Was Jesus Actually Born In Bethlehem?
I agree that it’s not entirely unreliable, but this specific information in the Bible is considered ahistorical and unreliable by many modern scholars. If this event occurred in the early months of pregnancy, it is possible for someone to travel a considerable distance. According to the Gospel of Luke, when Mary became pregnant, she was in Nazareth, unlike the Quran. So, according to the Gospel of Luke, she had to travel quite a distance. Additionally, according to Ghamidi, she needed to go far away to protect herself from cursing and accusations. However, this seems implausible considering that Bethlehem is not very far away; it’s only 6 miles away. Sir, you didn’t address my question about what aligns better with the Quranic wording and context, as explained by Ghamidi Sahab.
The walking distance from Temple Mount to Bethlehem is roughly 2 hours and 15 minutes, which is not too short of a distance. This is in today’s world, and it can be safely assumed that two thousand years ago the distance would have been greater because towns were much smaller. Also in the absence of paved paths, it can be assumed that it would have taken much longer to cover the distance. The walking distance from Temple Mount to Nazareth in today’s world is roughly 32 hours. It’s implausible that a pregnant woman would have traveled that far on foot. In your original question you did not ask what aligns better with the Quran, but the answer to that question is that the Quran does not provide any indication in this regard. As Irfan sahab explained above, historical events are accepted on the basis of plausibility and probability. Even if our assumptions in such matters are incorrect, it makes no difference to the core message of religion, which is what we should be focused on as opposed to immaterial details.