THE CHRONOLOGY of JESUS Harold W. Hoehner* Jesus
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THE CHRONOLOGY OF JESUS Harold W. Hoehner* Jesus Christ entered into the history of our world. Christianity, there- fore, has an historical basis. Since chronology is the backbone of his- tory, chronology serves as a necessary framework onto which the events of history may be fi tted. Hence, a chronology of Jesus’ life gives a framework to his activities on earth. 1. Th e Birth of Jesus Th e earliest Christians were not as much concerned about the date as about the fact of the birth of Jesus. However, for a chronological framework there are three areas that need to be considered: (1) the year of the death of Herod, (2) the census of Quirinius, and (3) the star of the Magi. 1.1. Th e Death of Herod According to Matt 2:1 and Luke 1:5, Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the Great, king of the Jews. More specifi cally, in Matt 2:15– 16, 19–20, he was born shortly before Herod’s death. Herod was pro- claimed king of the Jews by the Roman Senate by nomination of Antony and Octavius in late 40 BCE,1 but he did not gain control of his domain until summer or fall of 37 BCE.2 He died aft er he had reigned for thirty-seven years from the time he was made king or thirty-four years from the time of his possession of the land, 4 BCE.3 Shortly before his death, there was an eclipse of the moon.4 Th is is the only eclipse mentioned by Josephus and it occurred on March 12/13, 4 BCE.5 Aft er * Harold W. Hoehner (1935–2009) 1 Josephus, Ant. 14.381–385; War 1.282–285. 2 Ant. 14.470–480; War 1.349–352. 3 Ant. 17.191; War 1.665. 4 Ant. 17.167. 5 Emil Schürer, Th e History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 BC– AD 135), trans. T. A. Burkill et al., new English version rev. and ed. Geza Vermes, Fergus Millar, and Matthew Black, vol. 1 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1973), 327 n. 165. 2316 harold w. hoehner his death there was the celebration of the Passover,6 the fi rst day of which would have occurred on April 11, 4 BCE.7 Hence, his death occurred sometime between March 12 and April 11. Since the thirty- fourth year of his reign would have most likely begun on Nisan 1, 4 BCE (March 29, 4 BCE),8 his death would have occurred sometime between March 29 and April 11, 4 BCE.9 For these reasons, Christ could not have been born later than March/April of 4 BCE. Th is date for the death of Herod has been challenged, suggesting that he died in 1 BCE.10 It is argued that Herod’s appointment as king and his capture of Jerusalem took place not in 40 and 37 BCE but in 39 and 36 respectively, and therefore, reckoning the thirty-four years 6 Josephus, War 2.10; Ant. 17.213. 7 Cf. Richard A. Parker and Waldo H. Dubberstein, Babylonian Chronology 626 BC–AD 75, 2nd ed., Brown University Studies 19 (Providence: Brown University Press, 1956), 45. 8 Ibid. 9 Schürer, Th e History of the Jewish People, 1:326–328 n. 165; Harold W. Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1977), 12–13; J. van Bruggen, “Th e Year of the Death of Herod the Great (Τελευτήσαντος δὲ τοῦ ῍Ηρῴδου . , Mt ii 19),” in Miscellanea Neotestamentica, ed. T. Baarda, A. F. J. Klijn, and W. C. van Unnik, vol. 2, NovTSup 48 (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1978), 1–15; William P. Armstrong, and Jack Finegan, “Chronology of the NT,” in Geoff rey W. Bromily et al., eds, ISBE 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979), 686–687; Harold W. Hoehner, “Th e Date of the Death of Herod the Great,” in Chronos, Kairos, Christos: Nativity and Chronological Studies Presented to Jack Finegan, ed. Jerry Vardaman and Edwin M. Yamauchi (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1989), 101–111; Paul L. Maier, “Th e Date of the Nativity and the Chro- nology of Jesus’ Life,” in ibid., 115–118; Alla Kushnir-Stein, “Another Look at Jose- phus’ Evidence for the Date of Herod’s Death,” Scripta Classica Israelica 14 (1995): 73–86; Peter Richardson, Herod: King of the Jews and Friend of the Romans, Studies on Personalities of the New Testament (Columbia University of South Carolina Press, 1996), 18–20, 296; Nikos Kokkinos, Th e Herodian Dynasty: Origins, Role in Society and Eclipse, JSPSup 30 (Sheffi eld: Sheffi eld Academic Press, 1998), 172–173, 372–373; S. E. Porter, “Chronology, New Testament,” in Dictionary of New Testament Back- ground, ed. Craig A. Evans and Stanley E. Porter (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 201; cf. Daniel R. Schwartz, Studies in the Jewish Background of Christian- ity, Wissenschaft liche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 60 (Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 1992), 157–166. 10 W. E. Filmer, “Th e Chronology of the Reign of Herod the Great,” JTS 17 (1966): 283–295; Ernest L. Martin, Th e Birth of Christ Recalculated, 2nd ed. (Pasadena, CA: Foundation for Biblical Research, 1980); John Th orley, “When Was Jesus Born?” Greece & Rome (April 1981): 84–85; Ormond Edwards, “Herodian Chronology,” PEQ 114 (January–June 1982): 29–42; Ernest L. Martin, “Th e Nativity and Herod’s Death,” in Chronos, Kairos, Christos: Nativity and Chronological Studies Presented to Jack Fin- egan, ed. Jerry Vardaman and Edwin M. Yamauchi (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1989), 85–92; Jack Finegan, Handbook of Biblical Chronology: Principles of Time Reck- oning in the Ancient World and Problems of Chronology in the Bible, rev. ed. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998), 299–301. .