Six months after the conception of John the Baptizer, on a day in early winter, on or near Hanukkah, Gabriel (the Might of God) returned to earth with another message. Again, it was not to the mighty—religious or political—but this time to a young insignificant girl by the name of Miriam, whom most of the world would come to know as Mary. His message was that, though a virgin, she would be the mother of the Messiah. 

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Here, in what cosmopolitan Jerusalemites would consider the backwaters of the nation, Gabriel came to a small village. Located on the western slopes of the hills of Galilee, Nazareth sets in a well-watered land of forests and sheep pastures. Some twenty miles to its west, down from the hills and across the fertile Jezreel Valley, lies the Mediterranean coast. Twenty-five miles to the northeast—across the mountain crests and on the northern coast of the Sea of Galilee—is Capernaum, the multi-ethnic, cosmopolitan center of northern Israel. 

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Again, this assumes Jesus was born on Tabernacles (September 11) of 2 B.C.—and went full term, this would have been exactly 40 weeks earlier. If so, this would have been about December 5, 3 B.C.  

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