Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 

    As shown above, Book 4 states in its title that it covers events lasting about a year, but it actually covers 

events lasting about 2  years (fall of 

A.D.

 52 to spring of 

A.D.

 55). Book 5 states in its title,  CONTAINING 

THE INTERVAL OF NEAR SIX MONTHS. 

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 Yet, here again, the length of time encompassed by this 

book appears to be significantly longer than the title states. Josephus tells us little about Titus' preparations for 

war while he was at Caesarea. Instead, he describes events during that time period occurring at Jerusalem, 

namely the internal conflicts between three groups of Jews within the city.

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 Thus Book 5 actually contains 

the interval of about a year, but the main focus of the book is the assault on Jerusalem, which occupied nearly 

6 months. 

The Siege of Jerusalem 

    Josephus was present at the siege of Jerusalem. He gives us a detailed eyewitness account of events, even 

telling us the exact days and the exact lengths of time for various events. His account of the months of the 

siege itself must be reasonably accurate. However, there is a problem with his chronology of the siege. There 

seems to be one more month of events described than can be accounted for by the dates Josephus gives. 

    As noted above, Titus and his army arrived at Jerusalem in advance of the Passover by perhaps two weeks 

or longer. In 

A.D.

 56, the Passover would ordinarily have begun on April 17 (Nisan 14). However, 

A.D.

 55/56 

was a Sabbatical year and the Jews would not have added a leap month during a Sabbatical year. Doing so 

would prolong the length of time that they could neither plant nor harvest. To prevent leap years from 

coinciding with Sabbatical years, the Jewish religious leaders would often make the year prior to the Sabbatical 

year a leap year. 

    However, in 

A.D.

 55, the nation of Israel was divided. Only Jerusalem had not yet fallen to the Romans; 

Jerusalem was divided from the rest of Israel. And within Jerusalem there was a kind of civil war, with the 

Jews being divided into three factions, as Josephus recounts in some detail.

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 Because of the war and the 

internal strife, the Jewish leaders may not have had the foresight to add a leap month of AdarII to the calendar 

in spring of 

A.D.

 55. This would place the Passover of 

A.D.

 55 on March 30 (Nisan 14). This date falls after the 

Spring Equinox and so is late enough in the season not to cause any immediate problems with the calendar. 

But the following year, the dilemma would be that the Passover would either begin before the Spring Equinox 

or they would have to add a leap month, Second Adar, to the calendar during a Sabbatical year. 

    Since it was a time of war, they lacked an easy supply of grain from the surrounding countryside. The Jews 

would have been particularly unwilling to add an extra month to this Sabbatical year. They would have been 

much more willing to tolerate a Passover occurring before the Spring Equinox. As a result, the Passover of 

A.D.

 56, which should have begun on April 17, most likely began on Friday, March 19.

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 The Spring 

Equinox that year fell on the morning of March 22.

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 This early date for Passover also allows for the 

additional month found in Josephus' chronology of the siege of Jerusalem (more on this below). 

    Given this early date for the Passover of 

A.D.

 56, Titus and his army most likely arrived at Jerusalem in 

early March. This timing makes sense, in terms of the Roman strategy of war. Titus would not encamp his 

army around Jerusalem during the colder and wetter winter months.

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 In mid February, with warmer 

weather approaching, Titus would have began the journey from Caesarea. He would then arrive at Jerusalem 

about two weeks or so later, in early March. This would be the best time of year to begin a prolonged siege. It 

would be unwise to begin the siege of such a well fortified city (perhaps the best fortified city the Romans ever 

captured) in summer or fall. The siege could have lasted for many months. If the Romans had to continue the 

siege during winter, they would be at a disadvantage. In fact, according to Josephus, if the Jews had not 

destroyed most of their supply of grain during fighting among themselves, they might have been able to 

withstand the siege for a much longer period of time.

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 Thus Titus planned this siege to begin as early as 

possible in spring. 

    Josephus recounts a number of events which occurred about the time of the Passover, during the month of 

Xanthicus [Nisan].

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 The month name Xanthicus comes from the Macedonian calendar. Josephus tells us 

that Passover at Jerusalem began on the 14th of Xanthicus, so this month must have corresponded to the 

month of Nisan in the Jewish calendar that year. A number of battles occurred outside of the city of Jerusalem 

during this month.

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