Herod the great captured Jerusalem for the Romans in the first century B.C. He rebuilt the Second Temple of Jerusalem, the Temple where Christ later taught. Herod tried to kill the Christ-Child, by killing the male children 2 years of age or younger in Bethlehem and the surrounding area. Not long before his own death, Herod put to death about forty Jews who studied at the Temple, "and that very night there was an eclipse of the moon."

Biblical chronologists generally date the capture of Jerusalem by Herod to 37 B.C., the rebuilding of the Temple as beginning in 20 B.C., and Herod's death to either 4 B.C. or 1 B.C.

This revised chronology dates the capture of Jerusalem to 43 B.C., the rebuilding of the Temple to 32 B.C., and Herod's death to 8 B.C. Some of the evidence for this revised chronology is summarized below. For details and references, please see chapter 12 of the book.

1. According to Josephus, the year in which Herod captured Jerusalem was both a Sabbatical year (which must include the summer before the capture of the city) and a year in which Tishri 10 fell in September. To determine the year of the capture of Jerusalem, we must take both these factors into consideration.

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• Introduction to the theory
• The Evidence from Eclipse and Comet Sightings
• The Antedating of Tiberius' Reign
• Chronology of Herod the great
• The Fall of Jerusalem and the Destruction of the Second Temple
• The Census of Quirinius and the Lapis Venetus
  
  
• Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary
• Sabbatical Years Began in the Spring
• The Martyrdoms of James the Less and Mark the Evangelist
• Faith and Reason in Biblical Scholarship
  
  
• Related Articles (submissions invited)
• Questions and Objections (objections invited)
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Notice, in the Table above, that the usual date for the capture of Jerusalem is ruled out, because Tishri 10 did not fall in September in that year. So far, we have three possible dates for the capture of Jerusalem: 44 B.C., 43 B.C. and 36 B.C. Examining the length of Herod's reign and the year of his death will help us decide between them.

2. Herod's Eclipse

Josephus describes Herod’s reign as lasting a few months more than 34 years, from his capture of Jerusalem to his death. Herod captured Jerusalem in September, and he died in the winter, sometime after the fast day (Yom Kippur), after a lunar eclipse, and before the Passover.

By subtracting 34+ years from the possible years for the beginning of Herod’s reign (44, 43, and 36 B.C.), we arrive at 9 B.C., 8 B.C., and 1 B.C. as the possible years for the death of Herod. Here the years are given as if the death of Herod occurred in Jan./Feb, during the latter part of the winter, though he may possibly have died in December.

Josephus describes a lunar eclipse occuring on the night after Herod killed some of the teachers and students at the Temple. He places this event after the fast day (Yom Kippur) on Tishri 10. Now, lunar eclipses occur when the moon is full, about the middle of the Jewish month (because the Jewish calendar is based on the phases of the moon). But Herod could not have put to death teachers and students of the Temple in the middle of Tishri. At that time, millions of Jews would gather in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. So, this lunar eclipse must have occurred after the month of Tishri (and before the month of Nisan, when Passover occurs).