The Eclipse of Herod and the Birth of Jesus

"In the third year of the presidency of Barack Hussein Obama, in the month called December, in the morning of the 10th day of that month, an eclipse of the moon could be seen over the city of New York."

Perhaps if we were living in ancient days, a historian would account for this morning's eclipse in that manner. Or, he could link it to an event--"A man tried to steal a car from an off-duty Newark, NJ, police officer and was shot in the chest. And that very morning, there was an eclipse of the moon." You can read the article about this carjacking here--I didn't just make it up. ;-)

Eclipses and other astronomical phenomena (not astrological, mind you!) are used just as God decreed--"let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years" (Genesis 1:14). Eclipses especially can be used to date certain historical events prior to the anno domini calendral system. The ancients placed tremendous stock in eclipses as omens of impending doom or death. Thanks to this, we have many eclipses recorded by ancient historians and can use these to try to determine when a particular event happened.

The First Century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus recorded an eclipse in connection with some atrocities commited by Herod (the baby killer). Some people had learned that Herod was not recovering from his horrible illness, so they decided to tear down all the things Herod had built in Jerusalem that were contrary to the Law of Moses. Herod had these people executed by being burned alive. "And that very night there was an eclipse of the moon" (Antiquities 17:167).

The significance of this eclipse is two-fold: 1) It is the only eclipse Josephus mentions, and 2) he mentions it unknowingly in connection with events surrounding the birth of Jesus. Scholars throughout the ages have focused on this eclipse in attempting to determine the year in which Jesus was born. That date ranges from 10 B.C. into the early years of the First Century A.D. (as we know it).

At the risk of writing something that is absolutely boring, this is simply a presentation of my conclusion with supporting evidence based on my own study: Jesus was born at Passover in 1 B.C., and Herod died soon after the eclipse of December 29, 1 B.C. but before the Passover of 1 A.D.

These are the facts as presented in the Bible:

1. Jesus was about 30 years old at His baptism (Luke 3:23). This does not mean he was in his late 20's. This means he was 29 about to turn 30, and He turned 30 at the Passover of John 2.

2. The ministry of John began in the 15th year of Tiberius (Luke 3:1-2).

3. Jesus was born in the days of Herod and of Augustus (Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:1).

What we must do first is establish with certainty when the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius occurred. Regardless of whether or not Tiberius co-reigned with Augustus a certain amount of time, both Suetonius and Tacitus, First and early Second Century Roman historians, record Tiberius' death as occurring during the consulship of Proculus and Nigrinus (37 A.D.) in the 23rd year of his reign. Likewise, Josephus gives a reign-length of 22 years, 5 months, 3 days (Tiberius had reigned 22 full years and then reigned 5 months and 3 days of his 23rd year). All three are reckoning his reign from the death of Augustus in 14 A.D. Additionally, both Suetonius (Tiberius, 73) and Tacitus (Annals VI) say Tiberius died in his 78th year. Suetonius (Tiberius, 5) says Tiberius was born in the year Lepidus and Plancus were consuls (42 B.C.). Tiberius, then, reigned from 14 A.D. and the death of Augustus to his own death at the age of 78 in 37 A.D. This means his 15th year was from mid August 28 A.D. to mid August 29 A.D.

Jesus turned 30 at or around the Passover of 29 A.D., so 30 years previous was 1 B.C.

The eclipse happened at sunset on December 29. Sunset occurred about 4:45 that evening, and the moon was rising in the east. And being that early in the evening, it would have been widely visible and people would certainly have connected it with the horrible act Herod had committed that day. It was a partial eclipse, but being a full moon and that the Jews had used the moon for 1500 years to maintain their calendar, the partiality did not matter.

It was probably about this time that Herod ordered the babies in Bethlehem killed as well. Josephus records following this eclipse that Herod "grew so choleric that it brought him to do all things like a madman" (Antiquities, 17:173). Josephus then notes that Herod ordered all the principle men of the land shut up in a tower and killed upon Herod's death just so there would be mourning in Israel after he died. He also killed his own son Antipater and then died himself five days later (January of 1 A.D.). So it is no wonder that, upon hearing of the birth of the King of the Jews and being shunned by the wise men that Herod lashed out in insanity against the children of Bethlehem.

Anyway, I'm starting to ramble now. I needed to write about something technical to take my mind off of some things. Of course, with the study of ancient history, dates are subject to change pending new information surfacing and new understandings and interpretations. I might have something different to add to this post by this time next year ;-)