a census was taken, as mentioned in Luke's Gospel. Mentioned once in Scripture, at Luke 2:2.
Why it matters. Governor of Syria during a census mentioned in Luke
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Quirinius
Quirinius was the governor of Syria at the time of a census that took place around the birth of Jesus (Luk.2.2). This census, ordered by Caesar Augustus, required everyone to return to their ancestral towns to be registered. As a result, Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. The mention of Quirinius helps to provide a historical context for the birth of Christ. However, the exact date of this census and Quirinius' governorship have been the subject of much scholarly debate, as there are some apparent discrepancies between the biblical account and other historical records.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
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Appears in Scripture
Named in 1 verse across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.
Luke (1 verse)