"Only thing I disagree with is the year. The decree of Artaxerxes was in 457BC and 483 years later is 27AD. Add 3-1/2 years ministry and we come to 31AD. Passover on April 25, 31AD (corrected to Gregorian) The day was Wednesday."
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Why the Crucifixion of Christ Could Not Have Occurred in 31 AD
© Carl D. Franklin
June 30, 2005
For nearly fifty years, major branches of God’s church have taught that Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, April 25, 31 AD. However, the Hebrew Calendar places Nisan 14 of 31 AD on Monday, March 26. This date is historically accurate and has never been questioned by the Jews. The true date of Jesus’ crucifixion was Wednesday, April 5, 30 AD.
In the excerpt below, 31 AD is presumed to be the year of Jesus’ crucifixion. Reference is made to a Wednesday Passover, but the author does not give the day or the month. Several “indicators” or “milestones” are offered that are supposed to point to a 31 AD crucifixion:
A significant amount of historical and scriptural evidence points to
A.D. 31 as the year of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. Among these indicators of an A.D. 31 crucifixion are the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy of the coming of the Messiah (Daniel 9:24-26; Ezra 7 [Artaxerxes’ decree]), and a careful consideration of three milestones: the likely date of Jesus’ birth, His age when He began His ministry and the duration of His ministry.
The calculated calendar of the Jews places the Passover in A.D. 31 on Wednesday, and Jesus Christ’s death on that day fulfilled His role as the true Passover Lamb of God (1 Corinthians 5:7). The next day, Thursday, was a holy (annual) Sabbath. On that Thursday, the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate to secure permission to seal and guard Jesus’ tomb (Matthew 27:62-66). Later, on Sunday, the resurrected Jesus walked along the road to Emmaus and talked with two of His disciples, who discussed all the things that had happened, including the Thursday visit by the leaders to Pilate (Luke 24:13-14, 20). They mentioned that this day, Sunday, was the third day since all these things had happened (verse 21).
Fundamental Beliefs of the United Church of God: Three Days and Three Nights
http://www.ucg.ca/gn/lit/FB/threenights.asp
(Note: The fact that Luke 24:21 records that Sunday was “the third day since these things were done” does not establish the year of these events—it simply establishes the day of the week that Jesus was crucified. The reader is referred to A Harmony of the Gospels by Fred R. Coulter for a complete exposition of secular and biblical indicators that points to 30 AD as the year of the crucifixion.)
The teaching that a Wednesday Passover occurred in 31 AD was introduced into the churches of God in the 1970’s by Dr. Herman Hoeh. At that time, a parallelism was believed to exist between the beginning of the apostolic church in the year of the crucifixion (presumably 31 AD) and the founding of the Radio Church of God (1931). The one hundred 19-year cycles (1900 years) from the founding of the New Testament church to the founding of the Radio Church of God suggested to the church’s membership that this event was timed by God.
The doctrine of a 31 AD crucifixion was further reinforced by the writings of church scholars who unfortunately had limited sources for researching the subject. Much more historical data is available today than in the earlier years of the church, enabling us to accurately determine the date of Jesus’ crucifixion. In fact, it can be demonstrated beyond all doubt that the crucifixion of Jesus did not take place in 31 AD.
Exposing the Erroneous Belief in a 31 AD Crucifixion
Dr. Hoeh based his belief in a 31 AD crucifixion upon the assumption that there was a change in the intercalary pattern of the Hebrew Calendar in 142 AD. Assuming that the intercalary cycle was changed in 142 AD, Dr. Hoeh introduced an intercalary cycle with leap years 2, 5, 7, 10, 13, 16 and 18 of the 19-year cycle in place of the long established cycle of 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17 and 19 years. From that time, holy day calculations before 142 AD were based on this cycle, which falsely classified 30 AD, the 10th year in the 19-year cycle, as a leap year of 385 days. The additional month that was added for the assumed leap year in 30 AD moved the date of Passover in 31 AD from its correct date of Monday, March 26, to Wednesday, April 25. (Note: This change in the intercalary cycle used by the churches of God did not affect the observance of the Passover and the holy days by church membership because calculations for 142 AD and later were still based on the 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17 and 19-year cycle.)
Dr. Hoeh’s adoption of an alternate intercalary cycle for 142 AD and years previous to that was based on references in Jewish literature to rabbinical discussions in the second century AD. The rabbinic opinions that were expressed in these discussions were grossly misinterpreted by Dr. Hoeh and other early scholars in the churches of God. The debate was not over the intercalary pattern within each 19-year cycle but over which year was the year of creation—the epochal molad that began the first year of the first 19-year cycle.
Understanding the Rabbinic Debate Over the Epochal Molad of Creation
The statements that are viewed as evidence of a change in the Hebrew Calendar in the second century are not related to different years of intercalation but to different ways of numbering these intercalary years based on the year chosen to begin the count. The numbering of the intercalary years in the sequence of 19-year cycles depends entirely on a conclusion as to when time began.
In order to properly interpret the rabbinic debate, it is necessary to understand the intercalary pattern of the 19-year cycle. In each cycle of nineteen years there are twelve regular years and seven leap years to which a thirteenth month is added. The adding of a thirteenth month, known as a second Adar, is called intercalation.
According to the Hebrew Calendar, the year 1996 was the last year of a 19-year cycle. Calculating by 19-year increments, 1996-1997 AD was year 19 of the 19-year cycle 1978-1996 AD, and thus a leap year. (A second Adar was added in the spring of 1997.) This determination is based on the premise that the creation took place in the year 3761 BC, and therefore that year was the first year of the first 19-year cycle. This date for creation gives us a pattern of 13-month leap years of 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19. However, the date 3761 BC was not always accepted by rabbinic authorities as the date of creation.
During the rebellion of Bar Kokhba from 132 to 135 AD, the established intercalary cycle was interrupted, and it was several years before Jewish calendar authorities could meet to restore the intercalary cycle due to ongoing Roman persecution. A philosophical debate over the year of creation broke out within the rabbinic community sometime afterwards. Some proposed that 3761 BC was the correct year; others favored 3760 BC. There was also support for 3759 or 3758 BC. There were, of course, other opinions among the rabbis, but these four years appear to have been most prominent in the debate. The debate did not subside until about 1000 AD when 3761 BC was finally accepted as the year of creation.
It is a mistaken interpretation of this recorded rabbinical debate over the year of creation that led to the belief that the intercalary cycle of the Hebrew Calendar was formerly 2, 5, 7, 10, 13, 16 and 18 years. In actuality, this numbering of leap years was no different from the 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17 and 19 year-cycle. The only difference in the two numbering systems is that the latter cycle began counting from 3761 BC, and the former began counting from 3760 BC. Thus all the leap years in the two manners of reckoning matched perfectly. The following chart illustrates the numbering system used by different rabbinical leaders depending on the date they favored as the date of creation.
3761 BC 3760 BC 3759 BC 3758 BC Year AD
Common to All
1
2 1
3 2 1 X 23 AD
4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2
6 5 4 3 X 26 AD
7 6 5 4
8 7 6 5 X 28 AD
9 8 7 6
10 9 8 7
11 10 9 8 X 31 AD
12 11 10 9
13 12 11 10
14 13 12 11 X 34 AD
15 14 13 12
16 15 14 13
17 16 15 14 X 37 AD
18 17 16 15
19 18 17 16 X 39 AD
1 19 18 17
2 1 19 18
3 2 1 19 X 42 AD
As illustrated in this chart, an assumed creation year of 3760 BC yields an intercalary pattern of years 2, 5, 7, 10, 13, 16 and 18; an assumed creation year of 3759 BC gives an intercalary pattern of years 1, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 17; an assumed creation year of 3758 BC yields an intercalary pattern of years 3, 5, 8, 11, 14, 16 and 19. All three assumed creation years match the intercalary cycle of the year 3761 BC, which was ultimately accepted as the year of creation. The only difference in these numbering systems was the starting date—there was no dispute over the selection of leap years. Therefore, it is evident that the rabbinical debate over the date of creation did not affect the calculations of the Hebrew Calendar.
Although the year 3761 BC did not gain universal acceptance until the Middle Ages, it was used in the calculations of the Hebrew Calendar both before and after the second century AD. Rabbinic literature ascribes the origin of this belief to Rabbi Yose b. Halafta, who first wrote of it in the Seder Olam Rabbah as noted by the Encyclopaedia Judaica.
Seder Olam is mentioned in the Talmud (Shab. 88a; Yev. 82b; et al.) and is ascribed by the Palestinian amora R. Johanan (third century) to the second-century tanna Yose b. Halafta (Yev. 82b; Nid. 46b). The work is divided into three parts, each consisting of ten chapters. Part one enumerates the dates of major events from the creation of the world until the death of Moses and the crossing of the Jordan by the Israelites under Joshua; part two, from the crossing of the Jordan to the murder of Zechariah, king of Israel; part three, chapters 21–27, from the murder of Zechariah to the destruction of the Temple by Nebuchadnezzar; and chapter 28, from the destruction of the Temple to the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus. Chapter 29 and the first part of chapter 30 cover the Persian period, which is stated to be only 34 years (s.v. “Seder Olam Rabbah”).
Based on his chronological studies, Rabbi Yose believed the date of creation was 3828 BC. The year 3761 BC was derived by subtracting 68 years (Rabbi Yose believed the Second Temple was destroyed in 68 AD) from 3828 BC, resulting in 3760 BC. One year was added to compensate for the fact that there is no year “0,” placing the date of creation in the year 3761 BC.
Seder Olam Rabbah was the first to establish the era “from the creation of the world” (ab creatione mundi, abbreviated A.M. for anno mundi). Utilizing the biblical chronology and reconstructing post-biblical history as well as he could, the author arrived at the conclusion that the world was created 3828 years before the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans. According to this calculation the destruction took place in the year 68, which is in contradiction to the accepted chronology that it took place in the year 70 C.E. An attempt to harmonize the contradiction was made by E. Frank (see bibl.). It was a long time until the reckoning according to the anno mundi era took root in Jewish chronology. For many centuries the calculation of the Seder Olam Rabbah was of interest only to talmudic students who tried to satisfy their curiosity for historical reconstruction. The usual calculation accepted by Jews in talmudic and even post-talmudic times was that of the Seleucid era, beginning with the year 312 BCE., and usually referred to in Jewish literature as minyan shetarot (“dating of documents”). Only when the center of Jewish life moved from Babylonia to Europe and the calculation according to the Seleucid era became meaningless was it replaced by that of the anno mundi era of the Seder Olam (Ibid., s.v. “Seder Olam Rabbah”).
Rabbi Yose was among the leading rabbis who participated in the second-century debate over the year of creation. His views were held in great respect by other rabbinical leaders of that era.
YOSE BEN HALAFTA (mid-second century C.E.), tanna; the R. Yose mentioned in the Talmud without patronymic. Yose was one of the leaders of the generation after the persecutions which followed the Bar Kokhba War. He was born in Sepphoris, where his father was one of those who instituted takkanot there after the destruction of the Temple (Tosef., Ta'an. 1:14). Yose studied under his father and transmitted some of his teachings (Kelim 26:6; et al.). He also studied under Johanan b. Nuri in Galilee (Tosef., Kelim, BK 6:4; et al.), and under Tarfon in Judea (ibid., Shev. 4:4). His main teacher, however, was Akiva in whose name he frequently transmits halakhot, and it was said generally: “R. Akiva his teacher” (Pes. 18a). He is numbered among his last pupils who “reestablished the Torah” (Yev. 62b) and were ordained by Judah b. BAba (Sanh. 14a). During the persecutions he endangered his life to fulfill the precept of circumcision and fled to Asia or to Laodicea (BM 84a: TJ, Ab. Zar. 3:1). He participated in all the conventions of scholars “at the close of the period of persecution,” in the valley of Bet Rimmon, in Usha, and in Jabneh (TJ, Hag. 3:1; Ber. 63b)...
Yose's bet din in Sepphoris was reckoned among the most outstanding in Erez Israel (Sanh. 32b). It is probable that after Nathan and Meir were demoted from the leadership in the Sanhedrin, following their attempt to remove Simeon b. Gamaliel from his office as nasi [president] (Hor. 13b), he and Judah took their places….His influence was still felt in the council chamber during the time of Judah ha-Nasi [president], the son of Simeon, who withdrew his own view in favor of that of Yose (Shab. 51a), and spoke of him with exceptional respect (Git. 67a).
While some rabbis agreed with Yose ben Halafta’s opinion, other rabbis held different views. Because they began counting from varying years of creation, they differed in the numbering of years in each 19-year cycle.
Apparent variations in the ordo intercalationis, i.e., …(2, 5, 7, 10, 13, 16, 18), …(1, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 17) and…(3, 5, 8, 11, 14, 16, 19) by the side of the present order (3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, 19), which are met with as late as the tenth century, are but variant styles of the selfsame order. These are in part also indicated by the epochal molad variously given as (…4d. 20h. 408p.), … = 2d. 5h. 204p., … = 6d. 14h. 0p. and … = 3d. 22h. 876p. which artificially go back to the beginning of the Era of the Creation [first espoused by rabbi Yose] and variously place its epoch in the autumn of 3762,–61,–60,–59 and–58 BCE. respectively (see Chronology). While it is not unreasonable to attribute to Hillel II the fixing of the regular order of intercalations, his full share in the present fixed calendar is doubtful (Ibid.,
s.v. “Calendar”).
As the author of the above article for the Encyclopaedia Judaica states, these apparent variations are in reality “the selfsame order.” That is, they represent different scholarly views of the date of creation “…3762,–61,–60,–59 and–58 BCE”—not differing views of the pattern of intercalation.
As previously noted, assigning different dates to the creation did not affect the years of intercalation. Yet, the churches of God were led to believe that the numbers the rabbis used were referring to differing years of intercalation. The adoption of the intercalary cycle of 2, 5, 7, 10, 13, 16, and 18 years—which was based on counting from 3760 BC— was misapplied by Dr. Hoeh and substituted for the 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17 and 19-year pattern, which began counting from 3761 BC.
The 3760 BC Numbering System Misapplied to the 3761 BC Cycle
3761 3760 Intercalary Cycle Cycle Sequence
2 1 3AD 2 X 4 3 5 4 6AD 5 X 7 6 8AD 7 X 9 8 10 9 11AD 10 X 12 11 13 12 14AD 13 X 15 14 16 15 17AD 16 X 18 17 19AD 18 X 20 19
Notice that the first leap year on this chart is 3 AD rather than 4 AD as the 3761 BC cycle would have it, and the last leap year is 19 AD rather than 20 AD. Year “2” of the 3760 BC cycle should correspond with year “3” of the 3761 BC cycle. Accordingly, year “18” of the 3760 BC cycle should correspond with year “20” of the 3761 BC cycle. Thus the misapplication of the 3760 BC numbering system in the churches of God resulted in erroneous calculations for the dates of the leap years during Christ’s lifetime and led to the adoption of a 31 AD crucifixion.
Were the Years of Intercalation Ever Modified?
Jesus and the apostles observed the holy days each year based on the intercalary cycle of the Hebrew Calendar. Historical records are now available which amply demonstrate that the intercalary cycle has remained unchanged from apostolic times to our day. There is no historical evidence to support a change in the intercalary cycle in 142 AD.
However, during the time that the Calendar Court held authority in Palestine there were rare occasions when unusual circumstances in the land necessitated a temporary adjustment. Before the time of Hillel II, when the Calendar Court was still functioning, a one-time decision could be made in a given year to declare a normal 12-month year to be 13 months or vice versa. This was done only in the event of famine, local disasters or conditions of hardship. Those responsible for the temporary change would restore the established cycle in the following years.
Some in the churches of God today have presumed to add or subtract months within certain years to propose a "fix" for seasonal drift or to cause holy days to fall on a certain day of the week. There is no historical evidence that the Hebrew Calendar has ever employed such methods. Hebrew Calendar scholars maintain that a change in the pattern of intercalation has never been implemented to bring about a seasonal adjustment in the declaration of the festival days. In fact, it is mathematically and astronomically inaccurate to do so. The date of Tishri 1 is fixed by astronomical laws and mathematical principles that do not change regardless of the reasonings and opinions of any leader of a religious organization.
