Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 179:713 (Jan 2022)
Article: Reevaluating The Visibility Of The April 3, AD 33, Lunar Eclipse From Jerusalem
Author: Guillermo Gonzalez

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Reevaluating The Visibility Of The April 3, AD 33, Lunar Eclipse From Jerusalem

Guillermo Gonzalez

Guillermo Gonzalez currently works in the private sector for Tellus1 Scientific, LLC, Huntsville, Alabama. He has taught and done research as a professional astronomer at a number of colleges and universities, including the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Washington.

Abstract

New astronomical calculations are applied to the question of visibility of the lunar eclipse of April 3, AD 33, from Jerusalem. This event bears on the date of the crucifixion, given that many scholars associate it with the “blood moon” in Acts 2:20. Under normal circumstances, the end of the eclipse would have been visible. However, it is likely that a khamsin occurred on the day of the crucifixion, rendering the visibility of the eclipse highly unlikely. This removes one of the main arguments in favor of the AD 33 date for the crucifixion.

Introduction

Several aspects of New Testament chronology are well established, especially the events surrounding the travels of Paul. Yet, the dates of the central events in Christianity, including the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, are still not definitively known. Based on the descriptions in the Gospels, details of the Jewish calendar, and astronomical considerations, the majority of New Testament chronologists have settled on two dates for the crucifixion: April 7, AD 30, and April 3, AD 33.1 More recent scholarship has been leaning toward the later date; leading

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proponents include Colin Humphreys, Harold Hoehner, Paul Maier, and Andrew Steinmann.

In the early twentieth century Fotheringham renewed interest in the AD 33 date by showing it was associated with a lunar eclipse.2 Humphreys and Waddington calculated the circumstances of the eclipse for observers in Jerusalem and concluded that the last few minutes would have been visible as the moon was rising.3 They further argued that Peter referred to a lunar eclipse in Acts 2:14–21 when he alluded to the prophecy from Joel 2:31: “The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood.” Humphreys and Waddington noted that since ancient writers often described a lunar eclipse as the moon appearing like blood, it is reasonable to infer that Peter must have been associating the lunar eclipse they had...