When Did Jesus Die?

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When was Jesus born?
• When Was Jesus Born?
Video Credits:
Charts & Narration: Matt Baker usefulcharts.com/
Audio Editing: Jack Rackam / @jackrackam
Animation: Syawish Rehman / @almuqaddimahyt
Intro music: "Lord of the Land" by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution license 4.0. incompetech.com

[@UsefulCharts]

Try out Ground News now: ground.news/usefulcharts

[@mr.midnight23]

Ground news seems really cool

[@gonehome2]

Jesus did not die on a Friday. He died on Wednesday: three days and 3 nights!! There's no way to get 3 full days and 3 full Jewish sabbatical nights if he died on Friday. That would only give you one day and a half. He rose before dawn Sunday morning while it was still dark.

[@klyanadkmorr]

Been told always around fall which is why Halloween shoulda been co opted than Easter/Ishter fertlilty pagan festival. Instead use good friday & all souls day the celebrating supposedly dying & rising. Sorry to blow people's mind but there's no proof burial of Jesus(real person wise) but region people have known all the fantasy talk of him risen and becoming a spirit was due to his followers not understanding high priests & people of money & women close took him from the cross ALIVE but looking dead after feeding him drugs and the 3days in a tombs he was being wrapped & nursed, looked like hell why no one recognized him and he was taken east into Jewish trade area in Kashmir. Google JESUS DIED IN KASHMIR, locals have a tomb and records of a guy coming from Israel running from the Romans had been crucfied but his name was changed. The holy grail myth comes from connected story rumors Mary Magdalene was pregnant with his child went to west Jewish settlements to hide away from anyone trying to track Jesus escaping .

[@UsefulCharts]

@@laique8797 Actually, I am not ethnically Jewish. I converted to Judaism. And I have nothing against Jesus or Christians. I simply have a different viewpoint, which I share.

[@am.i.cognizant9981]

@@laique8797 What are u talking about he literally said in one of his videos that Moses probably wasn't a historical figure and the Exodus was a myth, pretty foundational Jewish beliefs.

[@fontagnus]

Matt, when you posted your "When was Jesus born?" video last Christmas, I left a comment wishing for a "When did Jesus die?" sequel. And now you give me this on my birthday! Thanks a lot! Dare I make another wish, this time for next year’s Easter? I would love to see you tackle the complicated topic of Julian and Gregorian computus (calculation of Easter date). It’s the kind of dry mathematical subject which could gain a lot from visual explanations, and I’m sure you could be up to the task. Take your time, you have one whole year to put it together...

[@freddy04123]

I would love this!

[@bethlehemeisenhour5807]

JESUS was NOT born on pagan xmas, and we are to do PASSOVER, NOT pagan easter.

[@m_d1905]

@@bethlehemeisenhour5807 Passover has now become Resurrection. Easter is a mostly commercial thing today.

[@BaronSamedi1959]

@@bethlehemeisenhour5807 We can all agree that religion is evil. Come and join the atheist movement and let's make this a better world!

[@trixter21992251]

this conversation is what turns people away from religion. Eisenhour, you're creating more agnostics than believers.

[@crazydaisy2275]

There were 2 sabbaths that week the Passover feast day (all feast days are referred to as sabbaths) and so 2 preparation days. The only way that you can fit 3 days and 3 nights between His death and resurrection is if He died on Wednesday and rose on Saturday evening. Remember that when the women came to the tomb on the first day of the week (while it was still dark) He had already gone.

[@Biblicaldates-bh1zq]

That the truth!

[@quikbeam03]

Wednesday arguably gives you four days (Wed + Thurs + Fri + Sat) and four nights, but the possibility of two sabbaths in one week is a real one. I lean more towards a Thursday crucifixion myself.

[@Biblicaldates]

You are counting the days correctly. Jesus died Wednesday say 5pm. Thursday @ 5 pm is 1 day. Friday @ 5pm is 2 days. Saturday @ 5pm is the third day. Thursday was the Unleavened bread sabbath on the 15th. The women's purchase spices on Friday and rested on the Commandment sabbath and Jesus rose that day @ 5pm.

[@matagipascal]

I too believe Thursday

[@stephenkariuki1597]

Correct.😊

[@LawtonDigital]

I once had the good fortune to witness an elderly group gather to collect their memories of the first founders of the American Youth Foundation. The original founders had all died decades ago, and I found the written history building process fascinating and the results very much like what we see in the Old and New Testaments: including common threads as well as minor inconsistencies in detail and timelines.

[@manuelbarros4898]

That sounds like it must have been a lot of fun!

[@ryanprosper88]

That's a really interesting take

[@jmike2039]

Minor?

[@WelcomeToJ]

Very cool :) That's actually a "proof" used by scholars and historians to assert the authentic historical accuracy of the gospels - namely, that if Jesus never lived, died, etc. and the Christian story was bogus, the authors would have banned together to "get their facts straight" to sell a story with all the same details. The fact that they, in fact, differ in some minor details speaks to the authenticity of the historical individuality of each author's account. Meaning, that a giant conspiracy to sell a false narrative isn't likely at all. Much like your story above :)

[@DoctorCyan]

@@WelcomeToJ ^^^^ Christians should recognize this!!

[@TheStudent92]

Matt, a quick note about your observation that releasing Barabbas after the seder would not make sense from the Jewish perspective - Pontius Pilate as a governor had a reputation for offending the religious and cultural sensitivities of Jews numerous times throughout his tenure. If the Romans were to engage in a custom of releasing a prisoner during the Passover, it could plausibly be a half-hearted political concession that would not necessarily align with the actual needs of a Jewish person or make sense from a Jewish perspective, which the Romans often overlooked or misunderstood.

[@mysteryjunkie9808]

Yeah I thought that was a odd point because Pilate wasn’t Jewish so he’d mess up their tradition easily

[@maatjusticia3954]

What makes perfect sense is that the Gospels are fiction.

[@robinharwood5044]

As far as I can tell, there is no record of such a custom existing. Just fiction.

[@lonzoformvp5078]

my view is that the story was "made up"(not to be offensive or anything) or inspired by the jewish festival of yom kippur, and is instead a story that reflects christian theology rather than an actual event in history

[@firstpersonwinner7404]

It really could go either way. Pilot was weird and did some weird stuff, and the detail is included in every Gospel. But at the same time it is a bit of a perfect narrative piece. In the end you really can choose whatever way you want to see it, as neither answer is all that egregious

[@Snommelp]

I confess, when you got to the section of "assuming John's timeline is accurate, these would be the possible dates," I hoped you would continue with "assuming the timeline of the synoptics is accurate instead, then..." Even if the conclusion was "no time between 30-33 CE fits."

[@chickenmcnuggets2596]

Agreed. Especially considering that most historians use Markan piority, and count the synoptic gospels as more historically accurate than John.

[@hgv85]

@@chickenmcnuggets2596 weirdly though most scholars follow John on the dating of the last supper and crucifixion.

[@lecrocodile1105]

@@hgv85 Basicaly, the timeline of the synoptics seems impossible from the jewish/high priest point of you : arrest a man, judge him, have him condemned, all during passover seems impossible. On the other hand, John timing of arrestation one day before Seder accounts for things being rushed : they want it all finished before Seder

[@timothystamm3200]

@@lecrocodile1105 except it was the Roman's doing the execution, so if they didn't really care about pesach they might have been willing to do it at that time, which also accounts for why they are doing it in the first place because it's doubly politically convenient for the Sanhedrin to not be the executioners then.

[@hgv85]

@@lecrocodile1105 right, by calling it weird I just meant that it’s one of those peculiar places where John is seen to be more historically accurate than the Synoptics. For my part, I disagree with the common reading of John’s timeline.

[@vjjorque1610]

I'm so glad this got uploaded! I was wondering about this whole week long

[@priscillajervey8345]

There is great new schlorship these days and the day Jesus was actually crucified has now been established. I certainly hope Christians will cease trying to use every inconceivable analogy to foce 3 days and nights within a Friday crucification. It jusy isn"t going to work no matter what silly Math you use!

[@todayilearnedabout]

You do such an amazing job of breaking done information without getting to bogged down.

[@professorbugbear]

I adore how you can tackle such charged topics with respect and intellectual integrity.

[@michaelanderson7715]

Though no respect is warranted for sewer-stench mythology.

[@MrCharliexjr]

Indeed.

[@kafon6368]

@@michaelanderson7715 Jesus Christ was always hated, no surprise there. But the Faith He established will still be here long, long after your deserved passing away.

[@michaelanderson7715]

@@kafon6368 "Jesus Christ was always hated, no surprise there. But the Faith He established will still be here long, long after your deserved passing away." - ah yes, the retreat to snark in absence of substance

[@kafon6368]

@@michaelanderson7715 You couldn't even define the word without a dictionary.

[@Nooticus]

Yet another exceptional video, which I'm actually watching straight after our second seder! Pesach sameach Matt and family!

[@jamescook6564]

Matt, love your content. I think most of the time, how much time do you put into research to make your videos. However much time you do put into them is shows in the depth of your work. Nice job.

[@priscillajervey8345]

Not much time I tell you. His "theory" is full of holes.

[@rubyambler2005]

This was amazing! Thanks for doing it! Have a happy & blessed Easter!

[@priscillajervey8345]

This guy isn't leveling with you.

[@PA-1000]

@@priscillajervey8345 what u mean?

[@slopehoke1277]

Well, if there’s one thing this comment section (and the comment section on “When was Jesus Born?”) demonstrates, it’s that Christians, Atheists, Muslims, and presumably everyone else all have those among them that will stubbornly insist their exact view is correct, no matter what the mainstream historical consensus may be. With that said, I hope you all have a good Passover/Good Friday, for those who celebrate them, and for those who don’t…well, it’s Friday, so enjoy your weekend.

[@michaelanderson7715]

Well, one form of atheism is 'not believing a god exists', so your silly 'will stubbornly insist their exact view is correct' is nonsensical in regard to this meaning.

[@kafon6368]

Consensus always changes. Why should I, for example, bother to remember it?

[@jerry85g7]

Thanks same to you.

[@catsberry4858]

Thanks. You, too! Blessings from The Most High God! Pax Christi 🕊️✝️

[@wiseoldfool]

History schmystery!

[@wagnersilvalds]

You may also consider for calculations, the verses that mentions Yeshua's age, the period of his ministry, etc to try to get closer. For this, it will be necessary to use the chart of his birth too. Great video and well explained. Thanks.

[@bernier42]

Likewise, if there is a “ceiling” to how old Jesus could have been at the time he died, that could help us narrow the range of possible years for his birth.

[@angelmendez-rivera351]

There is no evidence that is actually indicative of how long his ministry lasted. The video made it a point to mention this, so I am not sure why commenters are ignoring this. Scholars also agree that we cannot know Jesus' age, as this would require knowing his exact birthdate, which we do not.

[@leinalophar5218]

Christ's ministry began in 27AD at 30 years of age. Prophetic terminology states a "day" often symbolizes a year in fulfillment. Daniel's prophecy states there are 69 weeks leading up to Messiah (Daniel 9:25), each consisting of 7 days, in turn = 483 prophetic years. The decree of Artaxerxes is the starting point, of which scholars agree with and historians place it at 457BC and 483 years later leads us to 27AD (no year zero). Subtracting 30 years from 27AD leads us to 4BC of Christ's Birth in the Fall; you can see this in the Tomorrow's World booklet "Is Christmas Christian?" with more details. Jesus died in the middle of the week (Dan.9:27) and that is Wednesday. Sequence of Bible events in order according to the Bible. Now if one knew when Passover started, it starts in the evening (Lev.23:5), and days begin in the evening and end at evening according to Lev.23:32, Gen.1:5,8, etc. According to Lev.23, Passover and Unleavened Bread are 2 separate feasts; see Mark 14:1. 👉Now we know that the 1st evening of Wednesday (which is our Tuesday evening) was Passover according to Matt.26:17-30, Mark 14:12-26, Luke 22:7-21; notice the word "evening" in Matt.26:20. Let's go further in this evening of where the Bible says "night" in Mark 14:27,30,32-50. Now in the morning of Passover Wednesday (Matt.27:1,11,15,31,Mark 15:1,6,20, Luke 23:1,17,24,32, John 18:39,19:14-20), the chief priests and elders bound Jesus for crucifixion. Now at 3PM, Jesus was crucified (Matt.27:46 =9th hour from 6am is 3PM)(Mark 15:25 = 3rd hour from 12pm is 3pm.) Then it is noted in John 19:31 that the bodies should NOT remain on the cross because the next day was a "high Sabbath day" known as Feast of Unleavened Bread in Lev.23:6. So in the evening on Passover (Matt.27:57-61, Mark 15:42-47, Luke 23:50-55, John 19:38-42),Joseph of Arimathea wrapped Christ's body and laid it in the tomb. 👉 Jesus was put in grave in the evening before the next day began as noted from Luke 23:54. Thursday 15 (Unleavened Bread) 👉1st evening = Jesus in grave. 👉1st day = Jesus in grave. Sabbath was beginning in Luke 23:54-55. Matt.27:62-66 Friday 16 👉2nd evening = Jesus in grave 👉2nd day = Jesus in grave. Mark 16:1 = bought spices after the sabbath and prepared them before the weekly Sabbath according to Luke 23:56. Saturday 17 (weekly Sabbath) 👉3rd night = Jesus in grave 👉3rd day = Jesus in grave. Jesus rose on Saturday before the Sabbath ended, for Jesus couldn't stay another night, He had to precisely raise same time as He was put in the grave on Wednesday evening. Yes Jesus proclaimed His day because Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath in Mark 2:28. Explanation: Jesus would "rise on the 3rd day"(Luke 24:7, Mark 9:31), Jesus would "rise in 3 days" and NOT after (John 2:19), and Jesus would "rise after 3 days" and NOT before (Matt.27:63, Mark 8:31), making Matthew 12:40 correct: Jesus in the grave for 3 full nights (12 hrs in night X 3 nights = 36hrs) and 3 full days (12 hrs in day X 3 days = 36 hrs) = 72hrs. Matthew 12:40 (Easy to Read Version - ERV) = "...In the same way, the Son of Man will be in the grave three days and three nights." Yes people can try to get around this, to play the card that Jesus rose sometime on Sunday, but the Bible is frank about this that certain people would say the resurrection is past already to destroy the faith of some (2Tim.2:18).

[@marconatale1496]

If we consider the year 14CE as the 1st year of reign of Emperor Tiberius that would place the year 28CE as its 15th. If Jesus started his preaching somewhere during the year 28CE we have also to rember that according to the Gospel of John are mentioned three separate Pesach, being obviously the 3rd the one where his death took place. So the date of 30CE for his death it seems the more plausible. Thank you for your great and unbiased work!

[@stollwerk]

In those times some people counted years "inclusively", meaning you'd count both the start AND end year. That could be the reason behind the discrepancy in the video

[@dtoltecatl]

Also, the Bible foretells that “The Son of Man” or Jesus will spend 3 days in the tomb just as Jonah spent 3 days in the belly of the fish. If that were to be taken into account along with the Jewish sabbath, it means that Jesus has to observe the sabbath and “rest” on the Saturday, making his ressureccion on a Saturday evening (or Sunday) since the days are measured from evening to evening; thus, making his death on a Thursday evening not Friday evening.

[@ReadersOfTheApocalypse]

@@dtoltecatl He died in the afternoon, not evening. he was buried hastily before sundown to avoid the sabbath problem. Ergo Friday.

[@brenosantana1458]

See the Greek of John 20 1.

[@moisesfrias1117]

baptized 15 Ethanim year 29 C.E.....died Nisan 14 year 33 C.E

[@DallasMay]

There is a way to know whether or not it was cloudy in Jerusalem. The gospel writers reference that a Blood moon rose on the day Jesus died. In fact, a blood moon rose over Jerusalem on 3 Aprill 33 CE. This is a verifiable astronomical fact. Astrology was very popular in the Roman empire at the time and the Gospel writers were likely into astrology as well, referencing astrology numerous times. Jesus himself is recorded as referencing astrology in his teachings a few times in the gospels. So it's very likely that the early Christian writers would have taken note of the blood moon rising event. This probably greatly contributed to to veneration of Jesus and the rapid rise of the sect in Jerusalem ("If the friggin' moon morns his death, what else should we know about the guy!") I personally think the blood moon over Jerusalem (which again, is a verifiable astrological fact) probably dates the death of Jesus and was highly likely to have contributed to his veneration (if taking a purely secular academic view on the matter).

[@catsberry4858]

Yep. It's pretty insane to think about, isn't it?! There's also this. Good job! Geologists say Jesus, as described in the New Testament, was most likely crucified on Friday, April 3, in the year 33. The latest investigation, reported in International Geology Review, focused on earthquake activity at the Dead Sea, located 13 miles from Jerusalem. The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 27, mentions that an earthquake coincided with the crucifixion:

[@davidmccann9811]

Both of the above posts make great points.

[@danielgrotz6599]

I think that none of the gospels mention the blood moon. The moment you are probably thinking of is by a gospel writer, but it's Acts 2:20. It's not an original statement to Luke but an extended quotation of a prophecy from Joel. The passage does mention that a lunar eclipse will occur (if that's how we interpret the moon turning to blood, which I agree with) but it's not specifically referencing the crucifixion. Nothing in Peter's speech directly ties it to the crucifixion and the passage also mentions a solar eclipse, which does not appear to have occurred in Jerusalem that day. If we knew the date of Jesus' crucifixion, we could use it to confirm the theory of the blood moon, but to use the theory of the blood moon to confirm the date is suspect for two reasons. First, as Useful Charts points out, it only lines up with one out of the four gospel accounts. And second, that would be assuming the correctness of the blood moon theory. But given that none of the gospels mention the blood moon (by god, wouldn't you mention such an important occurrence?) and the reference in Acts is indirect, it seems better to assume there probably was not a blood moon on the day of Jesus' death. Surely they would have been more clear about that.

[@tornay131]

Interesting, but something being true doesn't make the rest of the stories true.

[@pansepot1490]

As Matt says, the gospels are religious works where symbolism plays an important part. Even Christian scholars admit that many details may have been included for literary reasons and not because they actually happened. I think Matt did a great job at condensing and visualizing what the historical consensus is.

[@cynthiaslater7445]

I find your videos interesting. Thanks and I look forward to more.

[@giordy9013]

Truly hoped you posted a video for Easter, sure I wasn't disappointed, thanks, keep going, these religious videos are amazing

[@venushale7113]

Agreed! I’m atheist in the UK so it’s always good to get my history & religion fill when I’m just doing nothing over a bank holiday weekend

[@kafon6368]

@@venushale7113 You'd do better studying in any specific scientific academic field.

[@stewartminges]

@@kafon6368 Not even really to say that you're wrong, but even atheists can benefit from understanding different religions better. Helps to contextualize history and psychology. Plus, some people just find it interesting. To each their own.

[@kafon6368]

@@stewartminges No, they do not benefit from it. Unless it stimulates you like a drug, even then the benefits are questionable.

[@stewartminges]

@@kafon6368 How can you separate history from religion? They are intertwined. Also, understanding a religion can help you to reason with those that subscribe to that religion. I do agree however that learning can be addictive like a drug. Which is generally a good thing.

[@rbrock00]

Hi Matt, Good video, Matt! This is a subject which has fascinated me for quite some time. We both use similar methodologies, but I have come to a different conclusion. Here are some points I used in my estimation: Nissan 10 was the day when the Pesach lamb was chosen and brought into the house. Theologically, this corresponds to Palm Sunday . The lamb had to be kept in the house with the family until Nissan 14 when it was to be killed. If Jesus was "the Lamb of God", then he had to be killed on Pesach, Nissan 14. The Passover meal was held after sundown on what we would call the 13th, but it was actually Nissan 14 by Jewish reckoning. After the Seder, Jesus was arrested, interrogated, and abused throughout the night. At dawn, the chief priests, elders, and lawyers tried him (illegally), and then sent him to Pilate. Jesus was subsequently executed later that day. Thus, Jesus was killed on Nissan 14, just as all passover lambs had been killed, before him. The Feast of Unleavened Bread actually started on Passover (Nissan 14) (Exodus 12:18), but was officially observed the next day (on Nissan 15) , which was a special sabbath (Leviticus 23:6). Therefore, Jesus' execution on the first day of Unleavened Bread (Nissan 14), was not a problem for the Jewish officials, but because the 2nd day of Unleavened Bread (Nissan 15) was a special sabbath, they were anxious to have Jesus' body taken down and entombed before sundown (which started Nissan 15). Thus Jesus was executed and buried on Passover day (Nissan 14), before sundown. In Matthew 12:40, Jesus prophesied about himself, saying that "...as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the son of man (Jesus) will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Many try to find ways around that inconvenient statement, but if it is taken literally, at face value, then three days and three nights are hard numbers. I, therefore, count it this way: Nissan 14 (day 1), Nissan 15 (night 1 and day 2), Nissan 16 (night 2 and day 3), and Nissan 17 (night 3). When the women got to the tomb "very early" on the morning of Nissan 17, they found that Jesus had already risen, after having spent the prophesied 3 days and three nights in the tomb. Luke 24:1 tells us that the women arrived at the tomb very early on "the first day of the week" (some Bible versions say "Sunday morning"), so to determine what day of the week Jesus was killed, one only needs to count backwards from Sunday. Assuming that Nissan 17 was a Sunday, and that Jesus had spent three day and three nights in the grave, the day of his execution (Nissan 14) would have had to be a Thursday. In any case, IF the women found the tomb empty on Sunday morning, Jesus could NOT have been cruxified on the previous Friday. First, because three literal days and nights had not been fulfilled, and Secondly, (and maybe more importantly), because Friday would have been the special sabbath for Unleavened Bread and the Jews would not have permitted it. Luke 23:54 is often used as proof for a Friday cruxifiction, because is says it was "the day before the sabbath". That could mean Friday, but it could just as easily mean Thursday (Nissan 14) which was the day of preparation for the special sabbath (on Nissan 15) to celebrate Unleavened Bread. Lastly, I will concede that Jesus being a literal "three days and three nights in the earth" is slightly problematic. The "nights" are no problem. If Jesus was cruxified on Thursday, as I assert, he was clearly in the grave for three entire nights. That's easy to see. But the "days" are a little less clear. A Thursday cruxifiction would mean burial for only a short portion of the day on Thursday, Nissan 14, followed by two full days on Nissan 15 and 16, and a possible portion of Sunday, Nissan 17. I have heard it said that the ancient Jews reckoned any portion of a day to be a full day. Using that explanation, I interpret the short portion of Nissan 14 as day 1, Nissan 15 as day two, and Nissan 16 as day 3, totaling three full days. I do not count Nissan 17 (Sunday) as a day in the tomb at all. The fact that the women found the tomb empty early on Sunday morning (Nissan 17), does not mean that Jesus spent any portion of that day in the tomb. In fact, it is likely that Jesus rose from the dead just before dawn on that day, thus making Sunday non-applicable as "a day" in the tomb. This is my interpretation. I'm sure that there are many other arguments or approaches to determine the day of Jesus' death, (and resurrection), but the facts above make the best sense to me.

[@michaelmelamed9103]

Writing in the Greek language, in the end of century, never been to province of Palestine , Luke knew everything about the events?

[@danielgrotz6599]

Also it seems to me, though my math may be wrong, that you've found a contradiction between exodus and leviticus. In exodus the festival ends on the evening of the 21st. That's the beginning of the day. But in leviticus you are to celebrate seven days starting from the 15th. That means the 21st is included and the festival ends on the evening of the 22nd. Or did I math wrong? I can't imagine the jews would overlook this contradiction if it is one.

[@colleenhardy340]

Yes this makes sense.

[@returnofthekingjesuschrist4470]

I agree with everything except the days of the week reasoning. At that time...the Sabbath was not fixed like our modern day calendar...it was done by the moon. The full moon being Nissan 15. This fixed calendar stuff didn't exist until 321AD.

[@awerdaniel9184]

Great job. It makes a lot of sense

[@HVLLOWS1999]

Your videos are legendary🙏🏻thanks man.

[@daveemery12]

Wonderful clear analysis, as always. Thank you.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Interesting questions! I wish we could know for sure. By the way, I am now halfway through your book and have been enjoying it so far!

[@PraecorLoth970]

Error in the transition in 13:10? Two sets of Thursday, Friday, Saturday labels. Anyway, love your videos!

[@ShannicanSkywalker]

Incredibly interesting! Love your channel!

[@lrwilliamsjr]

Your videos are always a pleasure to watch!

[@thomasdixon4373]

I love these kind of investigative videos you do Matt, really awesome to see!

[@shachardl5360]

Another thing to consider is rather or not there was the use of a leap year (when there was an additional month added before Nisan, every 4 years- today we would call it "Adar ב /Adar B/Adar 2", which is added after the month Hadar): If it was actually a custom at that time and if that specific year was a leap year. If so, all calculations would move one month forward.

[@rashidisw]

Intercalary month that decided using complex calculation are actually newer invention, it was made a few centuries after the arrival of Christianity. Before that, such intercalary month was added based upon physical observation I believe it was based upon observation if certain type of plant have sprouted or not.

[@Nooticus]

Adar* ! There is no 'H'!

[@shachardl5360]

@@Nooticus Oh no, you're right! oops 😅

[@JOGA_Wills]

Caesar fixed the calendar so assuming they do

[@sentientflower7891]

I would suggest looking through historical records for the very first clearance sale on Easter candy.

[@VaughanMcCue]

Oh, my dog, it is terrific to get wise advice at this time.

[@tetchedistress]

Thank you. I love your Biblical series.

[@micheljamesross8138]

Actually sir There was 2 sabaths during that week. One was for the passover week which took place on Thursday and the other was on Saturday. Putting the death either at 31AD or 32AD. I hope that this helps ur research and ur viewers :)

[@priscillajervey8345]

The preparation day for Passover was on Wednesday, thus the 15th was the High Day sabbath a Thussday which began at sundown on Wednesday going into Thursdsy - a day of rest. That is why Jesus has to be quickly taken from the cross and buried therefore you get the 3 complete days and nights.

[@linwoodkent1246]

I always knew "good Friday" was a myth. Friday was the 2nd day of His burial.

[@linwoodkent1246]

Wasn't the week called a "High Holy Week" celebrated once a year? Right 2 sabbaths, and I'm guessing 32AD. I'm editing now, just Googled and found out yr was 31AD Thurs. was High Passover that yr.

[@sibral]

There is one more reference. 1 Corinthians 11 [in a context of describing Jesus as the Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7)] the apostle Paul points out in verse 11:22 that "on the night he was betrayed", Jesus was resignifying the Seder foods. And then guides to commemorate the Seder not only with reference to the freedom of Egypt, but also in memory of Jesus.

[@May3yad]

According to the Hebrew Masoretic text of genesis 17:1 onkelos or Targum Jonathan says that Prophet Abraham was a ( shelim ) ‎שְׁלִים means a Muslim וַהֲוָה אַבְרָם בַּר תִּשְׁעִין וּתְשַׁע שְׁנִין וְאִתְגְלֵי יְיָ לְאַבְרָם וַאֲמַר לֵיהּ אֲנָא אֵל שַׁדַי פְּלַח קֳדָמַי וֶהֱוֵי שְׁלִים בְּבִשְרָךְ⁠ And Abram was the son of ninety and nine years, and the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am El Shadai; serve before Me and be perfect (shelim) in thy flesh. שְׁלִים Check out the Hebrew English chaldan lexicon book You will find the Hebrew word שְׁלִים means a Muslim / Islam / devote to God Lookout for these words in safaria .org / perfect / complete / blameless Page 1064 The other similar books like that it says Muslim too On archive .org Or Google Hebrew strong 7999 In Targum Jonathan or onkelos and Aramaic Targum in safaria . Org There is many verses have the word shelim / ‎שְׁלִים / Muslim in around 25 verses In the holy twelve gospel the word perfect law / Islamic law is used too by Jesus see your good works, and glorify your Parent who is in heaven. 8. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from the law or the prophets till all be fulfilled. But behold One greater than Moses is here. and he will give you the higher law, even the perfect Law, and this Law shall ye obey. 18. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Parent Who is in heaven is perfect. My TikTok username is lordofpeace25e I do Dawah to none Muslims

[@melvinrodriguez637]

Thanks Matt, very interesting analysis. Enjoy your Pesach and shalom.

[@christophercarpenter2740]

Grateful, very, for your hard work. Thanks!

[@TheTexasHorseman]

Hey Matt. Thanks for the video. Which bible/translation or documents did you use for the basis of this research? I am particularly interested in the wording of the scriptures used to establish the timelines. Thanks as always for your work.

[@UsefulCharts]

I always refer to the original Hebrew or Greek.

[@UsefulCharts]

In that case, I usually use the JPS for the "Old Testament" and the NRSV for the new.

[@bufordhighwater9872]

@@elliotb6727 Or he could be translating it directly from the Greek and/or Hebrew.

[@TheTexasHorseman]

I find translations of anything to be challenging. Modern or ancient. The only one who knows what they mean by the words they use is the speaker or writer and that is foundationally limited in scope to the speakers knowledge of the language they choose to speak in, adding a 2nd or 3rd person to it only further complicates or makes it impossible to perfectly translate or otherwise communicate the meaning of what was originally said. Yet I am always interested in doing the best I can with what I have to work with... I am half Greek and I love debate and deep thinking.

[@TheTexasHorseman]

Since you are familiar with my religious history Matt, I can perhaps communicate more clearly the challenges I face when trying to develop a foundation to understand where other folks are in their thinking. For instance the Hebrew and Jewish system is unclear to me growing up as I did. I actually have a better understanding of the Greek perspective from growing up in a Greek community very immersed in the culture and some history.

[@sherreetofaeono1561]

The Passover is the day before the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The 1st day of the Feast of unleavened bread was a High Sabbath regardless of the day of the week. They are called to sacrifice each day of the feast... They would also have their normal Sabbath on that Saturday as well.

[@UsefulCharts]

This is not how Jews see it. "Passover" is not a seperate holiday on the day before the First Day of Unleavened Bread. For Jews, Passover (we can it Pesach) and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are the same thing. However, the Passover meal (Seder) is celebrated on the night before Day 1, hence the confusion

[@TheTexasHorseman]

@@UsefulCharts this is one of the things I did not understand until a few years ago. The swapping of terms in the gospels talking about the disciples going and preparing the meal is central to some confusion in the terms being an event within a time.

[@dreamias1008]

@@UsefulCharts please make a video of aryan invasion/ migration theory in india please make it🙏🙏🙏🙏 please

[@lucasschultz7488]

Indeed, and the day before high sabbath is also a preparation day. People fail to take that into consideration.

[@patrickkeys5712]

Very informative, as always. Keep up the good work!

[@singy1980]

Another great investigation!!! Love your work….. I am now a subscriber. 11/2022.

[@deborahquinn483]

Hi Mat. I have been looking forward to this Easter video. Didn't one of the gospels mention that an earthquake or an eclipse of the sun happened when Jesus died? I thought one of the gospels said it got very dark at 3pm when he died. Couldn't they figure out a date based on an earthquake/eclipse during Passover? Just something I thought I read somewhere. I very much enjoy and look forward to your videos. Thank you for all the attention to detail that you put into them.

[@jehl1963]

Relating the "darkness" to an eclipse requires an assumption that they were the same thing. You know what they say about assumptions... Unfortunately the biblical accounts of the "darkness" do not elaborate on the specifics. As far as the earthquake -- they were, and are very common in that part of the world. Many are minor, fewer are major. But prior to the invention of the Richter scale, they were not recorded consistently.

[@metarr]

There wouldn’t be an eclipse during Passover. An eclipse happens when the moon passes in front of the sun, which can only happen on a new moon, and since the new moon is the sign of the start of the jewish month, there is no way for an eclipse to occur on the 14 or 15 Nisan. That’s not to say it’s impossible there was an eclipse when Jesus died, just that for that to be the case you would have to discount all four gospels’ account that it happened during Passover, and if you do that there’s no reason to assume the sun “going dark” has to be accurate. TL;DR the eclipse theory probably has merits, but you can’t really use it to calculate a date for certain because it contradicts the Passover date

[@catsberry4858]

Geologists say Jesus, as described in the New Testament, was most likely crucified on Friday, April 3, in the year 33. The latest investigation, reported in International Geology Review, focused on earthquake activity at the Dead Sea, located 13 miles from Jerusalem. The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 27, mentions that an earthquake coincided with the crucifixion:

[@davidpnewton]

@@jehl1963 another problem with the "darkness" being equated to an eclipse is that the length of time described is utterly wrong for it to be an eclipse. We're not talking a small difference here but a difference of orders of magnitude. A totality of a solar eclipse can last at maximum 7.5 minutes. The darkness described in the gospels was roughly 3 hours long. That's 24 or 25 times as long as totality of a solar eclipse. Then there's the small matter of solar eclipse tracks being completely predictable. We know when. We know where. We know how long. We know all three to great accuracy and precision. If there were a candidate eclipse it would be trumpeted from the rooftops. In 30 and 31 the totalities were at the wrong times of the year: May and November. In 32 there were no totalities. In 33 there were totalities in March and September, but the March one was in the southern hemisphere. In short no eclipse comes anywhere near being a plausible candidate for the "darkness". That doesn't rule out a miraculous source of course, but there we get beyond the realms of history and science.

[@mugikuyu9403]

Those are literally inventions to show how special Jesus is. It so unlikely either of those things happened.

[@pignebula123]

I find the disagreement between gospels so much more interesting and rich than a perfect match between them. It gives a great touch of humanity to the works that endears them to me even if it does somewhat undermine the academic credibility of the exact writing.

[@scottintexas]

It’s not that they “disagree” but that they offer different perspectives. For example, while one may say there were 2 “angels” and another might only report one “angel” (which doesn’t necessarily mean thee weren’t two angels there, but that only one was important to that telling), so some effort to reconcile is required. Unless they actually contradict each other, they may be reconciled.

[@timsmith2525]

They're eyewitness accounts. Eyewitnesses always disagree.

[@VaughanMcCue]

@@scottintexas The fact that there are claims of angles makes you wonder if they were discussing Euclidean geometry, as nobody in their right mind could think of anything else.

[@giovanniscalia3420]

Incredible work great videos im a fan !

[@rheffner3]

Super video. As usual. Thanks.

[@z-beeblebrox]

It's interesting that scholars who try to nail the date down to a specific point all seem to prefer John over the synoptic gospels. Considering that the synoptics were written earlier, one would assume they would be preferred...

[@SableRhapsody]

My (admittedly limited) understanding is that the synoptic gospels are preferred in some cases for being written earlier and generally agreeing with one another better than they do with John. But for this SPECIFIC topic of Jesus's death, all of the accounts seem theologically motivated. Which makes them all suspect for nailing down a date. Honestly considering how fuzzy dates can be, it's pretty fortunate that we have as much historical information for Jesus as we do.

[@glebeboi]

scholars who try to nail the date down to a specific point - haha I see what you did there

[@CAPSLOCKPUNDIT]

@@glebeboi Can't get much more specific than the Plank epoch.

[@keelhe893]

Great video, although I consider these things based on faith I enjoy the secular historic discussion too. My question is how does the dates you provided equate with the destruction of Solomon’s Temple? I feel more led to agree with 3 April 33 CE due to a class I took that discussed the apostles using the dates of Solomon’s temple destruction correlating with Jesus’ death. I just can’t remember all the details but it is important to view the OT views since the apostles only had the OT. Thanks again

[@jperez7893]

This is correct. This can be deduced from the astronomical data specified by the gospels. It coincided with a lunar eclipse during passover. The archeoastronomy of astronomical events in the bible is a useful and absolute point of reference after other historical events have circumscribed the period of possibilities.

[@Mamaosa63]

Thanks for sharing❤️

[@jeffgilbert4938]

very well done.especially the final conclusion and the moon being part of the sighting process in jesus' day.

[@severalgeollosscreaming48]

One thing I always remember is, the Romans and Pontius Pilate, didn't get themselves involved with Jewish religion as much as possible. Pontius may or may not have liked Jesus, but he couldn't put him to death. The reason jesus was put to death was outcry from the pharisees and saddeusces ( I butchered both those spellings). Two Jewish groups Jesus was against. ( yes it was ordered by Pontius but under assumed under threat or heavily upholstered by these two groups) The general assumption that Pontius disliked jesus enough to kill him, seems to be, atleast in the west, mostly due to his name in the bible being prominent + comedy such as Family Guy mocking him.

[@danielmcelroy4505]

Really great breakdown! It’s a wonderful year when Passover, Easter, and Ramadan overlap so here’s to understanding, peace, and building community

[@JohnnyArtPavlou]

How do you think YHWH feels about his three religions? Because at some level thinking of them all as valid is much more of a political point of you than it is a religious one. I mean let us have peace and let each worship in his own way. But the truth is one. And I’m not even sure we have access to it. So let’s do the brotherhood thing. I like to say all the preachers got to keep the game going so they all smile each other’s religion even as they hold them in contempt In private… And you know that’s true.

[@renato4183]

Nonsense

[@magicalwishes7715]

Good work man I keep watching all your videos I love them I’m really happy with them that’s fantastic that I’m learning a lot from you at the age of 75 years old keep the good work up don’t stop thank you so much❤

[@JanRademan]

Can you do a video about all the missing days and other corrections we had to the CE year count?

[@dorderre]

From what I've gathered theologists seem to be fixated on 37 years of life for Jesus. So when we take the 4 BC as his birth year, then he probably died in 33 AD. Just my guess tho, I might be wrong.

[@johnsimpson4715]

It always seemed to me that Roman Justice was remarkably swift. Consider the timeline in the case of the Sanhedrin vs. Jusus Ben Joseph: Dinner at sundown, arrested around midnight, tried in the wee hours, examined by Pontius Pilot first thing in the morning, referred to Herod Antipas, returned to Pilot for sentencing, scourged, paraded, and crucified by noon, and dead by 3pm; all in one day! Talk about your speedy trial!

[@MuseCreative]

Firstly, I’m impressed at your research skills. Secondly, there’s this book called The Urantia book, where it is stated this: The Urantia Book Paper 185 The Trial Before Pilate 185:0.1 (1987.1) SHORTLY after six o’clock on this Friday morning, April 7, a.d. 30, Jesus was brought before Pilate, the Roman procurator who governed Judea, Samaria, and Idumea under the immediate supervision of the legatus of Syria.” By the way, I and my family used to be members of the world wide church of God, at about the same time you were also involved in that cult. Very interesting to find that out, by the way. Thanks for sharing.

[@VaughanMcCue]

It makes me wonder how the unconscious pilot flew a plane, let alone conduct a trial. Interesting that you decided the WW Ch of Armstrong was a cult. Every coordinated superstitious gathering is a cult to anyone not captured in it.

[@AJBulava]

Thanks for the historical care you took on this video and the acknowledgement of the early writing of the Gospels, instead of a later writing of the Gospels.

[@donbagert]

I'd like to see a chart with those 17 years (minimum) that occurred between Paul's conversion and his arrest by Gallio in 51.

[@donbagert]

A follow-up on my suggestion: after watching your video, I went back and looked at Raymond E. Brown's discussion of different Paul chronologies in his excellent Introduction to the New Testament (1997) and it and your comment about those 17 years led me to purchase second-hand A Chronology of Paul's Life by Robert Jewett (1979) which includes an argument Paul's conversion was in October 34 and the Jerusalem conference was in October 51, with his appearance before Gallio shortly before that in July or August 51. So Jewett basically agrees with you :)

[@CJP1012]

Two things I believe that were overlooked (unless I just missed it) and should be considered are: 1. Preparation Day for the Sabbath and Preparation Day for the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread are not always the same. They can both fall on the same day in certain years, but not every year. Preparation Day for the “weekly” Sabbath is always Friday. But Passover Preparation Day is for the “high” Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened…and that differs from year to year. So, the “Sabbath” mentioned in the gospels may not mean or imply the weekly Sabbath that falls on Saturday. That must be considered 2. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus on the first day of the week (Sunday). In Luke 24:21, they told Jesus (not knowing it was Him) that “it is now the third day since these things happened.” “These things” refers to the chief priests and rulers handing Him over to be sentenced to death and crucified. So, if one were to count backward three days then Saturday would be one day ago, Friday would be two days ago and Thursday would be three days ago. That is plausible and should be considered. You could of course say Sunday is the “third day” and then Saturday would be the second day “since these things happened” and Friday would be the first day “since these things happened”…which would be kind of odd to say it that way if Friday was actually meant. This whole thing of how days are counted has caused contention for some. The expression “In three days” and the expression “On the third day” may not equal the same future day. Personally, I find these two things interesting to consider, but don’t matter in the end regardless of if you believe in Christ and what the gospel writers stated or not. There are plenty of scholars that believe Christ was crucified on Thursday and not Friday and there are some who think it happened on Wednesday. For me, I’d have to go with Thursday. Thanks for the video.

[@Xerxes2005]

They did not count days the same way as we do today. Jesus was resurrected on the third day of his death. Jesus died on Friday. That's the first day of his death. Saturday is the second day and Sunday is the third day.

[@stephenwilhelm]

@@Xerxes2005 Except the Gospels make a big deal out of "three days and three nights." This seems awfully specific. In church I was always taught Wednesday or maybe Thursday, and that Friday was simply a misunderstanding about what is meant by the Day of Preparation. I know many, but not all Protestants believe this. I'm now curious how widespread that belief is.

[@Xerxes2005]

@@stephenwilhelm The Gospels speak of three days and three nights one time. But the "third day" is used several times. The Evangelists were not idiots. I suppose they know how to count.

[@maureen6929]

@@Xerxes2005 John 11.9 sides more with the argument that they did count days same as us

[@maureen6929]

Also, being overlooked is that he had in prior days stated that like Jonah, it would be 3 days and 3 nights. Making Friday night to Sunday morning unlikely (these do not equal 72 hrs) I agree with you, John 19.31 explains that it was a *high* sabbath which was different from the regular sabbath. According to Lev 23, it explains that in Nisan fifteen/day 15 they were to rest and not do any work therefore this was a different type of sabbath apart from the 'saturday sabbath'. As you said he therefore died on Wednesday night, next day thursday was high sabbath, then friday, the saturday sabbath and rose on the first day of the week which was Sunday. Those are 3 days and 3 nights

[@ri3m4nn]

16:50 is the most important point that a modern-day perspective wouldn't normally be aware of. I'm glad you pointed it out.

[@ri3m4nn]

@@MyChihuahua ah, no, it means that the Passover could easily be a few days off because of best guess observation. Meaning, 31CE or 32CE are still reasonable years.

[@ri3m4nn]

@@MyChihuahua If you believe Friday the 31AD is wrong UNLESS you understand the New Moon observation can be off by a few days. Jesus was following his customs, and it was normal for the Passover to be shifted depending how the council ruled on the new moon.

[@ri3m4nn]

@@MyChihuahua it's not a sin; it's literally the process that Judaism followed until about the 5th century.

[@ri3m4nn]

@@MyChihuahua nah, you're definitely the sin. You're welcome for the free lesson.

[@ri3m4nn]

@@MyChihuahua *Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don't know the Scriptures, and you don't know the power of God."*

[@ChaimYosefMariateguiLeviPhD]

About his birth was likely to be in the Festival of Lights . The 25th of Kislev in the solar calendar was equivalent to the Julian December 25th.

[@deryckchan]

Chinese churches teach the follows shorthand to calculate the date of Good Friday: 春分月圓星期五 Literally, the first Friday on or after the first full moon on or after the spring solstice. This simplification of the Roman Catholic formula for determining Easter dates make use of the fact that both full moons and the spring solstice are observed in the Chinese lunisolar calendar, and does get to the same answer as the Roman Catholic Good Friday most years!

[@katherinegilks3880]

I like using 33 CE because it stands out more poetically than 30 CE, and because it is inherited tradition for me, but practically, I use “around 30 CE” in the historical sense, like how I might refer to the 1950s, because the exact year really isn’t all that important. Same with the Gospel accounts. The facts can be reconciled sometimes (like how many women were at the tomb - the writers weren’t there, so they didn’t remember all of them, and they may have not stayed together), but exact facts are not the point. I think John’s Gospel hints that the story took place before the Seder and that is likely right for the reasons you mention. The Last Supper was likely not the Seder. I could accept that Pilate was late about releasing a prisoner for the Passover, though. He wouldn’t have really cared about the purification rituals.

[@richardpeck1973]

Don't be lose with the facts because there is all kinds of historical information available to prove what year he died in.

[@jimtruesdell4603]

Matt, one other thing that might be used is that 3 of the gospels describe an eclipse during the crucifixion. So, which year, in that range, has a solar eclipse in Jerusalem on a Friday?

[@CuervoBoxingTalk]

This channel is amazing.

[@ollipoppolli]

As always, I enjoyed your video tremendously. 😊 One detail that always bugs me in those kinds of calculations is the use of Luke as a quasi-historic source. While I studied theology I was always taught that Luke's 'overly specific' take on precise dates would best be interpreted as the attempt to lend authority to facts whose details had already been lost to history when the gospel was written. (This point of view always made a lot of sense to me.) In fact, Matt, I think you would enjoy my professor Matthias Klinghardt's take on this whole subject quite a lot, because, I feel your points of view might merge in a lot of ways. What's more, he proposed a solution to the Synoptic Problem that makes much more sense than the Two-Source Hypothesis. I'd be glad to hook you up with material on the subject as a videographic representation of his findings (in your style) seems to be long overdue… 😉

[@ReadersOfTheApocalypse]

How long ago was your study? I heard that more recent research on Luke proofs him to be extremely precise and reliable. Ok, he painted roman soldiers in a very favourable light, as his gospel and acts might have been the main defense document for Paul's imperial court hearing...

[@ollipoppolli]

@@ReadersOfTheApocalypse Well, first of all: no research can /proof/ Luke to be reliable. /If/ the content of his gospel is historic truth can't be proven or disproven. What stands out in Luke's gospel (and Acts), though, is his tendency to be disturbingly precise at some points (cf. Lk 3,1 for instance). The question, now, is how to /interpret/ these accuracies. Even if (or better: especially if) they are historically plausible (which I don't deny at all) they don't necessarily depict the 'historic truth' - they just mean that the author of this gospel did his research well. 😉 Don't get me wrong: Of course, the author of Luke's gospel and Acts /might/ have had other sources that lend some more detail to the descriptions in Paul's epistles and, thus, might be giving a fairly accurate account of what happened in Corinth. But he also /might/ have been making things up that seem plausible to lend authority to his writings. Just imagine if /you/ wanted to write an account of Paul's travels, your only source being the Pauline epistles. Judging by the extent of letters from Paul to the Corinthians you know that obviously he was connected to Corinth in a meaningful way. So, in your story there /must/ be a detailed description of what happened there. Now, you do your homework and do research about the time during which Paul might well have been in Corinth. You find out about an important guy called Gallio and integrate him into your story to make it even more plausible. I think that, being obsessed with a precise dating, scholars take the events only depicted in Acts for granted because they give us Gallio as a historical anchor from where Paul's whole life seems to be calculable. The question of the author's sources and general credibility is, in my opinion, neglected too much. The fact remains: We just don't know if the events from Acts are historical at all. So, we have to judge the composition of Luke-Acts for its historical plausibility. And other considerations (such as Luke being a revision and recomposition of Marcion's gospel (= Klinghardt's hypothesis from 2015 to answer your question about the time of my studies) and, thus, a pretty late text) may lead one to believe that Acts is - in the best sense of the word - 'fan fiction'. It certainly does that for me.

[@ReadersOfTheApocalypse]

@@ollipoppolli Thanks for the detailed response as I'm not familiar with Klinghardt and his hypothesis. Sounds interesting on an intellectual level. Why on an "intellectual level"? There's another approach to this topic which was more widespread in previous centuries and is utterly neglected in academia today: To first find out if Jesus indeed is, who he claimed to be (is there any doubt about his claim?). And go from there: IF Jesus WASN'T God, then you can be SURE that Luke and all the other documents are elaborate lies or well written fan fiction or things of that kind. The following distinction between the original lies and follow-up fan fiction is perhaps not worth much effort (or interesting only on an "intellectual level" 😁). It wouldn't justify spending money on whole fields of study with faculties everywhere! And it certainly wouldn't justify dying for it! But IF he WAS (ergo still is) God, you can approach the authenticity of the WHOLE bible differently: Then the question is about how well can God himself establish, protect and preserve his own words? But that wouldn't be purely intellectual any more. It'd become a question of life and death. So I guess it would be worth putting a lot of effort into first solving the underlying question and go from there.

[@ncoz655]

I would take Luke over quasi-theological quacks.

[@metsfan1873]

There's another ambiguity you omitted; you left out the leap year. The Jewish calendar is approximately 11 days shorter than the solar year, in order to keep synced with the moon. So to catch up with the sun and keep Passover near the Spring Equinox, a leap month is inserted sometimes. The leap month is Adar II, which is inserted between Adar and Nisan, in other words just before the month of Pesach. Thus by using leap years, the calendar stays in sync with the sun, and also with the moon. (Note that the traditional Chinese calendar does something very similar, for the very same reason. After all, the sun is the sun and the moon is the moon all around the globe.) Today this is carefully calculated and absolutely predictable, and the equinox always falls in Nisan, and we can state all this with certainty but in ancient times the decision to insert a leap month was made based on observation of the crops. If the crops were not sufficiently ripened, the High Priest would declare a Leap Year, Adar II would pass, and thus the crops would be properly ripened for "springtime" to come in Nisan... and with it, Pesach. Since we can't know the growing conditions for most years in the ancient world, there is no way to guess whether the year of Jesus' death was a leap year or not. Thus with reference to the secular calendar, Passover could be a month earlier or later than the calculated date. We only know growing conditions when there is a particular drought recorded, and there is no drought mentioned around the possible years of Jesus' death.

[@petehoffs8804]

Watching this on Good Friday again 😍

[@Truth15freedom]

The sheep being in the field precludes a spring birthday, those fields around Bethlehem where used to plant crops, the planters would want them in the winter not the spring.

[@benward6889]

Based on the info in your videos, a hypothesis can be made that Jesus was born around the Winter Solstice 4BCE, began his ministry in the fall of 26CE just before his 30th birthday, ministered for 3 1/2 years until his death sometime in March/April of 30CE at the age of 33.

[@StephensCrazyHour]

I think he was born in 8BC. We have evidence that a census took place across the Roman empire that year (which is NOT the census mentioned in Josephus) that was administrated by Quirinius (as mentioned in Luke). It also places his birth in the reign of Herod the Great. If Jesus' ministry began in 28, that places him at 36 years old at the beginning of his ministry, which is reasonably close to the 30 years mentioned in the Gospels (counting exact age is more of a modem thing).

[@mysteryjunkie9808]

It all adds up

[@DwayneShaw1]

@@StephensCrazyHour Quirinius' census was in 6CE - I would certainly be interested in this "evidence" that says otherwise. "The career of Quirinius and the names and dates of the governors are well documented and there is no time before 6 CE when he could have served as governor of Syria. Biblical scholars point out that there was no single census of the entire Roman Empire under Augustus and the Romans did not directly tax client kingdoms; further, no Roman census required that people travel from their own homes to those of their ancestors"

[@romulusbuta9318]

@@DwayneShaw1 100% true ! Traveling with an 8 months pragnet Mary to the home of "her ancestors" it's just a made up story for to link the Nazareth born Jesus with the House of David !

[@romulusbuta9318]

@@DwayneShaw1 Joseph the father...being married with Mary and working in Nazareth of nearby, where a new town was building by Herod Antipas for the glory of Caesar Tiberius (Joseph was a foreman builder and not a furniture carpentier as usualy thinking)..... Joseph would have AT LEAST a rented house in Nazareth ,where he lived with his family ! There,he would gather some welth..... THE CENSOR WANTED TO SEE YOUR WELTH...SO THE AUTORITIES WOULD TAX YOU ACORDING TO THIS WELTH.....NOT to estabish your genealogical tree !!!

[@MrCharliexjr]

Hey Matt. I'd love to take a look at your historical sources on the historicity of Jesus. Actually, a video on that would be great 😊

[@DominicNJ73]

He has a couple, search his videos.

[@jonathonjubb6626]

@@DominicNJ73 references would be nice..

[@louisasuta4234]

at 2:34 ...

[@MrCharliexjr]

@@louisasuta4234 that statement at 2:34 is the reason I asked for HISTORICAL SOURCES. Read works by the likes of Richard Carrier and David Fitzgerald; they provide really compelling arguments against Jesus as a historical figure. Hence I'm interested in the academic work that supports the claim that Jesus really existed. Matt is brilliant, he can make sense of this.

[@MrCharliexjr]

@@DominicNJ73 I don't find any of his videos about the historical works that support Jesus' existence. Only about Moses, and some other characters.

[@kimanimzalendo367]

Not every sabbath is a Saturday. This is so for weekly sabbaths but not necessarily for annual sabbaths which can fall on any other day

[@egyptianboi305]

Hey Matt,can you make an Egyptian kings and queens family tree video from Narmer the first king of all of egypt to the deposed king Fuad of 1952?

[@compuquik]

I would honestly would like to know your take on the 3-days and 3-nights argument for the resurrection. Your video seems to explain quite conclusively that the death occurred on Friday. However, how the 3 day-night resurrection timeline harmonizes with these facts presented, from an historical perspective? Would like an expert non-faith based opinion on this subject. Perhaps next Easter's video?

[@edwardmiessner6502]

The 3 days and 3 nights do NOT line up with the Passion-Resurrection narrative, considering it leaves only 1 day and 2 nights between his death and resurrection. Jesus's prophecy in Matthew 12:40 was, "Just as Jonah was 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the fish, so to shall the son of man remain days and 3 nights in the heart of the Earth." The heart of the Earth being the grave, not the planet's core! In Jonah 2:1-2, 11 we read, "But the LORD sent a large fish, that swallowed Jonah; and he remained in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. From the belly of the fish Jonah said [a] prayer to the LORD, his God. ... Then the LORD commanded the fish to [puke] Jonah [out] upon the shore." In the whole text of chapter 2 we find that Jonah remained alive the whole time. Since the timelines are off, and due to certain verses in Luke and John, Muslim apologists are having a field day, proclaiming that the gospels indicate that Jesus was alive the whole time. "He was not crucified, neither did they kill him, but it was made to appear that it was so." - The Qu'ran

[@huntertrum3658]

My dad and I love watching your videos! We send them to my grandpa aswell. He's extremely christian and denies alot of science, so we love to see his reactions to these types of videos. It's all in good faith though😂😂

[@joefromravenna]

Science is magic. Dig deep enough and you will find a bunch of nothing.

[@NikeonaBike]

@@joefromravenna I live within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant so if you're right I'm in trouble.

[@joefromravenna]

@@NikeonaBike the smallest particles are strings of energy. Slap 2 gamma photons at each other you get an electron and positron. How magical is that?!

[@RogowskiBubba0864]

Thank you, I am impressed by your knowledge.🤓

[@drlarryjohnson7880]

Enjoyed your video. I personally think John's chronology of the passion clarifies the synoptics. If you go with the likelihood that john had access to one or more of the earlier synoptic gospels, he would be able to clarify important details. For example, we get details in several places not found In the synoptics that have no real theological importance but adds substantive details, such as outrunning. peter to the tomb, or Malchus being the name of the person whose ear is cut off, or Mary Magdala encounter with the risen Jesus, These don't really add any theological gloss not already found in the synoptics but gives additional details not found in them.

[@anthonydesa5561]

Fascinating. I prefer to go by 7th April 30 CE, because, since Jesus's birth was most probably in 4 BC, it is more likely he died at the age of 33 or 34 rather than 37.

[@jordanbtucker]

Why do you think it is more likely that Jesus died at 33 or 34 rather 37?

[@anthonydesa5561]

@@jordanbtucker Because Jesus's preaching covered a period of one and a half to two and a half years - certainly not more than three. It is unlikely that Jesus would have led a private life until the age of 34. Given the relative shorter life expectancy, whatever his mission, Jesus would have embarked upon it before he reached his 30th year.

[@dlevi67]

@@anthonydesa5561 I think you misunderstand what "average life expectancy" means and how it's measured. It's true that 2000 years ago life expectancy at birth was much lower than today, but a good part of that was because of extremely high rates of infant and child mortality. Someone who lived until their maturity (~20) was quite likely to reach 70.

[@kamion53]

@@anthonydesa5561 Even when the preaching period was about three years and he died in his 33th year, what the heck was he doing in those 15 years prior. Probably just working on the farm, till it was maybe taken by the tax farmers and he joined the army of landless peasants. Or he was told by Joseph he was adopted having worked all those years for a wage so meagre he could not even get married and stormed off going preaching.

[@anthonydesa5561]

@@kamion53 The gospels tell us that Jesus "grew in wisdom and virtue and strength of mind and body." I doubt he worked on a farm, since Joseph is referred to as being a "tekton" - Greek for "craftsman" - he could have been a carpenter, but he could also have been a draughtsman or builder. But certainly not a farmer. If Joseph did not own land, it is unlikely that Jesus did. Most historians feel that he assisted Joseph in his skilled trade (a tekton was a skilled worker, not a labourer), and simultaneously continued with his study of Scripture and interaction with the various rabbis of the time. He obviously spent a considerable amount of time in mediation, as well as engaging privately in matters of discussion and philosophy (otherwise Mary would not have so confidently asked him to deal with the problem at the wedding feast of Cana); and when he felt the time was ripe for his public ministry, he went to John to be baptised, and commenced his mission.

[@saptaccrvima3563]

Happy Easter to all my fellow Christians and Happy Passover to all the Jews here as well 😀👍

[@onejohn2.26]

Why are you celebrating a pagan feast instead of God’s Feast?

[@januarysson5633]

@@onejohn2.26 Then what do you call what is typically referred to in English as “Easter”?

[@jenex5608]

@@onejohn2.26 Greek, Spanish Aramaic Latin French Christian call it "pascha" which is the Aramaic of passover. English Christians call it Easter

[@Ovadyah12]

Happy pascha to my christian brother ☦️✝️♥️♥️

[@Ovadyah12]

@@onejohn2.26 you need to learn a lot, *ANTI-CHRIST*

[@azaguero8170]

This was awesome! Thx

[@iamlearner1209]

Simple superb excellent explanation on your viewpoint...,

[@jimcrovatt6988]

1:40 Jesus looks like the plumber I called last week. I always thought the Second Coming would be a little more momentous...and much less expensive.

[@TheChristianCase]

Not sure if you are familiar with the book by Sir Robert Anderson, THE COMING PRINCE. He was knighted for his work using the prophecy of Daniel which points to the specific day of the triumphal entry and subsequently the crucifixion. He landed on 33 AD.

[@TheChristianCase]

@@MyChihuahua what facts of his do you dispute? Or are you just blindly objecting because you refuse to consider the conclusion?

[@TheChristianCase]

@@MyChihuahua you obviously aren’t familiar with the book and his calculations.

[@ryukiasuke6948]

Cool research. May God bless you.

[@joelkoskinen]

Good job making some great sense on the topic! Remember the Gospel says Jesus ministry was about 30 years. So I think when they say about 30 years, they mean pretty much the number 30 then. or 29 and a half perhaps.

[@historybuff7491]

Thank you. This is good information and it is fun to define such things without becoming too 'set in stone' ish. I don't care what year it was nor the exact day. All I care about is that, currently, Easter is defined as the Sunday, after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox. But this was fun to listen to and find out all the details. Thank you.

[@themarkfunction]

One clarifying question about something you mentioned near the end. You discussed that the Jewish calendar, which was lunar, was based on observing the new moon and that inclement weather may have prevented observing a new moon in 31CE-32CE. My question is: after hundreds or thousands of years, wouldn't the Jews have understood the cycle well enough to kind of proclaim a new month had begun even if there was cloud cover? I mean by that time the 28-day cycle would be extremely well documented, and they probably could even predict when they'd need Adar Aleph intercalated in the future. I guess I'm curious if the actual, physical observation of a new moon was required by custom or law to kind of formally declare that a new month had begun. Thanks

[@dracodis]

As he says in the video: the calendar "was based on literal observations," so, yes, actual, physical (i.e., literal) observation was required. In fact, the Mishnah (the first major written collection of Jewish oral tradition) says that the Sanhedrin (basically a city council) required the eyewitness testimony of two different people before proclaiming that a new month* had started. *This was a requirement for every month, not just the year.

[@johnphillips9464]

The Jewish leaders where able to postpone based upon the sighting of the moon. Also it's a 29 day cycles not 28.

[@dlevi67]

It is not a case of "weather preventing a new moon being observed in 31 or 32"; it's a case of _generally_ requiring a "new moon" observation to be made for a rosh chodesh to be declared. The exclusion of 31 and 32 comes from the fact that - assuming 'regular' calendrical observations, not hampered by weather - in 31 and 32 Nisan rosh chodesh would not have fallen on a Friday (and therefore neither would the 14th/15th). However, the fact that rosh chodesh had to be declared based on factual observation of a new moon, in my view invalidates the preferential choice of CE 30 or CE 33, as there is no particular reason to assume that the Nisan rosh chodesh of CE 30 or 33 would _not_ have been delayed. All we can say is "on a 6th day (Friday), in the first half of Nisan between 30 and 33".

[@laurahunter651]

@@dracodis that’s a goof point; why would they still rely on observation of the moon if they knew it went in 28 day cycles?

[@ashesfalldown492]

@@laurahunter651 because tradition and law. It wasn’t until much later that we ended up with a standardized calendar that didn’t require literal moon observations. By the ninthish century. Maybe before. Remember change is slow in tradition. It has to be incremental most times to be allowed.

[@_jeff65_]

Many scholars will say April 3rd AD 33 (Julian) because of a lunar eclipse + sand storm that would've corresponded with the description in Peter's speech in Acts 2. It also would've line up with Nisan 14. However like you mentioned, would it have been the actual date? In the Middle Ages though they believed it was March 25th, this fell on a Friday in AD 29. The problem is that it would fall at the end of Adar, that might be too far off.

[@Demotalias]

Seeing the dates in this videos I wondered if you could make a video about the holeocene era calender (starting ~10000 years BCE) and your oponion about it. Would be really interesting :)

[@Josiah_Yam]

I think 30 CE makes more sense since he was born around 4 BCE and supposedly died at age 33.

[@mysteryjunkie9808]

Yeah he especially if he was born around Winter Solstice and died around the Spring it adds up nicely

[@DwayneShaw1]

Luke says he was born is 6CE. Matthew says he was born during the reign of Herod - not the year of his death - so 4BC is not stated at all - it could have referred to anytime from 37-4BC. so you have two wildly incompatible Biblical claims (that are both supposed to be 'unerring') - and you misrepresent the one you choose without any indication of how you determined it was the true-er version - when both claims cancel out the validity of either - - back to the drawing board ...

[@normzemke7824]

Interesting, but one glaring problem. If the Gospel writers were willing to alter details to make theological points, then any detail which keys into a theological point is suspect. So, it is safe to say Jesus was condemned by Pontius Pilate because there is no theological point being made. But John's desire to have Jesus die on the same day as the Passover lambs being sacrificed is highly suspicious. ... This leads to a major issue: the Gospels are full of supernatural events to which "prove" certain theological points. This implies that details could easily have been twisted every which way. In the end, we simply don't know which details are accurate and which are baloney.

[@dlevi67]

Even worse - if you read the text, particularly in John, it's very clear that the Gospel's author had in mind that the specific version of the events was _precisely so_ that it could conform to prophecy. Even assuming good faith (!) in describing the event (i.e. no deliberate distortion of the facts - which are at best third-hand accounts, btw), the risk of confirmation bias is well understood...

[@warlordofbritannia]

@@dlevi67 One of those weird things when the author tries to make the account seem more realistic by adding unrealistically precise details, thus making the account more suspect

[@goombacraft]

The general view, even among some of the most conservative, Creationist Christian scholars, is that John's gospel is not very accurate historically. The other three gospels (synoptic) are generally considered much more accurate. Also - the documents are, at least in part, historical records, and we pretty much know they are not very altered since their creation. It would be weird not to use them in a situation such as this when they contain so much material when compared to secular sources.

[@priscillajervey8345]

You have made a very good point.

[@richardpeck1973]

It is mind-boggling to see such ignorance! All of you need to study and if you did you would find out there were two Passover sacrifices--the first sacrifice was the one that Moses talked about and was eaten on the 14th DAY after sunset that day, which became Friday at sunset. The second Passover sacrifice was eaten by the High Priest and the 24 Chief Priests the next day after the national sacrifice was eaten. This is why the Priests did not want to enter Pilate's house that evening, fearing they would make themselves unclean to eat their special sacrifice the next day. If Jesus had not eaten the first sacrifice Thursday evening, He would have violated the Mosaic Law. The first sacrifice was mandatory, but the second sacrifice was not mandatory because it was not mentioned in the Mosaic Law. The second sacrifice by the priests was called the chagigah sacrifice. Finally, Norm, Jesus did not die on the same day the lambs were sacrificed, He died on Friday instead of Thursday, and he matched the chagigah sacrifice perfectly. This was for the benefit of the rulers of the Temple, the priests. Oh, and by the way, he did die on Passover and Preparation Day as the Scriptures said.

[@William-B]

7:52 I guess what you meant is that this is the *latest* possible date for Paul’s conversion. It could have been a few years earlier but no earlier than 30 CE

[@SolarMechanic]

Since you used a screen from it, I have to ask: What is your opinion on the film The Passion of Christ by Mel Gibson, both as a historian and as a Jewish person?

[@raymondgreenwood9617]

I recall reading that 33AD was more likely due to what is known of Pontius Pilate's governorship being more under threat in 33AD than 30AD, and his reluctance to antagonise the crowds (as recorded in the gospels).

[@mysteryjunkie9808]

Maybe Sejanus that appointed Pilate was found a traitor to Tiberius Caesar and killed in 31 A.D Pilate might’ve been afraid all his appointments might be getting replaced soon as well. Makes the Pharisees shouting at Pilate In John 19:12 And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.” Have more meaning

[@jefppenamora4156]

Hi Matt. Thank you for the video. Actually, some studies tell us Jesus died on a Thursday, the day of the preparation for the Passover, and not the day of preparation for the Sabbath. There were 2 Sabbaths that week, the High Sabbath which is the Passover, and the actual Sabbath which is the seventh day. It's interesting to really look at and study different accounts and perspectives regarding this matter. But for me, why Jesus died is more important than the when. But thank you for this perspective, Matt. Always love your videos.

[@UsefulCharts]

Note that from a Jewish perspective, the term "Preparation Day" never refers to any other day than the weekly Sabbath. For other Sabbaths, a more specific term is always used, such as, "Day of Preparation for X Festival".

[@christinecelestial5024]

Apostle roslynd Solomon explains what yah reveals to get

[@WelcomeToJ]

Surprised he never mentioned that Jesus' ministry was only 3 years long and that he started it at age 30 (so he died at 33). Thought that might play a factoring role here. But great vid, nonetheless.

[@toqeerabbas6584]

Fantastic work. But I think you missed one crucial point and that is that the Hebrew calendar was fully lunar calendar before the destruction of the second temple and after the destruction some time around the Hebrew calendar changed from lunar to sunny lunar calendar. Wouldn't that also effect the dates because that means that the pesach doesn't necessarily fall in spring.

[@longschlongsilver7628]

When I was reading my Bible, I recently noticed that the translation refers to Passover as 'The Pasch'. This made me think about how Easter is referred to as some variation of "Pascha" in various Mediterranean languages. For a while, I assumed this was only a reference to the paschal lamb (in this case, being Jesus), but now I realise they are essentially calling Easter Passover. This is reinforced by the fact that in these languages, Passover and Easter have the same name.

[@jeremiahbrand4838]

In Arabic, the word for Easter is the same as the word for Passover

[@metsfan1873]

You are confusing translation with reality. Words do not follow clean logical rules. They just don't. Here's what happened in the actual history of these words: Christians speaking some languages picked up versions of the word Pesach because that's when it happened, as a loan word which gradually lost all connection to its (Jewish) source. English, for very unique reasons about English history, did not pick that word up for Easter. It picked up the local pagan name for the time of year when it happened, and gradually the word Easter lost all connection to its (pagan) source. Because also, that's when it happened. You see this every year, when some idiot goes around posting "Easter is really Eostre!! It's all pagan!!!" Well no, just the word is pagan; just as only the word "Pascha" is Jewish when Christians use it for the holiday that English-speakers call by the (once upon a time pagan) word Easter. Words do not follow nice rules.

[@longschlongsilver7628]

@@metsfan1873 I think you're misunderstanding my comment. I'm pointing out a connection I personally never noticed before, I never made such claims

[@metsfan1873]

@@longschlongsilver7628 OK. But many do. and I get really tired of seeing it. The Gospels tell us that it happened a Passover, which is reported in Greek (following the Hebrew) as Pesach (and various Greek grammatical forms of that word). So when did Greek-reading Christians mark the Crucifixion? Right when it said, at Pesach - which for them was not notable becuase of the Exodus (which is what the Jewish holiday marks) but obviously for the Crucifixion. Translating this into English, or really into Anglo-Saxon "Early English" they said: How do we communicate what part of the year is Pesach? And they said, well Anglo-Saxons call that season Eostre. It's no different, they probably reasoned, to use one non-Christian reference as another. All this in much the same way that modern American Jews, who do not celebrate Xmas in any way, will describe late December as "after Xmas." It's such a culturally present thing, that it makes a handy expression. Using the hand expression doesn't make us Christians. It doesn't even mean that we do the "holly and tinsel" thing. It's just a useful turn of phrase.

[@egorbasist9532]

in russian it´s all usualy called Paskha, for all the religions

[@lukerushworth120]

I find it interesting that those who try and be more specific use John's account. Is there any particular reason why this is the case, given that it is the later gospel (and more explicitly theological one)?

[@coldbrain9899]

can't say for sure but it in part probably has to be because unlike Mark or Luke, John was one of the 12 disciples. So his account would theoretically be at least in part first hand.

[@minminbtscookie9542]

also John was present during Jesus' execution along with Mary so maybe that's why they take his gospel on Jesus' death

[@rantelbrown6488]

These calculations generally try to use scientific data rather than theological tradition though, and it is generally agreed today that the Gospel of John wasn't actually written by John the apostle, which makes that a moot point.

[@lukerushworth120]

@@rantelbrown6488 I think you make a good point. I guess that's why I found it a bit odd in the first place

[@VSP4591]

@@coldbrain9899 All Gospels are anonymous writings. Nobody identifyees as Marc, Mathew, Luke or John and say I wrote this Gospel. The story it is said at the 3rd person and was not written by people participating at the events. Gospels were written 40-70 years after the death of Jesus, in Greek language. At that time, the local language was Aramaic. Nothing was at first hand but written from stories that circulated among Christians. All 4 Gospels received a name in the 2nd century in order to be differentiated.

[@michaelrochester48]

In my old encyclopedias it shows his year of death anywhere from A.D. 29 to A.D. 32

[@jakehandley3366]

0:01 “last Christmas.. I gave you my heart”

[@jean-lucwalker3690]

I would love to see you take this knowledge and apply it to the dating of easter as done by the Roman Catholic, Orthodox and previously Celtic churches since they often differ.

[@jenex5608]

Yo UsefulCharts Good video as a Christian i want to explain how i reconcile this discrepancy. If we keepnin mind during Jesus the second temple was still up amd active. According to Torah there's actually 2 events. The Pesach and the Feast or unleavened bread. The Pesach was on 14th or Nisan where Jews would kill the Lamb and eat it in the night. Then the sundown at 14th Nisan marks the Beginning of anjew day ik Jewish calendar. According to Matthew and Mark. The Last supper was on 14th seder. As they asked Jesus where to get a lamb for the passover. The passover referring to Pesach 14th Nisan. There's also another celebration called the Feast of unleavened bread in the Torah (Exodus 12 snd leviticus 23) which ie what Jews refer to "Passover". Jews don't celebrate the 14th of Nisan because there's no holy temple, so they can't slaughter animals. So they jump right at The feast of unleavened bread which is what we refer to as Passover. So the argument ie John is in agreement with the synoptic. John 13:1-2 alludes to a passover supper meal dinner that would happen at the dawj of Nisan 13 going to 15. Then Jesus got arrested. And when they arrested him on the day of preparation of the passover. It refers to the preparation of the passover week the feast of unleavened bread that begins at 15th Nisn. Good Friday corresponds to 14 of Nisan Jewish calendar. So ot would make sense that the Jews prepared on that day for the long passover week (which isbthe feast of the unleavened bread). So the last supper was a seder meal that incorporated the killing of Lambs. Since the festival of Passover and feast of unleavened bread wqs lumped together. A total of 8 days starting from 14th Nisan. Mark 14 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the **Passover lamb**, Sacrificing the passover lamb in this verse indicates, the last supper took place at the sundown of Thursday, (which begins a new day of Nisan 14 in Jewish calendar). It was during night period on Thursday which Christians celebrate Maundy Thursday, the last supper. With this breakdown it's not s discrepancy as John seemed to have used the term passover to refer to the week long celebration. And it began on Nisan 15,with the previous day Nisan 14. Nisan 14 was also the day Jews cleared out bread with yeast (leaven) for the Feast of unleavened bread, aka Matvahs. Hope this helps

[@RaphaelBriand]

I have a question about one element of this - the quote from Acts describes something that happened "When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia", and you fix it as being in 51 CE. Was this the year he began being proconsul, in which case the event could be any year AFTER 51, or was he only proconsul for one year? I'm a little confused by this point.