Tag: when was the death of Herod

The King and the Eclipse

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

The King and the Eclipse

 

Historian Flavius Josephus wrote that Herod died between a lunar eclipse and a Jewish Passover. Gospels Matthew and Luke report that King Herod was alive when Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem. 

Identifying the end of King Herod’s life would determine the birth year of Jesus of Nazareth. While some consider this information trivial, others find it important.

Without formal or reliable Western calendars, establishing the date of Herod’s death requires piecing together such clues as the reigns of Tiberius, and his sons; the Battle of Actium; the Jewish religious calendar; astronomy data; history accounts; etc.[1]

Herod was officially designated by Caesar Augustus as King, then sanctioned by the Roman Senate to rule Judea. According to Josephus, King Herod ruled for 37 years until his death that occurred between these bookend events:

“But Herod deprived this Matthias of the high priesthood, and burnt the other Matthias, who had raised a sedition with his companions, alive. And that very night, there was an eclipse of the moon.”[2]

“…and when the public morning for the king was over…at the feast of unleavened bread, which was now at hand, and is by the Jews called the Passover…” – Antiquities[3]

Lunar factual data is obtained via the science of astronomy provided by NASA and the Jewish Passover which always occurs with the first full moon of the year. Determining the actual year of Herod’s death is dependent upon both a lunar eclipse and another factor, the rule of Philip, Herod’s son.

Philip was awarded a tetrarchy by Caesar Augustus as part of the inheritance of King Herod.[4] According to the Gutenberg-printed Antiquities, Philip ruled for 37 years when he died in “the twentieth year of the reign of Tiberius”(Herod in the excerpt is Herod Antipas):[5]

“…Philip, Herod’s brother, departed this life, in the twentieth year of the reign of Tiberius after he had been tetrarch of Trachonitis, and Gaulonitis, and of the nation of Bataneana also thirty-seven years.” – Josephus (*printed)

An important factor in the 4 BC timeline date for historians is a lunar eclipse. NASA’s astronomy lunar eclipse data for Jerusalem confirms a partial eclipse with less-than-half coverage lunar occurred on March 13, 4 BC, between 1:32 am and 3:50 AM and the following Passover fell on April 10th.[6]

Thus, secular history marks Herod’s death in 3 BC strongly supported by this lunar eclipse in 4 BC. It seems relatively simple – from Tiberius’s twentieth year of rule (14 + 20), subtract the 37 years of Philips rule and it lands in 3 BC.[7]

Aside from the partial lunar eclipse in 4 BC, finding other known secular historical events corroborating this timeline has proven to be challenging. Examples: Caesar Augustus taking a census and Quirinius governing in Syria in 4 BC.[8]

NASA’s astronomy data provides a game-changing fact. January 9, 1 BC, a full lunar eclipse over Jerusalem began at 10:22 PM spanning to 3:53 AM, January 10. Passover in 1 BC was observed on April 6, twelve and half weeks later.[9]

Josephus described in detail events that transpired between the lunar eclipse and the Passover, especially after the King’s death. The question is whether all the events described by Josephus could have taken place in four weeks between the Kings death and the Passover or if 12 ½ weeks is more realistic.

When word of the King’s death reached abroad, many traveled to Herod’s funeral in Jericho from throughout Judea and from other countries that included foreign dignitaries and militaries. The following funeral procession lasted for many days to Herod’s final resting place in Herodium 30 miles away.

One of Herod’s sons, Archelaus, extended the mourning period after his interment to seven days and then gave a feast for all the people in Judea before the upcoming Passover. When the festival occurred days later, Archelaus sailed away to Rome with his family after attempting to quell civil unrest.

Further upending the 4 BC date reckoning was Biblical hobbyist David Beyer who traveled to various libraries around the world that held older handwritten copies of Antiquities. He discovered that all handwritten copies originally stated Philip died in the 22nd year of the reign of Tiberius.[10]

Beyer’s discovery adjusts the beginning of Philip’s rule to the years of 2-1 BC and changed the calculus of the death of King Herod. The discovery also aligns with other historical information.

Agrippa was given Philip’s tetrarchy by Caligula when, logically, it is unlikely the governance tetrarchy would remain vacated for 3 years if Philip had died in 33 AD. In 36 AD, Aretas and Antipas went to war “when all of Herod’s [Antipas] army was destroyed by the treachery of some fugitives, who, though they were of the tetrarchy of Philip, joined with Aretas’s army.”[11]

Additionally, archeological, historical and astronomy records tracing to 2 BC coincide with other historical timeline events:  the Silver Anniversary of Caesar Augustus and his Pater Patriae registration decree; archeological discoveries of Quirinius governing in Syria; and the Battle of Actium marking the beginning date of Herod’s reign.[12]

A lunar eclipse is the key to both scenarios. A partial lunar eclipse in 4 BC followed by the Passover less than 4 weeks later vs. a full lunar eclipse in 1 BC with the Passover 12½ weeks later.

Did Herod die in 4 BC or 1 BC?

 

Updated November 21, 2025.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] Livius.org. Ed. Jona Lendering. 2017. <http://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodians/herod_the_great01.html> “The Actium Project.” New World Encyclopedia. The University of South Florida and the Greek Ministry of Culture. Dir. William M. Murray. Research Project. 1997. <http://luna.cas.usf.edu/~murray/actium/brochure.html>  Chesser, Preston. “The Battle of Actium.” Ohio State University. 2002. <http://ehistory.osu.edu/articles/battle-actium> Gertoux, Gerard. “Herod the Great and Jesus: Chronological, Historical and Archaeological Evidence.” Academia.edu. n.d. <https://www.academia.edu/2518046/ Gertoux, Gerard. “Dating the death of Herod.”2015 Academia.edu. <http://www.academia.edu/2518046/Dating_the_death_of_Herod/a> “World History 50-0 BC.”  HistoryCentral.com.  MultiEducator, Inc. n.d. <http://www.historycentral.com/dates/50bc.html> Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7598-herod->  “Tiberius.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2023. <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tiberius>  Wolfram, Chuck.  “The Herodian Dynasty.” 2004. <http://web.archive.org/web/20151013221102/http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cwolfram/herod> Martin, Ernest L. The Star of Bethlehem – The Star That Astonished the World. 2nd Ed. 2003. Chapter 13. A.S.K. (Associates for Scriptural Knowledge.  <://web.archive.org/web/20170917115234/http://www.askelm.com/star/star015.htm>  Bunson, Matthew.  Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. “Astronomy.” 2002. <https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816045624> San José, Juan Antonio Revilla. “On the Year of Herod’s Death.”  A partial translation from “La Fecha de Muerte de Herodes y La Estrella de Belén.” pp 14, 140.  1999.  Astrology of the New Centaurs. <http://www.expreso.co.cr/centaurs/steiner/herod.html>  “Tiberius.”BBC. 2014. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/tiberius.shtml>
[2] Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews. Trans. and commentary. William Whitson. The Complete Works of Josephus. Book XVII, Chapter VI.4. 1850. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>
[3] Josephus. Antiquities. Trans. and commentary. William Whitson. The Complete Works of Josephus. Book XVII, Chapter IX.3. Josephus, Flavius. Wars of the Jews. Trans. and commentary. William Whitson. The Complete Works of Josephus. Book II, Chapter I.2. 1850. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false> 
[4] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVII, Chapter XI.4. Josephus. Wars. Book II, Chapter 6.3.
[5] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVIII, Chapters IV.6. (printed copy).
[6] Espenak, Fred. “Javascript Lunar Eclipse Explorer.” NASA Eclipse Website. n.d.  Asia and Asia Minor – Jerusalem, Israel. Century Selection -0001 – 0100. <https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/JLEX/JLEX-AS.html> Total Lunar Eclipse.  Pilot&Today. image. 2014. <https://cdn.steamboatpilot.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2017/06/TotalLunarEclipse_122110.jpg>
[7] Villalba i Varneda, Pere. The Historical Method of Flavius Josephus. 1986. p14, pt #8.  <http://books.google.com/books?id=kdUUAAAAIAAJ&lpg=PA14&ots=2ek7SgCy2c&dq=josephus%2C%20battle%20of%20actium%2C%20herod&pg=PA14#v=onepage&q=josephus,%20battle%20of%20actium,%20herod&f=false>  Schaff, Philip. “Chronology of the Life of Christ.” History of the Christian Church, Volume I: Apostolic Christianity. A.D. 1-100. Chapter 2. 1890.  Christian Classics Ethereal Library. 2005. <http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc1.i.II_1.16.html> Sieffert, F. “Census.” The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Vol. II:  Basilica – Chambers. 1952. <http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc02/htm/iv.vi.ccxxx.htm> “Philip the Tetrarch.” Fandom. n.d. <https://bible.fandom.com/wiki/Philip_the_Tetrarch> Bernegger, P.M. “Affirmation of Herod’s Death in 4 B.C.” Journal of Theological Studies Vol. 34, no 2, pp 526-531. 1983.  Schurer, Emil.  A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ. Volume 1. 1890. <http://books.google.com/books?id=BRynO3W9FPcC&pg=PP1#v=snippet&q=Tiberius&f=false>
[8] Davis, John D. “Quirinius” (Quirinus), cwui-rin’i-us, Publius Sulpicious.” The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Vol. IX: Petri – Reuchlin. 1953. <http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc09/htm/iv.vi.xii.htm>  Ramsay, William M.  “Was Christ Born in Bethlehem?” Chapter 11. 2010. <http://biblehub.com/library/ramsay/was_christ_born_in_bethlehem/index.html> Villalba i Varneda, Pere. The Historical Method of Flavius Josephus. The Historical Method of Flavius Josephus.” pp 15 -16, pts. 8-10.
[9] Espenak. “Javascript Lunar Eclipse Explorer.” NASA Eclipse Website. n.d.  Asia and Asia Minor – Jerusalem, Israel. Century Selection -0001 – 0100.  Unraveling the Twenty-Second Year of Tiberius.” Chronos, Kairos, Christos II.  Ed.  Jerry Vardaman. 1998. <http://books.google.com/books?id=mWnYvI5RdLMC&lpg=PP1&dq=isbn%3A0865545820&pg=PA85#v=snippet&q=beyer&f=false> Jachowski, Raymond. Academa.Edu. “The Death of Herod the Great and the Latin Josephus: Re-Examining the Twenty-Second Year of Tiberius.” n.d. <https://www.academia.edu/19833193/The_Death_of_Herod_the_Great_and_the_Latin_Josephus_Re_Examining_the_Twenty_Second_Year_of_Tiberius>
[10] Beyer, David W.  “Josephus Reexamined:  Unraveling the Twenty-Second Year of Tiberius.” Chronos, Kairos, Christos Kidger, Mark R.  “The Date of Passover 11BC – 10AD.” Mark Kidger`s Comet and Asteroid Observing Home Page. n.d. http://www.observadores-cometas.com/cometas/Star/Passover.html> “Unraveling the Twenty-Second Year of Tiberius.” Chronos, Kairos, Christos II.  Ed.  Jerry Vardaman. 1998. <http://books.google.com/books?id=mWnYvI5RdLMC&lpg=PP1&dq=isbn%3A0865545820&pg=PA85#v=snippet&q=beyer&f=false> Jachowski. Academia.Edu. “The Death of Herod the Great and the Latin Josephus:  Re-Examining the Twenty-Second Year of Tiberius.” Kidger. “The Date of Passover 11BC – 10AD.
[11] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVII, Chapter VI.4; Book XVIII, Chapter V.1.  Josephus. Wars. Book II, Chapter IX.5.” “Herod Antipas.” Britannica Encyclopedia. 2022. <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Herod-Antipas> “Aretas.” Bible History. 2022. <https://bible-history.com/links/aretas-1067>
 “Antipas and Rome.” Bible-History. n.d. <https://bible-history.com/herod-antipas/antipas-and-rome> “Aretas.” Encyclopedia.com. n.d. <https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/aretas>
[12] Gertoux, Gerard. “Dating the two Censuses of Quirinius.” 2018. Academia.edu. <http://www.academia.edu/3184175/Dating_the_two_Censuses_of_Quirinius>  Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVII. Chapter VII. Josephus. Wars. Book I, Chapter XXXIII; Book II, Chapter XIX.  “Augustus.”  UNRV History |The Roman Empire. United Nations of Roma Victrix. 2017. <http://www.unrv.com/fall-republic/augustus.php

Death of King Herod

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

Death of King Herod

 

King Herod’s death occurred shortly after the birth of Jesus of Nazareth making it the lynch pin date to determine the birth year of Jesus, but the year isn’t easy to determine. Standardized calendars during Antiquity do not exist; instead, timelines and dates are linked to well-known historical events.

Establishing the date of Herod’s death requires piecing together such clues as the reigns of Tiberius, King Herod and his sons; the Battle of Actium; the Jewish religious calendar; astronomy data; history accounts; etc.[1] Nativity accounts of both Matthew and Luke report that Jesus of Nazareth was born during the lifetime of Judean King Herod.[2]

Adding another level of complexity is “inclusive reckoning” focusing on whether a partial year was counted as a full year in historical references. The unsettled question instills a potential plus or minus factor of at least a year.[3]

Historian Flavius Josephus is among the primary source in his books Antiquities and Wars for determining when rulers lived, how long they ruled, when they died, etc. Josephus wrote that Herod’s death occurred between the bookend events of a lunar eclipse and the following Passover that Spring.[4]

Jewish Passover is always observed at the first full moon of the year. Historical astronomy data provided by NASA is virtually undisputed.

Tiberius Caesar began his rule as Emperor of Rome upon the death of Caesar Augustus on August 19, 14 AD. History recognizes Tiberius ruled for almost 22 1/2 years.

According to Josephus, King Herod ruled for 37 years.[5] Philip, his son, also ruled for 37 years (Herod in the excerpt below is Herod Antipas) noting it says “the twentieth year of the reign of Tiberius.” [6]

Philip

“…Philip, Herod’s brother, departed this life, in the twentieth year of the reign of Tiberius after he had been tetrarch of Trachonitis, and Gaulonitis, and of the nation of Bataneana also thirty-seven years.” – Josephus (*printed)

Gutenberg-printed copies of Antiquities say that Philip died in the 20th year of Tiberius. NASA data for Jerusalem in 4 BC shows  a partial, less-than-half, lunar eclipse occurred on March 13th, 4 BC, followed four weeks later by Passover on April 10th. 

Determining Herod’s death year seems somewhat simple – subtract the 37 years of Philips rule from year of Tiberius’s rule (14 AD plus 20 years for the rule of Tiberius [34 AD], minus 37 of Philip’s rule) landing in 3 BC. Thus, secular history marks Herod’s death in 3 BC strongly supported by the partial lunar eclipse in 4 BC.

NASA lunar data for Jerusalem reveals another option where a lunar eclipse occurred on January 9-10, 1 BC. Passover that year was observed on April 7th.[7]

Four weeks spans between Herod’s death and Passover in the 4 BC scenario while in the 1 BC scenario the interval is 12 weeks. Some people question if all the events described by Josephus could have transpired in just 4 weeks in 4 BC.[8]

Many communications occurred during an era without telephones, computers, TV when news traveled no faster than a horse could run. News of the King Herod’s death spread across Judea and to other nations and Antiquities describes in detail events that occurred in the interim before the upcoming Passover. 

International dignitaries and top military personnel including centurions, captains and officers of the Thracians, Germans, Galatians and Gauls with full regiments wearing battle gear, traveled to the King’s funeral in Jericho. Meanwhile, a funeral bier was built of gold embroidered by “very precious stones of a great variety” and lined with purple material.

After the funeral, an elaborate and slow procession to Herodium for the King’s interment took many more days. Following the King’s burial was a 7-day morning period, then a feast was given for the people of Judea by Archelaus, Herod’s son.

Meanwhile, an uprising among the Jews took place over King Herod’s actions with the Temple and resulting executions marked by the eclipse. Archelaus subdued and killed many of these revolters, then set sail for Rome during the Passover.

Consultant and Biblical hobbyist, David Beyer, compared the 1544 Gutenberg printings of Antiquities to two dozen older, handwritten manuscripts predating the Gutenberg press. He discovered all older handwritten Antiquities manuscripts said that Philip died in the 22nd year of Tiberius, not the 20th year.[9]

Beyer’s discovery changed the calculus of the death of King Herod to the 1 BC timeframe. This timeline aligns with other historical information in Antiquities.

Among them, Agrippa, in 36 AD, said to Caius in a carriage ride that he wished Tiberius would die. The carriage driver told Tiberius who had Agrippa thrown into prison.[10]

Tiberius died in 36 AD when his successor, Caius (Caligula), appointed Marullus as procurator; released Agrippa from prison and gave the open tetrarchy of Philip to him. It is highly unlikely the tetarchy of Philip was left unfilled for 3 years.

Aretas and Antipas went to war “when all of Herod’s [Antipas] army was destroyed by the treachery of some fugitives, who, though they were of the tetrarchy of Philip, joined with Aretas’s army.”[11] Secular historians date the Aretas-Antipas war to 36 AD.

Did Herod’s death actually occur in 1 BC or the traditionally accepted year of 4 BC?

 

 

Updated November 12, 2025.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

 

[1] Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews.  Trans. and commentary.  William Whitson.  The Complete Works of Josephus. 1850. Book XV, Chapter V, Book XVII, Chapters VI – Chapter VIII. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>  Josephus, Flavius. Wars of the Jews. Trans. and commentary. William Whitson. The Complete Works of Josephus.  Book I, Chapter XXXIII. “Actium (31 BCE).” 1850. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false> Livius.org. Ed. Jona Lendering. 2019. <https://www.livius.org/articles/battle/actium-31-bce> “King Herod the Great.” Livius.org. Ed. Jona Lendering. 2017. <http://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodians/herod_the_great01.html> “The Actium Project.” New World Encyclopedia. The University of South Florida and the Greek Ministry of Culture. Dir. William M. Murray. Research Project. 1997. <http://luna.cas.usf.edu/~murray/actium/brochure.html>  Chesser, Preston. “The Battle of Actium.” Ohio State University. 2002. <http://ehistory.osu.edu/articles/battle-actium> Gertoux, Gerard. “Herod the Great and Jesus: Chronological, Historical and Archaeological Evidence.” Academia.edu. n.d. <https://www.academia.edu/2518046/ Gertoux, Gerard. “Dating the death of Herod.”2015 Academia.edu. <http://www.academia.edu/2518046/Dating_the_death_of_Herod/a> “World History 50-0 BC.”  HistoryCentral.com.  MultiEducator, Inc. n.d. <http://www.historycentral.com/dates/50bc.html> Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7598-herod->  “Tiberius.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2023. <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tiberius>  Wolfram, Chuck.  “The Herodian Dynasty.” 2004. <http://web.archive.org/web/20151013221102/http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cwolfram/herod> Martin, Ernest L. The Star of Bethlehem – The Star That Astonished the World. 2nd Ed. 2003. Chapter 13. A.S.K. (Associates for Scriptural Knowledge.  <://web.archive.org/web/20170917115234/http://www.askelm.com/star/star015.htm>  Bunson, Matthew.  Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. “Astronomy.” New York: Princeton University Library. Internet Archive. 2002. <https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816045624>  San José, Juan Antonio Revilla. “On the Year of Herod’s Death.”  A partial translation from “La Fecha de Muerte de Herodes y La Estrella de Belén.” pp 14, 140.  28 Dec 1999.  Astrology of the New Centaurs.  <http://www.expreso.co.cr/centaurs/steiner/herod.html>
[2] Matthew 2. Luke 2.
[3] The Historical Method of Flavius Josephus. 1986. p14.  <http://books.google.com/books?id=kdUUAAAAIAAJ&lpg=PA14&ots=2ek7SgCy2c&dq=josephus%2C%20battle%20of%20actium%2C%20herod&pg=PA14#v=onepage&q=josephus,%20battle%20of%20actium,%20herod&f=false>”What is Inclusive Reckoning?” WednesdayCrucifixion.com. 2024. <https://www.wednesdaycrucifixion.com/inclusive-reckoning.html#:~:text=The%20common%20mode%20of%20counting%20employed%20in%20the,nations%2C%20as%20is%20shown%20unmistakably%20by%20source%20documents>  “Reckoning Tiberius’s Reign and Jesus’s Baptism.” TyndaleHouse. 2022. p 100, #3 “Way that Tiberius’s Reign May Have Been Reckoned in Antiquity”. <file:///Users/vogelman/Downloads/37789-reckoning-tiberius-s-reign-and-jesus-s-baptism-first-and-second-century-evidence-concerning-tiberius-s-fifteenth-year-luke-3-1.pdf.>  Steinmann, Andrew E.; Young, Rodger. Academia.Edu. “Elapsed Times for Herod the Great in Josephus.” 2023. <https://www.academia.edu/39731184/Elapsed_Times_for_Herod_the_Great_in_Josephus?email_work_card=thumbnail>
[4] Josephus. Antiquities. Book XVII, Chapter VI.4. Josephus, Flavius.  Wars of the Jews. Chapter XXXIII; Book II, Chapter I. The Complete Works of Josephus. 1850.  <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>
[5] Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. Book XVIII, Chapters IV.6. (printed copy).
[6] Whiston, William. The Works of Flavius Josephus, the Learned and Authentic Jewish Historian.” 1850. Book XVII, Chapter VI footnote t.  <https://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&hl=en#v=snippet&q=349&f=false> CR Whiston. Book XI, Chapter V, footnote t.  Bernegger, P.M. “Affirmation of Herod’s Death in 4 B.C.” Journal of Theological Studies. 1983. Vol. 34, no 2, pp 526-531, <http://www.redatedkings.com/postings/Bernegger.pdf>  Schurer, Emil.  A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ. 1890. Volume 1, pp 464-465, footnote 165.  <http://books.google.com/books?id=BRynO3W9FPcC&pg=PP1#v=snippet&q=Tiberius&f=false>Doig, Kenneth F.  New Testament Chronology. 1990. Chapter 4. <http://nowoezone.com/NT_Chronology.htm> Philip. Bible Wiki. image. n.d. <https://bible.fandom.com/wiki/Philip_the_Tetrarch>
[7] Espenak, Fred. NASA Lunar Eclipse Website. 2007. Asia and Asia Minor – Jerusalem, Israel; Century Selection -0001 – 0100. <https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/JLEX/JLEX-AS.html> Espenak, Fred. “Six Millennium Catalog of Phases of the Moon.” NASA Eclipse Website. n.d. “Phase years Table:  -0099 – 0000.” <https://archive.is/UsEwe> Kidger, Mark R. “The Date of Passover 11BC – 10AD.” <http://www.observadores-cometas.com/cometas/Star/Passover.html> Reinhold. “Other Scholarship Proving the Exact Date of Birth of Yeshua (Jesus), pt 5.”’
[8]  Bernegger, P.M. “Affirmation of Herod’s Death in 4 B.C.” Journal of Theological Studies Vol. 34, no 2, pp 526-531, 1983. RedatedKings.com. n.d. <http://www.redatedkings.com/postings/Bernegger.pdf> “The Infamous Procurators of Rome 6 -66 CE. Ed Jan Lilleby. Grace Panorama. n.d. <https://www.gracepano.com/language/en/2023/04/06/the-infamous-procurators-of-rome-in-6-66-ce/> “Did Caesar and Cleopatra really have a son?” The Ancient Standard. 2010. <http://ancientstandard.com/2010/12/03/did-caesar-and-cleopatra-really-have-a-son>
[9] Beyer, David W.  “Josephus Reexamined:  Unraveling the Twenty-Second Year of Tiberius.” Chronos, Kairos, Christos II.  Ed.  Jerry Vardaman. 1998. <http://books.google.com/books?id=mWnYvI5RdLMC&lpg=PP1&dq=isbn%3A0865545820&pg=PA85#v=snippet&q=beyer&f=false> Jachowski, Raymond. Academia.Edu. “The Death of Herod the Great and the Latin Josephus:  Re-Examining the Twenty-Second Year of Tiberius.” n.d. https://www academia.edu/19833193/The_Death_of_Herod_the_Great_and_the_Latin_Josephus_Re_Examining_the_Twenty_Second_Year_of_Tiberius>
[10] Jospehus. Wars. Book II, Chapter IX.5.   Villalba i Varneda, Pere. The Historical Method of Flavius Josephus. 1986. p14.  <http://books.google.com/books?id=kdUUAAAAIAAJ&lpg=PA14&ots=2ek7SgCy2c&dq=josephus%2C%20battle%20of%20actium%2C%20herod&pg=PA14#v=onepage&q=josephus,%20battle%20of%20actium,%20herod&f=false>
[11] Josephus. Antiquities.  Book XVIII, Chapter V.1.  “Herod Antipas.” Britannica Encyclopedia. 2022. <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Herod-Antipas> “Aretas.” Bible History. 2022. <https://bible-history.com/links/aretas-1067>  “Aretas ( in Aramaic ) IV.:” Jewish Encyclopedia. n.d. <https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1752-aretas>