Statement of belief: “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17 KJV)

Completely re-written 5928± 10 30 2024 [2008-01-10]

Last edited 5928± 11 01 2024 [2008-01-11]

"Forty and six years was

this temple in building…?"

John 2:20 (KJV)

contributing towards a better understanding

of the timeline in the N.T.:

Abstract:

What exactly happened at the beginning of the time period referenced by the words “forty and six years was this temple in building” (John 2:20) and what did not happen?

When searching for the answers to the above question I am once again realizing the importance of reviewing my own prior presumptions and the basis I’ve thus far been building upon and to correct whatever needs correction or improvement in view of my most up to date discoveries.

Certainly a building project going on for forty six years is likely to proceed with more than one revision of prior plans, is it not? It is only all too easy, when reading a sketchy account, to make false assumptions based upon a simplistic understanding or upon a too superficial reading of the available records, is it not?

Thus, when re-studying Josephus’ rather lengthy writings re the events surrounding Herod the Great and his many and extensive building projects, I came to realize that his references to the building of the temple in his 15^th year in one book and his building of the temple, beginning in his 18^th year, in another book of his are not conflicting or erroneous statements. Rather these statements are complementary and referencing two separate events: The first one, in Herod’s 15^th de jure year, referencing a restoration of the existing temple building begun in the time in Ezra, and the second one, in Herod’s 18^th de facto year, six (!) years later, referencing a complete re-building from the foundation of the entire temple building proper. Cf. blue font text in this table!

Based upon Josephus’ brief time references, in different books of his, re these projects it appears as though the restoration in Herod’s 15^th de jure year was completed within one calendar year and that the complete rebuilding of “the temple itself…,” beginning in Herod’s 18^th de facto year of reign, “was built by the priests in a year and six months.” As best I can tell “the cloisters and the outer enclosures…,” which “he built in eight years…,” were finished “in the tenth year…,” which was, “the twenty-eighth [de facto] year of Herod's reign…,” which year spilled “into the hundred and ninety-second olympiad.”

Thus I find that Herod’s first restoration project was completed, from beginning to end, within the year beginning Tishri 22, 32 BCE, while Herod’s second temple project was a “very great work…” making the temple “larger in compass, and to raise it to a most magnificent altitude” was begun in the year beginning Tishri 22, 26 BCE and completed ten years later in the year beginning Tishri 22, 16 BCE, the main temple having probably been completed in time for Passover, 23 BCE.

Considering the following words of Josephus it is clear that more was to follow (as implicated also by the word in Luke 2:20:)

“So Herod took away the old foundations, and laid others, and erected the temple upon them, being … in height twenty additional cubits, which [twenty], upon the sinking of their foundations fell down; and this part it was that we resolved to raise again in the days of Nero.”

Considerations and references:

Quoting Scriptures:

“And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem…” John 2:13 (KJV)

“Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?” John 2:20 (KJV)

Quoting from Ronald L. Conte Jr.:

“Josephus makes several conflicting statements about when the Temple of Jerusalem was rebuilt. In Antiquities of the Jews, he states that Herod undertook the rebuilding the temple in his 18th year.777 But in Wars of the Jews, he states that Herod rebuilt the temple in his 15th year.778 The generally-accepted view is that the rebuilding of the temple began in Herod’s 18th year. However, there is a third possibility.”

777 Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, 15.380.

778 Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, 1.401.

While thus Josephus’ statements may seem “conflicting” at first, a closer study of Josephus’ works may reveal differently, or why would it be more likely that our original source is in error and not a late interpreter in a very different culture and using a very different language?

Quoting from Josephus:

“Antiquities of the Jews - Book XV

“CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF EIGHTEEN YEARS.

“FROM THE DEATH OF ANTIGONUS TO THE FINISHING OF THE TEMPLE BY HEROD.

“CHAPTER 1.

…

“CHAPTER 11.

“HOW HEROD REBUILT THE TEMPLE AND RAISED IT HIGHER AND MADE IT MORE MAGNIFICENT THAN IT WAS BEFORE; AS ALSO CONCERNING THAT TOWER WHICH HE CALLED ANTONIA.

“1. AND now Herod, in the eighteenth year of his reign, and after the acts already mentioned, undertook a very great work, that is, to build of himself the temple of God, (22) and make it larger in compass, and to raise it to a most magnificent altitude, as esteeming it to be the most glorious of all his actions, as it really was, to bring it to perfection; and that this would be sufficient for an everlasting memorial of him; but as he knew the multitude were not ready nor willing to assist him in so vast a design, he thought to prepare them first by making a speech to them, and then set about the work itself; so he called them together, and spake thus to them…

”6. But the temple itself was built by the priests in a year and six months…”

Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, XV:11:1&6.

“…in the fifteenth year of his reign, Herod rebuilt the temple…”

Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, I:21:1.

Finding an initial anchor point in time for Herod the Great’s reign and the beginning of the 46 years of building the temple:

Given the one true and reliable reference, albeit not always correctly understood, I choose to base my calculation initially upon the crucifixion in 18 CE, as shown elsewhere within. The third Passover prior to crucifixion, which was also the first Passover of Yeshua’s ministry and the Passover at which the 46 year reference was given, occurred then at the Passover in 16 CE.

Since the 46 years are given by John in present tense, i.e. as a incomplete event, the beginning of the first of these 46 years, must be the beginning of that biblical year within which the Passover of 30 BCE is found [30 + 16 = 46 Passovers,] i.e. the year beginning Tishri 22, 31 BCE. The event itself should be found in the year before that, i.e. in the year beginning Tishri 22, 32 BCE.

Given also, as shown elsewhere within, that Herod’s de facto rule in Judea began with his capture of Jerusalem on the Day of Atonement in 43 BCE, and that his first de facto year of reign began Tishri 22, 43 BCE, as recounted by Josephus, the first of the 46 years corresponds to Herod’s 13^th de facto year of reign [beginning Tishri 22, 31 BCE,] with the actual beginning being found within an accession year preceding said first year of the 46, i.e. the year corresponding to Herod’s 12^th de facto year of reign.

But this does not apparently agree with either the 15^th or the 18^th year of Herod as given in Josephus’ works as quoted above. How may this difference be reconciled, or can it? Has Josephus or a translator of Josephus made an error? Or, does the error belong on the part of the present reader?

Quoting from Ronald L. Conte Jr.:

“Herod was appointed as king of the Jews by the Roman Senate, at the request of Marc Antony.741 However, the Romans did not control Jerusalem and the surrounding area of Judea at that time, so they sent Herod with an army to capture the area from the Parthians. Herod won this war and captured Jerusalem and Judea, so that his effective reign as king began a few years after he was officially appointed as king. For this reason, the reign of Herod over the Jews is counted from the capture of Jerusalem.”

741 Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, 14.385-386.

I can only conclude that, based upon the fact that Judea and Jerusalem was now, after the capture of Jerusalem by Herod, brought under Roman jurisdiction, “the fifteenth year of his reign” is based upon the kingship accorded Herod by the Roman Senate in the 184^th Olympiad:

Quoting from Josephus re the timing of Herod’s appointment in Rome as king over Judea:

“Antiquities of the Jews - Book XIV

“CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF THIRTY-TWO YEARS.

“FROM THE DEATH OF QUEEN ALEXANDRA TO THE DEATH OF ANTIGONUS.

“CHAPTER 14.

“HOW HEROD GOT AWAY FROM THE KING OF ARABIA AND MADE HASTE TO GO INTO EGYPT AND THENCE WENT AWAY IN HASTE ALSO TO ROME; AND HOW, BY PROMISING A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY TO ANTONY HE OBTAINED OF THE SENATE AND OF CAESAR TO BE MADE KING OF THE JEWS.

“1. AS for Herod, the great miseries he was in did not discourage him, but made him sharp in discovering surprising undertakings…

“2. Hereupon he resolved to go away, and did go very prudently the road to Egypt… and made haste into the road to Pelusium; and when the stationary ships that lay there hindered him from sailing to Alexandria, he went to their captains, by whose assistance, and that out of much reverence of and great regard to him, he was conducted into the city [Alexandria], and was retained there by Cleopatra; yet was she not able to prevail with him to stay there, because he was making haste to Rome, even though the weather was stormy, and he was informed that the affairs of Italy were very tumultuous, and in great disorder.

“3. So he set sail from thence to Pamphylia, and falling into a violent storm, he had much ado to escape to Rhodes, with the loss of the ship's burden; and there it was that two of his friends, Sappinas and Ptolemeus, met with him; and as he found that city very much damaged in the war against Cassius, though he were in necessity himself, he neglected not to do it a kindness, but did what he could to recover it to its former state. He also built there a three-decked ship, and set sail thence, with his friends, for Italy, and came to the port of Brundusium; and when he was come from thence to Rome, he first related to Antony what had befallen him…

“4… Upon this the senate was irritated; and Antony informed them further, that it was for their advantage in the Parthian war that Herod should be king. This seemed good to all the senators; and so they made a decree accordingly.

“5. And this was the principal instance of Antony's affection for Herod, that he not only procured him a kingdom which he did not expect, (for he did not come with an intention to ask the kingdom for himself, which he did not suppose the Romans would grant him, who used to bestow it on some of the royal family, but intended to desire it for his wife's brother, who was grandson by his father to Aristobulus, and to Hyrcanus by his mother,) but that he procured it for him so suddenly, that he obtained what he did not expect, and departed out of Italy in so few days as seven in all. This young man [the grandson] Herod afterward took care to have slain, as we shall show in its proper place. But when the senate was dissolved, Antony and Caesar went out of the senate house with Herod between them, and with the consuls and other magistrates before them, in order to offer sacrifices, and to lay up their decrees in the capitol. Antony also feasted Herod the first day of his reign. And thus did this man receive the kingdom, having obtained it on the hundred and eighty-fourth olympiad, when Caius Domitius Calvinus was consul the second time, and Caius Asinius Pollio [the first time].

“6. All this while Antigonus besieged those that were in Masada, who had plenty of all other necessaries, but were only in want of water (27) insomuch that on this occasion Joseph, Herod's brother, was contriving to run away from it, with two hundred of his dependents, to the Arabians; for he had heard that Malchus repented of the offenses he had been guilty of with regard to Herod; but God, by sending rain in the night time, prevented his going away, for their cisterns were thereby filled, and he was under no necessity of running away on that account; but they were now of good courage, and the more so, because the sending that plenty of water which they had been in want of seemed a mark of Divine Providence…”

Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews,XIV:14:1-6

Can the Olympiad calendar be firmly anchored upon an astronomically based calendar?

Based upon a statement of Origen (“ca. 185–ca. 254”) the Olympiad calendar may be anchored to the astronomical calendar:

"And Phlegon also who compiled the Olympiads writes about the same things in his 13th book in the following words: 'In the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad (AD 32-33), and eclipse of the Sun took place greater than any previously known, and night came on at the sixth hour of the day, so that stars actually appeared in the sky; and a great earthquake took place in Bithynia and overthrew the greater part of Niceaea;" (Origen, "Contra Celsus")

How common is a total solar eclipse “at the sixth hour,” i.e. between about 11 AM and 12 AM local time, as visible from the Roman Empire? Considering that the Roman Empire covered the time zones from UT to about UT + 3 hours we should be able to find all possibilities by looking first for all total solar eclipses occurring between 07:30 and 12:30, giving ourselves a one and a half hour margin on both sides, I find the following:

	All total and annular solar eclipses between 06:30 and 13:30 UT	Time UT	Visible from Roman Empire	T	T & visible	A or H & visible
1	June 30, 10 CE Total	11:11	No	T
2	February 15, 17 CE Annular	09:41	Yes	A		Yes
3	August 10, 17 CE Hybrid	11:17	No	H
4	June 21, 19 CE Total	11:02	Yes	T	Yes
5	December 3, 20 CE Hybrid	10:59	North-Africa only	H		Yes
6	March 28, 24 CE Total	11:02	No	T
7	August 1, 26 CE Total	09:52	South-Africa only	T	???
8	January 26, 27 CE Annular	13:07	S. and East Africa only	A		Yes
9	January 15, 28 CE Annular	12:58	No	A
10	November 24, 29 CE Total	09:12	Yes	T	Yes
11	March 19, 33 CE Total	10:38	No	T
12	September 12, 33 CE Annular	09:42	No	A
13	September 1, 34 CE Annular	10:56	Morocco & East Africa only	A		Yes
14	January 5, 37 CE Annular	07:14	No	A
15	December 25, 37 CE Annular	09:53	South Africa only	A		???
16	June 21, 38 CE Annular	06:43	E. Africa & India only	A		?
17	August 1, 45 CE Total	09:18	N. Africa, Egypt, Arabia	T	Yes

Conventional wisdom has it that the 1^st year of the 195^th Olympiad corresponds with AD 1 / AD 2 (cf. Wikipedia.) The above correlation between Origen’s statement and NASA’s solar eclipse listing provides that the 4^th year of the 195^th Olympiad corresponds with AD 1 / AD 2. Thus, using conventional wisdom, we find a three year difference and no apparent agreement between Origen’s record and NASA’s solar eclipse listing, i.e. unless the March 19, 33 CE total solar eclipse is considered. However, that eclipse shadow was only visible from the southernmost parts of the Indian Ocean and Antarctica, so unless Origen’s statement is based solely upon a slightly erroneous astronomical calculation of a solar eclipse and not upon an actual observation that March 19, 33 CE eclipse does not seem to be a possible fit, does it? And the way Origen’s statement is worded it certainly does seem to be an actual observation, does it not? Cf. my table re Herod’s reign and the 46 years and also this link re Herod’s reign!

Accordingly, I conclude that based upon Josephus, Origen, and NASA’s solar eclipse pages we may firmly anchor all Olympiad dates provided by Josephus, among which are the ones above quoted re the years of Herod’s reign and thus also the beginning of the 46 years.

Sorting out the details re the building of Herod’s temple:

As may be perceived from my table re Herod’s reign and the 46 years the 184^th Olympiad is concurrent with July 1, 47 BCE through June, 46 BCE. Notice that based upon the quotes above Herod was made king in Rome no earlier than during the rainy season in the Julian years 47/46 BCE. The rain season typically begins in mid-October lasting until mid-March. Thus we may conclude, while also confirming our initial anchor point above, that Herod was made king within an accession year beginning Tishri 22, 47 BCE [October (8 or) 9, 47 BCE,] and that Herod’s 15^th de jure reign was the year defining the beginning point in time re Luke 2:20: “Forty and six years was this temple in building.”

Quoting Josephus re Herod’s first restoration of the temple in his 15^th de jure reign:

“The Wars Of The Jews Or The History Of The Destruction Of Jerusalem Book I

“CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN YEARS. FROM THE TAKING OF JERUSALEM BY ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES, TO THE DEATH OF HEROD THE GREAT.

“CHAPTER 1.

…

“CHAPTER 20.

“HEROD IS CONFIRMED IN HIS KINGDOM BY CAESAR, AND CULTIVATES A FRIENDSHIP WITH THE EMPEROR BY MAGNIFICENT PRESENTS; WHILE CAESAR RETURNS HIS KINDNESS BY BESTOWING ON HIM THAT PART OF HIS KINGDOM WHICH HAD BEEN TAKEN AWAY FROM IT BY CLEOPATRA WITH THE ADDITION OF ZENODORUSS COUNTRY ALSO.

…

“4. Moreover, after the first games at Actium, he added to his kingdom both the region called Trachonitis, and what lay in its neighborhood, Batanea, and the country of Auranitis; and that on the following occasion: Zenodorus, who had hired the house of Lysanias, had all along sent robbers out of Trachonitis among the Damascenes; who thereupon had recourse to Varro, the president of Syria, and desired of him that he would represent the calamity they were in to Caesar. When Caesar was acquainted with it, he sent back orders that this nest of robbers should be destroyed. Varro therefore made an expedition against them, and cleared the land of those men, and took it away from Zenodorus. Caesar did also afterward bestow it on Herod, that it might not again become a receptacle for those robbers that had come against Damascus. He also made him a procurator of all Syria, and this on the tenth year afterward, when he came again into that province; and this was so established, that the other procurators could not do any thing in the administration without his advice: but when Zenodorus was dead, Caesar bestowed on him all that land which lay between Trachonitis and Galilee. Yet, what was still of more consequence to Herod, he was beloved by Caesar next after Agrippa, and by Agrippa next after Caesar; whence he arrived at a very great degree of felicity. Yet did the greatness of his soul exceed it, and the main part of his magnanimity was extended to the promotion of piety.

“CHAPTER 21.

“OF THE [TEMPLE AND] CITIES THAT WERE BUILT BY HEROD AND ERECTED FROM THE VERY FOUNDATIONS; AS ALSO OF THOSE OTHER EDIFICES THAT WERE ERECTED BY HIM; AND WHAT MAGNIFICENCE HE SHOWED TO FOREIGNERS; AND HOW FORTUNE WAS IN ALL THINGS FAVORABLE TO HIM.

“1. ACCORDINGLY, in the fifteenth year of his reign, Herod rebuilt the temple, and encompassed a piece of land about it with a wall, which land was twice as large as that before enclosed. The expenses he laid out upon it were vastly large also, and the riches about it were unspeakable. A sign of which you have in the great cloisters that were erected about the temple, and the citadel which was on its north side. The cloisters he built from the foundation, but the citadel (32) he repaired at a vast expense; nor was it other than a royal palace, which he called Antonia, in honor of Antony. He also built himself a palace in the Upper city, containing two very large and most beautiful apartments; to which the holy house itself could not be compared [in largeness]. The one apartment he named Caesareum, and the other Agrippium, from his [two great] friends.

“2. Yet did he not preserve their memory by particular buildings only, with their names given them, but his generosity went as far as entire cities; for when he had built a most beautiful wall round a country in Samaria, twenty furlongs long, and had brought six thousand inhabitants into it, and had allotted to it a most fruitful piece of land, and in the midst of this city, thus built, had erected a very large temple to Caesar, and had laid round about it a portion of sacred land of three furlongs and a half, he called the city Sebaste, from Sebastus, or Augustus, and settled the affairs of the city after a most regular manner.”

Wrestling with and finally making sense out of Josephus’ statement “Herod, in the eighteenth year of his reign undertook… to build of himself the temple of God”:

Considering the fact that Herod’s de jure reign began prior to his de facto reign over Jerusalem it becomes obvious that whatever happened in Herod’s eighteenth year of reign, it is not the event constituting the beginning of the 46 years referenced in Luke 2:20. From the context of Josephus’ text it becomes obvious that Herod’s 18^th year is in reference not to his de jure reign but to his de facto reign, which is based upon his conquering of Jerusalem on Tishri 10, 43 BCE [September 13 or October 12 or 13, 43 BCE:]

Josephus’ reference to Herod’s capture of Jerusalem:

“4. This destruction befell the city of Jerusalem when Marcus Agrippa and Caninius Gallus were consuls of Rome (30) on the hundred eighty and fifth olympiad, on the third month, on the solemnity of the fast, as if a periodical revolution of calamities had returned since that which befell the Jews under Pompey; for the Jews were taken by him on the same day, and this was after twenty-seven years' time...” Josephus, Antiquties, XIV:16:4.

In the quote above we find the date defining the beginning of Herod’s de facto reign. Comparing said date with the last paragraph below (beginning with “1. ABOUT this…”) it becomes clear that, at least in this particular instance, Josephus is numbering the years of reign of Herod in terms of de facto years. Obviously so since there are 28 years from the 185^th Olympiad to the 192^nd Olympiad, and since Herod’s de facto reign began with his capture and destruction of Jerusalem in the 185^th Olympiad:

“Antiquities of the Jews - Book XV

“CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF EIGHTEEN YEARS.

“FROM THE DEATH OF ANTIGONUS TO THE FINISHING OF THE TEMPLE BY HEROD.

“CHAPTER 1.

…

“CHAPTER 8.

“HOW TEN MEN OF THE CITIZENS [OF JERUSALEM] MADE A CONSPIRACY AGAINST HEROD, FOR THE FOREIGN PRACTICES HE HAD INTRODUCED, WHICH WAS A TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAWS OF THEIR COUNTRY. CONCERNING THE BUILDING OF SEBASTE AND CESAREA, AND OTHER EDIFICES OF HEROD.

…

“5. Since, therefore, he had now the city fortified by the palace in which he lived, and by the temple which had a strong fortress by it, called Antonia, and was rebuilt by himself, he contrived to make Samaria a fortress for himself also against all the people, and called it Sebaste, supposing that this place would be a strong hold against the country, not inferior to the former. So he fortified that place, which was a day's journey distant from Jerusalem, and which would be useful to him in common, to keep both the country and the city in awe. He also built another fortress for the whole nation; it was of old called Strato's Tower, but was by him named Cesarea. Moreover, he chose out some select horsemen, and placed them ill the great plain; and built [for them] a place in Galilee, called Gaba with Hesebonitis, in Perea. And these were the places which he particularly built, while he always was inventing somewhat further for his own security, and encompassing the whole nation with guards, that they might by no means get from under his power, nor fall into tumults, which they did continually upon any small commotion; and that if they did make any commotions, he might know of it, while some of his spies might be upon them from the neighborhood, and might both be able to know what they were attempting, and to prevent it. And when he went about building the wall of Samaria, he contrived to bring thither many of those that had been assisting to him in his wars, and many of the people in that neighborhood also, whom he made fellow citizens with the rest. This he did out of an ambitious desire of building a temple, and out of a desire to make the city more eminent than it had been before; but principally because he contrived that it might at once be for his own security, and a monument of his magnificence. He also changed its name, and called it Sebaste. Moreover, he parted the adjoining country, which was excellent in its kind, among the inhabitants of Samaria, that they might be in a happy condition, upon their first coming to inhabit. Besides all which, he encompassed the city with a wall of great strength, and made use of the acclivity of the place for making its fortifications stronger; nor was the compass of the place made now so small as it had been before, but was such as rendered it not inferior to the most famous cities; for it was twenty furlongs in circumference. Now within, and about the middle of it, he built a sacred place, of a furlong and a half [in circuit], and adorned it with all sorts of decorations, and therein erected a temple, which was illustrious on account of both its largeness and beauty. And as to the several parts of the city, he adorned them with decorations of all sorts also; and as to what was necessary to provide for his own security, he made the walls very strong for that purpose, and made it for the greatest part a citadel; and as to the elegance of the building, it was taken care of also, that he might leave monuments of the fineness of his taste, and of his beneficence, to future ages.

“CHAPTER 9.

“CONCERNING THE FAMINE THAT HAPPENED IN JUDEA AND SYRIA; AND HOW HEROD, AFTER HE HAD MARRIED ANOTHER WIFE, REBUILT CESAREA, AND OTHER GRECIAN CITIES.

“1. NOW on this very year, which was the thirteenth year of the reign of Herod, very great calamities came upon the country; whether they were derived from the anger of God, or whether this misery returns again naturally in certain periods of time (14) for, in the first place, there were perpetual droughts, and for that reason the ground was barren, and did not bring forth the same quantity of fruits that it used to produce; and after this barrenness of the soil, that change of food which the want of corn occasioned produced distempers in the bodies of men, and a pestilential disease prevailed, one misery following upon the back of another; and these circumstances, that they were destitute both of methods of cure and of food, made the pestilential distemper, which began after a violent manner, the more lasting. The destruction of men also after such a manner deprived those that surived of all their courage, because they had no way to provide remedies sufficient for the distresses they were in. When therefore the fruits of that year were spoiled, and whatsoever they had laid up beforehand was spent, there was no foundation of hope for relief remaining, but the misery, contrary to what they expected still increased upon them; and this not only on that year, while they had nothing for themselves left [at the end of it], but what seed they had sown perished also, by reason of the ground not yielding its fruits on the second year. (15) This distress they were in made them also, out of necessity, to eat many things that did not use to be eaten; nor was the king himself free from this distress any more than other men, as being deprived of that tribute he used to have from the fruits of the ground, and having already expended what money he had, in his liberality to those whose cities he had built; nor had he any people that were worthy of his assistance, since this miserable state of things had procured him the hatred of his subjects: for it is a constant rule, that misfortunes are still laid to the account of those that govern.

…

“CHAPTER 11.

“HOW HEROD REBUILT THE TEMPLE AND RAISED IT HIGHER AND MADE IT MORE MAGNIFICENT THAN IT WAS BEFORE; AS ALSO CONCERNING THAT TOWER WHICH HE CALLED ANTONIA.

“1. AND now Herod, in the eighteenth year of his reign, and after the acts already mentioned, undertook a very great work, that is, to build of himself the temple of God, (22) and make it larger in compass, and to raise it to a most magnificent altitude, as esteeming it to be the most glorious of all his actions, as it really was, to bring it to perfection; and that this would be sufficient for an everlasting memorial of him; but as he knew the multitude were not ready nor willing to assist him in so vast a design, he thought to prepare them first by making a speech to them, and then set about the work itself; so he called them together, and spake thus to them: "I think I need not speak to you, my countrymen, about such other works as I have done since I came to the kingdom, although I may say they have been performed in such a manner as to bring more security to you than glory to myself; for I have neither been negligent in the most difficult times about what tended to ease your necessities, nor have the buildings. I have made been so proper to preserve me as yourselves from injuries; and I imagine that, with God's assistance, I have advanced the nation of the Jews to a degree of happiness which they never had before; and for the particular edifices belonging to your own country, and your own cities, as also to those cities that we have lately acquired, which we have erected and greatly adorned, and thereby augmented the dignity of your nation, it seems to me a needless task to enumerate them to you, since you well know them yourselves; but as to that undertaking which I have a mind to set about at present, and which will be a work of the greatest piety and excellence that can possibly be undertaken by us, I will now declare it to you. Our fathers, indeed, when they were returned from Babylon, built this temple to God Almighty, yet does it want sixty cubits of its largeness in altitude; for so much did that first temple which Solomon built exceed this temple; nor let any one condemn our fathers for their negligence or want of piety herein, for it was not their fault that the temple was no higher; for they were Cyrus, and Darius the son of Hystaspes, who determined the measures for its rebuilding; and it hath been by reason of the subjection of those fathers of ours to them and to their posterity, and after them to the Macedonians, that they had not the opportunity to follow the original model of this pious edifice, nor could raise it to its ancient altitude; but since I am now, by God's will, your governor, and I have had peace a long time, and have gained great riches and large revenues, and, what is the principal filing of all, I am at amity with and well regarded by the Romans, who, if I may so say, are the rulers of the whole world, I will do my endeavor to correct that imperfection, which hath arisen from the necessity of our affairs, and the slavery we have been under formerly, and to make a thankful return, after the most pious manner, to God, for what blessings I have received from him, by giving me this kingdom, and that by rendering his temple as complete as I am able.” Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, XV:11:1.

“5… Thus was the first enclosure. In the midst of which, and not far from it, was the second, to be gone up to by a few steps: this was encompassed by a stone wall for a partition, with an inscription, which forbade any foreigner to go in under pain of death. Now this inner enclosure had on its southern and northern quarters three gates [equally] distant one from another; but on the east quarter, towards the sun-rising, there was one large gate, through which such as were pure came in, together with their wives; but the temple further inward in that gate was not allowed to the women; but still more inward was there a third [court of the] temple, whereinto it was not lawful for any but the priests alone to enter. The temple itself was within this; and before that temple was the altar, upon which we offer our sacrifices and burnt-offerings to God. Into none of these three did king Herod enter, (24) for he was forbidden, because he was not a priest. However, he took care of the cloisters and the outer enclosures, and these he built in eight years.” Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, XV:11:5

“6. But the temple itself was built by the priests in a year and six months; upon which all the people were full of joy; and presently they returned thanks, in the first place, to God; and in the next place, for the alacrity the king had showed. They feasted and celebrated this rebuilding of the temple: and for the king, he sacrificed three hundred oxen to God, as did the rest every one according to his ability; the number of which sacrifices is not possible to set down, for it cannot be that we should truly relate it; for at the same time with this celebration for the work about the temple fell also the day of the king's inauguration, which he kept of an old custom as a festival, and it now coincided with the other, which coincidence of them both made the festival most illustrious.” Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, XV:11:6.

…

“Antiquities of the Jews - Book XVI

“CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF TWELVE YEARS.

“FROM THE FINISHING OF THE TEMPLE BY HEROD TO THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER AND ARISTOBULUS.

“CHAPTER 1.

…

“CHAPTER 5.

“HOW HEROD CELEBRATED THE GAMES THAT WERE TO RETURN EVERY FIFTH YEAR UPON THE BUILDING OF CESAREA; AND HOW HE BUILT AND ADORNED MANY OTHER PLACES AFTER A MAGNIFICENT MANNER; AND DID MANY OTHER ACTIONS GLORIOUSLY

“1. ABOUT this time it was that Cesarea Sebaste, which he had built, was finished. The entire building being accomplished: in the tenth year, the solemnity of it fell into the twenty-eighth year of Herod's reign, and into the hundred and ninety-second olympiad.” Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, XVI:5:1.

Looking at this last paragraph I find the words “in the tenth year.” The 10^th year of what? “The entire building…” What “entire building?” For some time my impression was that these words were in reference to “Cesarea Sebaste” in the sentence just prior, but then I discovered that this cannot be. Why? Because we are talking about Herod’s 28^th year of reign, and in Antiquities XV:8:5 – 9:1, quoted above, it is clear that Herod had been doing extensive work on Cesarea Sebaste as early as in his 13^th year. But that is 15 years prior, not 10! Clearly Josephus is referring to something else and isn’t it true that the 28^th year relates to the 18^th year as the 10^th to the accession year before the 1^st? And what was begun in Herod’s 18^th year if not his “very great work” or rebuilding completely the temple in Jerusalem?!

And didn’t Josephus say in Antiquities XV:11:5-6, quoted above, that “the cloisters and the outer enclosures… he built in eight years… But the temple itself was built by the priests in a year and six months?” (Beginning in an accession year prior to that!) Well, it only makes sense that the temple portion of this project came before “the cloisters and the outer enclosures,” does it not? Thus, the building of the temple proper occupied the 1^st and part of the 2^nd of these ten years. Thus the temple itself was finished prior to Zif, the second month, and most likely also prior to Passover in the 2^nd year. The rest of the 2^nd year serves as the accession year prior to the subsequent full 8 years of building “the cloisters and the outer enclosures.” And alas, “The entire building being accomplished: in the tenth year…”

There you have it! Isn’t it clear as crystal now? Why did it take me so long to see it? And to top it all off and make it even more clear, isn’t Josephus clearly stating in Antiquities XV:8:5 above that “the temple… was rebuilt by himself ” no later than in Herod’s 13^th year, i.e. no less than five years prior to that second temple project which was begun in his 18 year of reign?!!

When was “the day of the king’s inauguration” celebrated?:

“6. But the temple itself was built by the priests in a year and six months… at the same time with this celebration for the work about the temple fell also the day of the king's inauguration, which he kept of an old custom as a festival, and it now coincided with the other, which coincidence of them both made the festival most illustrious.” Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, XV:11:6.

Now that it has become clear to us when these temple projects were begun and finished, and that we have learnt that the “year and six months” during which “the temple itself was built by the priests” we can easily identify the timing for “this celebration” and also Josephus’ words “the other” with Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, can we not? At the very least we are bound to place all of these events some time after the beginning of Aviv, 23 BCE, which month is the 6^th full month following Tishri 22, 24 BCE.

But that also tells us that Herod the Great was inaugurated as king in Rome at that same time of the year 46 BCE, does it not? And doesn’t Josephus specifically say that Herod “departed out of Italy in so few days as seven in all?” Could it be that those seven days coincided with the seven days of Unleavened Bread? It certainly is possible, even likely, is it not?

Conclusions:

Herod’s first project re the temple in Jerusalem was a restoration and a partial rebuilding of it. This project was completed, from beginning to end, within Herod’s 15^th de jure year of reign, i.e. within Herod’s 15^th year (beginning Tishri 22, 32 BCE) following his inauguration in Rome as king over Judea at the time of Passover 46 BCE. (For all these dates and events please cf. this table!)

This same 15^th year of Herod’s de jure reign (concurrent with Herod’s 12^th de facto reign) is then also serving as the accession year preceding the 46 years referenced in Luke 2:20.

Herod’s second project re the temple in Jerusalem comprised a complete rebuilding of the temple from its foundations: “Herod, in the eighteenth year of his reign… undertook a very great work, that is, to build of himself the temple of God.” The beginning of Herod’s 18^th de facto year was Tishri 22, 26 BCE, which is the year when this project was begun. This project was finished in Herod’s 28^th de facto year of reign, thus comprising one accession year plus 10 additional years.

“The temple itself was built by the priests in a year and six months.” This was the first part of Herod’s 2^nd project re the temple in Jerusalem. It was finished in the 2^nd of said 10 years, i.e. it was finished prior to Passover 23 BCE.

A celebration and thanksgiving was held during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, 23 BCE: “6. But the temple itself was built by the priests in a year and six months; upon which all the people were full of joy; and presently they returned thanks, in the first place, to God; and in the next place, for the alacrity the king had showed. They feasted and celebrated this rebuilding of the temple… at the same time with this celebration for the work about the temple fell also the day of the king's inauguration, which he kept of an old custom as a festival, and it now coincided with the other, which coincidence of them both made the festival most illustrious.” (Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, XV:11:6.)
Based upon the above words of Josephus we are taught the timing for Herod the Great’s inauguration in Rome as king over Judea: The Feast of Unleavened Bread in 46 BCE.
Furthermore, and because the festivities associated with Adar and Esther, the queen, would not have been repeated in Adar II, i.e. if the “sixth months” would have included and Adar II, after some consideration I realized that, when reckoning the number of months of e.g. someone’s reign, Tishri 22 through the end of the month becomes an accession month, i.e. a month not counted, a naught, a zero! In other words, the number zero is consistently built into the biblical system of reckoning things! Zero is by no means a modern invention! To me such a discovery means a lot of work reviewing and revising my prior discoveries…

The second part of this second project of Herod’s re the Jerusalem temple began upon the completion of “the temple itself,” i.e. in the 2^nd of said 10 years and in the year beginning on Tishri 22, 24 BCE. During this part of the project Herod “took care of the cloisters and the outer enclosures, and these he built in eight years.” “The entire building being accomplished: in the tenth year, the solemnity of it fell into the twenty-eighth year of Herod's reign, and into the hundred and ninety-second olympiad,” i.e. in the year beginning Tishri 22, 16 BCE and ending Tishri 21, 15 BCE.

The exact placement of the Olympiad calendar as based upon a statement of Origen and upon NASA’s lists of solar eclipses, is being confirmed by Josephus’ works, and the many dates he provides, all of which apparently fits perfectly into within revised chronology.

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