*This appendix gathers all the sources on which the chapters rely: first the primary texts — biblical, early-Christian / patristic, Jewish / rabbinic, Graeco-Roman and documentary-astronomical — with the editions used, then the modern scholarly literature, alphabetical and de-duplicated. Two marks run alongside the entries. [seen in the original] means: the chapter concerned states explicitly that the passage cited has been checked in the source itself, or that the work was consulted at first hand. [secondary] means: the chapter itself flags the source as not (fully) verified against the original. Anything without a mark received no explicit status in the chapters — and none has been imputed to it here. After each source stand the chapters in which it bears weight.*
G.1 · Primary sources
G.1.1 · Biblical texts and editions
The biblical text has been checked throughout in the original languages (ch. 3, ch. 4, ch. 13); all Bible renderings in this book are the author's own working translations from the Hebrew and the Greek. [seen in the original]
Editions.
- Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) — Hebrew Old Testament. - Novum Testamentum Graece (Nestle-Aland, NA28), including the critical apparatus (ad Joh. 5:1, ch. 14). - Rahlfs, A. (Ed.). Septuaginta. - Biblia Sacra iuxta Vulgatam versionem (R. Weber & R. Gryson, Eds.). (1994). Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft. (ch. 3, ad 1 Sam. 30:13) - Targum Jonathan on the Prophets — Mikraot Gedolot text via Sefaria, with the English rendering of E. van Staalduine-Sulman, The Targum of Samuel (Brill, 2002). (ch. 3, ad 1 Sam. 30:12–13) [seen in the original] — Aramaic. - Peshitta — Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon (cal.huc.edu, file 62008 [P 1S]). (ch. 3, ad 1 Sam. 30:12–13) [seen in the original] — Aramaic. - Peshitta, ad Lucam 24:21 — Syriac text with SEDRA/CAL morphology (Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon / dukhrana.com). (ch. 13, ad Luke 24:21) [seen in the original] — Aramaic; cardinal "three days", verbless, parsed at first hand. - Codex Sinaiticus (ℵ), reading ad Lucam 24:21; alongside it Codex Bezae and the Old Syriac versions. These text-critical witnesses have in part not been verified against the manuscripts themselves and are expressly adduced in ch. 13 as lowering the price, not as decisive. [secondary]
- Didache 8:1 — the Wednesday fast around AD 100, adduced in ch. 6 as corroboration of the midweek line. (ch. 6) [secondary] — not [seen in the original]: ch. 6's source note names only Justin, the Didascalia, the Constitutions and Gregory as checked at first hand, and for Didache 8:1 no edition is cited nor primary verification claimed. It bears as corroboration (CONSTRUED), not as a primary support. - Martyrium Polycarpi 7.1. (ch. 13) [seen in translation] ⚠ the Greek has not been inspected. - Justin Martyr, Apologia I 67 — Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. I (1885). Christian Literature Company. (ch. 6) [seen in translation] ⚠ the Greek has not been inspected. - Irenaeus of Lyons, Adversus Haereses II.22.3, 6; V.31 — Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. I (A. Roberts & J. Donaldson, Eds., 1885). Christian Literature Company. (ch. 3, ch. 6, ch. 9, ch. 14) [seen in the original] — in translation; the Greek is a checkpoint still to be closed (ch. 14). - Clement of Alexandria, Stromata I.21. (ch. 6) - Tertullian, Adversus Iudaeos 8. (ch. 6) - Julius Africanus, Chronographiae — transmitted via Georgius Syncellus; carrier of the Thallus fragment. (ch. 6, ch. 12) [seen in the original] — the passages checked in the transmitter (ch. 12). - Origen, Commentarii in Joannem XIII — Greek, in Preuschen's text (GCS 10), consulted through Perseus/Scaife. (appendix E.3) [seen in the original — Greek] — he does not pose the question of proverb or season at all, but adduces John 4:35 as a lemma and passes to allegory; his own phrase ἡ ἐλπιζομένη τετράμηνος, "the expected four months", presupposes a real term still to run. He cannot be carried as a witness for the proverb, and only weakly and indirectly for the season. ⚠ Book XIII is not in the Ante-Nicene Fathers: the Menzies translation there (vol. IX) covers only books I, II, VI and X. An English text exists only in Heine, FOTC 89, which has not been consulted; nor has Migne, PG 14, nor the concordance of the Perseus section numbering with the paragraph numbering of Heine and Blanc. - Origen, Contra Celsum 2.33, 59 — carrier of the Phlegon fragment. (ch. 12) [seen in translation] ⚠ the Greek has not been inspected; the fragment carries here through its transmitter. - Didascalia Apostolorum, ch. 21 — R. H. Connolly (Trans.). (1929). Didascalia Apostolorum: The Syriac version translated and accompanied by the Verona Latin fragments. Clarendon Press; alongside it the Lagarde text. (ch. 6) [seen in the original] - Constitutiones Apostolorum V.14–18; VII.23 — Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. VII (J. Donaldson & A. Roberts, Eds., 1886). Christian Literature Company. (ch. 6) [seen in the original] - Eusebius of Caesarea: - Historia Ecclesiastica 7.32 — K. Lake & J. E. L. Oulton (Trans.). (1932). Loeb Classical Library. Harvard University Press. (ch. 8) [seen in the original] — Greek. ⚠ For the Anatolius passage the measure of ch. 8 applies: rule A (Anatolius' own canon — the first month not before the equinox) counts solely as one ancient equinox rule and rests on the independently measurable Babylonian tables (Parker & Dubberstein; Stern), not on Anatolius' authority; rule B (the attribution of the equinox rule to Philo, Josephus and the ancients, 7.32.16–17) bears as reception, not as support — the same discount that strikes ps.-Chrysostom below. - Historia Ecclesiastica 5.23–25 (Polycrates of Ephesus; Melito of Sardis; the quartodeciman controversy) — cited via Beckwith (1996). (ch. 15) [secondary] — not re-read line by line in this study; bears via Beckwith's discussion (ch. 15). - Demonstratio Evangelica 8.2 — W. J. Ferrar (Trans.). (1920). The proof of the Gospel. SPCK. (ch. 9, ch. 14, ch. 15) [seen in the original] — in translation (ch. 14). - Chronicon. (ch. 6, ch. 15) - Peter of Alexandria, fragment V (On the Passover, the letter to Tricentius) — the fragment on the post-70 calendar change. Greek: L. Dindorf (Ed.), Chronicon Paschale (Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae), Bonn 1832, vol. 1, pp. 4–7, where the piece stands in the prologue with the Latin alongside; English in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. VI. (ch. 15) [seen in the original — Greek page image] — the decisive sentence read in the Greek: the ancients slew the Passover μετὰ τὴν ἰσημερίαν, "whereas those of the present day do it πρὸ ἰσημερίας". ⚠ The authenticity is disputed: the fragment is transmitted in the prologue of the seventh-century Chronicon Paschale and is classified as "Pseudo-Peter". It can bear defensively only, and it cuts both ways — if Peter falls as a witness, he falls for both sides, and the scholarship that adduces him for the opposite conclusion loses him too. - [Ps.-]John Chrysostom, Oratio in Pascha VII — Migne, PG 59, col. 748: "we have wise witnesses, Hebrews such as Philo and Josephus [...], who confirm in their own writings that the Passover cannot accurately fall otherwise than after the vernal equinox has set in". [seen in the original — the column itself] — ⚠ a witness of reception, not a support. It shows how a fourth-century reader read Philo and Josephus, not what those two wrote; his attribution is as free as Anatolius', and by the measure of ch. 8 he therefore carries no evidential weight on either side. Registered here because the passage is sometimes adduced as confirmation; this book does not so adduce it. - Augustine of Hippo, De Trinitate IV.6.10 — the thirty-six-hour count of the Friday dating; Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 3. (ch. 15) [seen in the original] — cited in translation; adduced solely as a mirror-construal (CONSTRUED, ch. 15). - Epiphanius of Salamis, De Fide 22 (the Wednesday fast "because the Lord was seized on the Wednesday morning"); Panarion 51. (ch. 6) [secondary] — not [seen in the original]: adduced in ch. 6 as corroboration, but the source note does not count Epiphanius among the titles checked at first hand and cites no edition. It bears as corroboration (CONSTRUED), not as a primary support. - Jerome, Chronicon — carrier of the Phlegon fragment. (ch. 12) [seen in translation] ⚠ the Latin has not been read line by line; the fragment carries here through its transmitter. - Orosius, Historiae adversus paganos VII.4. (ch. 6, ch. 12) - Gregory of Tours, Libri historiarum X, book I, ch. 23 — B. Krusch & W. Levison (Eds.). (1951). MGH SS rer. Merov. I.1. Hahn. (ch. 6) [seen in the original] — Latin.
G.1.3 · Jewish — Second Temple and rabbinic
- Dead Sea Scrolls: 4Q252, cols. I–II (the flood calendar); 11QMelchizedek (11Q13) — F. García Martínez & E. J. C. Tigchelaar (Eds. & Trans.). (1997–1998). The Dead Sea Scrolls study edition (2 vols.). Brill. (ch. 17; appendix B)
- 1QSa (Rule of the Congregation) 1:12–15 and CD (Damascus Document) X 4–10 — the ages of service, of lawsuits and of judges: G. Vermes (Trans.), The complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, for 1QSa; CD in translation. (ch. 10) [secondary — translation] - Philo of Alexandria — Greek text throughout: L. Cohn & P. Wendland (Eds.), Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt (1896–1906), Georg Reimer, with the critical apparatus. The six equinox passages of ch. 8 were read on the page image itself: - De opificio mundi 116 (vol. 1, p. 41) — the vernal equinox "in Aries", and each of the two equinoxes taking place "in a seventh month". (ch. 8) [seen in the original — Greek page image with apparatus] - De Decalogo 161 (vol. 4, p. 304) — the equinox feasts "many-dayed" (πολυήμεροι), "each of them for seven days". (ch. 8) [seen in the original — Greek page image with apparatus] - De specialibus legibus 2.26 — the moon that "begins to shine at the noumenia" → month-start at first visibility. (ch. 8) [seen in the original] - De specialibus legibus I 181–186 (vol. 5, pp. 44–45) — the καιρός pair; within one equinoctial καιρός the first, the tenth and the fifteenth day. (ch. 8) [seen in the original — Greek page image with apparatus] - De specialibus legibus II 150–153 (vol. 5, p. 122) — why the law calls one month the first. ⚠ At II 153 the κατά of the printed text is Cohn's own conjecture (scripsi in the apparatus); the manuscript and Nicetas' catena both read μετά, "after the equinox" (Colson, LCL 320, p. 398, critical notes 1–2). Ch. 8 therefore cites II 150–152 and does not rest the seasonal reading on §153. (ch. 8) [seen in the original — Greek page image with apparatus; Colson's notes seen at first hand] - De specialibus legibus II 204 (vol. 5, p. 137) — Tabernacles "having as its καιρός that of the autumnal equinox"; the testimonia line gives Nicetas verbatim. (ch. 8) [seen in the original — Greek page image with apparatus] - De vita Mosis II 222–224 (vol. 4, p. 252) — "the beginning of the vernal equinox" as the first month; the apparatus identifies the Chronicon Paschale excerpt with these very lines. (ch. 8) [seen in the original — Greek page image with apparatus] - Quaestiones in Exodum 1.1 — R. Marcus (Trans.), Loeb Classical Library, translated from the Armenian. [secondary — translation from the Armenian] ⚠ Not to be adduced as Greek. Marcus notes that the surviving Greek fragment contains only the sentence about crops and trees, not the equinox sentence; ἀπὸ τῆς ἐαρινῆς ἰσημερίας stands in his own lemma note as a retroversion from the Armenian. The passage carries no weight in the equinox argument and is not used in ch. 8. - Flavius Josephus, Antiquitates Judaicae 2.311; 3.248; 15.354 (Herod's seventeenth year beside Augustus's visit to Syria — the anchor of ch. 9), 15.380, 420–421; 16.163; 18.32–35, 89–90, 106, 120–124. (ch. 8, ch. 9, ch. 13, ch. 14; appendix A) [seen in the original] — tested against the primary source (ch. 9); the Greek material of ch. 13 checked in the source itself. Two places carry separately in ch. 8 and appendix A.1b: Ant. 3.248 (the fourteenth "while the sun is in Aries") — Niese, Flavii Iosephi opera, vol. 1, p. 207, page image with apparatus; the clause is transmitted without variant, and Niese's testimonium line gives Leviticus 23:5 as its biblical source — a verse that does not contain the Aries clause. Ant. 2.311 (Nisan equated with the Egyptian Pharmuthi) — checked in the Greek of the digital critical text, not on the page image of Niese. · Bellum Judaicum 1.401 — ⛔ the counter-figure: the fifteenth year for the temple-building, against the eighteenth at Ant. 15.380. Examined at first hand 6 Sept. 2026; carried in ch. 9 together with the finding that on no epoch does it yield a usable John 2:20 reckoning — no more for AD 30 than for AD 31 or AD 33. — For ch. 10 also: Ant. 17.167–213 (the sequence from the eclipse to the Passover, counted in days), 17.191 = B.J. 1.665 (thirty-four years from the death of Antigonus), 17.342 and Vita 5 (Archelaus deposed in his tenth year) against B.J. 2.111 (his ninth). [seen in the original] - Mishnah: Pesachim 8:6; 10:8 (ch. 5) [seen in the original] — Hebrew/Aramaic; Rosh ha-Shanah1:1 (the new year for kings on 1 Nisan; the halakhic rule of non-accession reckoning, ch. 9) [seen in the original] — Hebrew; Rosh ha-Shanah 1:7; 2:6–8 (ch. 8); Menachot 10:2; 10:8; 10:9 (ch. 8) — 10:2 the proximity rule with its fallback, 10:8 the men of Jericho, 10:9 the omer "from the moist". Avot 5:21 ("at thirty for strength, at forty for understanding"; ch. 10) [seen in the original] — Hebrew, via Sefaria. - Tosefta: Sanhedrin 2:2, 4, 5, 6. (ch. 5, ch. 8) [seen in the original] — *Machon Mamre* edition, examined segment by segment (5 Sept. 2026). ⚠ The numbering differs by edition: what is here 2:4 and 2:5 stands in Zuckermandel as 2:8 and 2:9. Every reference therefore names its edition. - Babylonian Talmud: Yoma 39b (ch. 14); Pesachim 4a (the mourning-law miqtsat, ch. 3) [seen in the original] — Aramaic; Rosh ha-Shanah2a (the baraita of the king who acceded on 29 Adar: one day before the new year counts as a whole regnal year — non-accession, inclusive reckoning, li-shetarot, "for documents"; ch. 9) [seen in the original] — Hebrew/Aramaic; Sanhedrin 11a–b, 12a (ch. 8) [seen in the original] — 11a–b examined at first hand in the Aramaic (5 Sept. 2026): the baraita of the three signs with the two-of-three rule, and — as a separate baraita — that of the three regions in the same form. ⚠ The equinox requirement there connected with intercalation concerns the autumn tequfah and Sukkot; R. Shimon ben Gamliel's "for the equinox" remains teiku. 12a has not been read line by line.; Sanhedrin 41a (ch. 14); Sanhedrin 43a (ch. 5) [seen in the original]; Shabbat 86b ("six full onot", ch. 3) [seen in the original] — Hebrew/Aramaic; Shabbat34b (the baraita on bein ha-shemashot: twilight a safek, "the stringencies of both days" imposed on it; ch. 13) [seen in the original] — Aramaic, via Sefaria's William Davidson text, a digital and not a critical edition, without apparatus. Ch. 13 names it in order to decline it: a status rule does not carry over to a narrative duration, and that limit is the same one ch. 3 applies to the onah rule. — Added 28 Sept. 2026, all via Sefaria with the Aramaic/Hebrew text: Rosh ha-Shanah3a–4a (Rav Ḥisda: the Nisan rule "only for the kings of Israel", the kings of the nations counted from Tishri, derived from Nehemiah 1:1 and 2:1; the objections from Haggai and Ezra and the ad hoc answers) and 8a (Rav Pappa: "new year for years" = for documents; Nisan for Israel's kings, Tishri for the nations'; ch. 9); Chullin 24a ("twenty-five for apprenticeship and thirty for service"; priests fit from puberty), Sotah 22b (no rulings until forty), Sanhedrin 17a (members "of age"), Berakhot 28a (R. Eleazar ben Azariah at eighteen) (ch. 10) [seen in the original]. - Jerusalem Talmud: Rosh ha-Shanah 1:1 (56b) — R. Eleazar in the name of R. Ḥanina: the kings of the nations, too, counted from Nisan, derived from Haggai 1:15 and Zechariah 1:1; via Sefaria, Guggenheimer, with the Hebrew text. (ch. 9, ch. 17) [seen in the original] — Shabbat 9:3 (the "onah" rule) — H. W. Guggenheimer (Trans.), via Sefaria. (ch. 3; appendix B) [seen in the original] — Aramaic/Hebrew; the text bearing the onah treatment. Ch. 3's source note marks it expressly as "checked against the Aramaic/Hebrew itself". - Midrash: Genesis Rabbah (Bereshit Rabbah) 56:1; 91:7 (ch. 3); 100:7 — via Sefaria, with the Hebrew base text (ch. 3, ch. 13) [seen in the original]; Midrash Tehillim 22 (appendix B). - Seder Olam Rabbah 6 — via Sefaria, with the Hebrew base text; the triple forty-day count recomputed by hand. (ch. 3) [seen in the original] — Hebrew. - Medieval rabbinic: - Rashi (Shlomo Yitzhaki, 11th century), Commentary on the Torah on Genesis 7:12 and Exodus 32:1 — via Sefaria, with the Hebrew base text. (ch. 3) [seen in the original] - S. H. Alkabetz (16th century), Menot HaLevi on Esther 4:16 — via Sefaria. (ch. 3; appendix B) - Maharal, Ohr Chadash on Esther 4:16. (appendix B) - Yosef Chayyim of Baghdad, Ben Yehoyada on Bava Batra — via Sefaria. (ch. 3; appendix B) - Nizzahon Vetus, §201 — D. Berger (Ed. & Trans.). (1979). The Jewish-Christian debate in the High Middle Ages: A critical edition of the Nizzahon Vetus. Jewish Publication Society; earlier printing: J. C. Wagenseil (1681), Tela ignea Satanae. Altdorf. (ch. 3) - Otot ha-Mashiach (before 1050) — via Maagarim. (appendix B) - Text corpora: Sefaria (the Davidson edition) and Maagarim (the Academy of the Hebrew Language) — the hits of the corpus sweep were consulted there at first hand. (ch. 5; appendix B) [seen in the original]
G.1.4 · Graeco-Roman
- Cassius Dio, Historia Romana 54.7; 58.28.5. (ch. 9) [seen in the original] — tested against the primary source. 55.10a.4: Gaius in Syria "acting as consul", AD 1 — not "on 1 January at Antioch", which is Barnes' reconstruction. (ch. 10) [seen in the original — Loeb] - Plutarch, Antony 36.1–2 — the beheading of Antigonus, in Syria, winter 37/36 BC. (ch. 10) [seen in the original — Greek, Perseus] - Vettius Valens, Anthologiae I.9 — D. Pingree (Ed.). (1986). Vettii Valentis Antiocheni Anthologiarum libri novem. Teubner (pp. 25–26) = I.10 in W. Kroll (Ed.). (1908). Weidmann (p. 26). The worked example: Mechir 13 of Hadrian 4 = 8 February 120, the day of Hermes. (appendix D) [seen in the original — Pingree; Kroll via its table of contents] - CIL IV 4182 — the Pompeii graffito of 6 February 60, dies Solis, via the Ancient Graffiti Project. (appendix D) [secondary — AGP transcription] - Phlegon of Tralles — fragment, via Jerome (Chronicon) and Origen (Contra Celsum 2.33, 59). (ch. 12) [seen in the original] — in the transmitters. - Thallus — fragment, via Julius Africanus/Syncellus. (ch. 12) [seen in the original] — in the transmitter.
G.1.5 · Documentary-astronomical
- Parker, R. A., & Dubberstein, W. H. (1946). Babylonian chronology 626 B.C.–A.D. 45 (Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 24). University of Chicago Press. [3rd ed. 1956, to A.D. 75.] Used: pp. 42, 46. (ch. 7, ch. 8, ch. 15; appendix A) [seen in the original] — checked in the source itself (ch. 15); the full table has since been worked through for 200 BC–AD 45, the end of the table in SAOC 24, in the machine-readable edition corrected against SAOC 24 (28 Sept. 2026; appendix A.6). - Ptolemy's canon — accession of Artaxerxes I, 465 BC. (ch. 17) - P.Oxy. VII 1021 — announcement of Nero's accession (carrier of the reporting delay in the Tiberius count). (ch. 9) - P. Mur. 18 — the Murabbaʿât acknowledgement of debt dated by a regnal year of Nero; the document registered in advance as the test of the Jewish reckoning, and returning undecided because day and month lie in the lacuna. Edition: Benoit, Milik & de Vaux, Discoveries in the Judaean Desert II (1961), p. 103. (ch. 9; appendix D, appendix E) [seen in the original — p. 103 at first hand]
- Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri (papyri.info, idp.data) — own count of ages given as ὡς (ἐτῶν) + number, 1,919 document–age pairs; ὡσεὶ ἐτῶν + age: no hits. (ch. 10) [CALCULATED — own count, 28 Sept. 2026] - Roman Provincial Coinage I, nos. 4270 (Antioch, Tiberius), 4330 (Seleucia, Tiberius), 4952–4953 (Philip), 4958–4969 (Judaean prefect coins) and 5075–5105 (Alexandria) — the direct numismatic count; 4270 and 4330 are also the Syrian provincial coins on an autumn era; they fix year 1 at 14/15 but cannot separate inclusive from non-inclusive reckoning, since the news came after the new year. (ch. 9, ch. 14) - Ephemerides — all astronomical outcomes in this book are the author's own reproductions (ephem 4.2.1 / Swiss Ephemeris), calibrated against an independent anchor point; the tables stand in appendix A. The crescent-visibility criteria used (Schoch; Yallop, 1997; Odeh, 2004) appear with their full titles in G.2.
G.2 · Scholarly literature (APA)
Amadon, G. (1942). The Johannine-synoptic argument. Journal of Biblical Literature, 61(4), 227–280. (ch. 7)
Anderson, R. (1894). The coming prince. Hodder & Stoughton. (ch. 17)
Athanasius of Alexandria. (ca. 318). De Incarnatione Verbi 26 (SC 199, ed. C. Kannengiesser). (ch. 3) [seen in the original] — the decisive chapter checked at first hand in the Greek (First1KGreek): "one intervening day," counted inclusively, and "not more than three days."
Barnes, T. D. (1968). The date of Herod's death. Journal of Theological Studies, 19(1), 204–209. Used: p. 209 and n. 3. (ch. 10) [seen in the original, page image] — his closing sentence runs verbatim "That Herod died in late March or early April 4 B.C. cannot be disproved. Yet December 5 B.C. is an alternative, equally valid and clearly preferable"; he names 7 Kislev only, not "or 2 Shebat." ⚠ His age argument rests on an emendation: n. 3 records that Ant. xiv 158 reads "15" where his reasoning requires "25" — "Either the text is corrupt and '25' to be read instead of '15', or Josephus has made a bad mistake and the argument based on the passage must lapse."
Barrett, C. K. (1978). The Gospel according to St John (2nd ed.). Westminster Press. (ch. 9)
Bauer, L. (1902). Volksleben im Lande der Bibel. American Tract Society. Used: p. 126 (regional barley-harvest figures). (ch. 8) [seen in the original] — seen at first hand in the scanned edition.
Beckwith, R. T. (1996/2001). Calendar and chronology, Jewish and Christian: Biblical, intertestamental and patristic studies. Brill. Used: esp. p. 289; pp. 282–283 seen primarily (the observation model: "the year was regulated not by calculation but by observation"; and on p. 282 the bounding of Anatolius' list of witnesses: "Josephus merely says that the sun is in the sign of Aries at the Passover [...], which implies that the equinox is past, though he does not insist on the point", and "the only one of these writers who is known to have insisted on the point, treating it as an invariable rule, is the other Alexandrian, Aristobulus" — where Beckwith's Philo reference is to Quaestiones in Exodum 1.1, the passage that survives only in Armenian). (ch. 7, ch. 8, ch. 15)
Bengel, J. A. (1742). Gnomon Novi Testamenti (ad Lucam 24:21). Tübingen. (ch. 13)
Bernegger, P. M. (1983). Affirmation of Herod's death in 4 B.C. Journal of Theological Studies, 34(2), 526–531. (ch. 10)
Benoit, P., Milik, J. T., & de Vaux, R. (1961). Les grottes de Murabbaʿât (Discoveries in the Judaean Desert II). Clarendon Press. Used: p. 103 (P. Mur. 18). (ch. 9; appendix D, appendix E) [seen in the original] — the page seen at first hand: Milik's translation reads "[Le[...] du mois[...] a]n deux de Néron César", the square brackets his own restoration, and day and month both fall in the lacuna; his note reckons "year two of Nero" as 13 October 55 – 12 October 56, the accession-anniversary count, and stands against Stern's reading of the same document.
Beyer, D. W. (1998). Josephus reexamined: Unraveling the twenty-second year of Tiberius. In J. Vardaman (Ed.), Chronos, kairos, Christos II (pp. 85–96). Mercer University Press. (ch. 9)
Blinzler, J. (1969). Der Prozess Jesu (4th ed.). Friedrich Pustet. (ch. 14)
Brooke, A. E., McLean, N., & Thackeray, H. St. J. (Eds.). (1927). The Old Testament in Greek, Vol. II.1: I and II Samuel (the "Larger Cambridge Septuagint"). Cambridge University Press. (ch. 3) [page image seen] — the full Greek apparatus on Samuel; there is as yet no Göttingen Samuel volume. Used: p. 101 (ad 1 Samuel 30:12–13), text and both apparatus sections, read on the page image. ⚠ The archive.org copy does have a text layer, but its OCR renders the Greek in Latin letters; it serves to locate the page, not to quote from.
Brown, R. E. (1966). The Gospel according to John (I–XII) (Anchor Bible 29). Doubleday. (ch. 9)
Bultrighini, I., & Stern, S. (2022). The seven-day week in the Roman Empire: Origins, standardization, and diffusion. In S. Stern (Ed.), Calendars in the making: The origins of calendars from the Roman Empire to the later Middle Ages (Time, Astronomy, and Calendars 10). Brill. (appendix D: CIL IV 4182 and Brind'Amour's explanation) [secondary — read in fragments]
Bureth, P. (1964). Les titulatures impériales dans les papyrus, les ostraca et les inscriptions d'Égypte (30 a.C.–284 p.C.). Fondation Égyptologique Reine Élisabeth. (ch. 9) [page image seen] — pp. 25 (Tibère, an 1 = 14/15), 28–35 (Gaius/Claude/Néron: an 1 = 36/37, 40/41, 54/55; Néron year 14 = O.Bodl. 489 and others), 6 (the abbreviations (pr.)/(sq.)/s.d.).
Buttmann, A. (1873). A grammar of the New Testament Greek (J. H. Thayer, Trans.; p. 118). Warren F. Draper. (ch. 13)
Cameron, D. (2018). Target fixation and the eclipse of Josephus: Towards a re-dating of the death of Herod the Great [Unpublished manuscript]. Academia.edu. (ch. 10: the counting rule in SVM)
Carrier, R. (2012). Thallus and the darkness at Christ's death. Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism, 8, 185–191. (ch. 12)
Chwolson, D. A. (1892). Das letzte Passamahl Christi und der Tag seines Todes. Mémoires de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de St.-Pétersbourg, VIIe série. [2nd, anastatically identical printing: Leipzig 1908, with three added Beilagen.] Used: pp. 6–9 (the four working-day arguments), p. 24 (the instrument "forgotten and restored"), pp. 37–44 (bein ha-arbayim), pp. 60–62 (the omer count), pp. 118–119 (the trial, in the Anhang). (ch. 2, ch. 4, ch. 5, ch. 6) [seen in the original — the 1892 printing itself, with the author's own OCR]Five locations given earlier have turned out to be incorrect and have been replaced. The 1892 edition runs to 146 scan-pages and the corpus reaches to p. 131; a p. 184 and a p. 200 do not exist in it.
Chwolson, D. A. (1895). Hat es jemals irgend einen Grund gegeben, den Rüsttag des jüdischen Passahfestes als πρώτη τῶν ἀζύμων zu bezeichnen? Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Theologie, 38, p. 377 (= Separatabdruck 1895, p. 45); reprinted as a Beilage in Das letzte Passamahl Christi, 2nd ed., Leipzig: H. Haessel, 1908, p. 167. (ch. 5) [seen in the original — the 1895 journal issue in full reproduction]This is the location of "grundfalsch und irreführend", earlier wrongly given as "1908, p. 184". The 1908 printing (xi, 190 pp.) is not held and is online only in snippet view; p. 167 has been established in it but not seen as a page image. The 1895 journal version has been so seen, and it carries the quotation in full.
Cichorius, C. (1923). Chronologisches zum Leben Jesu. Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, 22, 16–20. (ch. 9)
Dalman, G. (1928). Arbeit und Sitte in Palästina, Band I/2: Der Jahreslauf — Frühling und Sommer. C. Bertelsmann. Used: pp. 413–418 (the regional field dates for barley and wheat, bearing the agricultural check on John 4:35). (ch. 8; appendix E) [seen in the original] — seen at first hand in the scanned edition.
Dalman, G. (1933). Arbeit und Sitte in Palästina, Band III: Von der Ernte zum Mehl. C. Bertelsmann. (ch. 8) [seen in the original] — seen at first hand in the scanned edition.
Danker, F. W. (Ed.). (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., s.v. ἄγω). University of Chicago Press. (ch. 13)
Doig, K. F. (1990). New Testament chronology. Mellen. (Ch. 12: the fifteenth year on the Syro-Macedonian autumn calendar, 20 October 27 – 9 October 28. The calendar boundaries have been recomputed here and come out to the day; the reckoning rests on an analogy with Herodian practice, and Doig concedes that the Roman coins reckon dynastically.) (ch. 9)
Driver, S. R. (1913). Notes on the Hebrew text and the topography of the books of Samuel (2nd ed., ad 1 Sam. 9:20 and 30:13). Clarendon Press. (ch. 3) [seen in the original] — the note cited checked via a scan of the printed edition.
Filmer, W. E. (1966). The chronology of the reign of Herod the Great. Journal of Theological Studies, 17(2), 283–298. (ch. 9)
Finegan, J. (1998). Handbook of biblical chronology (rev. ed.). Hendrickson. (ch. 9, ch. 14)
Fotheringham, J. K. (1934). The evidence of astronomy and technical chronology for the date of the crucifixion. Journal of Theological Studies, 35, 146–162. (ch. 9)
Gill, J. (1763). An exposition of the New Testament (ad Lucam 24:21). George Keith. (ch. 13)
Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel according to John (Pillar New Testament Commentary). Eerdmans. Used: ad John 4:35 and ad John 5:1. (appendix E.3) [seen in the original] — on 4:35 he records that no such proverb is attested elsewhere and reads the four months as a real interval "by ordinary reckoning"; on 5:1 he declines to decide — "the truth of the matter is that we do not know what feast John has in mind" — and notes in the same place that a Passover would give about three and a half years of ministry and anything else about two and a half. ⚠ The digital copy carries no page numbers in its text layer, so the places are given by verse.
Godet, F. (1886). Commentary on the Gospel of John (T. Dwight, Trans.; 3rd ed.). Used: I, 435 (ad 4:35) and I, 452–454 (ad 5:1). (appendix E.3) [secondary] — read in the English translation through a reproduction site, not on the printed page, and the French original has not been consulted. He reads 4:35 as a season, placing the conversation in December, and calls a Passover at 5:1 "positively excluded" in favour of Purim — from which he concludes that "two years and a half are sufficient". ⚠ A seasonal reader who spends the reading against the extra spring; he is cited in appendix E.3 for both halves.
Hoehner, H. W. (2011). The chronology of Jesus. In T. Holmén & S. E. Porter (Eds.), Handbook for the study of the historical Jesus (pp. 2315–2359). Brill. Used: pp. 2337–2339. (appendix E.3) [seen in the original] — read on the page. He has not changed position since 1977 (4:35 in January/February, 5:1 Tabernacles), but the argument beneath it has thinned: the proverb reading and its defenders, Dalman and m. Ta'anit 1:7, are all gone, and the January/February dating stands without a footnote — while on 5:1 he moves the other way, from "with great hesitation" and "a slight edge" (1977) to "it seems most likely". ⚠ On John 5:1 the 1977 page is the fairer citation of him.
Keener, C. S. (2003). The Gospel of John: A commentary. Hendrickson. Used: I, 623–625 (ad 4:35) and I, 634–635 (ad 5:1). (appendix E.3) [seen in the original] — he prefers an otherwise unattested proverb at 4:35; at 5:1 he lists Purim, Pentecost, Tabernacles and Rosh Hashanah, does not name Passover among them, and reads the feast as no more than the reason Jesus is in Jerusalem. His n. 10 adds that Bowman's Purim reading "would fit between 4:35 and 6:4 (but only assuming a strict and unbroken chronology)".
Wieseler, K. (1843). Chronologische Synopse der vier Evangelien. Perthes. Used: p. 219 (ad 5:1). (appendix E.3) [seen in the original — scanned page] — Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, `bsb10271806`. He reads Purim, resting it on the sabbath of John 5:9 and on his own calendar reconstruction for 782 a.u.c. ⚠ His pages on 4:35 (pp. 214–217) have not been consulted; like Godet he is a seasonal reader who shortens the ministry.
Hoehner, H. W. (1974). Chronological aspects of the life of Christ, Part IV: The day of Christ's crucifixion. Bibliotheca Sacra, 131(523), 241–264. Used: esp. pp. 242–243. (ch. 1, ch. 3, ch. 13, ch. 14) [seen in the original] — read in the source itself (ch. 1).
Hoehner, H. W. (1977). Chronological aspects of the life of Christ. Zondervan. Used: esp. pp. 29–43; pp. 46–47 and 51–60, with p. 56 and pp. 58–59 load-bearing. (ch. 9, ch. 17; appendix E) [seen in the original] — p. 56 ("would fit well", of the plucking of the grain between the two Passovers — the author claims no more) and pp. 58–59 (John 5:1 read "with great hesitation" as Tabernacles; Blinzler's claim called "false"; and the Tabernacles argument resting in turn on the seasonal reading of 4:35) seen at first hand. ⚠ The Tabernacles passage spans pp. 58–59 and is to be cited as such; a single-page reference to p. 58 clips the sentence that carries it.
Humphreys, C. J., & Waddington, W. G. (1983). Dating the crucifixion. Nature, 306(5945), 743–746. (ch. 7, ch. 15) [not seen] — the location is confirmed in the footnote of the same authors' follow-up article (1992, n. 2); the position itself has been checked in full in that follow-up.
Humphreys, C. J., & Waddington, W. G. (1992). The Jewish calendar, a lunar eclipse and the date of Christ's crucifixion. Tyndale Bulletin, 43(2), 331–351. Used: esp. pp. 336, 345. (ch. 1, ch. 7, ch. 8, ch. 15) [seen in the original] — the article has been read in full and the load-bearing pages checked word for word: p. 336 ("we possess no historical reports as to the proclamation of leap-months in the years AD 26–36"; "Nisan 14 would not fall on a Friday in any year") and p. 345 (Table 3, where the eclipse of 25 April AD 31 is listed at 35 % — recorded by the authors themselves as a Wednesday).
Jachowski, R. J. (2015). The death of Herod the Great and the Latin Josephus: Re-examining the twenty-second year of Tiberius. Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism, 11, 9–18. (ch. 9)
Jaubert, A. (1957). La date de la Cène: Calendrier biblique et liturgie chrétienne. J. Gabalda. [English ed.: The date of the Last Supper, Alba House, 1965.] (ch. 5, ch. 6)
Jeremias, J. (1960). Die Abendmahlsworte Jesu (3rd ed., pp. 30–35). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. [English ed.: The Eucharistic words of Jesus, SCM Press, 1966.] (ch. 1) [seen in the original] — the load-bearing pages (32, 35) checked in consulted scans.
Kagan, E., Stein, M., Agnon, A., & Neumann, F. (2011). Intrabasin paleoearthquake and quiescence correlation of the late Holocene Dead Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research, 116, B04311. (ch. 12) [seen in the original] — checked at first hand in the geological literature.
Klein, R. W. (1983). 1 Samuel (Word Biblical Commentary 10). Word Books. Used: pp. 279–288, esp. note 13.a. (ch. 3) [text layer seen] — note 13.a reads v. 13 as elapsed time and supplies הַיָּמִים from Hebrew mss, LXX, Old Latin, Peshitta and Targum, with the cross-reference to 1 Sam 9:20; the printed page image has not been seen.
Klever, D. R. R. (2025). Zur Chronologie der Geschichte Israels im Zeitalter des Zweiten Tempels: Bd. I. Die Grundlagen der jüdischen Zeitrechnung, Halbbd. 1. Kalender und Sabbatjahrchronologie nebst Sabbaten und Festen, Halbfesten und Fasttagen [August 2026 version]. BoD – Books on Demand. (ch. 17, appendix E) [seen in the original] — supplied as a complete PDF; the load-bearing pages checked: the intercalation rules pp. 57–72 (esp. p. 65 with nn. 252 and 254), the sabbatical years pp. 147–149 and 217, the calendar table of chapter IV on pp. 274–277 in the page image, because there the type size alone separates main from secondary options.
Kraeling. (1942). Anglican Theological Review, 24, 345–346 (n. 18: "no coins prove it", on the Tiberius coin-count). (ch. 9) — the author's initials and article title do not appear in the source line of ch. 9; not reconstructed here.
Kubitschek, W. (1890). Jahrzählung und Jahranfang im römischen Makedonien. Archäologisch-epigraphische Mittheilungen aus Österreich-Ungarn, 13(1), 120–124. (Concerns the Macedonian era; expressly warns that "Macedonian" datings elsewhere refer to derived calendars.) (ch. 9)
Kushnir-Stein, A. (1995). Another look at Josephus' evidence for the date of Herod's death. Scripta Classica Israelica, 14, 73–86. (ch. 10) ⚠ Not collated at first hand; its drift paraphrased. Her charge against Barnes — that he inverts Lichtenstein's attribution — has been confirmed on Lichtenstein himself (pp. 293–294).
Lanser, R. (2021). The Parthian War paradigm and the reign of Herod the Great. Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin, 66, 21–36. (Refutes, with Appian BC 5.65 and Livy Per. 127, Steinmann and Young's claim that Ventidius left only after Misenum. His own reconstruction — Ventidius in Judea in 40, Herod named king in early October 40 — does not stand against Josephus' winter, Ant. 14.376 and War 1.279, nor against Dio 48.41.4–5.) (chs. 9, 10)
Lanser, R. (2026, January 13). The first regnal year of Tiberius as indicated on Roman coins [Daniel 9:24–27 Project]. Associates for Biblical Research. (Revives the co-regency count; on the Antiochene Silanus coins themselves, however, Tiberius' year 1 begins in AD 14/15.) (ch. 9)
Lehmann, K. (1968). Auferweckt am dritten Tag nach der Schrift (Quaestiones Disputatae 38). Herder. (ch. 13)
Liddell, H. G., Scott, R., & Jones, H. S. (1940). A Greek-English lexicon (9th ed., s.v. ἄγω). Clarendon Press. (ch. 13)
Lightfoot, J. (1658). Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae (ad Matthew 12:40). Cambridge. (ch. 3) [the Latin read in the text layer of the scan, not on the page image] — the two locations verified; and the note itself ad Mt 12:40 read in the Latin of the collected edition Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae in quatuor evangelistas (1675), In Evangelium Matthaei cap. XII, vers. 40, and collated against Gandell's English translation of the same note (ed. R. Gandell, Oxford University Press, 1859, vol. II, pp. 209–211), with which it agrees word for word. Lightfoot concedes the shortfall himself (cùm duæ tantùm noctes intercesserint, et dies completus tantum unus) and covers the extension by usage (suffragante Scholarum consensu, dialecto gentis); the onah rule of y. Shabbat 9:3 is the only rabbinic source he adduces.
McArthur, H. K. (1971). "On the third day". New Testament Studies, 18(1), 81–86. (ch. 13)
McCarter, P. K. (1980). I Samuel (Anchor Bible 8). Doubleday. Used: pp. 429–438. (ch. 3) [text layer seen] — renders v. 13 "three days ago" and leaves the MT untouched; the textual notes pass from v. 12 to v. 14 (no Greek variant on v. 13).
Husband, R. W. (1915). The prosecution of Jesus: Its date, history and legality. Princeton University Press. (ch. 9) ⚠ not inspected — named here solely because Reis (2025) adduces him beside Steinmann for reckoning Tiberius's regnal years from AD 14. This book does not rest on Husband at that point.
Maxwell, C. M. (1981). God cares (Vol. 1, pp. 260–263). Pacific Press. (ch. 15) ⚠ not inspected — named on Reis's report and reference, solely in order to distinguish this book from him: Maxwell puts the crucifixion on Nisan 14 and on a Friday, and must therefore shift the beginning of Nisan by three days. This book shifts no month-beginning.
Meier, J. P. (1991). A marginal Jew: Rethinking the historical Jesus (Vol. 1, pp. 384–386). Doubleday. (Reckons Tiberius' years inclusively from the sole rule and arrives at AD 28, not at autumn 27. His position is established here on concurring secondary reports; his own pages have not been seen, and he is therefore not quoted.) (ch. 9) [not seen]
Merx, A. (1902). Die vier kanonischen Evangelien nach ihrem ältesten bekannten Texte (Part II, vol. 1: Erläuterung — Matthäus). Georg Reimer. Used: pp. 372–381. (ch. 6)
Merx, A. (1905). Die vier kanonischen Evangelien nach ihrem ältesten bekannten Texte (Part II, vol. 2: Erläuterung — Markus und Lukas). Georg Reimer. Used: pp. 22–28, 424–426, 509 (ch. 4, ch. 5); pp. 526–528 (Luke 24:21 as a "künstlich verschrobene Konstruktion"; the three Syriac witnesses "ecce tres dies", ch. 13). (ch. 4, ch. 5, ch. 13) [seen in the original] — German read at first hand (ch. 13).
Migowski, C., Agnon, A., Bookman, R., Negendank, J. F. W., & Stein, M. (2004). Recurrence pattern of Holocene earthquakes along the Dead Sea transform. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 222(1), 301–314. (ch. 12)
Mommsen, T. (1887). Römisches Staatsrecht (Bd. 2, Abt. 2, 3rd ed., pp. 802–804). S. Hirzel. (ch. 9) — the pages cited treat the Bildnissrecht, not the Syrian regnal-year count.
Niese, B. (Ed.). (1887–1890). Flavii Iosephi opera (critical edition with apparatus). Weidmann. Used: Vol. 1, Antiquitatum Iudaicarum libri I–V, p. 207 (Ant. 3.248, with apparatus and the testimonium line to Lev. 23:5; ch. 8, appendix A); Vol. 4, libri XVI–XX, p. 160 (Ant. 18.106; ch. 9). (ch. 8, ch. 9; appendix A) [seen in the original — page image with apparatus]
Odeh, M. Sh. (2004). New criterion for lunar crescent visibility. Experimental Astronomy, 18, 39–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-005-9002-5 (ch. 7)
Ogg, G. (1940). The chronology of the public ministry of Jesus. Cambridge University Press. (ch. 14)
Milgrom, J. (2001). Leviticus 23–27: A new translation with introduction and commentary (Anchor Yale Bible 3B). Doubleday. Used: pp. 1983 and 2062. (ch. 8) [seen in the original] — both pages read at first hand from page images (5 Sept. 2026). p. 2062 gives the regional spread ("three to four weeks later" in the hill country than in the Jordan Valley); p. 1983 gives the threshold ("the ʿomer is not ripe barley, but the color of ripe barley", with Dalman 1928: 1.456–57) and the limitation Reis cuts away: "Only in low-lying areas (the coast and the Jordan and Jezreel valleys) does the barley ripen in mid-April" (Dalman 1928: 1.415). ⚠ Reis (2025) cites this page under a volume title that does not exist ("Leviticus 17–23").
Neugebauer, O., & Van Hoesen, H. B. (1959). Greek horoscopes (Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society 48). American Philosophical Society. Used: No. L 120,II, p. 116. (appendix D) [seen in the original]
Newton, I. (1733). Observations upon the prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John (part I, chapter XI). J. Darby & T. Browne. (ch. 1, ch. 8) [seen in the original] — chapter XI read at first hand in the normalized transcription of the Newton Project (Oxford, `THEM00205`), 5 Sept. 2026. ⚠ The printed 1733 edition itself, p. 164, has not been physically inspected; the quotations rest on that transcription. Used: the exclusion of AD 31 ("the Passion cannot fall on friday, without [...]"), the exclusion of AD 33 on the ripeness of the corn, his conclusion on AD 34, and his month-beginning "not at the true conjunction, but at the first appearance of the new moon".
de Oliveira, J. R. (2004). Chronological studies related to Daniel 8:14 and 9:24–27 (p. 46). Imprensa Universitária Adventista. (ch. 15) ⚠ not inspected — named on Reis's report and reference, solely in order to distinguish this book from him: de Oliveira puts the crucifixion on Nisan 15 and moves the Passover to Thursday 26 April 31. This book puts the crucifixion on Nisan 14.
Parker, R. A. (1944). Ancient Jewish calendation: A criticism. Journal of Biblical Literature, 63(2), 173–176. Used: pp. 173–174. (ch. 7) [seen in the original] — ch. 7 quotes Parker verbatim ("subtracts 37 minutes"), reproduces his seven-year Jerusalem table (pp. 173–174) and recomputes it: the reproduction agrees to the day in all seven years (source note, ch. 7).
Plummer, A. (1896). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to S. Luke (International Critical Commentary; ad Lucam 24:21). T&T Clark. (ch. 13) — And ad Lucam 3:23, pp. 102–103: "about thirty" from twenty-eight to thirty-two. (ch. 10)
Schäfer, P. (2007). Jesus in the Talmud. Princeton University Press. (ch. 5)
Schmidt, T. C. (2025). Josephus and Jesus: New evidence for the one called Christ. Oxford University Press. Used: esp. App. 3, pp. 249–254. (ch. 1, ch. 2) [seen in the original] — established in the full text of the monograph (ch. 1, ch. 2).
Schwartz, E. (1905). Christliche und jüdische Ostertafeln (Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, philologisch-historische Klasse, N.F. 8.6). Weidmann. (ch. 15) [secondary] — edition of the Sardica document (codex Veronensis 60); here via Stern (2001), not consulted at first hand.
Sigl, M., Winstrup, M., McConnell, J. R., Welten, K. C., Plunkett, G., Ludlow, F., [...] Woodruff, T. E. (2015). Timing and climate forcing of volcanic eruptions for the past 2,500 years. Nature, 523(7562), 543–549. (ch. 12) [seen in the original] — the ice-core reconstruction (eVolv2k) checked at first hand.
Reis, A. (2025). The chronology of the crucifixion: An updated Adventist view. Self-published. Used: pp. 6, 8, 14–16, 18. (chs. 8, 11, 15; appendix C, appendix D) [seen in the original] — the entire article (22 pp.) read at first hand, 5 Sept. 2026. The sharpest, most recent and best documented public attack on AD 31 this dossier holds. He rejects AD 31 and arrives at Friday 3 April 33; his hypothetical Adar II computation for AD 31 nevertheless lands on "Passover/Nisan 15 no later than Wednesday, April 25, 31 AD at sunset" (p. 16), and his own reason for discarding it is that it yields no Friday. His weekdays have been recomputed and are correct; his Nisan 15 of AD 30 is out by one day (`reis_a8_narekening.py`).
Schaefer, B. E. (1990). Lunar visibility and the crucifixion. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, 31(1), 53–67. Used: Table I on p. 57, the definitions on p. 58, the comparison on p. 59, and the eclipse conclusion on pp. 65–66. (chs. 7, 8, 12; appendix C) [seen in the original] — read at first hand from page images, 5 Sept. 2026 (the PDF has no text layer). Used: his visibility measure R and the confidence ratio R/DR > 2.5; the values for 12 March 31 (−1.3 ± 0.4) and 11 April 31 (+0.9 ± 0.3); his statement that 23 March 30 belongs to the cases of which "the visibility in Jerusalem is not certain" (p. 59); his refusal to determine which lunation was Nisan (p. 58); and his verdict on the lunar eclipse of 3 April 33: "at no time during the eclipse would even a serious and experienced observer in Jerusalem have realized that an eclipse was occurring" (p. 65).
Schürer, E., Vermes, G., Millar, F., & Black, M. (1973–1987). The history of the Jewish people in the age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C.–A.D. 135) (rev. ed., Vols. 1–3). T&T Clark. Used: I 200–201 n. 1; I 326–327 n. 165 (the inclusive counting rule). (ch. 10) [not seen — via Cameron, 2018]
Steinmann, A. E. (2022a). Reckoning Tiberius's reign and Jesus's baptism: First- and second-century evidence concerning Tiberius's fifteenth year (Luke 3:1). Tyndale Bulletin, 73, 91–118. https://doi.org/10.53751/001c.37789 (ch. 9, ch. 14; appendix E) [seen in the original] — pp. 115–116 checked at first hand: "no evidence for inclusive reckoning of Tiberius's reign" (p. 115), and a conclusion that excludes AD 30 and AD 31 by name and supports AD 33 (p. 116). His corpus is Roman, Greek and Egyptian and contains no Jewish halakhic material. The two arguments of the article are carried separately in this book: the first is registered as a finding in its favour (appendix E.5), the second against it, in the main text of ch. 9 and not in a footnote.
Steinmann, A. E. (2022b). The temple built in forty-six years: John 2:20 and the date of Jesus' first Passover. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 65(2), 319–331. (ch. 9)
Steinmann, A. E., & Young, R. C. (2020). Consular and sabbatical years in Herod's life. Bibliotheca Sacra, 177(708), 442–461. (ch. 9)
Stephenson, F. R. (1997). Historical eclipses and Earth's rotation. Cambridge University Press. (ch. 12)
Stern, S. (2000). The Babylonian calendar at Elephantine. Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 130, 159–171. Used: p. 171 n. 69 (the Egyptian practice: Aristobulus and Philo, Passover at or around the equinox). (ch. 8, ch. 15; appendix C) [seen in the original]
Stern, S. (2001). Calendar and community: A history of the Jewish calendar, 2nd century BCE–10th century CE. Oxford University Press. Used: esp. pp. 51, 55, 61–62, 70, and pp. 92–93 with n. 333. (ch. 7, ch. 8, ch. 9, ch. 15, ch. 16; appendix A) [seen in the original] — consulted at first hand (ch. 15). pp. 92–93 with n. 333 read at first hand for ch. 9: Nero's second regnal year "may have begun, according to the Jewish computation, in Nisan of 55 CE", pace Benoit, Milik and de Vaux 1961: 103, with m. RH 1:1, y. RH 1:1 (56b) and b. RH 2a–b named as the rabbinic evidence — and with Stern's own "may have begun" and his caution that "the possibility of scribal error must always be taken into account". y. RH 1:1 (56b) consulted on 28 September 2026 (Sefaria, Guggenheimer, Hebrew and English): the Nisan rule extended to the kings of the nations (R. Eleazar in the name of R. Ḥanina), against Rav Ḥisda in b. RH 3a (ch. 9). Further, pp. 51, 55 and 61 read on the page for ch. 8 and appendix A.1b: Anatolius' attribution of the rule of the equinox to Philo and Josephus "is actually debatable" (p. 51), the Nisan/Pharmuthi equation of Ant. 2.311 with Pharmuthi beginning on 27 March (p. 55, nn. 216 and 218), and "this rule is not explicitly enunciated in any of their works" (p. 61).
Strack, H. L. (1911). Pesaḥim: Der Mischnatraktat "Passafest" (Schriften des Institutum Judaicum; p. 26, n. 15). J. C. Hinrichs. (ch. 5)
Strashny, A. (2017). Modern searches for Aviv barley in the context of the Hebrew calendar: A first description of the Israeli barley observation data. Jewish Bible Quarterly, 45(3), 179–187. (ch. 8) [seen in the original] — the whole article read primarily (5 Sep 2026); table 1 (seventeen years) and table 2 (the summary) checked, and the author's own limits taken over: Gordon's working definition of aviv, the unreliable years before 2000, and the small number of years.
Thayer, J. H. (1889). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament (s.v. ἄγω). Harper & Brothers. (ch. 13)
Theodor, J., & Albeck, Ch. (Eds.). (1912–1936). Bereschit Rabba: Midrasch Bereschit Rabba mit kritischem Apparat und Kommentar (Bd. 2, p. 595). (ch. 3) [seen in the original] — critical edition; the printed page seen at first hand.
Toohey, M., & Sigl, M. (2017). Volcanic stratospheric sulfur injections and aerosol optical depth from 500 BCE to 1900 CE (eVolv2k). Earth System Science Data, 9, 809–831. (ch. 12) [seen in the original] — eVolv2k v4 checked at first hand.
Van Voorst, R. E. (2000). Jesus outside the New Testament: An introduction to the ancient evidence. Eerdmans. (ch. 12)
Walker, N. (1960). "After three days". Novum Testamentum, 4(4), 261–262. (ch. 13) [not seen] — the location has been verified with the publisher itself; that Walker disputes the equation of "after three days" and "on the third day" rests on McArthur's footnote (1971, p. 85, n. 1) and is therefore [secondary].
Williams, A. L. (1935). Adversus Judaeos: A bird's-eye view of Christian apologiae until the Renaissance (p. 108). Cambridge University Press. (ch. 3)
Williams, J. B., Schwab, M. J., & Brauer, A. (2012). An early first-century earthquake in the Dead Sea. International Geology Review, 54(10), 1219–1228. (ch. 12) [seen in the original] — checked at first hand in the geological literature.
Yallop, B. D. (1997). A method for predicting the first sighting of the new crescent moon (NAO Technical Note No. 69). HM Nautical Almanac Office. (ch. 7)
G.3 · What this register does not deliver
- No reading log. The mark [seen in the original] says that the passage cited has been checked in the source itself, or that the work was consulted at first hand — it does not say that the whole work has been read through. The sharpest example stands in appendix A: Parker & Dubberstein has been checked in the source itself on its load-bearing pages, but the full table for AD 26–36 has not been worked through in its entirety. - No status where the chapters give none. Where an accountability note describes a group of sources collectively — "consulted in the source itself or through a named scholarly rendering" (ch. 3, ch. 6) — the mark has been granted only to the titles named there specifically as checked at first hand. Unmarked therefore means "no explicit status" — neither "not consulted" nor "in fact seen". - No weight. Inclusion in this register says nothing about a source's evidential force. The weighing stands in Chapter 16 and appendix F; some of the sources registered here are expressly deployed in the chapters as colour, as reception, or as the position of the opposing side — not as support. - No complete bibliography of the field. The register contains what the source lines of the chapters and appendices name. Works that appear only in passing in the running text — such as Schoch's visibility criterion, of which no edition is cited — figure here at most by name.
*This appendix gathers all the sources on which the chapters rely: first the primary texts — biblical, early-Christian / patristic, Jewish / rabbinic, Graeco-Roman and documentary-astronomical — with the editions used, then the modern scholarly literature, alphabetical and de-duplicated. Two marks run alongside the entries. [seen in the original] means: the chapter concerned states explicitly that the passage cited has been checked in the source itself, or that the work was consulted at first hand. [secondary] means: the chapter itself flags the source as not (fully) verified against the original. Anything without a mark received no explicit status in the chapters — and none has been imputed to it here. After each source stand the chapters in which it bears weight.*
G.1 · Primary sources
G.1.1 · Biblical texts and editions
The biblical text has been checked throughout in the original languages (ch. 3, ch. 4, ch. 13); all Bible renderings in this book are the author's own working translations from the Hebrew and the Greek. [seen in the original]
Editions.
- Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) — Hebrew Old Testament. - Novum Testamentum Graece (Nestle-Aland, NA28), including the critical apparatus (ad Joh. 5:1, ch. 14). - Rahlfs, A. (Ed.). Septuaginta. - Biblia Sacra iuxta Vulgatam versionem (R. Weber & R. Gryson, Eds.). (1994). Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft. (ch. 3, ad 1 Sam. 30:13) - Targum Jonathan on the Prophets — Mikraot Gedolot text via Sefaria, with the English rendering of E. van Staalduine-Sulman, The Targum of Samuel (Brill, 2002). (ch. 3, ad 1 Sam. 30:12–13) [seen in the original] — Aramaic. - Peshitta — Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon (cal.huc.edu, file 62008 [P 1S]). (ch. 3, ad 1 Sam. 30:12–13) [seen in the original] — Aramaic. - Peshitta, ad Lucam 24:21 — Syriac text with SEDRA/CAL morphology (Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon / dukhrana.com). (ch. 13, ad Luke 24:21) [seen in the original] — Aramaic; cardinal "three days", verbless, parsed at first hand. - Codex Sinaiticus (ℵ), reading ad Lucam 24:21; alongside it Codex Bezae and the Old Syriac versions. These text-critical witnesses have in part not been verified against the manuscripts themselves and are expressly adduced in ch. 13 as lowering the price, not as decisive. [secondary]
Old Testament (cumulative across the chapters): Genesis 1:14; 7:4, 12; 9:12; 42:17–18 · Exodus 12:3, 13; 24:18; 32:1; 34:28 · Leviticus 2:14; 23 (esp. 5–7, 15); 25 (esp. 8) · Deuteronomy 9:9, 11, 18, 25; 18:21–22 · 1 Samuel 9:20; 30:1, 12–13 · 1 Kings 19:8 · 2 Chronicles 36:21 · Ezra 4:7–23; 7:7; 8:32–33; 9:9 · Nehemiah 1:1; 2:1 · Esther 4:16; 5:1 (appendix B) · Job 2:13 · Isaiah 7:11–14 · Daniel 9:24–27 · Hosea 6:2 · Joel 2:31 · Amos 1:1; 8:8–10 · Jonah 1:17.
New Testament (cumulative across the chapters): Matthew 12:1, 38–40; 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 21:1; 27:41, 51–54, 64; 28:1, 6 · Mark 2:23, 28; 8:31; 9:31; 10:34; 11:1; 14:12, 26, 58; 15:21, 25, 31, 33–37, 42; 16:1–2, 9 · Luke 3:1, 23; 6:1; 9:22; 11:30, 32; 13:32; 18:12, 33; 22:8; 23:56; 24:1, 7, 21, 25–27, 46 · John 2:13, 19–20; 4:35; 5:1; 6:4; 11:55; 12:1; 18:28; 19:14, 31, 42; 20:1 · Acts 1:12; 2:1, 20; 10:30, 40; 20:7 · 1 Corinthians 5:7; 15:4, 20; 16:2 · 2 Peter 3:1.
G.1.2 · Early-Christian and patristic
- Didache 8:1 — the Wednesday fast around AD 100, adduced in ch. 6 as corroboration of the midweek line. (ch. 6) [secondary] — not [seen in the original]: ch. 6's source note names only Justin, the Didascalia, the Constitutions and Gregory as checked at first hand, and for Didache 8:1 no edition is cited nor primary verification claimed. It bears as corroboration (CONSTRUED), not as a primary support. - Martyrium Polycarpi 7.1. (ch. 13) [seen in translation] ⚠ the Greek has not been inspected. - Justin Martyr, Apologia I 67 — Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. I (1885). Christian Literature Company. (ch. 6) [seen in translation] ⚠ the Greek has not been inspected. - Irenaeus of Lyons, Adversus Haereses II.22.3, 6; V.31 — Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. I (A. Roberts & J. Donaldson, Eds., 1885). Christian Literature Company. (ch. 3, ch. 6, ch. 9, ch. 14) [seen in the original] — in translation; the Greek is a checkpoint still to be closed (ch. 14). - Clement of Alexandria, Stromata I.21. (ch. 6) - Tertullian, Adversus Iudaeos 8. (ch. 6) - Julius Africanus, Chronographiae — transmitted via Georgius Syncellus; carrier of the Thallus fragment. (ch. 6, ch. 12) [seen in the original] — the passages checked in the transmitter (ch. 12). - Origen, Commentarii in Joannem XIII — Greek, in Preuschen's text (GCS 10), consulted through Perseus/Scaife. (appendix E.3) [seen in the original — Greek] — he does not pose the question of proverb or season at all, but adduces John 4:35 as a lemma and passes to allegory; his own phrase ἡ ἐλπιζομένη τετράμηνος, "the expected four months", presupposes a real term still to run. He cannot be carried as a witness for the proverb, and only weakly and indirectly for the season. ⚠ Book XIII is not in the Ante-Nicene Fathers: the Menzies translation there (vol. IX) covers only books I, II, VI and X. An English text exists only in Heine, FOTC 89, which has not been consulted; nor has Migne, PG 14, nor the concordance of the Perseus section numbering with the paragraph numbering of Heine and Blanc. - Origen, Contra Celsum 2.33, 59 — carrier of the Phlegon fragment. (ch. 12) [seen in translation] ⚠ the Greek has not been inspected; the fragment carries here through its transmitter. - Didascalia Apostolorum, ch. 21 — R. H. Connolly (Trans.). (1929). Didascalia Apostolorum: The Syriac version translated and accompanied by the Verona Latin fragments. Clarendon Press; alongside it the Lagarde text. (ch. 6) [seen in the original] - Constitutiones Apostolorum V.14–18; VII.23 — Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. VII (J. Donaldson & A. Roberts, Eds., 1886). Christian Literature Company. (ch. 6) [seen in the original] - Eusebius of Caesarea: - Historia Ecclesiastica 7.32 — K. Lake & J. E. L. Oulton (Trans.). (1932). Loeb Classical Library. Harvard University Press. (ch. 8) [seen in the original] — Greek. ⚠ For the Anatolius passage the measure of ch. 8 applies: rule A (Anatolius' own canon — the first month not before the equinox) counts solely as one ancient equinox rule and rests on the independently measurable Babylonian tables (Parker & Dubberstein; Stern), not on Anatolius' authority; rule B (the attribution of the equinox rule to Philo, Josephus and the ancients, 7.32.16–17) bears as reception, not as support — the same discount that strikes ps.-Chrysostom below. - Historia Ecclesiastica 5.23–25 (Polycrates of Ephesus; Melito of Sardis; the quartodeciman controversy) — cited via Beckwith (1996). (ch. 15) [secondary] — not re-read line by line in this study; bears via Beckwith's discussion (ch. 15). - Demonstratio Evangelica 8.2 — W. J. Ferrar (Trans.). (1920). The proof of the Gospel. SPCK. (ch. 9, ch. 14, ch. 15) [seen in the original] — in translation (ch. 14). - Chronicon. (ch. 6, ch. 15) - Peter of Alexandria, fragment V (On the Passover, the letter to Tricentius) — the fragment on the post-70 calendar change. Greek: L. Dindorf (Ed.), Chronicon Paschale (Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae), Bonn 1832, vol. 1, pp. 4–7, where the piece stands in the prologue with the Latin alongside; English in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. VI. (ch. 15) [seen in the original — Greek page image] — the decisive sentence read in the Greek: the ancients slew the Passover μετὰ τὴν ἰσημερίαν, "whereas those of the present day do it πρὸ ἰσημερίας". ⚠ The authenticity is disputed: the fragment is transmitted in the prologue of the seventh-century Chronicon Paschale and is classified as "Pseudo-Peter". It can bear defensively only, and it cuts both ways — if Peter falls as a witness, he falls for both sides, and the scholarship that adduces him for the opposite conclusion loses him too. - [Ps.-]John Chrysostom, Oratio in Pascha VII — Migne, PG 59, col. 748: "we have wise witnesses, Hebrews such as Philo and Josephus [...], who confirm in their own writings that the Passover cannot accurately fall otherwise than after the vernal equinox has set in". [seen in the original — the column itself] — ⚠ a witness of reception, not a support. It shows how a fourth-century reader read Philo and Josephus, not what those two wrote; his attribution is as free as Anatolius', and by the measure of ch. 8 he therefore carries no evidential weight on either side. Registered here because the passage is sometimes adduced as confirmation; this book does not so adduce it. - Augustine of Hippo, De Trinitate IV.6.10 — the thirty-six-hour count of the Friday dating; Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 3. (ch. 15) [seen in the original] — cited in translation; adduced solely as a mirror-construal (CONSTRUED, ch. 15). - Epiphanius of Salamis, De Fide 22 (the Wednesday fast "because the Lord was seized on the Wednesday morning"); Panarion 51. (ch. 6) [secondary] — not [seen in the original]: adduced in ch. 6 as corroboration, but the source note does not count Epiphanius among the titles checked at first hand and cites no edition. It bears as corroboration (CONSTRUED), not as a primary support. - Jerome, Chronicon — carrier of the Phlegon fragment. (ch. 12) [seen in translation] ⚠ the Latin has not been read line by line; the fragment carries here through its transmitter. - Orosius, Historiae adversus paganos VII.4. (ch. 6, ch. 12) - Gregory of Tours, Libri historiarum X, book I, ch. 23 — B. Krusch & W. Levison (Eds.). (1951). MGH SS rer. Merov. I.1. Hahn. (ch. 6) [seen in the original] — Latin.
G.1.3 · Jewish — Second Temple and rabbinic
- Dead Sea Scrolls: 4Q252, cols. I–II (the flood calendar); 11QMelchizedek (11Q13) — F. García Martínez & E. J. C. Tigchelaar (Eds. & Trans.). (1997–1998). The Dead Sea Scrolls study edition (2 vols.). Brill. (ch. 17; appendix B)
- 1QSa (Rule of the Congregation) 1:12–15 and CD (Damascus Document) X 4–10 — the ages of service, of lawsuits and of judges: G. Vermes (Trans.), The complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, for 1QSa; CD in translation. (ch. 10) [secondary — translation] - Philo of Alexandria — Greek text throughout: L. Cohn & P. Wendland (Eds.), Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt (1896–1906), Georg Reimer, with the critical apparatus. The six equinox passages of ch. 8 were read on the page image itself: - De opificio mundi 116 (vol. 1, p. 41) — the vernal equinox "in Aries", and each of the two equinoxes taking place "in a seventh month". (ch. 8) [seen in the original — Greek page image with apparatus] - De Decalogo 161 (vol. 4, p. 304) — the equinox feasts "many-dayed" (πολυήμεροι), "each of them for seven days". (ch. 8) [seen in the original — Greek page image with apparatus] - De specialibus legibus 2.26 — the moon that "begins to shine at the noumenia" → month-start at first visibility. (ch. 8) [seen in the original] - De specialibus legibus I 181–186 (vol. 5, pp. 44–45) — the καιρός pair; within one equinoctial καιρός the first, the tenth and the fifteenth day. (ch. 8) [seen in the original — Greek page image with apparatus] - De specialibus legibus II 150–153 (vol. 5, p. 122) — why the law calls one month the first. ⚠ At II 153 the κατά of the printed text is Cohn's own conjecture (scripsi in the apparatus); the manuscript and Nicetas' catena both read μετά, "after the equinox" (Colson, LCL 320, p. 398, critical notes 1–2). Ch. 8 therefore cites II 150–152 and does not rest the seasonal reading on §153. (ch. 8) [seen in the original — Greek page image with apparatus; Colson's notes seen at first hand] - De specialibus legibus II 204 (vol. 5, p. 137) — Tabernacles "having as its καιρός that of the autumnal equinox"; the testimonia line gives Nicetas verbatim. (ch. 8) [seen in the original — Greek page image with apparatus] - De vita Mosis II 222–224 (vol. 4, p. 252) — "the beginning of the vernal equinox" as the first month; the apparatus identifies the Chronicon Paschale excerpt with these very lines. (ch. 8) [seen in the original — Greek page image with apparatus] - Quaestiones in Exodum 1.1 — R. Marcus (Trans.), Loeb Classical Library, translated from the Armenian. [secondary — translation from the Armenian] ⚠ Not to be adduced as Greek. Marcus notes that the surviving Greek fragment contains only the sentence about crops and trees, not the equinox sentence; ἀπὸ τῆς ἐαρινῆς ἰσημερίας stands in his own lemma note as a retroversion from the Armenian. The passage carries no weight in the equinox argument and is not used in ch. 8. - Flavius Josephus, Antiquitates Judaicae 2.311; 3.248; 15.354 (Herod's seventeenth year beside Augustus's visit to Syria — the anchor of ch. 9), 15.380, 420–421; 16.163; 18.32–35, 89–90, 106, 120–124. (ch. 8, ch. 9, ch. 13, ch. 14; appendix A) [seen in the original] — tested against the primary source (ch. 9); the Greek material of ch. 13 checked in the source itself. Two places carry separately in ch. 8 and appendix A.1b: Ant. 3.248 (the fourteenth "while the sun is in Aries") — Niese, Flavii Iosephi opera, vol. 1, p. 207, page image with apparatus; the clause is transmitted without variant, and Niese's testimonium line gives Leviticus 23:5 as its biblical source — a verse that does not contain the Aries clause. Ant. 2.311 (Nisan equated with the Egyptian Pharmuthi) — checked in the Greek of the digital critical text, not on the page image of Niese. · Bellum Judaicum 1.401 — ⛔ the counter-figure: the fifteenth year for the temple-building, against the eighteenth at Ant. 15.380. Examined at first hand 6 Sept. 2026; carried in ch. 9 together with the finding that on no epoch does it yield a usable John 2:20 reckoning — no more for AD 30 than for AD 31 or AD 33. — For ch. 10 also: Ant. 17.167–213 (the sequence from the eclipse to the Passover, counted in days), 17.191 = B.J. 1.665 (thirty-four years from the death of Antigonus), 17.342 and Vita 5 (Archelaus deposed in his tenth year) against B.J. 2.111 (his ninth). [seen in the original] - Mishnah: Pesachim 8:6; 10:8 (ch. 5) [seen in the original] — Hebrew/Aramaic; Rosh ha-Shanah 1:1 (the new year for kings on 1 Nisan; the halakhic rule of non-accession reckoning, ch. 9) [seen in the original] — Hebrew; Rosh ha-Shanah 1:7; 2:6–8 (ch. 8); Menachot 10:2; 10:8; 10:9 (ch. 8) — 10:2 the proximity rule with its fallback, 10:8 the men of Jericho, 10:9 the omer "from the moist". Avot 5:21 ("at thirty for strength, at forty for understanding"; ch. 10) [seen in the original] — Hebrew, via Sefaria. - Tosefta: Sanhedrin 2:2, 4, 5, 6. (ch. 5, ch. 8) [seen in the original] — *Machon Mamre* edition, examined segment by segment (5 Sept. 2026). ⚠ The numbering differs by edition: what is here 2:4 and 2:5 stands in Zuckermandel as 2:8 and 2:9. Every reference therefore names its edition. - Babylonian Talmud: Yoma 39b (ch. 14); Pesachim 4a (the mourning-law miqtsat, ch. 3) [seen in the original] — Aramaic; Rosh ha-Shanah 2a (the baraita of the king who acceded on 29 Adar: one day before the new year counts as a whole regnal year — non-accession, inclusive reckoning, li-shetarot, "for documents"; ch. 9) [seen in the original] — Hebrew/Aramaic; Sanhedrin 11a–b, 12a (ch. 8) [seen in the original] — 11a–b examined at first hand in the Aramaic (5 Sept. 2026): the baraita of the three signs with the two-of-three rule, and — as a separate baraita — that of the three regions in the same form. ⚠ The equinox requirement there connected with intercalation concerns the autumn tequfah and Sukkot; R. Shimon ben Gamliel's "for the equinox" remains teiku. 12a has not been read line by line.; Sanhedrin 41a (ch. 14); Sanhedrin 43a (ch. 5) [seen in the original]; Shabbat 86b ("six full onot", ch. 3) [seen in the original] — Hebrew/Aramaic; Shabbat 34b (the baraita on bein ha-shemashot: twilight a safek, "the stringencies of both days" imposed on it; ch. 13) [seen in the original] — Aramaic, via Sefaria's William Davidson text, a digital and not a critical edition, without apparatus. Ch. 13 names it in order to decline it: a status rule does not carry over to a narrative duration, and that limit is the same one ch. 3 applies to the onah rule. — Added 28 Sept. 2026, all via Sefaria with the Aramaic/Hebrew text: Rosh ha-Shanah 3a–4a (Rav Ḥisda: the Nisan rule "only for the kings of Israel", the kings of the nations counted from Tishri, derived from Nehemiah 1:1 and 2:1; the objections from Haggai and Ezra and the ad hoc answers) and 8a (Rav Pappa: "new year for years" = for documents; Nisan for Israel's kings, Tishri for the nations'; ch. 9); Chullin 24a ("twenty-five for apprenticeship and thirty for service"; priests fit from puberty), Sotah 22b (no rulings until forty), Sanhedrin 17a (members "of age"), Berakhot 28a (R. Eleazar ben Azariah at eighteen) (ch. 10) [seen in the original]. - Jerusalem Talmud: Rosh ha-Shanah 1:1 (56b) — R. Eleazar in the name of R. Ḥanina: the kings of the nations, too, counted from Nisan, derived from Haggai 1:15 and Zechariah 1:1; via Sefaria, Guggenheimer, with the Hebrew text. (ch. 9, ch. 17) [seen in the original] — Shabbat 9:3 (the "onah" rule) — H. W. Guggenheimer (Trans.), via Sefaria. (ch. 3; appendix B) [seen in the original] — Aramaic/Hebrew; the text bearing the onah treatment. Ch. 3's source note marks it expressly as "checked against the Aramaic/Hebrew itself". - Midrash: Genesis Rabbah (Bereshit Rabbah) 56:1; 91:7 (ch. 3); 100:7 — via Sefaria, with the Hebrew base text (ch. 3, ch. 13) [seen in the original]; Midrash Tehillim 22 (appendix B). - Seder Olam Rabbah 6 — via Sefaria, with the Hebrew base text; the triple forty-day count recomputed by hand. (ch. 3) [seen in the original] — Hebrew. - Medieval rabbinic: - Rashi (Shlomo Yitzhaki, 11th century), Commentary on the Torah on Genesis 7:12 and Exodus 32:1 — via Sefaria, with the Hebrew base text. (ch. 3) [seen in the original] - S. H. Alkabetz (16th century), Menot HaLevi on Esther 4:16 — via Sefaria. (ch. 3; appendix B) - Maharal, Ohr Chadash on Esther 4:16. (appendix B) - Yosef Chayyim of Baghdad, Ben Yehoyada on Bava Batra — via Sefaria. (ch. 3; appendix B) - Nizzahon Vetus, §201 — D. Berger (Ed. & Trans.). (1979). The Jewish-Christian debate in the High Middle Ages: A critical edition of the Nizzahon Vetus. Jewish Publication Society; earlier printing: J. C. Wagenseil (1681), Tela ignea Satanae. Altdorf. (ch. 3) - Otot ha-Mashiach (before 1050) — via Maagarim. (appendix B) - Text corpora: Sefaria (the Davidson edition) and Maagarim (the Academy of the Hebrew Language) — the hits of the corpus sweep were consulted there at first hand. (ch. 5; appendix B) [seen in the original]
G.1.4 · Graeco-Roman
- Cassius Dio, Historia Romana 54.7; 58.28.5. (ch. 9) [seen in the original] — tested against the primary source. 55.10a.4: Gaius in Syria "acting as consul", AD 1 — not "on 1 January at Antioch", which is Barnes' reconstruction. (ch. 10) [seen in the original — Loeb] - Plutarch, Antony 36.1–2 — the beheading of Antigonus, in Syria, winter 37/36 BC. (ch. 10) [seen in the original — Greek, Perseus] - Vettius Valens, Anthologiae I.9 — D. Pingree (Ed.). (1986). Vettii Valentis Antiocheni Anthologiarum libri novem. Teubner (pp. 25–26) = I.10 in W. Kroll (Ed.). (1908). Weidmann (p. 26). The worked example: Mechir 13 of Hadrian 4 = 8 February 120, the day of Hermes. (appendix D) [seen in the original — Pingree; Kroll via its table of contents] - CIL IV 4182 — the Pompeii graffito of 6 February 60, dies Solis, via the Ancient Graffiti Project. (appendix D) [secondary — AGP transcription] - Phlegon of Tralles — fragment, via Jerome (Chronicon) and Origen (Contra Celsum 2.33, 59). (ch. 12) [seen in the original] — in the transmitters. - Thallus — fragment, via Julius Africanus/Syncellus. (ch. 12) [seen in the original] — in the transmitter.
G.1.5 · Documentary-astronomical
- Parker, R. A., & Dubberstein, W. H. (1946). Babylonian chronology 626 B.C.–A.D. 45 (Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 24). University of Chicago Press. [3rd ed. 1956, to A.D. 75.] Used: pp. 42, 46. (ch. 7, ch. 8, ch. 15; appendix A) [seen in the original] — checked in the source itself (ch. 15); the full table has since been worked through for 200 BC–AD 45, the end of the table in SAOC 24, in the machine-readable edition corrected against SAOC 24 (28 Sept. 2026; appendix A.6). - Ptolemy's canon — accession of Artaxerxes I, 465 BC. (ch. 17) - P.Oxy. VII 1021 — announcement of Nero's accession (carrier of the reporting delay in the Tiberius count). (ch. 9) - P. Mur. 18 — the Murabbaʿât acknowledgement of debt dated by a regnal year of Nero; the document registered in advance as the test of the Jewish reckoning, and returning undecided because day and month lie in the lacuna. Edition: Benoit, Milik & de Vaux, Discoveries in the Judaean Desert II (1961), p. 103. (ch. 9; appendix D, appendix E) [seen in the original — p. 103 at first hand]
- Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri (papyri.info, idp.data) — own count of ages given as ὡς (ἐτῶν) + number, 1,919 document–age pairs; ὡσεὶ ἐτῶν + age: no hits. (ch. 10) [CALCULATED — own count, 28 Sept. 2026] - Roman Provincial Coinage I, nos. 4270 (Antioch, Tiberius), 4330 (Seleucia, Tiberius), 4952–4953 (Philip), 4958–4969 (Judaean prefect coins) and 5075–5105 (Alexandria) — the direct numismatic count; 4270 and 4330 are also the Syrian provincial coins on an autumn era; they fix year 1 at 14/15 but cannot separate inclusive from non-inclusive reckoning, since the news came after the new year. (ch. 9, ch. 14) - Ephemerides — all astronomical outcomes in this book are the author's own reproductions (ephem 4.2.1 / Swiss Ephemeris), calibrated against an independent anchor point; the tables stand in appendix A. The crescent-visibility criteria used (Schoch; Yallop, 1997; Odeh, 2004) appear with their full titles in G.2.
G.2 · Scholarly literature (APA)
Amadon, G. (1942). The Johannine-synoptic argument. Journal of Biblical Literature, 61(4), 227–280. (ch. 7)
Anderson, R. (1894). The coming prince. Hodder & Stoughton. (ch. 17)
Athanasius of Alexandria. (ca. 318). De Incarnatione Verbi 26 (SC 199, ed. C. Kannengiesser). (ch. 3) [seen in the original] — the decisive chapter checked at first hand in the Greek (First1KGreek): "one intervening day," counted inclusively, and "not more than three days."
Barnes, T. D. (1968). The date of Herod's death. Journal of Theological Studies, 19(1), 204–209. Used: p. 209 and n. 3. (ch. 10) [seen in the original, page image] — his closing sentence runs verbatim "That Herod died in late March or early April 4 B.C. cannot be disproved. Yet December 5 B.C. is an alternative, equally valid and clearly preferable"; he names 7 Kislev only, not "or 2 Shebat." ⚠ His age argument rests on an emendation: n. 3 records that Ant. xiv 158 reads "15" where his reasoning requires "25" — "Either the text is corrupt and '25' to be read instead of '15', or Josephus has made a bad mistake and the argument based on the passage must lapse."
Barrett, C. K. (1978). The Gospel according to St John (2nd ed.). Westminster Press. (ch. 9)
Bauer, L. (1902). Volksleben im Lande der Bibel. American Tract Society. Used: p. 126 (regional barley-harvest figures). (ch. 8) [seen in the original] — seen at first hand in the scanned edition.
Beckwith, R. T. (1996/2001). Calendar and chronology, Jewish and Christian: Biblical, intertestamental and patristic studies. Brill. Used: esp. p. 289; pp. 282–283 seen primarily (the observation model: "the year was regulated not by calculation but by observation"; and on p. 282 the bounding of Anatolius' list of witnesses: "Josephus merely says that the sun is in the sign of Aries at the Passover [...], which implies that the equinox is past, though he does not insist on the point", and "the only one of these writers who is known to have insisted on the point, treating it as an invariable rule, is the other Alexandrian, Aristobulus" — where Beckwith's Philo reference is to Quaestiones in Exodum 1.1, the passage that survives only in Armenian). (ch. 7, ch. 8, ch. 15)
Bengel, J. A. (1742). Gnomon Novi Testamenti (ad Lucam 24:21). Tübingen. (ch. 13)
Bernegger, P. M. (1983). Affirmation of Herod's death in 4 B.C. Journal of Theological Studies, 34(2), 526–531. (ch. 10)
Benoit, P., Milik, J. T., & de Vaux, R. (1961). Les grottes de Murabbaʿât (Discoveries in the Judaean Desert II). Clarendon Press. Used: p. 103 (P. Mur. 18). (ch. 9; appendix D, appendix E) [seen in the original] — the page seen at first hand: Milik's translation reads "[Le[...] du mois[...] a]n deux de Néron César", the square brackets his own restoration, and day and month both fall in the lacuna; his note reckons "year two of Nero" as 13 October 55 – 12 October 56, the accession-anniversary count, and stands against Stern's reading of the same document.
Beyer, D. W. (1998). Josephus reexamined: Unraveling the twenty-second year of Tiberius. In J. Vardaman (Ed.), Chronos, kairos, Christos II (pp. 85–96). Mercer University Press. (ch. 9)
Blinzler, J. (1969). Der Prozess Jesu (4th ed.). Friedrich Pustet. (ch. 14)
Brooke, A. E., McLean, N., & Thackeray, H. St. J. (Eds.). (1927). The Old Testament in Greek, Vol. II.1: I and II Samuel (the "Larger Cambridge Septuagint"). Cambridge University Press. (ch. 3) [page image seen] — the full Greek apparatus on Samuel; there is as yet no Göttingen Samuel volume. Used: p. 101 (ad 1 Samuel 30:12–13), text and both apparatus sections, read on the page image. ⚠ The archive.org copy does have a text layer, but its OCR renders the Greek in Latin letters; it serves to locate the page, not to quote from.
Brown, R. E. (1966). The Gospel according to John (I–XII) (Anchor Bible 29). Doubleday. (ch. 9)
Bultrighini, I., & Stern, S. (2022). The seven-day week in the Roman Empire: Origins, standardization, and diffusion. In S. Stern (Ed.), Calendars in the making: The origins of calendars from the Roman Empire to the later Middle Ages (Time, Astronomy, and Calendars 10). Brill. (appendix D: CIL IV 4182 and Brind'Amour's explanation) [secondary — read in fragments]
Bureth, P. (1964). Les titulatures impériales dans les papyrus, les ostraca et les inscriptions d'Égypte (30 a.C.–284 p.C.). Fondation Égyptologique Reine Élisabeth. (ch. 9) [page image seen] — pp. 25 (Tibère, an 1 = 14/15), 28–35 (Gaius/Claude/Néron: an 1 = 36/37, 40/41, 54/55; Néron year 14 = O.Bodl. 489 and others), 6 (the abbreviations (pr.)/(sq.)/s.d.).
Buttmann, A. (1873). A grammar of the New Testament Greek (J. H. Thayer, Trans.; p. 118). Warren F. Draper. (ch. 13)
Cameron, D. (2018). Target fixation and the eclipse of Josephus: Towards a re-dating of the death of Herod the Great [Unpublished manuscript]. Academia.edu. (ch. 10: the counting rule in SVM)
Carrier, R. (2012). Thallus and the darkness at Christ's death. Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism, 8, 185–191. (ch. 12)
Chwolson, D. A. (1892). Das letzte Passamahl Christi und der Tag seines Todes. Mémoires de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de St.-Pétersbourg, VIIe série. [2nd, anastatically identical printing: Leipzig 1908, with three added Beilagen.] Used: pp. 6–9 (the four working-day arguments), p. 24 (the instrument "forgotten and restored"), pp. 37–44 (bein ha-arbayim), pp. 60–62 (the omer count), pp. 118–119 (the trial, in the Anhang). (ch. 2, ch. 4, ch. 5, ch. 6) [seen in the original — the 1892 printing itself, with the author's own OCR] Five locations given earlier have turned out to be incorrect and have been replaced. The 1892 edition runs to 146 scan-pages and the corpus reaches to p. 131; a p. 184 and a p. 200 do not exist in it.
Chwolson, D. A. (1895). Hat es jemals irgend einen Grund gegeben, den Rüsttag des jüdischen Passahfestes als πρώτη τῶν ἀζύμων zu bezeichnen? Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Theologie, 38, p. 377 (= Separatabdruck 1895, p. 45); reprinted as a Beilage in Das letzte Passamahl Christi, 2nd ed., Leipzig: H. Haessel, 1908, p. 167. (ch. 5) [seen in the original — the 1895 journal issue in full reproduction] This is the location of "grundfalsch und irreführend", earlier wrongly given as "1908, p. 184". The 1908 printing (xi, 190 pp.) is not held and is online only in snippet view; p. 167 has been established in it but not seen as a page image. The 1895 journal version has been so seen, and it carries the quotation in full.
Cichorius, C. (1923). Chronologisches zum Leben Jesu. Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, 22, 16–20. (ch. 9)
Dalman, G. (1928). Arbeit und Sitte in Palästina, Band I/2: Der Jahreslauf — Frühling und Sommer. C. Bertelsmann. Used: pp. 413–418 (the regional field dates for barley and wheat, bearing the agricultural check on John 4:35). (ch. 8; appendix E) [seen in the original] — seen at first hand in the scanned edition.
Dalman, G. (1933). Arbeit und Sitte in Palästina, Band III: Von der Ernte zum Mehl. C. Bertelsmann. (ch. 8) [seen in the original] — seen at first hand in the scanned edition.
Danker, F. W. (Ed.). (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., s.v. ἄγω). University of Chicago Press. (ch. 13)
Doig, K. F. (1990). New Testament chronology. Mellen. (Ch. 12: the fifteenth year on the Syro-Macedonian autumn calendar, 20 October 27 – 9 October 28. The calendar boundaries have been recomputed here and come out to the day; the reckoning rests on an analogy with Herodian practice, and Doig concedes that the Roman coins reckon dynastically.) (ch. 9)
Driver, S. R. (1913). Notes on the Hebrew text and the topography of the books of Samuel (2nd ed., ad 1 Sam. 9:20 and 30:13). Clarendon Press. (ch. 3) [seen in the original] — the note cited checked via a scan of the printed edition.
Filmer, W. E. (1966). The chronology of the reign of Herod the Great. Journal of Theological Studies, 17(2), 283–298. (ch. 9)
Finegan, J. (1998). Handbook of biblical chronology (rev. ed.). Hendrickson. (ch. 9, ch. 14)
Fotheringham, J. K. (1934). The evidence of astronomy and technical chronology for the date of the crucifixion. Journal of Theological Studies, 35, 146–162. (ch. 9)
Gill, J. (1763). An exposition of the New Testament (ad Lucam 24:21). George Keith. (ch. 13)
Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel according to John (Pillar New Testament Commentary). Eerdmans. Used: ad John 4:35 and ad John 5:1. (appendix E.3) [seen in the original] — on 4:35 he records that no such proverb is attested elsewhere and reads the four months as a real interval "by ordinary reckoning"; on 5:1 he declines to decide — "the truth of the matter is that we do not know what feast John has in mind" — and notes in the same place that a Passover would give about three and a half years of ministry and anything else about two and a half. ⚠ The digital copy carries no page numbers in its text layer, so the places are given by verse.
Godet, F. (1886). Commentary on the Gospel of John (T. Dwight, Trans.; 3rd ed.). Used: I, 435 (ad 4:35) and I, 452–454 (ad 5:1). (appendix E.3) [secondary] — read in the English translation through a reproduction site, not on the printed page, and the French original has not been consulted. He reads 4:35 as a season, placing the conversation in December, and calls a Passover at 5:1 "positively excluded" in favour of Purim — from which he concludes that "two years and a half are sufficient". ⚠ A seasonal reader who spends the reading against the extra spring; he is cited in appendix E.3 for both halves.
Hoehner, H. W. (2011). The chronology of Jesus. In T. Holmén & S. E. Porter (Eds.), Handbook for the study of the historical Jesus (pp. 2315–2359). Brill. Used: pp. 2337–2339. (appendix E.3) [seen in the original] — read on the page. He has not changed position since 1977 (4:35 in January/February, 5:1 Tabernacles), but the argument beneath it has thinned: the proverb reading and its defenders, Dalman and m. Ta'anit 1:7, are all gone, and the January/February dating stands without a footnote — while on 5:1 he moves the other way, from "with great hesitation" and "a slight edge" (1977) to "it seems most likely". ⚠ On John 5:1 the 1977 page is the fairer citation of him.
Keener, C. S. (2003). The Gospel of John: A commentary. Hendrickson. Used: I, 623–625 (ad 4:35) and I, 634–635 (ad 5:1). (appendix E.3) [seen in the original] — he prefers an otherwise unattested proverb at 4:35; at 5:1 he lists Purim, Pentecost, Tabernacles and Rosh Hashanah, does not name Passover among them, and reads the feast as no more than the reason Jesus is in Jerusalem. His n. 10 adds that Bowman's Purim reading "would fit between 4:35 and 6:4 (but only assuming a strict and unbroken chronology)".
Wieseler, K. (1843). Chronologische Synopse der vier Evangelien. Perthes. Used: p. 219 (ad 5:1). (appendix E.3) [seen in the original — scanned page] — Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, `bsb10271806`. He reads Purim, resting it on the sabbath of John 5:9 and on his own calendar reconstruction for 782 a.u.c. ⚠ His pages on 4:35 (pp. 214–217) have not been consulted; like Godet he is a seasonal reader who shortens the ministry.
Hoehner, H. W. (1974). Chronological aspects of the life of Christ, Part IV: The day of Christ's crucifixion. Bibliotheca Sacra, 131(523), 241–264. Used: esp. pp. 242–243. (ch. 1, ch. 3, ch. 13, ch. 14) [seen in the original] — read in the source itself (ch. 1).
Hoehner, H. W. (1977). Chronological aspects of the life of Christ. Zondervan. Used: esp. pp. 29–43; pp. 46–47 and 51–60, with p. 56 and pp. 58–59 load-bearing. (ch. 9, ch. 17; appendix E) [seen in the original] — p. 56 ("would fit well", of the plucking of the grain between the two Passovers — the author claims no more) and pp. 58–59 (John 5:1 read "with great hesitation" as Tabernacles; Blinzler's claim called "false"; and the Tabernacles argument resting in turn on the seasonal reading of 4:35) seen at first hand. ⚠ The Tabernacles passage spans pp. 58–59 and is to be cited as such; a single-page reference to p. 58 clips the sentence that carries it.
Humphreys, C. J., & Waddington, W. G. (1983). Dating the crucifixion. Nature, 306(5945), 743–746. (ch. 7, ch. 15) [not seen] — the location is confirmed in the footnote of the same authors' follow-up article (1992, n. 2); the position itself has been checked in full in that follow-up.
Humphreys, C. J., & Waddington, W. G. (1992). The Jewish calendar, a lunar eclipse and the date of Christ's crucifixion. Tyndale Bulletin, 43(2), 331–351. Used: esp. pp. 336, 345. (ch. 1, ch. 7, ch. 8, ch. 15) [seen in the original] — the article has been read in full and the load-bearing pages checked word for word: p. 336 ("we possess no historical reports as to the proclamation of leap-months in the years AD 26–36"; "Nisan 14 would not fall on a Friday in any year") and p. 345 (Table 3, where the eclipse of 25 April AD 31 is listed at 35 % — recorded by the authors themselves as a Wednesday).
Jachowski, R. J. (2015). The death of Herod the Great and the Latin Josephus: Re-examining the twenty-second year of Tiberius. Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism, 11, 9–18. (ch. 9)
Jaubert, A. (1957). La date de la Cène: Calendrier biblique et liturgie chrétienne. J. Gabalda. [English ed.: The date of the Last Supper, Alba House, 1965.] (ch. 5, ch. 6)
Jeremias, J. (1960). Die Abendmahlsworte Jesu (3rd ed., pp. 30–35). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. [English ed.: The Eucharistic words of Jesus, SCM Press, 1966.] (ch. 1) [seen in the original] — the load-bearing pages (32, 35) checked in consulted scans.
Kagan, E., Stein, M., Agnon, A., & Neumann, F. (2011). Intrabasin paleoearthquake and quiescence correlation of the late Holocene Dead Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research, 116, B04311. (ch. 12) [seen in the original] — checked at first hand in the geological literature.
Klein, R. W. (1983). 1 Samuel (Word Biblical Commentary 10). Word Books. Used: pp. 279–288, esp. note 13.a. (ch. 3) [text layer seen] — note 13.a reads v. 13 as elapsed time and supplies הַיָּמִים from Hebrew mss, LXX, Old Latin, Peshitta and Targum, with the cross-reference to 1 Sam 9:20; the printed page image has not been seen.
Klever, D. R. R. (2025). Zur Chronologie der Geschichte Israels im Zeitalter des Zweiten Tempels: Bd. I. Die Grundlagen der jüdischen Zeitrechnung, Halbbd. 1. Kalender und Sabbatjahrchronologie nebst Sabbaten und Festen, Halbfesten und Fasttagen [August 2026 version]. BoD – Books on Demand. (ch. 17, appendix E) [seen in the original] — supplied as a complete PDF; the load-bearing pages checked: the intercalation rules pp. 57–72 (esp. p. 65 with nn. 252 and 254), the sabbatical years pp. 147–149 and 217, the calendar table of chapter IV on pp. 274–277 in the page image, because there the type size alone separates main from secondary options.
Kraeling. (1942). Anglican Theological Review, 24, 345–346 (n. 18: "no coins prove it", on the Tiberius coin-count). (ch. 9) — the author's initials and article title do not appear in the source line of ch. 9; not reconstructed here.
Kubitschek, W. (1890). Jahrzählung und Jahranfang im römischen Makedonien. Archäologisch-epigraphische Mittheilungen aus Österreich-Ungarn, 13(1), 120–124. (Concerns the Macedonian era; expressly warns that "Macedonian" datings elsewhere refer to derived calendars.) (ch. 9)
Kushnir-Stein, A. (1995). Another look at Josephus' evidence for the date of Herod's death. Scripta Classica Israelica, 14, 73–86. (ch. 10) ⚠ Not collated at first hand; its drift paraphrased. Her charge against Barnes — that he inverts Lichtenstein's attribution — has been confirmed on Lichtenstein himself (pp. 293–294).
Lanser, R. (2021). The Parthian War paradigm and the reign of Herod the Great. Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin, 66, 21–36. (Refutes, with Appian BC 5.65 and Livy Per. 127, Steinmann and Young's claim that Ventidius left only after Misenum. His own reconstruction — Ventidius in Judea in 40, Herod named king in early October 40 — does not stand against Josephus' winter, Ant. 14.376 and War 1.279, nor against Dio 48.41.4–5.) (chs. 9, 10)
Lanser, R. (2026, January 13). The first regnal year of Tiberius as indicated on Roman coins [Daniel 9:24–27 Project]. Associates for Biblical Research. (Revives the co-regency count; on the Antiochene Silanus coins themselves, however, Tiberius' year 1 begins in AD 14/15.) (ch. 9)
Lehmann, K. (1968). Auferweckt am dritten Tag nach der Schrift (Quaestiones Disputatae 38). Herder. (ch. 13)
Liddell, H. G., Scott, R., & Jones, H. S. (1940). A Greek-English lexicon (9th ed., s.v. ἄγω). Clarendon Press. (ch. 13)
Lightfoot, J. (1658). Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae (ad Matthew 12:40). Cambridge. (ch. 3) [the Latin read in the text layer of the scan, not on the page image] — the two locations verified; and the note itself ad Mt 12:40 read in the Latin of the collected edition Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae in quatuor evangelistas (1675), In Evangelium Matthaei cap. XII, vers. 40, and collated against Gandell's English translation of the same note (ed. R. Gandell, Oxford University Press, 1859, vol. II, pp. 209–211), with which it agrees word for word. Lightfoot concedes the shortfall himself (cùm duæ tantùm noctes intercesserint, et dies completus tantum unus) and covers the extension by usage (suffragante Scholarum consensu, dialecto gentis); the onah rule of y. Shabbat 9:3 is the only rabbinic source he adduces.
McArthur, H. K. (1971). "On the third day". New Testament Studies, 18(1), 81–86. (ch. 13)
McCarter, P. K. (1980). I Samuel (Anchor Bible 8). Doubleday. Used: pp. 429–438. (ch. 3) [text layer seen] — renders v. 13 "three days ago" and leaves the MT untouched; the textual notes pass from v. 12 to v. 14 (no Greek variant on v. 13).
Husband, R. W. (1915). The prosecution of Jesus: Its date, history and legality. Princeton University Press. (ch. 9) ⚠ not inspected — named here solely because Reis (2025) adduces him beside Steinmann for reckoning Tiberius's regnal years from AD 14. This book does not rest on Husband at that point.
Maxwell, C. M. (1981). God cares (Vol. 1, pp. 260–263). Pacific Press. (ch. 15) ⚠ not inspected — named on Reis's report and reference, solely in order to distinguish this book from him: Maxwell puts the crucifixion on Nisan 14 and on a Friday, and must therefore shift the beginning of Nisan by three days. This book shifts no month-beginning.
Meier, J. P. (1991). A marginal Jew: Rethinking the historical Jesus (Vol. 1, pp. 384–386). Doubleday. (Reckons Tiberius' years inclusively from the sole rule and arrives at AD 28, not at autumn 27. His position is established here on concurring secondary reports; his own pages have not been seen, and he is therefore not quoted.) (ch. 9) [not seen]
Merx, A. (1902). Die vier kanonischen Evangelien nach ihrem ältesten bekannten Texte (Part II, vol. 1: Erläuterung — Matthäus). Georg Reimer. Used: pp. 372–381. (ch. 6)
Merx, A. (1905). Die vier kanonischen Evangelien nach ihrem ältesten bekannten Texte (Part II, vol. 2: Erläuterung — Markus und Lukas). Georg Reimer. Used: pp. 22–28, 424–426, 509 (ch. 4, ch. 5); pp. 526–528 (Luke 24:21 as a "künstlich verschrobene Konstruktion"; the three Syriac witnesses "ecce tres dies", ch. 13). (ch. 4, ch. 5, ch. 13) [seen in the original] — German read at first hand (ch. 13).
Migowski, C., Agnon, A., Bookman, R., Negendank, J. F. W., & Stein, M. (2004). Recurrence pattern of Holocene earthquakes along the Dead Sea transform. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 222(1), 301–314. (ch. 12)
Mommsen, T. (1887). Römisches Staatsrecht (Bd. 2, Abt. 2, 3rd ed., pp. 802–804). S. Hirzel. (ch. 9) — the pages cited treat the Bildnissrecht, not the Syrian regnal-year count.
Niese, B. (Ed.). (1887–1890). Flavii Iosephi opera (critical edition with apparatus). Weidmann. Used: Vol. 1, Antiquitatum Iudaicarum libri I–V, p. 207 (Ant. 3.248, with apparatus and the testimonium line to Lev. 23:5; ch. 8, appendix A); Vol. 4, libri XVI–XX, p. 160 (Ant. 18.106; ch. 9). (ch. 8, ch. 9; appendix A) [seen in the original — page image with apparatus]
Odeh, M. Sh. (2004). New criterion for lunar crescent visibility. Experimental Astronomy, 18, 39–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-005-9002-5 (ch. 7)
Ogg, G. (1940). The chronology of the public ministry of Jesus. Cambridge University Press. (ch. 14)
Milgrom, J. (2001). Leviticus 23–27: A new translation with introduction and commentary (Anchor Yale Bible 3B). Doubleday. Used: pp. 1983 and 2062. (ch. 8) [seen in the original] — both pages read at first hand from page images (5 Sept. 2026). p. 2062 gives the regional spread ("three to four weeks later" in the hill country than in the Jordan Valley); p. 1983 gives the threshold ("the ʿomer is not ripe barley, but the color of ripe barley", with Dalman 1928: 1.456–57) and the limitation Reis cuts away: "Only in low-lying areas (the coast and the Jordan and Jezreel valleys) does the barley ripen in mid-April" (Dalman 1928: 1.415). ⚠ Reis (2025) cites this page under a volume title that does not exist ("Leviticus 17–23").
Neugebauer, O., & Van Hoesen, H. B. (1959). Greek horoscopes (Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society 48). American Philosophical Society. Used: No. L 120,II, p. 116. (appendix D) [seen in the original]
Newton, I. (1733). Observations upon the prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John (part I, chapter XI). J. Darby & T. Browne. (ch. 1, ch. 8) [seen in the original] — chapter XI read at first hand in the normalized transcription of the Newton Project (Oxford, `THEM00205`), 5 Sept. 2026. ⚠ The printed 1733 edition itself, p. 164, has not been physically inspected; the quotations rest on that transcription. Used: the exclusion of AD 31 ("the Passion cannot fall on friday, without [...]"), the exclusion of AD 33 on the ripeness of the corn, his conclusion on AD 34, and his month-beginning "not at the true conjunction, but at the first appearance of the new moon".
de Oliveira, J. R. (2004). Chronological studies related to Daniel 8:14 and 9:24–27 (p. 46). Imprensa Universitária Adventista. (ch. 15) ⚠ not inspected — named on Reis's report and reference, solely in order to distinguish this book from him: de Oliveira puts the crucifixion on Nisan 15 and moves the Passover to Thursday 26 April 31. This book puts the crucifixion on Nisan 14.
Parker, R. A. (1944). Ancient Jewish calendation: A criticism. Journal of Biblical Literature, 63(2), 173–176. Used: pp. 173–174. (ch. 7) [seen in the original] — ch. 7 quotes Parker verbatim ("subtracts 37 minutes"), reproduces his seven-year Jerusalem table (pp. 173–174) and recomputes it: the reproduction agrees to the day in all seven years (source note, ch. 7).
Plummer, A. (1896). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to S. Luke (International Critical Commentary; ad Lucam 24:21). T&T Clark. (ch. 13) — And ad Lucam 3:23, pp. 102–103: "about thirty" from twenty-eight to thirty-two. (ch. 10)
Schäfer, P. (2007). Jesus in the Talmud. Princeton University Press. (ch. 5)
Schmidt, T. C. (2025). Josephus and Jesus: New evidence for the one called Christ. Oxford University Press. Used: esp. App. 3, pp. 249–254. (ch. 1, ch. 2) [seen in the original] — established in the full text of the monograph (ch. 1, ch. 2).
Schwartz, E. (1905). Christliche und jüdische Ostertafeln (Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, philologisch-historische Klasse, N.F. 8.6). Weidmann. (ch. 15) [secondary] — edition of the Sardica document (codex Veronensis 60); here via Stern (2001), not consulted at first hand.
Sigl, M., Winstrup, M., McConnell, J. R., Welten, K. C., Plunkett, G., Ludlow, F., [...] Woodruff, T. E. (2015). Timing and climate forcing of volcanic eruptions for the past 2,500 years. Nature, 523(7562), 543–549. (ch. 12) [seen in the original] — the ice-core reconstruction (eVolv2k) checked at first hand.
Reis, A. (2025). The chronology of the crucifixion: An updated Adventist view. Self-published. Used: pp. 6, 8, 14–16, 18. (chs. 8, 11, 15; appendix C, appendix D) [seen in the original] — the entire article (22 pp.) read at first hand, 5 Sept. 2026. The sharpest, most recent and best documented public attack on AD 31 this dossier holds. He rejects AD 31 and arrives at Friday 3 April 33; his hypothetical Adar II computation for AD 31 nevertheless lands on "Passover/Nisan 15 no later than Wednesday, April 25, 31 AD at sunset" (p. 16), and his own reason for discarding it is that it yields no Friday. His weekdays have been recomputed and are correct; his Nisan 15 of AD 30 is out by one day (`reis_a8_narekening.py`).
Schaefer, B. E. (1990). Lunar visibility and the crucifixion. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, 31(1), 53–67. Used: Table I on p. 57, the definitions on p. 58, the comparison on p. 59, and the eclipse conclusion on pp. 65–66. (chs. 7, 8, 12; appendix C) [seen in the original] — read at first hand from page images, 5 Sept. 2026 (the PDF has no text layer). Used: his visibility measure R and the confidence ratio R/DR > 2.5; the values for 12 March 31 (−1.3 ± 0.4) and 11 April 31 (+0.9 ± 0.3); his statement that 23 March 30 belongs to the cases of which "the visibility in Jerusalem is not certain" (p. 59); his refusal to determine which lunation was Nisan (p. 58); and his verdict on the lunar eclipse of 3 April 33: "at no time during the eclipse would even a serious and experienced observer in Jerusalem have realized that an eclipse was occurring" (p. 65).
Schürer, E., Vermes, G., Millar, F., & Black, M. (1973–1987). The history of the Jewish people in the age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C.–A.D. 135) (rev. ed., Vols. 1–3). T&T Clark. Used: I 200–201 n. 1; I 326–327 n. 165 (the inclusive counting rule). (ch. 10) [not seen — via Cameron, 2018]
Steinmann, A. E. (2022a). Reckoning Tiberius's reign and Jesus's baptism: First- and second-century evidence concerning Tiberius's fifteenth year (Luke 3:1). Tyndale Bulletin, 73, 91–118. https://doi.org/10.53751/001c.37789 (ch. 9, ch. 14; appendix E) [seen in the original] — pp. 115–116 checked at first hand: "no evidence for inclusive reckoning of Tiberius's reign" (p. 115), and a conclusion that excludes AD 30 and AD 31 by name and supports AD 33 (p. 116). His corpus is Roman, Greek and Egyptian and contains no Jewish halakhic material. The two arguments of the article are carried separately in this book: the first is registered as a finding in its favour (appendix E.5), the second against it, in the main text of ch. 9 and not in a footnote.
Steinmann, A. E. (2022b). The temple built in forty-six years: John 2:20 and the date of Jesus' first Passover. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 65(2), 319–331. (ch. 9)
Steinmann, A. E., & Young, R. C. (2020). Consular and sabbatical years in Herod's life. Bibliotheca Sacra, 177(708), 442–461. (ch. 9)
Stephenson, F. R. (1997). Historical eclipses and Earth's rotation. Cambridge University Press. (ch. 12)
Stern, S. (2000). The Babylonian calendar at Elephantine. Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 130, 159–171. Used: p. 171 n. 69 (the Egyptian practice: Aristobulus and Philo, Passover at or around the equinox). (ch. 8, ch. 15; appendix C) [seen in the original]
Stern, S. (2001). Calendar and community: A history of the Jewish calendar, 2nd century BCE–10th century CE. Oxford University Press. Used: esp. pp. 51, 55, 61–62, 70, and pp. 92–93 with n. 333. (ch. 7, ch. 8, ch. 9, ch. 15, ch. 16; appendix A) [seen in the original] — consulted at first hand (ch. 15). pp. 92–93 with n. 333 read at first hand for ch. 9: Nero's second regnal year "may have begun, according to the Jewish computation, in Nisan of 55 CE", pace Benoit, Milik and de Vaux 1961: 103, with m. RH 1:1, y. RH 1:1 (56b) and b. RH 2a–b named as the rabbinic evidence — and with Stern's own "may have begun" and his caution that "the possibility of scribal error must always be taken into account". y. RH 1:1 (56b) consulted on 28 September 2026 (Sefaria, Guggenheimer, Hebrew and English): the Nisan rule extended to the kings of the nations (R. Eleazar in the name of R. Ḥanina), against Rav Ḥisda in b. RH 3a (ch. 9). Further, pp. 51, 55 and 61 read on the page for ch. 8 and appendix A.1b: Anatolius' attribution of the rule of the equinox to Philo and Josephus "is actually debatable" (p. 51), the Nisan/Pharmuthi equation of Ant. 2.311 with Pharmuthi beginning on 27 March (p. 55, nn. 216 and 218), and "this rule is not explicitly enunciated in any of their works" (p. 61).
Strack, H. L. (1911). Pesaḥim: Der Mischnatraktat "Passafest" (Schriften des Institutum Judaicum; p. 26, n. 15). J. C. Hinrichs. (ch. 5)
Strashny, A. (2017). Modern searches for Aviv barley in the context of the Hebrew calendar: A first description of the Israeli barley observation data. Jewish Bible Quarterly, 45(3), 179–187. (ch. 8) [seen in the original] — the whole article read primarily (5 Sep 2026); table 1 (seventeen years) and table 2 (the summary) checked, and the author's own limits taken over: Gordon's working definition of aviv, the unreliable years before 2000, and the small number of years.
Thayer, J. H. (1889). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament (s.v. ἄγω). Harper & Brothers. (ch. 13)
Theodor, J., & Albeck, Ch. (Eds.). (1912–1936). Bereschit Rabba: Midrasch Bereschit Rabba mit kritischem Apparat und Kommentar (Bd. 2, p. 595). (ch. 3) [seen in the original] — critical edition; the printed page seen at first hand.
Toohey, M., & Sigl, M. (2017). Volcanic stratospheric sulfur injections and aerosol optical depth from 500 BCE to 1900 CE (eVolv2k). Earth System Science Data, 9, 809–831. (ch. 12) [seen in the original] — eVolv2k v4 checked at first hand.
Van Voorst, R. E. (2000). Jesus outside the New Testament: An introduction to the ancient evidence. Eerdmans. (ch. 12)
Walker, N. (1960). "After three days". Novum Testamentum, 4(4), 261–262. (ch. 13) [not seen] — the location has been verified with the publisher itself; that Walker disputes the equation of "after three days" and "on the third day" rests on McArthur's footnote (1971, p. 85, n. 1) and is therefore [secondary].
Williams, A. L. (1935). Adversus Judaeos: A bird's-eye view of Christian apologiae until the Renaissance (p. 108). Cambridge University Press. (ch. 3)
Williams, J. B., Schwab, M. J., & Brauer, A. (2012). An early first-century earthquake in the Dead Sea. International Geology Review, 54(10), 1219–1228. (ch. 12) [seen in the original] — checked at first hand in the geological literature.
Yallop, B. D. (1997). A method for predicting the first sighting of the new crescent moon (NAO Technical Note No. 69). HM Nautical Almanac Office. (ch. 7)
G.3 · What this register does not deliver
- No reading log. The mark [seen in the original] says that the passage cited has been checked in the source itself, or that the work was consulted at first hand — it does not say that the whole work has been read through. The sharpest example stands in appendix A: Parker & Dubberstein has been checked in the source itself on its load-bearing pages, but the full table for AD 26–36 has not been worked through in its entirety. - No status where the chapters give none. Where an accountability note describes a group of sources collectively — "consulted in the source itself or through a named scholarly rendering" (ch. 3, ch. 6) — the mark has been granted only to the titles named there specifically as checked at first hand. Unmarked therefore means "no explicit status" — neither "not consulted" nor "in fact seen". - No weight. Inclusion in this register says nothing about a source's evidential force. The weighing stands in Chapter 16 and appendix F; some of the sources registered here are expressly deployed in the chapters as colour, as reception, or as the position of the opposing side — not as support. - No complete bibliography of the field. The register contains what the source lines of the chapters and appendices name. Works that appear only in passing in the running text — such as Schoch's visibility criterion, of which no edition is cited — figure here at most by name.