Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 
added the leap month of AdarII before the Passover of 4 
B.C.
 instead. In such a case, the lunar eclipse of Sept. 
15, 5 
B.C.
, would have fallen in the middle of Tishri, after the fast day of Tishri 10 and about the time of the 
Feast of Tabernacles. This scenario, though, is highly unlikely. As explained above, the lunar eclipse and 
burning alive of the Jewish martyrs could not have occurred in Tishri, for at that time there would have been 
huge crowds gathered for the Feast of Tabernacles. These crowds would not have permitted such an offense, 
nor would Herod have dared to outrage them and risk a riot or rebellion. 
    Furthermore, Josephus, a Jewish priest, would most likely have made mention if the death of these Jewish 
martyrs occurred at the start of the holy Feast of Tabernacles. He mentions the Day of Atonement in 
association with the high priest, the one whom Herod later deposed, but he does not associate the death of the 
Jewish martyrs at the time of the eclipse with the Feast of Tabernacles. Therefore, their martyrdom occurred 
after the month of Tishri. 
    From fall of 5 
B.C.
 to spring of 4 
B.C.
, there were no other lunar eclipses at all. Since neither the Sept. of 5 
B.C.
, nor the March of 4 
B.C.
, eclipses fit the description given by Josephus, Herod could not have died during 
the winter of 5/4 
B.C.
 In addition, Josephus tells us that there were 34 years from Herod's capture of 
Jerusalem to Herod's death. Yet, 34 years before 4 
B.C.
, there is no year which fits Josephus' description of the 
year of the capture of Jerusalem. The years 37 through 42 
B.C.
 inclusive, do not contain the summer of a 
Sabbatical year coupled with a year in which the fast day of Tishri 10 fell in September. Therefore, the 
generally accepted chronology wherein Herod ruled over Jerusalem from 37 to 4 
B.C.
, cannot be correct. 
Other Eclipses to Consider 
    As concluded above, the possible years for the death of Herod are 9 
B.C.
, 8 
B.C.
, or 1 
B.C.
 There are eclipses 
to consider for each of those winters. Lunar eclipse data given below is from the NASA web site and from 
RedShift 3 astronomy software program.
774
 Eclipse times are given as Jerusalem Standard Time, which is 
Universal Time plus 2 hours. 
    In the winter of 10 
B.C.
 to 9 
B.C.
, there is only one lunar eclipse to consider, the eclipse of Dec. 10 in 10 
B.C.
There were 4 lunar months from this eclipse to the Passover in early April of 9 
B.C.
, which is a sufficient length 
of time for the described events. The mid point of the  eclipse occurred at 06:58 hours (Jerusalem time).
775
 This 
was a partial eclipse (covering, at its height, just under 70% of the moon's visible surface) which began at 05:36 
and ended at 08:20 hours. The entire eclipse was not visible from Jerusalem, because moonset on that day 
occurred about 06:34, before the eclipse was even half way completed. Only the first hour or so of the eclipse 
was visible from Jerusalem. 
    Sunrise on the day of this lunar eclipse occurred about 06:32. The sky begins to brighten about an hour or so 
before the sun actually rises above the horizon. Thus this eclipse began about the beginning of the daylight 
hours. But the eclipse Josephus describes occurred at night.  And that very night there was an eclipse of the 
moon. 
776
 Therefore, this eclipse,  and any other lunar eclipse occurring about dawn, does not fit the 
description given by Josephus. 
    In the winter of 9 
B.C.
 to 8 
B.C.
, there is only one lunar eclipse to consider, the lunar eclipse of Nov. 28 in 9 
B.C.
 This total lunar eclipse lasted 3 hours and 38 minutes, reaching its height at the mid point of 21:02 hours 
Jerusalem time. The eclipse began at 19:13 hours (7:13 p.m.). This eclipse would have been easily noticed by 
the inhabitants of Israel, because it was a long lasting total eclipse, and because it began early in the evening, 
not long after sunset. A more noticeable eclipse is more likely to have been remembered and associated with 
the events of the previous day (the burning of the Jewish martyrs). 
    The length of time between the 9 
B.C.
 lunar eclipse and the next Passover (in late March of 8 
B.C.
) is 4 lunar 
months, which is sufficient time to contain all of the events described by Josephus. This eclipse fits the 
chronology of events surrounding the death of Herod, and could well be the eclipse mentioned by Josephus. In 
this case, the date of Herod's death would most likely be Jan./Feb. of 8 
B.C.
    In the winter of 2 
B.C.
 to 1 
B.C.
, one lunar eclipse occurred, on the night of Jan. 9 to Jan. 10 of 1 
B.C.
 This 
eclipse is 3 lunar months from the Passover of early April in 1 
B.C.
, and so meets the minimum length of time 
established above. The eclipse began about 23:33 hours JST on Jan. 9, and lasted 3 hours and 34 minutes, 
178






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