Luke 2:2 (DBY)

Passage

The census itself first took place when Cyrenius had the government of Syria.

Nearby Context

Luke 2:1 But it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census should be made of all the habitable world.

Luke 2:2 The census itself first took place when Cyrenius had the government of Syria.

Luke 2:3 And all went to be inscribed in the census roll, each to his own city:

Luke 2:4 and Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city Nazareth to Judaea, to David's city, the which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "census", "first", "took", "place", "cyrenius", "government", and "syria". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "census" and "first", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "But it came to pass in those..." into verse 3's "And all went to be inscribed in...", so "census" and "first" belong inside that flow. In Luke context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "census" and "first" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.