Page 164 - Apologetics Student Textbook

Appendix A

Herod and the date of Jesus’s Birth

The majority of New Testament scholars place Jesus’ birth in 4 BC or before. This is because Josephus
declared that Herod died in 4 BC and Herod played a major role in the narrative of Jesus’ birth. Jesus
would have to have been born BEFORE Herod died. The evidence for believing Herod died in 4 BC
mainly comes from the writings of Josephus (AD 37–103), a first century Jewish historian. Josephus
stated that there was a lunar eclipse just before Herod died. Tradition has this event assigned to the
eclipse of March 13, 4 BC. Further evidence for the 4 BC date of Herod’s death comes from coins of the
period, which show that his successors began their reign in 4–3 BC.

However, there is a problem with this date. If Jesus was born in 4 BC or earlier, and he began his
ministry when he was 30 years old (Luke 3:1,23), he would have begun his ministry in 27 AD (from 1 BC
to 1 AD is one year). Most scholars place his death in April, 33 AD. That means that Jesus was 36 or 37
years old when he died and had a 6-year ministry on earth. But that does not fit with what most
scholars hold as a 3 to 4-year ministry as described in the Gospels.

Possible solution: Josephus, who wrote almost 100 years after the event, mentions only one lunar
eclipse and dates Herod’s death based on that eclipse. Furthermore, the eclipse of 4 BC happened in the
middle of the night and would not have been observed by many. As well, it was only a partial eclipse. In
contrast, the only other eclipse during this time frame was on December 29, 1 BC and was clearly visible
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at sunset. It is very possible that Herod died in 1 BC rather than in 4 BC, which solves our problem.

For an extensive study on these dating methods, see J.P. Pratt, The Planetarium, 1190, p. 8 – 14. See the
reprint here: https://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/herod/herod.html.

If Herod died in 1 BC, then Jesus could have been born shortly before his death in 1 BC. That would put
Christ’s birth around the Day of Atonement in the fall of 1 BC and would fit more in line with the
chronology of the Gospels.

When was Jesus Born?

No one knows precisely when Jesus was born. Even the year of his birth is an educated guess based on
what extra-biblical information is available. The Jewish historian Josephus places the death of Herod the
Great in 4 BC, but as we have already discovered, 1 BC might be more accurate. Both Gospels say Herod
was king at the time of Jesus’ birth and we do know that Herod died shortly after Jesus’ birth. Herod
became king of Palestine in 37 BC and most likely died in 1 BC. Outside the book of Matthew, the
slaughter of innocent babies is not mentioned in any historical writings, but certainly is consistent with
other atrocities that Herod committed. Since Herod’s calculations led him to target boys under two
years of age, Jesus was probably born one to two years before Herod’s death or about 2 - 1 BC. 1 BC fits
the chronology of Jesus’ life and length of ministry.

To guesstimate a date when Jesus was born begins with the service of Zacharias in the temple.
Zacharias was a Levite who burned incense in the Holy Place in the temple generally only once per year

99 https://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/herod/herod.html.

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