The following are just some "comparisons" with historical information which tie into 529 BC dating, that is, dating the destruction of Jerusalem in 529 B.C. No theory, just the figures for now.
529 B.C. THEORY - BASICS From Jesus' appearance in 29 C.E., 483 years, 69 weeks of years (69x7-483) back to 455 B.C. Usually dated to the 20th of Artaxerxes, this doctrine is dismissed since walls of Jerusalem were already rebuilt. Thus 455 B.C. is used to date 1st of Cyrus. 70 years of desolation would begin in 525 B.C., beginning the 23rd of Nebuchadnezzar according to the Bible and Josephus, and four years earlier in the 19th year of Nebuchadnezzar would be 529 B.C.
HISTORICAL ECLIPSES X 5
ECLIPSE #1: 4BC vs 1BC:
4 B.C. eclipse dating Herod's death dismissed.
The extremely significant eclipse which dates Herod's
death to 4 B.C. is dismissed based upon the actual
records. This date would challenge Jesus' birth in 2
B.C. and his appearance in 29 C.E., a pivotal date for
the 529 B.C. theory. Basically, this is based solely
upon Josephus who records an eclipse event which happens
just before Herod's death after which there occurs a
Passover. All this fits his actual death on Shebat 2, 1
A.D. but not anything in 4 B.C. Here's why 4 B.C. is
totally dismissed.
1) The 4BC eclipse dated March 13/14 would be just a month from Passover in April 13/14. Josephus has to see the eclipse and then die after which he is mourned for 7 days by his son, after which a sedition develops against him and THEN there occurred the Passover. If you allow just 20 days for Josephus to die after the eclipse event in which he executes two rabbis, and then a 7-day mourning period, which is about 27 days, you only have 2- 3 days before Passover. Not enough time for the intervening events to occur with Archelaus, Herod's son. Interestingly enough, the translator of Josephus, William Whiston in his footnotes clearly states because of his, the passover mentioned must be not one month but "13 months later."
2) The traditional date for the death of Herod is Shebat 2, which is the 11th month. The eclipse of March 13/14, 4 B.C. would have occurred on Adar 14, the 12th month. Thus the eclipse event happens approximately six weeks AFTER Herod's traditional date of death. Another contradiction.
3) The events mentioned in Josephus as associated with an annual Jewish FAST. The annual Jewish fasts are only in months four, five, seven and ten! The eclipse in 4 BC happened in the 12th month, so this does not fit at all the background information of this particular eclipse.
However, what Josephus describes is completely compatible with the eclipse occurring on Tebet 14, 1 .B.C. which would date Herod's death about 18 days later after the execution which is consistent with Josephus' history that Herod deteriorated rapidly after this event. The annual fast during the month of Tebet happened just four days earlier on Tebet 10. This fits specifically the general history that Herod died shortly after an eclipse occurring during the month of a fast but slightly before Passover, that is about 10 weeks before, which is enough time for the events described with Archelaus to take place.
In addition, Josephus himself, though he's constantly contradicting himself, says that the battle of Actium occurred in his seventh year. Here is what the footnote says about this (Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book I,3, footnote: "This seventh year of the reign of Herod, with the great earthquake in the beginning of the same spring, which are here fully implied to be not much before the fight at Actium, and which is known to have been in the beginning of September, in the 31st year before the christian era, determines the chronology of Josephus as to the reign of Herod-viz, that he began in the year 37."
Of course, if he began in the year 37 and ruled for 37 years, his rule would not run out in 4 B.C. but in 1 B.C- 1 A.D., which is the correct dating.
ECLIPSE #2;585 vs 478 BC This is the famous eclipse which caused the Lydian-Median Peace agreement negotiated by Nabonidus. Currently dated in 585 B.C. this eclipse occurs in the middle of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, and obvious contradiction. Based partly upon the record called "Nabon 18" which dates a solar eclipse in the second year of Nabonidus, this is believed to be a historical reference to that solar eclipse event which Nabonidus negotiated between the Medes and the Lydians. Other records establish that Nabonidus ruled for two years before appointing his son, Belshazzar, also called "Nabonidus" historically as king in Babylon. Thus the eclipse in 478 B.C. is dated from the second year of Nabonidus based upon a 19-year rule. The eclipse also does not fit the time of day that Herodotus mentions. The 585 BC eclipse happened nearly at sunset; the 478 BC eclipse happens at midday.
This is also consistent with the eclipse and peace negotiation happening before Cyrus took over the Medes, which is dated 20 years before his reign would begin in Babylon; that is from 559 to 539 BC is 20 years. Adding 20 years to 455 B.C. gives us a limit of 475 BC (455+20).
The 478 BC eclipse happened early in the year, thus Nabonidus' second year would have begun the previous spring in 479 and his first year in 480 B.C. In that case, after 19 years this would date the fall of Babylon in 461 B.C. (480-19=461). This would be followed by a six year rule by Darius, the Mede which was then followed by Cyrus himself in 455 B.C. (461-6=455 BC).
ECLIPSE #3;7TH YEAR OF NEB-II, 541 B.C. This eclipse results from the redating of two eclipses mentioned in the "Insight Book" under chronology, thought to be dated in the 7th year of Cambyses, 523 B.C. The two eclipses are described specifically including the times of the night they occurred. Based upon the time of sunset and sunrise, the eclipses which happened 3 hours 20 minutes "after night" and five hours "before morning" establishes a pre-adjustment interval between the two eclipses of 3 hours and 49 minutes. The eclipses occurring in 523 B.C., however, are far beyond this pre- adjustment limit at four hours and 46 minutes, proving this astronomical text belongs to some other year and king.
The Babylonians allowed for a short period of time after sunset and just before sunrise to begin and end their nightly astronomical observations. That's because astral observations cannot be made so close to sunrise or sunset. But we all know this, right? Start making observations when it gets a little darker. No biggie.
The 541 B.C. eclipses which have an interval of only 2:45 minutes, however, suggest that their offset standard was just one half hour. When the 3 hours and 49 minutes are thus reduced by one hour (2x30 minutes) down to 2 hours 49 minutes, you can see there is just a four-minute difference in the interval from the 541 B.C. eclipses (at 2:45). No other eclipses in 1100 years can be matched with this accuracy; thus this is considered an "absolute date" for the 7th year of Nebuchadnezzar II. Thus, when we date the 7th year of Nebuchadnezzar II to 541 B.C., 12 years later gives us 529 B.C. (541-12=529).
ECLIPSE #4;402 BC BEGINS PELOPONNESIAN WAR A total eclipse described by Plutarch in his "Lives- Pericles" records an eclipse event which happened while Pericles was at sea during the first year of the Peloponnesian War. This contradicts the partial eclipse described by Xenophon who revised the history of Thucydides. Based upon this eclipse, we can date the first year of the Peloponnesian War to 403 B.C. This is consistent with the 4th year of that war being an Olympic year. The tenth year of that War, 394 B.C. ended a 30- year Peace agreement which was negotiated between Sparta and Argives during the invasion by Xerxes. Thus we can date the invasion of Xerxes to 424 B.C., also an Olympic year. (394+30=424). Ten years earlier would be the Battle of Marathon in the fall of 434 B.C. during which Darius I died.
The Bible indicates he died in his sixth year (Ezra 6:14,15) and the temple was completed the following spring in Adar, 433 B.C. The temple took 22 years to build so it would have begun to be built in 455 B.C. (433+22=455). From here we simply add 74 years to get to the 19th year of Neb-II in 529 B.C., the year for the destruction of Jerusalem.
ECLIPSE #5: 763 BC VS 709 BC This eclipse is a solar eclipse mentioned in the Assyrian eponym list. It is used to date the Battle of Karkar 90 years earlier. The eclipse date is believed to be fraudulent since it says the eclipse occurred in Sivan, 763 B.C.
The 529 B.C. theorists believe this eclipse is accurately dated when it is moved to 709 BC, however. That's because it works out so precisely with the Biblical chronology. The month of the eclipse is believed to have been revised since the eclipse in 709 BC is exactly 54 years and one month later than the 763 B.C. eclipse. However, neither the 709 B.C. eclipse nor the 763 B.C. eclipse would have happened in the third month of Sivan. The 763 (June 7) BC eclipse happened in the second month, Iyyar, and the 709 B.C. (July 9) eclipse actually happened in the fourth month of Tammuz.
In an effort to redate the 709 BC eclipse to 763 B.C. it is likely it was presumed it only necessary to change the dating by one month, from four to three. However, though, the eclipses occur a month apart when you compare them on the solar calendar, the lunisolar monthly rotational adjustment makes them fall two months apart. This adds even more weight to the text originally referring to an eclipse in month four, Tammuz, since the one-month adjustment makes sense when going from 709 B.C. to 763 B.C. when superficially looking at the eclipses occurring 54 years and one month apart per the solar calendar.
Based upon the redating of the eponym list from 763 to 709 BC, we can date the Battle of Karkar from 853 to 799 B.C. which would have occurred during the 21st year of Ahab, 799 B.C. Nine years later would be the first year of Jehu in 790 B.C. (Based upon correctly adjusted co-rulerships.) From there we can date 80 years backward to the end of Solomon's reign in 870 B.C. (790+80=870) From here we can go back 36 years to Solomon's fourth year in 906 B.C. (870+36=906) From here we go back 480 years to the Exodus which is now dated in 1386 B.C. (906+480=1386). From here, we count 19 jubilees of 931 years to the return from exile which gives us 455 BC (1386-931=455). And from 455 BC we can calculate 74 years back to the 19th of Neb-II and the destruction of Jerusalem in 529 B.C.
THE JUBILEE CYCLE The Jubilee cycle is an integral part of correctly dating the Judean King List and the time from the Exodus to when the Jews returned from exile. It is a period of 931 years, or 19 Jubilees. (19x49=931) To show you how coordinated this is, the Bible records a Jubilee in the 15th year of Hezekiah. Samaria and the 10-tribe kingdom fell to the Assyrians during Hezekiah's 7th year, which was 8 years earlier. The 15th year of Hezekiah would have been 4 jubilees from the return from exile, that is 4x49=196 years. That would date the 15th year of Hezekiah specifically to 651 B.C. (455+196=651) That would mean his 7th year would have occurred eight years earlier in 659 B.C. (651+8=659;7+8=15). According to Josephus, there were 130 years from the Fall of Samaria to the Fall of Jerusalem. 130 years from 659 = 529 B.C. (659-130=529).
NOTE: VAT4956 DISMISSED BUT USEFUL Just one last note. An astronomical text called "VAT4956" has been used in an attempt to absolutely date the 37th year of Nebuchadnezzar II to 568 B.C. However, this document is now considered to be a patent fraud. The documents mentions an eclipse occurring in the third month Sivan which did not occur. Based upon information from the Strm-K-400 document which shows lunar eclipses from the original documents from Nebuchadnezzar II's reign which were being reintroduced into clay tablets attempting to redate his reign to another period, we cannot rule out the possibility that the eclipse mentioned (but not described) in the VAT4956 in the third month may have originally recorded the eclipse which actually occurred in the 37th year of Nebuchadnezzar. That's because a total lunar eclipse did occur during Sivan in Nebuchadnezzar II's actual 37th year which was 511 B.C.
It may have been discovered after the fact that this eclipse information did not fit the redating in 568 B.C. and was thus erased off the document but with a note saying the eclipse description once there was "omitted." Thus, in a round-about, indirect way, even the VAT4956 document, even though fraudulent, tends to confirm a lunar eclipse actually occurring in the third month of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. That is, a lunar eclipse did occur in Sivan in 511 B.C., Neb-II's actual 37th year, but did not occur in 568 B.C. in Sivan, whether observed or simply predicted.
That's it for the latest astronomical data comparisons!
For more information on other true and false teachings of Jehovah's witnesses, please see article: "Jehovah's Witnesses Beliefs."
For more information about 529 BC dating, see article:"Biblical Numbers and Jehovah's Witnesses"
Last Updated - 9/17/97
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