Flavius Josephus (circa 37 – 100 A.D.), a Jewish historian and apologist, interests us in so far that his lunar eclipse marks Herod's death and the birth of Christ. He began writing first century history after becoming a Roman citizen around A.D. 70 and for hundreds of years remained the most widely read. His major contribution depicts Jewish life before and during the Jewish uprising in 66 – 70 A.D.
Though the causes for the war are many and complex, he needed to show his appreciation for Roman citizenship, a prize commodity, therefore he made heroes out of his Roman benefactors: Vespasian, emperor of the Roman world (69-79), and his son, Titus.i So he blames the war on the violent nationalists such as the Zealots and a splinter group, the Sicarii (Jewish assassins), though in the beginning he'd joined the former after they'd killed off a Roman garrison in Jerusalem. Actually the two groups did play a large part in provoking the war and the Sicarii continued even after the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D.
Because Josephus couldn't remain alive and not please the Romans, he left serious omissions during the period that most concerns us (4 B.C. to 6 A.D.). His dating regarding events before his time has also been found contradictory. But needless to say his mention of an eclipse is innocuous and trustworthy. However in order to determine which one he refers to we need to know his account of events seventy years prior to the war and unfortunately before his time. In particular we need to look at what hap- pened between the eclipse and Herod's internment before the following Passover.
Dennis McCallum (his site no longer operable) in his Chronological Study of the Life of Christ, tells us:
Shortly before the death of Herod, Josephus (a Jewish historian: A.D. 37 –A.D. 95) says there was an eclipse of the Moon. This is the only mention that Josephus makes of an eclipse in his entire volume of History (thus demonstrating that he was not fanciful about omens in this area like other historians of the period). Through astronomical calculations we find that a lunar eclipse occurred on Mar.l2/l3, 4 BC. We also know that no lunar or solar eclipse occurred in either 3 or 2 BC. Shortly after his death the Jewish Passover occurred (which in that year should have occur- red on April 11, according to astronomical calculations). There- fore, Herod's death occurred between March l2 and April 11, in 4 BC.
Although an eclipse indeed did happen just before Herod's death, there wasn't enough time for all the events to unfold between March 12, 4 and the Passover on April 11, 4 (see December 22). For that reason and others we must reject the eclipse of March 12/13, 4. This syzygy men- tioned by Josephus reads as follows:
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.ii
We show on December 23 that Herod died about 18/19 days after this eclipse. From that time we can approximate the birth of Christ.
These two condemned rabbis, Judas and Matthias, had incited their students to tear down what they considered an idolatrous golden eagle Herod had erected over the eastern gate of the temple. Herod moved their trial to Jericho, found them guilty and probably timed their execution to the day of the eclipse. That way he could tell the superstitious that via this darkening of the moon God would show His displeasure with the two rabbis and His approval of their execution.
Along with Dennis McCallum and others I assumed in December of 2008 that Josephus meant the eclipse on March 13, 4 B.C. After choosing the Day of Atonement, Tishri 10, for the birth of Christ, I derived the date of October 2, 7 B.C.E. However three other eclipses occurred over Palestine and the East that I failed to check out (I know I should have). I along with others now have reason to believe that Josephus referred to an eclipse that occurred in B.C. 1.
Astronomers can calculate past eclipses with great accuracy, even within a few minutes. But we need to know which one Josephus refers to. Be- tween 7 and 1 B.C.E. there were four, as seen from Palestine and Meso- potamia: a total one on March 23, 5; another total one on September 15, 5; a partial one on March 12/13, 4; and a total eclipse on January 10, 1.iii On December 22 we show that the eclipse of March 13, 4 and March 23, 5 does not allow enough time for all the events mentioned by Josephus to unfold. That limits the choices to September 15, 5 and January 10, 1. Sep- tember 15, 5 poses problems with too much time between it and the Pass- over, leaving only January 10, 1. On December 24 and 25 we show how astronomical data support January 10, 1 B.C.E.
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i Josephus
ii Antiquities 17:6:4
iii E. Martin, The Star that Astonished the world, Chapter 8.