Biblical Chronology

Some of the theories you find when you are doing research are absolutely fascinating. I recently bought myself a copy of Jesus of Nazareth on DVD. While watching it, I was thumbing through my Bible, following along. While I was doing that, I ran across two passages in Luke that gave me pause. Luke 3:1 states that John the Baptist began his ministry in the 15th year of the Emperor Tiberius (generally held to be AD 29). Luke 3:23 states that Jesus was about 30 when he began his ministry. This created a problem in my mind. The generally held death date of Herod the Great is 4 BC and Jesus had to have been born at least 2 years prior to Herod's death (maybe longer), which would put it no later than between 7 and 6 BC. If this is true, then Jesus would have to have been much older than 30 when he started his ministry.

To clear this question, I wanted to confirm Herod's death date so I searched on Google. What I found was this very interesting web site and ebook proposing a theory that would resolve the issue. The site is New Testament Chronology and the author used NASA software about solar and lunar eclipses, in conjunction with historical writings from the Greeks, Romans, and Chinese to correct various dates.

The first portion holds that there is a 4 to 5 year mistake when it comes to dating the Augustan era and prior time periods. For this the author makes use of several astronomical sources and supporting writings. An example is that Augustus did not die in AD 14 but in AD 10 instead. Another point using this astronomical data has Julius Caesar being murdered in 49 BC as opposed to the accepted 44 BC.

The second portion of the theory has that the emperor Tiberius noted the beginning of his reign from the time of his adoption by Augustus and not the death of Augustus. If we hold this true, the reign of Tiberius would be counted beginning in AD 4 which would then be pushed back to AD 1 by the first part of the theory.

Coupling these two theories with other writings, the author pushes the death of Herod the Great back to 8 BC and the birth of Jesus to 15 BC. Then using the revised reign of Tiberius, his 15th year would be in fact his 4th or 5th year of solo rule, or about AD 14-15. Thus, Jesus would now be about 30 years old, satisfying all the requirements. This would then put the death and resurrection of Jesus around AD 19.

I intend to look much more closely at this theory and work it into my story if possible. It seems to hold water and I can't wait to see what else I can make of it.