Did Jesus spend His childhood in Capernaum?

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Justin_Mary said:
It was a Jewish custom for the men to be counted among their tribe. He went to Bethlehem to be counted among the tribe of Benjamin
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Elf01 said:
Joseph would have been of the tribe of Judah.
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All the maps I’ve seen show Bethlehem in Judah, not in Benjamin:
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… And Luke’s and Matthew’s genealogies both show Jesus as a descendent of Judah.
 
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Yes, I think tribe of Benjamin was in error. I was agreeing to the post for the reason for travel, not the tribe designation.
 
Pattylt said:
I’m sorry but there would have been thousands of descendants from the tribe of Benjamin. So literally thousands of families descended upon poor little Bethlehem to be counted by Romans? Like I said, it’s just me trying to figure out a reasonable reason for a Nazareth dweller to be required by Romans…from a territory the Romans didn’t control…to travel there. This wasn’t the Jews taking a census, this was Rome …and Rome only cared about taxing its citizens which Joseph really wasn’t…unless he owned some property.
It’s ok, you don’t have to agree with it. We really don’t know!
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I think Luke may have combined the details of Herod’s census and the roman census because they were so close together in time. Herod’s census would have required tribe counting as was the custom. When I go to vote in an election there are several thousands of people going to a single school in one night. I don’t think it would be a problem given the spread of time for a tribe to be counted. They had done it before.
 
“There are also some who say Jesus was an Essene before He began His earthly ministry.”
Actually I thought that was said about John the Baptist.
 
Pattylt said:
That does make sense on its own but then why bring in a census story. Joseph protecting Mary’s honor is a much better reason and story than just throwing in a census to have them move. There is some reason the census and the move to Bethlehem are linked. I just think we really don’t know it…because a census alone doesn’t make any sense to me.
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As I said, there is no evidence for what I was suggesting. At the same time, I don’t see why it had to be either or, and not both. There was a prophetic reason for him being born in the City of David. I believe the prophet Micha preannounced that this was going to happen in the city.
 
I know. Secular scholars assume the census was used to get him to Bethlehem because of the Micha passage. There’s a secular problem with the Micha passage as well. It isn’t really talking about Bethlehem as a location but that’s for another thread…

I just don’t see any reason Joseph couldn’t have owned or inherited some small piece of land or plot in Bethlehem which a census would have required him to show up for a Roman census. It’s fun for me to try to come up with logical reasons for things happening. It’s just how my brain works!
 
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