Biblical Chronology. Valeriy Sterkh
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at the Roman court. He writes in his work “Judean Antiquities”:
“Having learned of the death of [Porcius] Festus, the emperor sent [Lucceius] Albinus as his procurator in Judea. About the same time, the king [Agrippa] stripped Joseph [Cavius] of his high-priesthood and appointed Ananus, the son of Ananus, as his successor. The latter, Ananus the Senior, was a very happy man: he had five sons who all became high priests after him, and he himself had occupied this honorable position for a very long time. None of our high priests had such a happy lot in life. Anan the Junior, of whose appointment we just spoke, was a harsh and impetuous man. He belonged to the party of the Sadducees, which, as we have already mentioned, was known in courts for their immoderate cruelty. Being a ruthless man, Anus considered the death of Festus and Albinus’s temporary absence to be a perfect time to satisfy his cruelty. So, calling together the Sanhedrin, he had them interrogate James [Jacob], the brother of Jesus, called Christ, as well as several others. They were accused of violating the laws and sentenced to death by stoning” (Ibid., 20,9,1).
Porcius Festus was a Roman governor in Judea between the years 59—62 NE at the time of Agrippa II, the tetrarch. Agrippa reigned between 48 – 93 NE, and his reign is associated with the trial of the apostle Paul in Caesarea (see Act 25—26). Anan the Senior is mentioned in the Gospels as High Priest Annas, Joseph Caiaphas’s father-in-law (see Lk 3:2; Jn 18:13, 24). The high-priesthood of Anan the Senior falls on years 6—15 NE, and the high-priesthood of Caiaphas between 18—37 NE. The sons of Anan (Annas) also became High Priests: Eleazar was the high priest in the years 16—17 NE (Judean Antiquities, 18,2,2), Jonathan in 37 NE (Ibid., 18,4,3; 18,5,3; 19,6,4), Theophilus in the years 37—41 NE (Ibid., 18,5,3; 19,6,2). [Could he be that very “Honorable [most excellent] Theophilus” to whom Luke addressed two of his books and who subsequently converted to Christianity? See Lk 1:3; Act 1:1], Matthias in 43 NE (Ibid., 19,6,4; 19,8,1), Anan the Junior in 63 NE (Ibid., 20,9,1). So, according to Josephus, James [Jacob], the stepbrother of Jesus, was executed in 63 NE. James, the brother of Jesus, is mentioned in the New Testament (see Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3; Act 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; Gal 1:18—19; 2:9). Also, Eusebius of Caesarea quotes Hegesippus, the second-century Christian writer, who says that James [Jacob] was thrown down from the roof of the Jerusalem temple and then stoned to death (see Church History, 2,23).
Elsewhere, Josephus writes:
“There lived around this time a wise man, Jesus <, if such a designation can be applied to him>. He was performing amazing deeds and became the Mentor for those who readily accepted the truth. He attracted many Jews and Greeks to himself. <That man was Christ.> Pilate sentences him to be crucified <yielding to the pressure of our authorities>. Yet those who loved him continued to do so up to this day. <On the third day he appeared to them alive, even as the inspired prophets had proclaimed concerning him and many of his miracles.> There are still the so-called Christians who call themselves by this name” (Judean Antiquities, 18,3,3).
It is believed that this paragraph has been preserved almost intact; possible errors are marked by triangular brackets.
Let us compare this passage with the same passage from Josephus Flavius as quoted in the version of Agapius of Hierapolis (died 942 NE):
“At this time there lived a wise man, whose name was Jesus. He led a sinless life and and was known for his virtues. Many Jews and non-Jews became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to death through crucifixion, but those who were his disciples continued to spread his teaching. They said he appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and was alive. That is why, it is believed, that he was the Messiah whose wonderful deeds were foretold by the prophets” (World History [Book of the Titles], 2).
This “testimonium Flavianum” is cited in other sources as well, with slight variations: Eusebius of Caesarea (Church History, 1,11), Hermias Sozomen (Church History, 1,1), Michael Glika (Chronography, 3), Michael Syrian (Chronicle, I), Gregorius Abū’l-Faraj bin hārūn al-Malaṭī (The Lampstand of the Sanctuary).
However, Josephus does not provide the exact dates for the life of Jesus Christ; he only describes His execution under Pontius Pilate. Yet he gives a number of chronological pointers of a different kind, which do not directly relate to Jesus but can help to clarify certain dates in the Gospel narrative. We will analyze them in detail in later chapters.
The problems of chronology in the Gospels
The New Testament chronology remains one of the major challenges for the Biblical studies, and some of its issues have not been solved to this day. The obvious reason for this is the almost complete absence of datings in the Gospel narratives. The only exception is the date for the baptism of Jesus Christ mentioned by he apostle Luke (see Lk 3:1—3; 3:21). Scholars are still undecided as to the exact time of the birth of Jesus Christ, and date of death of Jesus still causes a lot of controversy.
Problematic as it is to recreate the Gospel chronology, this challenge has a flipside: if we eventually succeed in establishing a version that explains all the intricacies of the historical data of the life of Jesus Christ, it will be the only true one.
So, we will start with analyzing all possible variants of the Gospel dates, proceeding from simple to complex, so that we can finally develop a concept that will help to resolve the problem.
The baptism of Jesus Christ
The ministry of Jesus began right after He was baptized by John the Baptist. The time of the ministry of John the Baptist is indicated by the apostle and evagelist Luke:
“Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins…” (Lk 3:1—3). The baptism of the Lord happened at the same time: “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying…” (Lk 3:21).
The Roman emperor Tiberius (42 BNE – 37 NE) came to power in 14 NE. The 15th year of his reign was the 28th year NE. So, this must be the date for the baptism of Jesus Christ. According to some scholars, the baptism of Jesus Christ took place in 29 NE, if you put it at the end of the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius. Others shift it to the 27th year NE, considering the fact that, starting 13 NE, Tiberius was a co-regent with the emperor Octavian Augustus. There are also those who are trying to move the beginning of the co-regency of Tiberius to 12 NE, and even to 11 NE. As a rule, they quote Gaius Suetonius Tranquill and Gaius Velleius Paterculus (Suetonius. De vita Caesarum. Tiberius, 21; Velleius Paterculus. Historia Romana, II,121), however, the indicated sources only speak of the authority of Tiberius in the provinces, so the shift of the beginning of his reign to years 11 – 12 NE seems too far-fetched. Therefore, the range 27 – 29 NE makes more sense as the possible time interval for the Lord’s baptism.
Then Luke adds: “And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age…” (Lk 3:23). It is easy to see that the date for the birth of Jesus Christ should be around 3 BNE, plus or minus several years.
The sevens of Daniel
Let us examine the passage from the Book of Daniel predicting the time of the coming of Christ:
“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore