The Date of Christ' Birth

The year of the birth of Jesus may seem like a small corner of the world of studies in the Life of Christ, but, in reality, it impacts many other points of interest. How did the political situation in and around the nation of Israel impact the ministry of Christ? What would have been Jesus's earliest memories? What would have been past, and what future, when he first stepped into the water to be baptized at the hands of John the Baptist? These questions can really only be answered within the context of when Jesus was born; a few years in either direction can have a huge impact on the political and social landscape in which Jesus lived. The life of Christ is pinned by three hard and fast points in the Scriptures: the death of Herod, his age when he began his ministry, and the year of his Resurrection.

The currently accepted dates for the death of Herod and the Resurrection of Christ, however, produce a problem of chronology in the life of Christ. This paper aims to resolve this problem by arguing for a later date for the death of Herod, keeping the second two points in the life of Christ in line with the record of the Scriptures. The first section will survey the general problem and provide references for readers wishing to spend time in a more detailed study of those areas. The second section will deal with the death of Herod directly, considering some secondary sources of information about the year of the ruler’s death, the problem of the eclipse tied closely with the death of Herod, and supporting evidence provided by the Star of the Magi, described in Matthew 2.

A Survey of the Problem

The most widely accepted date of the Resurrection is in the spring of 33AD,[1] fixing the first of the three dates on which we can rely in the life of Christ. The age of Jesus as he began his ministry is given in Luke 3:23 as “about thirty years old.” While more recent commentaries allow Jesus to have been in his mid-30s based on this statement[2] or that this number is symbolic rather than literal,[3] [4] older studies have concluded there is little evidence to take the number as anything but precise. Ramsay says, “It is unnecessary to think that Luke doubted the age of Jesus, whether twenty-eight or thirty-two.”[5] Andrews concurs, “The more natural construction is that the Lord was some months or parts of a year more or less than thirty. He was not just thirty, nor twenty-nine, nor thirty-one. Still, it cannot be positively affirmed that the Evangelist does not use it in a larger sense.”[6] A parallel usage is found in Luke 8:42; no one assumes the girl in question could be as old as 16 or 17, but rather that Luke means she is either 12 or about to turn 12. The death of Herod has been placed in 4BC, meaning Jesus must have been born in 5BC at the latest since Schürer wrote A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ.

One of these three points must be wrong. If Jesus was truly born in 5 B.C. and resurrected in 33 A.D., the precision of Luke’s account must be abandoned. If Jesus was born in 5BC and was 30 years old when he began his ministry, then Resurrection in 33AD must be abandoned. If Jesus was resurrected in 33AD, and Luke’s precision is maintained, Herod must have died in some year other than 4BC.

The Year of Herod’s Death

Matthew tells us that Jesus was born while Herod was king: “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king…”[7] But when was Herod actually king? The critical question centers around the death of King Herod.

The only record available concerning the death of Herod the Great, the King under whom Jesus was born, comes from Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews. Josephus notes, “But Herod deprived this Matthias of the high priesthood, and burnt the other Matthias, who had raised the sedition, with his companions, alive. And that very night, there was an eclipse of the moon.”[8]  “When he had done those things, he died, the fifth day after he had caused Antipater to be slain…”[9] How can we turn these scant records into a more certain understanding of the year Herod died?

Secondary Indicators of the Year of Herod’s Death

There are several secondary indicators of the year of Herod’s death. For instance, the number of years Herod reigned (37 years, according to Josephus, Antiquities 17.191), combined with the beginning of his reign, should bring us to an accurate year, at least, for his death. But these methods are fraught with problems.

The first problem for these secondary indicators is how Josephus counted the years of Herod’s reign. Schürer, in the passage on which virtually all authors advocating a 4 B.C. death for Herod rests, describes the counting of Josephus thus:

But we know that Josephus elsewhere counts a year too much, according to our reckoning. Thus he counts from the conquest of Jerusalem by Pompey to that by Herod twenty-seven years (Antiq. xiv. 16. 4), whereas the true number is twenty-six (B.C. 63-B.C. 37). Again, from the conquest of Herod down to that by Titus he counts 107 years (Antiq. xx. 10), whereas there were only 106 (A.U.C. 717–A.U.C. 823). He reckons the spring of B.C. 31 the seventh year of Herod (Antiq. xv. 5. 2; Wars of the Jews, i. 19. 3), whereas it was only the sixth year (his reign beginning with July B.C. 37). The reason of this is that he counts portions of a year as a year; and, indeed, he probably, according to the example of the Mishna (comp. Rosh hashana, i. 1: בְּאֶחָד בְּנִיסָן ראֹשׁ הַשָּׁנָה לַמְּלָכִים), reckons the years of the king’s reign from Nisan to Nisan.[10]

The crucial question regarding Schürer’s reasoning is: did Josephus count the portion of a year for an entire year? The evidence presented for the first claim is heavily contested. Filmer uses the list of High Priests given by Josephus to determine that Josephus does not include the year in which a Priest or King ascended to the throne in the total of the years he reigned: “If the non-accession-year had reckoned each of these reigns, the total would have exceeded the actual period by six years, and the fact that it does not do so proves that Josephus used the accession-year system.”[11] The second claim, that Josephus counted regnal years from Nisan to Nisan, appears to have no bearing on the date of Herod’s death.[12]

The second problem with fixing Herod’s death in 4 B.C. from secondary sources is determining when Herod began to reign. The beginning of Herod’s reign is important because Josephus states Herod reigned for a total of 37 years: “When he had done those things, he died, the fifth day after he had caused Antipater to be slain; having reigned, since he had procured Antigonus to be slain, thirty-four years; but since he had been declared king by the Romans, thirty-seven.”[13]

Schürer argues the beginning date for counting Josephus’ 34 years is 37BC (see his Chronological Summary on page 401[14]), and hence: “…it would seem as if, counting thirty-seven years from the year B.C. 40, he must have died in B C. 3. But we know that Josephus elsewhere counts a year too much, according to our reckoning.”[15] Steinmann finds several problems with selecting 40 B.C. as the year Herod was given rule over Judea by the Roman Senate. He notes that Josephus is simply in error on the date of one of these markers coinciding with the appointment of Herod (the 184^th Olympiad) and that Appian contradicts the date Josephus gave.[16] Filmer adds to this evidence with a secondary confirmation based on the date of the murder of Julius Caesar.[17]

Steinmann attacks the second date in the accession of Herod, the conquest of Jerusalem in 37AD. He reasons from Pompey’s capture of Jerusalem in 63BC, the length of the reign of the Hasmoneans, historical records showing that Sossius (who helped Herod capture Jerusalem) took no action in 37BC, and finally, from the record of the Sabbatical years, that Herod captured Jerusalem in 36BC.[18] The year of Jerusalem’s capture and the use of non-inclusive regnal years places the end of Josephus’ 37 years of Herod’s reign in 1 B.C. rather than 4 B.C.

The Problem of the Eclipse

A seemingly more exact marker of Herod’s death is an eclipse mentioned by Josephus in Antiquities (XVII, vii, 4). Since the date of any eclipse in history, visible from any location on the Earth, can be calculated, locating this particular eclipse should be relatively easy. Josephus, of course, doesn’t give precise dates in modern terms. While the Romans were very precise in their calendars, there have been several shifts in calendar systems since Josephus wrote these words, making it impossible to directly match modern dates with ancient dates. Instead, astronomical and other events are used as “markers,” aligned to determine a fixed date in modern and ancient systems. Below is a chart adapted from listing total and partial eclipses for the years 5BC through 1BC.[19]

While there are other eclipses within this time frame, they are either Penumbral eclipses (producing a darkening of the moon’s light rather than a visible shadow of the Earth), or they would not have been visible from Jerusalem. The eclipses in September, July, and December of various years can be safely discarded, as they all occur after Passover in their given years. Only two eclipses of interest remain, March 13, 4 B.C. and January 10, 1 B.C. 

Of the two, the January eclipse is more likely strictly on the grounds of Josephus's record, as this is a total, rather than partial, eclipse. As a rule, eclipses were believed to be omens in the ancient world; a total eclipse would have been much more likely worth mentioning than a partial eclipse regarding the narrative Josephus is setting before his reader.

Josephus is not sympathetic to Herod; in Antiquities, he states that Herod has a barbarous temper (Antiquities 17.164) and that the temper of his mind might be seen in his plan to kill the leading citizens of the Jewish nation to ensure the nation mourned his death (Antiquities 17.173-181). The eclipse mentioned here in connection with his execution of Jewish men who disagreed with his desecration of the Temple is a sign of coming calamity. Josephus states, “But now Herod’s distemper greatly increased upon him after a severe manner, and this by God’s judgment upon him for his sins…”[20]  A total eclipse would be more likely to be noticed and serve the purpose Josephus has in mind than a partial eclipse.

A more definite line of inquiry is the major logistical problems caused by relating the eclipse of Josephus with the eclipse on March 13, 4 B.C. According to Hoehner, who follows Schürer’s dating:

After his death there was the celebration of the Passover, the first day of which would have occurred on April 11, 4 B.C. Hence, his death occurred sometime between March 12 and April 11. Since the thirty-fourth year of his reign would have begun on Nisan 1, 4 B.C. (March 29, 4 B.C.), his death would have occurred some time between March 29 and April 11, 4 B.C.[21]

Choosing the eclipse on March 13, 4 B.C. leaves precisely 28 or 29 days in which anything between the eclipse on March 12, 4 B.C., and April 11, 4 B.C. must occur. Taking from these days are the 7 days of mourning for Herod following his death and before the Passover beginning on April 12, 4BC, leaving some 21 days for the events listed by Josephus to unfold.

What are the events that must occur in this time frame? He fell under an illness with horrible effects (Antiquities 17.168); he sent for physicians and followed their advice (Antiquities 17.171); he traveled to a spot around 50 miles from Jerusalem to bathe in a medicinal bath (Antiquities 17.171); he bathed in a vat full of oil (Antiquities 17.172); he gathered all the leading men of Judea “from wheresoever they lived” to him, and had them shut up in the hippodrome (Antiquities 17.174-175); he attempted to commit suicide (Antiquities 17.184); he heard of Antipater’s assumption of power, and had him executed (Antiquities 17.185-187), and he changed his will (Antiquities 17.188).

It is difficult to see how these actions could have been taken in 21 days; Steinmann calculates them taking at least 41 days.[22] The more likely number is in the two to three-month range, given the rate of travel available and the normal reduction in movement and daily active hours due to an illness as severe as Josephus describes. There is simply no way to fit these events within the time between the eclipse and Passover of 4 B.C.

Further, if the eclipse of March 13, 4BC is the proper one, then the execution of the Rabbis who objected to Herod’s desecration of the Temple occurred on Purim.

…on the very days of Purim (if the eclipse of March 13, 4 B.C.E. was the one of Josephus) when the Jews were celebrating their deliverance from Haman and his ten sons, the Edomite Herod (also a father of ten sons) was now burning alive two of the most holy men of the Jews at the time that bonfires were all over Judaea burning effigies of Haman.[23]

Given the problems with the timing of the eclipse on March 13, 4BC, and the desirability of a total, rather than partial, eclipse, to fulfill the purpose of Josephus within the narrative, the eclipse on January 10, 1BC is the more likely candidate for the eclipse described by Josephus.

Conclusion

When did Herod die? While there are many secondary indicators of his death, the most compelling evidence comes from astronomical calculations compared to the circumstances and events surrounding Herod’s death. These circumstances and events indicate that Herod died sometime between January 10, 1 B.C. and the Passover following in the spring of that same year and that Christ could have been born any time up until that time (though the birth of Jesus was likely in late 2 B.C.). Thus, Luke is vindicated in giving the age of Jesus as “about 30 years old” in Luke 3:23, and a 33AD resurrection is justified.

---

This is a paper I wrote while working on my MACM. I have modified the text slightly to take out one section and cleaned up the grammar.

---

[1] Colin J. Humphreys and W.G. Waddington, “The Jewish Calendar, A Lunar Eclipse and the Date of Christ’s Crucifixion,” Tyndale Bulletin 43, no. 2 (1992): 341.

[2] Robert H. Stein, Luke (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 24:142.

[3] Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Volume 1: Matthew, Mark, Luke (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 358.

[4] Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke (The New International Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), 188.

[5] W. M. Ramsay, Was Christ Born at Bethlehem? A Study on the Credibility of St. Luke (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1898), 197.

[6] Samuel James Andrews, The Life of Our Lord Upon the Earth; Considered in its Historical, Chronological, and Geographical Relations (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1889), 7.

[7] The Holy Bible : English standard version. (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001).

[8] Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 17.167.

[9] Ibid., 17.191.

[10] Emil Schürer, A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1890), 1:464, see note 165.

[11] W.E. Filmer, “The Chronology of the Reign of Herod the Great,” Journal of Theological Studies 17 (1966): 292.

[12] Ibid.

[13] Andrews, The Life of Our Lord Upon the Earth; Considered in its Historical, Chronological, and Geographical Relations, XVII, viii, 1.

[14] Schürer, A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, 1:401.

[15] Ibid., 1:464, note 165.

[16] Andrew E. Steinmann, “When Did Herod the Great Reign?,” Novum Testamentum 51 (2009): 7.

[17] Filmer, “The Chronology of the Reign of Herod the Great,” 17:287.

[18] Steinmann, “When Did Herod the Great Reign?,” 51:8.

[19] Wikipedia contributors, “List of 1st-century BCE lunar eclipses,” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, June 20, 2012, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_1st-century_BCE_lunar_eclipses&oldid=498517143.

[20] Josephus and Whiston, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, 17.168.

[21] H.W. Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ (Zondervan, 2010), 13.

[22] Steinmann, “When Did Herod the Great Reign?,” 51:15–16.

[23] Ernest L. Martin, “Chapter 9: The Lunar Eclipse of Josephus,” The Star of Bethlehem, n.d., http://www.askelm.com/star/star011.htm.

[24] Frederick A. Larson, “Setting the Stage,” The Star of Bethlehem, n.d., http://www.bethlehemstar.net/stage/stage.htm.

[25] R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew (The New International Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publication Co., 2007), 68–69.