Much ink has been spilt on Luke 2:1–2, in regard to the apparent mistake of Luke’s suggestion that Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem to participate in a world-wide census conducted by Quirinius, governor of the Syrian province (which included Judea at that point). Suffice it to say here that it is perfectly feasible to translate here “this registration happened first, (before) Quirinius was governor of Syria.” While there may be some rhetorical hyperbole in the reference to “all the (known) world” being enrolled in Quirinius’ census, Augustus did pursue a policy of taxation right across the imperial provinces of the empire; Judea was part of an imperial province, so an enrollment is perfectly feasible. See the detailed discussion of John Nolland, Luke 1–9:20 (Waco, TX: Word, 1993), pp. 9–103 and all the bibliography there.