Timing of Yeshua's birth

[visionary]

Scriptural study to figure out approximately the time of Yeshua birth.

The first passage we will consider begins with the father of John the Baptist, Zacharias:

Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. ....8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, ... 23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. 24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, ...

First clue given to us here is that Zacharias was of the "course" of Abia.

So we have to go to the course of the priest hood to find our next clue. King David on God's instructions (1 Chr 28:11-13) had divided the sons of Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron, into 24 groups (1 Chr 24:1-4), to setup a schedule by which the Temple of the Lord could be staffed with priests (Kohanim) all year round in an orderly manner. After the 24 groups of priests were established, lots were drawn to determine the sequence in which each group would serve in the Temple. (1 Chr 24: 7-19). That sequence is as follows:

The 24 courses of priests
1 Chr 24:7 1. Jehoiarib 2. Jedaiah ..... 1 Chr 24:8 3. Harim 4. Seorim
1 Chr 24:9 5. Malchijah 6. Mijamin..... 1 Chr 24:10 7. Hakkoz 8. Abijah
1 Chr 24:11 9. Jeshuah 10. Shecaniah . 1 Chr 24:12 11. Eliashib 12. Jakim
1 Chr 24:13 13. Huppah 14. Jeshebeab. 1 Chr 24:14 15. Bilgah 16. Immer
1 Chr 24:15 17. Hezir 18. Aphses .........1 Chr 24:16 19. Pethahiah 20. Jehezekel
1 Chr 24:17 21. Jachim 22. Gamul ....... 1 Chr 24:18 23. Delaiah 24. Maaziah

1 Chr 24:19 These were the orderings of them in their service to come into the house of the LORD, according to their manner, under Aaron their father, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him.

Third scriptural clue.... Now each one of the 24 "courses" of priests would begin and end their service in the Temple on the Sabbath, a tour of duty being for one week (2 Chr 23:8, 1 Chr 9:25). On three occasions during the year, all the men of Israel were required to travel to Jerusalem for festivals of the Lord, so on those occasions all the priests would be needed in the Temple to accommodate the many sacrifices offered by the crowds. Those three festivals were Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and Tabernacles (Deut 16:16).

Fourth Scriptural clue... The Jewish calendar begins in the spring, during the month of Nisan (Est 3:7), so the first "course" of priests, would be that of the family of Jehoiarib, who would serve for the first week of Nisan, Sabbath to Sabbath. The second week would then be the responsibility of the family of Jedaiah. The third week would be the feast of Unleavened Bread, and all priests would be present for service. Then the schedule would resume with the third course of priests, the family of Harim. By this plan, when the 24th course was completed, the general cycle of courses would repeat. This schedule would cover 51 weeks or 357 days, enough for the lunar Jewish calendar (about 354 days). So, in a period of a year, each group of priests would serve in the Temple twice on their scheduled course, in addition to the 3 major festivals, for a total of about five weeks of duty.

 

[visionary]

And that was just to figure our the time of John the Baptist conception, his birth and thus when Yeshua was born. Now Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist.

Luke 1:23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. 24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, ...

Beginning with the first month, Nisan, in the spring (March-April), the schedule of the priest's courses would result with Zacharias serving during the 10th week of the year. This is because he was a member of the course of Abia (Abijah), the 8th course, and both the Feast of Unleavened Bread (15-21 Nisan) and Pentecost (6 Sivan) would have occurred before his scheduled duty. This places Zacharias' administration in the Temple as beginning on the second Sabbath of the third month, Sivan (May-June).

Having completed his Temple service on the third Sabbath of Sivan, Zacharias returned home and soon conceived his son John. So John the Baptist was probably conceived shortly after the third Sabbath of the month of Sivan.

 

[visionary]

Based on a conception shortly after the third Sabbath of the month of Sivan, projecting forward an average term of about 10 lunar months (40 weeks), we arrive in the month of Nisan. It would appear that John the Baptist may have been born in the middle of the month, which would coincide with Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It is interesting to note, that even today, it is customary for the Jews to set out a special goblet of wine during the Passover Seder meal, in anticipation of the arrival of Elijah that week, which is based on the prophecy of Malachi:

Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

Yeshua identified John as the "Elijah" that the Jews had expected:

Mat 17:10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? 11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. 12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. 13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.

The angel that appeared to Zacharias in the temple also indicated that John would be the expected "Elias":

Luke 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

So then, the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the 15th day of the 1st month, Nisan, and this is a likely date for the birth of John the Baptist, the expected "Elijah".

 

[visionary]

Since Yeshua was conceived six months after John the Baptist, and we have established a likely date for John's birth, we need only move six months farther down the Jewish calendar to arrive at a likely date for the birth of Yeshua. From the 15th day of the 1st month, Nisan, we go to the 15th day of the 7th month, Tishri. And what do we find on that date? It is the festival of Tabernacles! The 15th day of Tishri begins the third and last festival of the year to which all the men of Israel were to gather in Jerusalem for Temple services. (Lev 23:34)

 

[visionary]

To answer your question about the sukkot and Yeshua lying in the manger because there was no room in the Inn. Let's continue the study to find out why?

Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Immanuel means "God with us". The Son of God had come to dwell with, or tabernacle on earth with His people.

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), occurs five days after the Day of Atonement, and is a festival of rejoicing and celebration of deliverance from slavery in Egypt (Leviticus 23:42-43).

Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Why was there no room at the inn? Bethlehem is only about 5 miles from Jerusalem, and all the men of Israel had come to the Temple in Jerusalem to attend the festival of Booths/Ingathering/Tabernacles as required by the law of Moses (Exo. 23:14-17, 34:22-23, Deut 16:16). Every room for miles around Jerusalem would have been already taken by pilgrims, so all that Mary and Joseph could find for shelter was a stable. During Tabernacles, everyone was to live in temporary booths (Sukkot), as a memorial to Israel's pilgrimage out of Egypt - Lev. 23:42-43. The birth of the Savior, in what amounted to a temporary dwelling rather than a house, signaled the coming deliverance of God's people from slavery to sin, and their departing for the promised land, which is symbolized by Tabernacles.

Also of note is the fact that the Feast of Tabernacles is an eight day feast (Lev 23:36, 39). Why eight days? It may be because an infant was dedicated to God by performing circumcision on the eighth day after birth:

Luke 2:21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Yeshua, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

So the infant Yeshua would have been circumcised on the eighth and last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, a Sabbath day. The Jews today consider this a separate festival from Tabernacles, and they call it Shemini Atzeret.

 

[visionary]

.

 

[Benjamin Müller]

Questions: we assume the 8th week to be counted from spring on-wards, landing us in May/June. But there are technically two New Years. The sacred and civil; and the civil new year would begin on the 1st of Tishri. What if we were to begin counting 8 weeks from the 1st of Tishri.

Were temple services allotted from the beginning of fall or beginning of spring: do you know? I am not sure on this detail.

Also there was a large crowd outside the temple, who marveled that Zecharias tarried so long. Could Luke 1:21 be a clue as to the particular ceremony or festival in which large groups of people would be outside the temple waiting.

 

[ralliann]

Scriptural study to figure out approximately the time of Yeshua birth.

The first passage we will consider begins with the father of John the Baptist, Zacharias:

Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. ....8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, ... 23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. 24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, ...

First clue given to us here is that Zacharias was of the "course" of Abia.

So we have to go to the course of the priest hood to find our next clue. King David on God's instructions (1 Chr 28:11-13) had divided the sons of Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron, into 24 groups (1 Chr 24:1-4), to setup a schedule by which the Temple of the Lord could be staffed with priests (Kohanim) all year round in an orderly manner. After the 24 groups of priests were established, lots were drawn to determine the sequence in which each group would serve in the Temple. (1 Chr 24: 7-19). That sequence is as follows:

The 24 courses of priests
1 Chr 24:7 1. Jehoiarib 2. Jedaiah ..... 1 Chr 24:8 3. Harim 4. Seorim
1 Chr 24:9 5. Malchijah 6. Mijamin..... 1 Chr 24:10 7. Hakkoz 8. Abijah
1 Chr 24:11 9. Jeshuah 10. Shecaniah . 1 Chr 24:12 11. Eliashib 12. Jakim
1 Chr 24:13 13. Huppah 14. Jeshebeab. 1 Chr 24:14 15. Bilgah 16. Immer
1 Chr 24:15 17. Hezir 18. Aphses .........1 Chr 24:16 19. Pethahiah 20. Jehezekel
1 Chr 24:17 21. Jachim 22. Gamul ....... 1 Chr 24:18 23. Delaiah 24. Maaziah

1 Chr 24:19 These were the orderings of them in their service to come into the house of the LORD, according to their manner, under Aaron their father, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him.

Third scriptural clue.... Now each one of the 24 "courses" of priests would begin and end their service in the Temple on the Sabbath, a tour of duty being for one week (2 Chr 23:8, 1 Chr 9:25). On three occasions during the year, all the men of Israel were required to travel to Jerusalem for festivals of the Lord, so on those occasions all the priests would be needed in the Temple to accommodate the many sacrifices offered by the crowds. Those three festivals were Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and Tabernacles (Deut 16:16).

Fourth Scriptural clue... The Jewish calendar begins in the spring, during the month of Nisan (Est 3:7), so the first "course" of priests, would be that of the family of Jehoiarib, who would serve for the first week of Nisan, Sabbath to Sabbath. The second week would then be the responsibility of the family of Jedaiah. The third week would be the feast of Unleavened Bread, and all priests would be present for service. Then the schedule would resume with the third course of priests, the family of Harim. By this plan, when the 24th course was completed, the general cycle of courses would repeat.

Could you please provide the information from Judaism, to show us that the courses skipped during the feasts? Then, what happened when another month altogether was added from time to time to reconcile the calendar to the seasons?

 

[Torah Keeper]

This places Zacharias' administration in the Temple as beginning on the second Sabbath of the third month, Sivan (May-June).

I used to think so too. But then I realized 2 things:

1. The courses of the priests do not align with any calendar. There is no evidence that any leap system was used to align them. The conclusion is that they cycled through the entire year. This means after enough years, a priest that began serving in Spring, would then be serving in Fall. There were multiple occasions where Temple services were stopped. When services resumed, did they restart the cycles or continue as if there was no interruption? A priestly course that began serving in Spring, 1000 BC, would not necessarily be serving in Spring, 1 BC.
2. I am of the opinion that the Day on which Zacharias offered incense, was in fact the Day of Atonement. For how I came to this conclusion, see my topic in the Messianic forum, "John the Baptist the True High Priest".

But even if you disagree with my points above, there is still an undetermined amount of time from when Zacharias had the vision, until his wife got pregnant.

Take the example with the birth of Isaac. Abraham was told that Sarah would get pregnant. It was a long time before this happened. It wasn't immediate. So there is no telling how many days passed until John the Baptist was conceived.

After a lot of study on the subject, I decided I don't really know when Yeshua was born. I've seen convincing arguments for Him being born on Passover, and on Tabernacles, and on Hannuka, and some unconvincing arguments for other dates.

There is an old Jewish tradition that prophets are born on the same day they die. This has some credibility if you look at the dates of death for patriarchs and add up the chronology. If they were half a year older in each generation, it would add up signifigantly and change the dates through the timeline. When adding the ages of the patriarchs to establish a timeline, most people assume that is their exact ages, to the very day. But if not, the timeline changes.

Then for the Hannuka date, it seems suspicious that Hannuka is the 25th of the 9th moon, while Christmas is the 25th of the equivalent Roman month. There is more evidence but not enough to be conclusive.

 

[Benjamin Müller]

From Pulpit Commentary:

The Talmud tells us that even the high priest did not terry long in the holy of holies on the Day of Atonement. The same feeling of holy awe would induce the ministering priest of the day to perform his functions with no unnecessary delay, and to leave as soon as possible the holy place. The people praying in the court without were in the habit of waiting until the priest on duty came out of the sacred inner chamber, after which they were dismissed with the blessing. The unusual delay in the appearance of Zacharias puzzled and disturbed the worshippers.

Luke 1:21 Commentaries: The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple.

"Every morning and evening the sacred incense was burned (Ex 30:7, 8; 2 Chronicles 13:11). Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, coals from the altar were taken in a censer, or fire holder, together with two handfuls of incense, into the Holy of Holies, where the incense was made to smoke before the mercy seat of the ark of the testimony (Leviticus 16:12-13)."

- Incense offering - Wikipedia

 

[Humble Penny]

@visionary Hey sister have you been able to map this out on a spreadsheet yet? On my part I took the data from the Dead Sea Scrolls Mishmarot A (4Q320) and created a calendar spread sheet for 6 Years. From here I created a giant spreadsheet which counted all 140 Jubilees from Creation to the Final Judgment and found the following pattern:

• The 1st Year corresponds to Calendar Year 1 beginning with Gamul (22)
• The 50th Year corresponds to Calendar Year 2 beginning with Jedaiah (02)
• The 100th Year corresponds to Calendar Year 4 beginning with Shecaniah (10)
• The 150th Year corresponds to Calendar Year 6 beginning with Aphses (18)

This means every 300 Years will end with Calendar Year 6 beginning with Aphses (18), while every 301 Years will end with Calendar Year 1 beginning with Gamul (22). So after taking your comment into account from @Isaac Aldermann's thread I found the following:

300 Years x 18 Six Year Priestly Cycles =
5,400 Years/5400 AM

Yeshua would be born in the year 5470 AM which corresponds to Calendar Year 4 beginning with Shecaniah (10) in the 3rd Year of the Shemitah/Sabbath Week in the 4th Week of the 110th Jubilee. According to these corrected calculations of mine I found:

• The course of Abijah (08) would've occured in the Summer on the 6th Month of Calendar Year 4
• Mary would conceive 6 Months later in the 12th Month of the same calendar year.
• Elizabeth gives birth to John the Baptist 3 Months later in the Spring in the 3rd Month of Calendar Year 5.
• Mary gives birth to Christ 6 Months later in the Fall/Autumn in the 9th Month.

It's possible I missed something. Therefore I have included my calendar files and jubilee chart (which you'll have to zoom in to see the data clearly).

 

[Torah Keeper]

Mary gives birth to Christ 6 Months later in the Fall/Autumn in the 9th Month.

That is very close to the Hannuka date. The 9th moon is around December. Although in a leap year it could be early Winter.

 

[Humble Penny]

@visionary Hey sister have you been able to map this out on a spreadsheet yet? On my part I took the data from the Dead Sea Scrolls Mishmarot A (4Q320) and created a calendar spread sheet for 6 Years. From here I created a giant spreadsheet which counted all 140 Jubilees from Creation to the Final Judgment and found the following pattern:

• The 1st Year corresponds to Calendar Year 1 beginning with Gamul (22)
• The 50th Year corresponds to Calendar Year 2 beginning with Jedaiah (02)
• The 100th Year corresponds to Calendar Year 4 beginning with Shecaniah (10)
• The 150th Year corresponds to Calendar Year 6 beginning with Aphses (18)

This means every 300 Years will end with Calendar Year 6 beginning with Aphses (18), while every 301 Years will end with Calendar Year 1 beginning with Gamul (22). So after taking your comment into account from @Isaac Aldermann's thread I found the following:

300 Years x 18 Six Year Priestly Cycles =
5,400 Years/5400 AM

Yeshua would be born in the year 5470 AM which corresponds to Calendar Year 4 beginning with Shecaniah (10) in the 3rd Year of the Shemitah/Sabbath Week in the 4th Week of the 110th Jubilee. According to these corrected calculations of mine I found:

• The course of Abijah (08) would've occured in the Summer on the 6th Month of Calendar Year 4
• Mary would conceive 6 Months later in the 12th Month of the same calendar year.
• Elizabeth 3 Months later in the Spring in the 3rd Month of Calendar Year 5.
• Mary gives birth to Christ 6 Months later in the Fall/Autumn in the 9th Month.

It's possible I missed something. Therefore I have included my calendar files and jubilee chart (which you'll have to zoom in to see the data clearly).

View attachment 312101
View attachment 312099
View attachment 312100

Also for anyone curious I have also created a spreadsheet which follows a Jubilee Cycle of 49 Years. This model will be applicable to other 49 Year Models such as:

• Models which count the 49th Year and the 50th Year as being the same.
• Models which have the 50th Year linking the end of the 49th Year with the beginning of the 1st Year.
• Models which count the 50th Year as the 1st Year for the following Jubilee Cycle.

You will see immediately that the natural consequence of such 49 Year models is that they must have 143 Jubilee Cycles in order to reach the Anno Mundi year 7000 AM, however because of such an ill consequence this happens:

50 Year Jubilee Cycle
50 Years x 140 Jubilees = 7,000 Years

49 Year Jubilee Cycle
49 Years x 143 Jubilees = 7,007 Years

Anyways you guys can compare both cycles in the files I have uploaded:

1. Book of Jubilees Timeline (1) (1) is the 49 Year Count
2. Book of Jubilees Timeline (2) is the 50 Year Count

 

[Humble Penny]

Also for anyone curious I have also created a spreadsheet which follows a Jubilee Cycle of 49 Years. This model will be applicable to other 49 Year Models such as:

• Models which count the 49th Year and the 50th Year as being the same.
• Models which have the 50th Year linking the end of the 49th Year with the beginning of the 1st Year.
• Models which count the 50th Year as the 1st Year for the following Jubilee Cycle.

You will see immediately that the natural consequence of such 49 Year models is that they must have 143 Jubilee Cycles in order to reach the Anno Mundi year 7000 AM, however because of such an ill consequence this happens:

50 Year Jubilee Cycle
50 Years x 140 Jubilees = 7,000 Years

49 Year Jubilee Cycle
49 Years x 143 Jubilees = 7,007 Years

Anyways you guys can compare both cycles in the files I have uploaded:

1. Book of Jubilees Timeline (1) (1) is the 49 Year Count
2. Book of Jubilees Timeline (2) is the 50 Year Count

Hey guys I just caught the fact that I uploaded the 50 Year Jubilee Cycle in post #13 twice. I replaced Book of Jubilees Timeline (1) with Book of Jubilees Timeline (1) (1). Sorry for that guys.

 

[Filippus]

Also there was a large crowd outside the temple, who marveled that Zecharias tarried so long. Could Luke 1:21 be a clue as to the particular ceremony or festival in which large groups of people would be outside the temple waiting.

The large crowd outside the temple doesn't differentiate between Passover or Yom Kippur in my view. Considering that the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out, suggest that he was operating on the day of Atonement.

I have done below calculations starting using the sacred year, but using the civil will simply invert the below findings and therefore not change anything in my view. However I believe it starts with the sacred year.

Calculating the Priestley order for 4 BC I found it to start with 22.

The allotted weeks for the Priestly order starting with the 22nd priest is listed below and Abijah being the 8th fell on weeks 11 and 35 that year, which in turn fell during the 3rd and 8th months respectively. See Priestly order below

Below I have tested both options which supports a 1st or 7th month as the birth month.

Hope this helps

Shalom

 

[Filippus]

The large crowd outside the temple doesn't differentiate between Passover or Yom Kippur in my view.

I have done below calculations starting using the sacred year, but using the civil will simply invert the below findings and therefore not change anything in my view. However I believe it starts with the sacred year.

Calculating the Priestley order for 4 BC I found it to start with 22.

View attachment 312138

The allotted weeks for the Priestly order starting with the 22nd priest is listed below and Abijah being the 8th fell on weeks 11 and 35 that year, which in turn fell during the 3rd and 8th months respectively. See Priestly order below

View attachment 312139

Below I have tested both options which supports a 1st or 7th month as the birth month.

View attachment 312137


Hope this helps

Shalom

The problem with this argument is that we don't know when John was conceived. Verse 24 says:
24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, How long was this period?

The above proposal allow between 3 to 6 weeks for conception.

I have allowed 4 weeks.

Hope this helps

Shalom

 

[tampasteve]

ADMIN HAT ON

This thread has had a cleaning. Please note the Statement of Purpose for this forum, as well as the requirement to sign in at this thread before posting in this sub-forum.

ADMIN HAT OFF

 

[visionary]

It is the season to bring up this subject again. but not wanting to cover what was discussed before, I resurrected a very interesting study for further consideration.

 

[chunkofcoal]

To answer your question about the sukkot and Yeshua lying in the manger because there was no room in the Inn. Let's continue the study to find out why?

Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Immanuel means "God with us". The Son of God had come to dwell with, or tabernacle on earth with His people.

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), occurs five days after the Day of Atonement, and is a festival of rejoicing and celebration of deliverance from slavery in Egypt (Leviticus 23:42-43).

Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Why was there no room at the inn? Bethlehem is only about 5 miles from Jerusalem, and all the men of Israel had come to the Temple in Jerusalem to attend the festival of Booths/Ingathering/Tabernacles as required by the law of Moses (Exo. 23:14-17, 34:22-23, Deut 16:16). Every room for miles around Jerusalem would have been already taken by pilgrims, so all that Mary and Joseph could find for shelter was a stable. During Tabernacles, everyone was to live in temporary booths (Sukkot), as a memorial to Israel's pilgrimage out of Egypt - Lev. 23:42-43. The birth of the Savior, in what amounted to a temporary dwelling rather than a house, signaled the coming deliverance of God's people from slavery to sin, and their departing for the promised land, which is symbolized by Tabernacles.

Also of note is the fact that the Feast of Tabernacles is an eight day feast (Lev 23:36, 39). Why eight days? It may be because an infant was dedicated to God by performing circumcision on the eighth day after birth:

Luke 2:21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Yeshua, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

So the infant Yeshua would have been circumcised on the eighth and last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, a Sabbath day. The Jews today consider this a separate festival from Tabernacles, and they call it Shemini Atzeret.

There was no room at the inn because everyone had gone to their own city to be taxed. Luke 2:1-7 Unless the timing of the decree coincided with the feast of tabernacles? But then everyone would've been scattered all over the country.

 

[Apple Sky]

Since Yeshua was conceived six months after John the Baptist, and we have established a likely date for John's birth, we need only move six months farther down the Jewish calendar to arrive at a likely date for the birth of Yeshua. From the 15th day of the 1st month, Nisan, we go to the 15th day of the 7th month, Tishri. And what do we find on that date? It is the festival of Tabernacles! The 15th day of Tishri begins the third and last festival of the year to which all the men of Israel were to gather in Jerusalem for Temple services. (Lev 23:34)

Tishri is September so was Rob Skiba right ?