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Good News: Jesus Christ was born on December 25, 1 BC.
Bad News: Ussher’s Date for Adam at 4004 BC is Wrong

by Robert A. Sungenis

First we’ll give the Good News:

We have been told by source critical scholars that Jesus was probably born in 6 BC, or possibly even earlier. This was based on the information provided by Flavius Josephus that Herod died in 4 B.C. Since Herod slaughtered the infants two years old and younger, this may lead one to conjecture that the birth of Christ took place in 5 B.C. or 6 B.C.

The works of Josephus that are of interest to us are The Jewish War and The Jewish Antiquities, since they address the period between 170 BC and 70 AD. Although most scholars have put complete trust in Josephus, his works contain many errors and discrepancies. Either these were due to Josephus himself, or the fact that by the Middle Ages there existed a dozen or so manuscripts of his writings, each differing significantly from the others. In fact, one account of Josephus in Grande Encyclopédie, by Ladmirault (Paris 1893) says Josephus was “boastful, proud and pretentious; one who falsified history to his own advantage and whose treatment of events is often inadequate.” Various critical editions of Josephus have been issued since, e.g., Niese, 1881; Reinach 1902-1932. Reinach adds glosses to Josephus accounts such as “this is a mistake” or “in another book...the figures are different...”1

Thanks to the work of Hugues de Nanteuil, we have found that the modern critics are wrong. Little known (or advertised by modern scholars) is that Josephus had two different dates for the death of Herod, and the interpretation of the source containing 4 B.C. is highly debatable. In Herod’s other work, he says Herod died in 7 or 8 BC.

Conversely, in the year 532 the monk Dionysius the Little stated that Christ was born on December 25, 1 BC. He had also established that 1 AD corresponded to the 754th year of the foundation of Rome.

In order to understand this dating system, we need to go back to the pre-Christian era. In that era there were two dating systems:

(1) A dating system based on the dates of the reigning monarch. In this realm, the foundation date is 753 BC, which is the foundation date of Rome under the auspices of Romulus. The Romans titled this foundation date as “urbe condita” (meaning: “from the foundation of the city”). Their year began on April 21st and they had 355 days in their calendar. This inaccurate calendar remained in force until the time of Julius Caesar who in 46 BC, upon the tutelage of the Greek astronomer Sisogenes, increased the number of days in 46 BC to 445, and thereafter (45 BC and onward) there would be 365.25 days in the year and the year would begin on January 1st.

(2) A dating system based on the dates of significant events. In this realm, the commencement of the Olympic games in 776 BC is the foundation date. Every four years, the Greeks would record the date of the games or “Olympiads,” and the event was abbreviated “OL.” As Augustine states:

“Anything, then, that we learn from history about the chronology of past times assists us very much in understanding the Scriptures, even if it be learnt without the pale of the Church as a matter of childish instruction. For we frequently seek information about a variety of matters by use of the Olympiads, and the names of the consuls; and ignorance of the consulship in which our Lord was born, and that in which He suffered, has led some into the error of supposing that He was forty-six years of age when He suffered, that being the number of years He was told by the Jews the temple (which He took as a symbol of His body) was in building. Now we know on the authority of the evangelist that He was about thirty years of age when He was baptized; But the number of years He lived afterwards, although by putting His actions together we can make it out, yet that no shadow of doubt might arise from another source, can be ascertained more clearly and more certainly from a comparison of profane history with the gospel” (On Christian Doctrine, 2, 28, 42)

Each segment of four years was begun on the first full moon of summer. We also see some other Church Fathers use the Olympic calendar. Below is Cyril of Jerusalem’s dating of the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 using the Olympic calendar. Cyril of Jerusalem writes:

“From the going forth of the word for making answer, and for the building of Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince are seven weeks and three score and two weeks. Now three score and nine weeks of years contain four hundred and eighty-three years. He said, therefore, that after the building of Jerusalem, four hundred and eighty-three years having passed, and the rulers having failed, then cometh a certain king of another race, in whose time the Christ is to be born. Now Darius the Mede built the city in the sixth year of his own reign, and first year of the 66th Olympiad according to the Greeks. Olympiad is the name among the Greeks of the games celebrated after four years, because of the day which in every four years of the sun's courses is made up of the three (supernumerary) hours in each year. And Herod is king in the 186th Olympiad, in the 4th year thereof. Now from the 66th to the 186th Olympiad there are 120 Olympiads intervening, and a little over. So then the 120 Olympiads make up 480 years: for the other three years remaining are perhaps taken up in the interval between the first and fourth years. And there thou hast the proof according to the Scripture which saith, From the going forth of the word that Jerusalem be restored and built until Messiah the Prince are seven weeks and sixty-two weeks” (Catechetical Lectures, 12, 19).

Regarding the Roman system, although it is close to our present calendar, Julius Caesar did not use the numerals 1 to 31 to designate the days of the month. Rather, he used the ancient Roman names “Calends, Nones and Ides.” In this system, Calends was the first day of the month, Nones was the fifth and Ides was the thirteenth (except in March, May, July and October the Nones fell on the 7th day and the Ides fell on the 15th). The days between were noted on how close they were to Calends, Nones and Ides. The number placed before the calendar name would be subtracted from the calendar date. For example, the “8th day of Calends” would subtract 8 days from January 1st, which equals December 25. Incidentally, this is where the Irish get the expression “The Ides of March.”

It is a little more complicated, however. Actually, there were two ways to mark the calendar based on the reigning monarch. The years could be signified by Ordinal numbers (e.g., first, second, third, fourth). When Ordinal numbers were used, they reflected the year in which the monarch was nominated or acceded to the throne. His ascension year would be the first year and the following year would be the second year.

But the years could also be signified by Cardinal numbers (e.g., one, two, three, four). In this case, the year “1” would be a year after the monarch ascended to the throne.

The ancient Jews used a similar dual design in marking off the reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah, making a distinction between the ascension year of the king as opposed to the reigning year following (See Edwin Thiele’s “The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings”).

We do the same in our counting of various dates. Presently, we are in the 21st century, but our present date does not begin with 2104 but 2004. Similarly, we can say that “John is in his 31st year,” or “John is 30 years old.”

These distinctions are important, since it is known that all the Greek and Latin historians marked dates based on one of the above systems. Thus, they had available to them:

1) the Olympiad or OL
2) the “urbe condita” or UC
3) years of the monarch
4) years of the Julian calendar

As a result, the same event might have several different dates attached to it depending on which dating system was used. For example, when Luke 3:1 says: “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,” the fifteenth year could be either 15 years from the date he ascended the throne (which we know is August 14 AD) or 16 years from the date of his ascension. Further, the beginning day of his reign could designated either January or August.

To further complicate things, towards the end of the Roman Empire under the reign of Constantine, another system of dating was established, which was based on the land-tax occurring every 15 years, and was known as the “Indictions.” This 15-year cycle had originated in the reign of Diocletian but was implemented as a calendar under Constantine.

Another complication is that the Greeks, besides using the Olympiad calendar, celebrated the nativity of Jesus on January 6 whereas the Latins celebrated it on December 25, which is not only a twelve day difference but also a difference of a different calendar year, since January begins a new calendar year.

Here is where Dionysius the Little (named “Little” because of his humility) comes into the picture. Although Armenian by birth, he eventually settled at Rome. He began his work by translating texts from Greek into Latin, noting that the Greeks and Latins did not celebrate Christmas and Easter on the same dates. Relying upon the testimony of Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Eusebius of Caesarea, Jerome, as well as the historians such as Julius Africanus and Orosius, he calculated that Christ was born precisely 532 years before the date Dionysius began his work.

For example, Julius Africanus made an extensive study of the Hebrew and Greek calendars, and attempted to make an accurate match-up of the two. He writes:

“Up to the time of the Olympiads there is no certain history among the Greeks, all things before that date being confused, and in no way consistent with each other. But these Olympiads were thoroughly investigated by many, as the Greeks made up the records of their history not according to long spaces, but in periods of four years. For which reason I shall select the most remarkable of the mythical narratives before the time of the first Olympiad, and rapidly run over them. But those after that period, at least those that are notable, I shall take together, Hebrew events in connection with Greek, according to their dates, examining carefully the affairs of the Hebrews, and touching more cursorily on those of the Greeks; and my plan will be as follows: Taking up some single event in Hebrew history synchronous with another in Greek history, and keeping by it as the main subject, subtracting or adding as may seem needful in the narrative, I shall note what Greek or Persian of note, or remarkable personage of any other nationality, flourished at the date of that event in Hebrew history; and thus I may perhaps attain the object which I propose to myself.” (Extant Fragments, 3, 1).

An example of his elaborate calculations can be seen below:

“From Artaxerxes, moreover, 70 weeks are reckoned up to the time of Christ, according to the numeration of the Jews. For from Nehemiah, who was sent by Artaxerxes to people Jerusalem, about the 120th year of the Persian empire, and in the 20th year of Artaxerxes himself, and the 4th year of the 83nd Olympiad, up to this time, which was the 2d year of the 202d Olympiad, and the 16th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, there are given 475 years, which make 490 Hebrew years, since they measure the years by the lunar month of 29½ days, as may easily be explained, the annual period according to the sun consisting of 365¼ days, while the lunar period of 12 months has 11¼ days less. For which reason the Greeks and the Jews insert three intercalary months every eight years. For 8 times 11¼ days make 3 months. The 475 years, therefore, contain 59 periods of 8 years and three months over: thus, the three intercalary months for every 8 years being added, we get 15 years, and these together with the 475 years make 70 weeks. Let no one now think us unskilled in the calculations of astronomy, when we fix without further ado the number of days at 365¼. For it is not in ignorance of the truth, but rather by reason of exact study, that we have stated our opinion so shortly. But let what follows also be presented as in outline to those who endeavor to inquire minutely into all things” (Extant Fragments, xviii, 2).2

NB: 475 years = 202 Olympiads minus 83 Olympiads = 119 Olympiads. 119 x 4 = 476 years. Deducting 1 year since there is no year “0,” leaves 475 years.

When we compare lunar years with solar years we have:

– 475 years x 365.25 days = 173,493 days

– 490 years x 354 days (i.e., 12 months of 29.5 days) = 173, 460 days, which is a difference of only 33 days

Dionysius then affirmed that the year 1 of Christ’s life corresponded to the Roman year 754 UC, both of which commenced on January 1st. Notice here that Dionysius has placed the birth of Christ on the 8th day before the Calends of January (that is, January 1st AD minus 8 days = December 25, 1 BC). Incidentally, the year beginning January 1st 1 AD coincides with the fourth year of the 194th Olympiad, at least up to the first full moon in July, which would then change to the first year of the 195th Olympiad.

After Dionysius’ painstaking work, all historians had accepted his dating system. In fact, those who wished to go further back into history before the birth of Christ would put their dates in negative figures. Likewise, those who dated an event after Christ would designate it as “Anno Domini” (that is, “the year of Our Lord”). Thus, it is safe to say that Dionysius’ calendar has been accepted by the whole Western world up to our day.

As such, we can use the various calendars and coordinate the various dates for specific events in Christ’s life:

8 Days after birth of Christ:..........................….......195th OL, or 754 UC, or 1 AD
Jesus in the temple at 12 years old (Lk 2:42)...…...198th OL, or 766 UC or 13 AD
The baptism of Jesus:.......................................…….202nd OL, or 782 UC or 29 AD
The crucifixion of Jesus:...................................…...203rd OL, or 786 UC or 33 AD

From the apocryphal work, Gospel of Nicodemus, Part I, The Acts of Pilate, it states:

“In the fifteenth year of the government of Tiberius Caesar, emperor of the Romans, and Herod being king of Galilee, in the nineteenth year of his rule, on the eighth day before the Calends of April, which is the twenty-fifth of March, in the consulship of Rufus and Rubellio, in the fourth year of the two hundred and second Olympiad, Joseph Caiaphas being high priest of the Jews.”3

This coincides precisely with all the information we have gathered thus far. We have:

The 15th year of Tiberius Caesar = 19th year of Herod = 4th year of 202nd Olympiad = Calends, 8th day, April = 33 AD, March 25th

Testimony of the Fathers on the precise date of Christ’s birth:

Eusebius of Caesarea (d. 345 AD):
“Chronicles,” PG xix, col. 530 in sequence:

1) records that Christ was born in the 4th year of the 194th Olympiad.
2) records that in the 3rd year of Christ (when he was age 2 and before his 3rd birthday), Herod gave the order to kill the innocents.
3) records that Herod died in 5 AD, being eaten by worms.
4) records that the Passion of Christ (33 AD) occurred in the 1st year of the 203rd Olympiad, and in the 18th year of Tiberius.

“Ecclesiastical History,” PG xix, col. 287:

1) records that Caesar Augustus reigned for 56 years and 4 months. Having ascended the throne in 43 BC, the 42nd year of his reign would have begun on April 1, 1 BC and ended April 1, 1 AD. Luke 2:1 states: “Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.” The significance of the 42nd year will be seen below.

Jerome (d. 420):
“Jerome’s Interpretation of the Chronicles of Eusebius Pamphilius”
PL xxvii, col 559 in sequence:

1) records that Herod was recognized as king of the Jews in year 2 of Caesar Augustus, and that Herod reigned 37 years, which puts Herod’s death in the year 6 of Christ or 6 AD. He writes:

“Jesus Christ the Son of God was born at Bethlehem of Judah and from this year begins the salvation of Christians. In 3 AD Herod had all the male children of Bethlehem killed, and in 6 AD he died a wretched but well merited death, his body riddled with worms” (translated by J. S. Daly and Rev. F. Egregyi).

2) records the year of Christ’s birth in the year 32 of Herod, or the year 42 of Augustus.
3) records baptism of Christ occurring in 30 AD
4) records the passion of Christ occurring in 33 AD
5) records martyrdom of Stephen and conversion of Paul in 34 AD.
6) records Matthew’s writing of the Gospel of Matthew in 41 AD.

Justin Martyr (d. 163):
“Apologia,” PL vi, col. 383 in sequence

1) records that Christ’s passion occurred in the 17th year of Tiberius, which began in August 32 AD to August 33 AD.

Tertullian (d. 222):
“Against the Jews,” PL II, col. 614

1) records that the nativity of Jesus took place in the year 41 of Caesar Augustus. Although this is one year earlier that Jerome’s, this is due to the fact that Tertullian is going strictly by the Latin dating (which, as we saw earlier, places the nativity one calendar year prior to the Greek calendar, since December 25 is a calendar year prior to January 6), and it is known that Jerome, though a Latin, was using Greek sources when he was living in Palestine.

2) records that the sun stopped shining in the middle of the day at the crucifixion of Christ. This is noted in Tertullian’s “Apologeticum” Bk. 1, ch 21:

“He wrought many wonders that were appropriate to such a death. Thus, at the time when the sun was in the middle of its orbit, the day was suddenly deprived of its brightness so that those who did not know that this prodigy had been foretold for the death of Christ did not understand the reason for it. Later they denied that it had happened, but you can find [the record of] this worldwide event stored in your archives.”

A corroborating text comes from a secular historian known as Phlegon who was a freed slave of Hadrian the emperor (117-138 AD):

“...in the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad there was an eclipse of the sun which was so remarkable that nothing comparable had ever been seen before. At the sixth hour of the day [noon], the darkness was such that one could see the stars” (Fragmenta Historicum Graecorum, Didot. Paris 1849, vol. iii, Phlegon, Bk 13, ch. 14, as cited in J. S. Daly’s “The Controversy Concerning the Dates of the Birth and Death of Jesus Christ”).

NB: This phenomenon would not have been an eclipse caused by the moon, since darkness only occurs over specific areas of the earth in a total eclipse, and does not last very long in any case. The gospels record that the sun stopped shining for three hours.

Origen (d. 254) in “Contra Celsus,” Bk. 2, n. 33, corroborates Phlegon’s testimony:

“The eclipse which took place at the time of Tiberius, during whose reign Christ was crucified, and the great earthquakes of the same time, wer noted by Phlegon in his Books 13 and 24.”

Other Historians of the Church:

John Malalas (d. 578)
“Chronographia” PG xcvii, col. 351 in sequence:

Records: “In the 4th month of the 42nd year of Augustus, on the 8th of the Calends of January [that is, December 25th] at the seventh hour of the day, our Lord Jesus Christ was born at Bethlehem”

“He was baptized in the Jordan on the sixth day of the month of Audynae (i.e., January)”

“In the year 18 of the reign of Tiberius, in the 7th month, our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed by Judas His disciple. On the 23rd of March, the third day of the moon, the fifth day of the week at the fifth hour of the night [11 pm], He was led before Caiphas...On the following day he was taken to Pilate...He was crucified on the fourteenth day of the moon...At that time the sun was bereft of its light and darkness covered the whole earth.”

Paul the Deacon
“Miscellaneous History,” PL xcv, col. 858-864

Records: “In the twelfth year of the reign of Tiberius, at Fidenae, an amphitheater collapsed burying 20,000 people. Seven years later, at the time when Our Lord was suffering his Passion, there was an immense earthquake. Rocks were split in the mountains. On the same day, the sun was darkened from the 6th to the 9th hour. Darkness covered the whole of the earth and the stars appeared.”

Julius Africanus
Extant Fragments, PG x, col. 90

Records: “In the year of the world 5533, that is 33 of Christ, namely the first year of the 203rd Olympiad, at the moment when Christ suffered his Passion horrific darkness covered the world and rocks were broken by an earthquake.”

Orosius (d. 418)
“History Against the Pagans,” PL xxxi, book 7, col. 1059

1) records that Christ was born in December of 1 BC
2) records that in the year 3 of Christ, Herod slaughtered the innocents
3) records that in the year 6 AD, Herod died, eaten by worms
4) records that in the year 28, Tiberius sent Pilate to be governor of Judea
5) records that in the year 33, the passion took place on the 8th of the Calends of April, which is March 25th.

Cassiodorus (d. 580)
“Chronicle,” PL lxix, col. 1228

1) records that the passion of Christ took place in the year 18 of Tiberius, on the 8th of the Calends of April, during an eclipse of the sun. He also writes: “Jesus Christ the Son of God was born at Bethlehem in the year 41 of the reign of Augustus.”

Sulpitius Severus (d. 420)
“Historia Sacra,” PL xx, col. 144

1) records that Christ was born in the year 33 of Herod, on the 8th of the Calends of January [December 25], and that Herod died four years later; and that Christ was crucified in the 24th year of Herod the Younger (i.e., Herod Antipas).

Epiphanius (d. 403)
De Anno Natali Christi and De Anno Passionis Christi, PG xiii, cols. 902 and 978

1) records that Christ was born in the Julian year 45 (1 BC on our calendar), the fourth year of the 194th Olympiad, and that the passion took place in the 18th year of Tiberius on March 25, and the Resurrection on the 27th.

NB: As noted, discrepancies are often explained by the differences in ordinal and cardinal numbers in the various dating systems.

Now for the bad news:

Old Testament Chronology:

Anyone who is depending on the Anglican Bishop Ussher for their interpretation of the Old Testament chronology is in for a real shock. Bishop Ussher proposed that:

- Adam was created in the year 4004 BC
- The Great Flood occurred in 2349 BC
- The Jews entered Egypt in 1728 BC (when Joseph was sold into slavery)
or 1706 BC when Jacob entered Egypt.
- The Israel left Egypt in 1491 BC
- That Solomon layed the foundation of the temple in 1012 BC.

You will find this in most all of the old King James protestant bibles. You will also find them in old Catholic Bibles. For example, they revered Haydock Bible contains Ussher’s chronology on pages 1227-1231.

Here’s the major problem with this view:

You will note above that the most Ussher allows Israel to be in Egypt before their departure is either 237 years or 215 years.

The number 237 is obtained by subtracting the year the Jews entered Egypt (Joseph as their representative), which, according to Ussher is 1728 BC, from the year Israel left Egypt, which according to Ussher is 1491 BC.

The number 215 is obtained by subtracting the entrance of Jacob and his 70 family members in 1706 BC from the departure of Israel in 1491.

But this is in flat contradiction to Scripture’s own testimony as to how many years Israel was in Egypt, to the very day. In Exodus 12:40 it states very clearly that Israel was in Egypt precisely 430 years:

“And the abode of the children of Israel that they made in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty [430] years.”

In case one is unsure about this time period, it is repeated again, with the same precision, in Galatians 3:17, by making reference to the covenant (or testament) that God made with Abraham until God gave the Law to Moses:

“Now this I say: that the testament which was confirmed by God, the law which was made after four hundred and thirty [430] years doth not disannul, to make the promise of no effect.”

Again, God had estimated this time to be at least 400 years way back in Genesis 15:13:

And it was said unto him: Know thou beforehand that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land not their own, and they shall bring them under bondage, and afflict them four hundred [400] years.”

The same period of time is reiterated in Acts 7:6, as Stephen recounts the words of God to Abraham:

“And God said to him: That his seed should sojourn in a strange country, and that they should bring them under bondage and treat them evil four hundred [400] years.”

So we see that at least four times Scripture tells us that Israel was in Egypt at least 400 years, and more precisely, 430 years. So how is it that Bishop Ussher made his chronology so that Israel is only in Egypt 215 years, and at most 237 years? Obviously, Ussher was fudging the numbers.

There is also a problem with Ussher’s estimation for Solomon’s reign. Ussher has Solomon laying the foundation of the temple in 1012 BC, but we have found that the date is actually 967 BC. Accordingly, the division of the kingdom would have occurred in 931 BC, not Ussher’s 975 BC. In fact they have found that “Shoshenq’s” (aka Shishak) rampage of Rehov is now set at 925 BC (San Francisco Chronicle, 4-14-03). 1 Kings 14:25 and 2 Chr 12:2 say that Shishak came against Jerusalem in the fifth year of Rehoboam, which would confirm the date of division of the kingdom in 931 BC, right after Solomon’s death.

1 Kings 6:1 says there was 480 years between Solomon’s fourth year (967 BC) and the Exodus, which brings us back to 1447 BC. Adding the 430 years of Exodus 12:40, we get back to 1877 for Jacob’s entrance into Egypt. If we add the age of 60 when Jacob entered Egypt, and the 175 years of Abraham (Gen 25:7), and the 60 years of Isaac when Jacob was born (Gen 25:26), we come to 2172 BC.

Now, if the Flood, according to this author, took place in 2348 BC, that means we have 176 years to fit in the Flood and all the generations between Noah and Abraham, which is quite impossible.

Moreover, it has been established that written history goes back, without pause, to at least 3000-3500 BC, if not longer. That can easily be proven. Hence, the Flood would have had to occur before that date. For example, it can be shown that Ur, Erech, Lagash, Eridu existed around 3700 BC (cf., William F. Albright, From the Stone Age to Christianity, 1957, p. 32). Sumerian epigraphy is known to have existed around 3100 BC (Ignace Gelb, A Study of Writing, Univ of Chicago Press, 1952, p. 63). The Maya calendar begins on August 11, 3114 BC (George E. Stuart, “The Maya Riddle of the Glyphs, National Geographic, 1975, p. 773).

Also relevant to this issue is how Scripture regards its own genealogies. For example, Exodus 6:14-29 is very important in these discussions because it is unique among the genealogies. It gives the length of the years only of Levi, Kohath and Amram. If the numbers are added up, and assuming that Levi stayed in Egypt for 77 years, then we have exactly 430 years for Israel’s stay in Egypt, which agrees precisely with Exodus 12:40’s “430 years, to the day.” (Levi’s 77 + Kohath’s 133 + Amram’s 137 + Aarons age (cf., Ex 7:7; Num 33:39) of 83 = 430 years). The only thing one needs to prove, however, is that Jacob spent 40 years in Haran, instead of 20, otherwise, Levi’s can’t be in Egypt for 77 years, but it can be done.

We can also do it another way. If we add Levi’s 137 years from Ex 6:16 + Kohath’s 133 + Amram’s 137 + Aaron’s age at death and the year Israel entered Canaan, 123, we get 530 years. If we subtract 40 years of wandering in the desert, we have 490 years. We can now get to 430 years if we note that Jacob was 130 years when Israel went into Egypt (Gen 47:9). We also know that Joseph was 30 when made ruler over Egypt (Gen 41:46), and it was 9 years later (7 years plenty and two years famine = 9, cf., Gen 45:6) that he revealed himself to his brothers. At the time Jacob enters Egypt he is Jacob’s 130 and Joseph is 39, thus Jacob was 91 when Joseph was born. If we assume Levi was 21 years older than Joseph (since he was Jacob’s third son while Joseph was his eleventh), then Levi is 60 when he enters Egypt with Jacob. If we add Jacob’s 17 years in Egypt (Gen 47:28) to Levi’s 60 it = 77 as the years of Levi in Egypt. Or, we can subtract Levi’s 60 years from the 137 years of Ex 6:16 which = 77 years.

The importance of this Exodus genealogy is not only that the numbers add up to 430 years, but also because none of the names are indicated to be father-son relationships.

1) Unlike Genesis 4:25-26, no one in Ex 6:14-20 is said to name his successor. The only instance we have of someone being named is Ex 2:10 (and which means that Amram and Jochebed are not his parents (Ex 6:20)).

2) If Kohath was the son of Levi, and Amram the son of Kohath, then this would necessitate that, if their ages are for the purpose of marking a calendar for the 430 years in Egypt, it would mean that Kohath would have to be born the year Levi died, and Amram would have to be born the year Kohath died. This is highly unlikely if they are father-son relationships, but very likely if they are ancestral. The calendar would be kept intact by obtaining the new calendar marker after Levi, Kohath, by selecting him from among the men who were born in the year that Levi died. Also, they would have selected Amram to replace Kohath in the same way (Amram was born in the year Kohath died). This would allow a precise and uninterrupted calendar.

3) If this were not the case, then it would be impossible to account for Kohath’s “8600” descendants, which Num. 3:27-28 assures us he had, and which census took place when Moses was already 82 years old (Num 3:1), the apparent grandson of Kohath. You can’t have 8600 descendants within two generations. But if we understand that the descendants of Kohath included the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites, and Uzzielites (1 Chr 16:23), then we can understand where these 8600 originated. They would have had enough time to produce 8600 because Kohath, according to the formula 77 + 133 + 137 + 83 = 430, would have died 220 years before the Exodus. A 220 year period could produce five to six generations, which could easily produce 8600 descendants.

4) These figures coincide with Gen 15:13-16 which says that Abraham’s descendants would be oppressed 400 years and four generations. The four generations are Levi, Kohath, Amram and Aaron.

For these reasons, it is almost certain that Kohath, Amram and Aaron were not the son, grandson and great-grandson of Levi, but his descendants. This is entirely acceptable by the way Hebrew uses the word “ben,” since it can refer either to an immediate son or a descendant.

For more information on dating the Genesis Chronologies see our website article.

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1 Some examples of errors in Josephus works: Ezra 6:15 says: “This temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar; it was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.” But Josephus says “The whole was complete in the ninth month of the 28th year of Xerxes,” a difference of 45 years (Antiquities Bk 11, v. 179); 1 Maccabees 6:30 says: “The number of his forces was a 100,000 foot soldiers, 20,000 horsemen, and 32 elephants accustomed to war,” but The Jewish War (Bk 1, v. 41) says there were 50,000 soldiers, 5,000 cavalry and 80 elephants, yet in The Antiquities (Bk. 12, ch. 9, v. 366) he quotes the figures from 1 Macc 6:30; The Jewish War (Bk. 1, ch. 2, v. 68) says that Hyrcanus reigned for 33 years; in Antiquities (xii, v. 299) for 32 years; in Antiquities (xx) for 30 years; In The Jewish War (Bk 1, ch. 3, v. 70) it says Aristobulus put the diadem upon his brow 471 years after the return from exile. In Antiquities (Bk 13, v. 301) he says it is 480 years. Both are wrong, since it is 490 years; In The Jewish War (Bk. 1, ch. 4, v. 105) he says Alexander captured Gamala and expelled the governor, but in The Antiquities (Bk. 13, v. 394) Alexander puts him to death; In Antiquities (Bk 15, ch. 11, v. 1) says “Herod undertook the restoration of the Temple in the 18th year of his reign,” but in The Jewish War (Bk 1, ch. 21, v. 401) says “it was in the 15th year.”

2 The Early Church Fathers and Other Works" originally published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. in English in Edinburgh, Scotland beginning in 1867. (ANF 6, Roberts and Donaldson).

3 Other mentions of the Olympiad are: Clement of Alexandria (40th Olympiad): “The disciple of Crates was Zeno of Citium, the founder of the Stoic sect. He was succeeded by Cleanthes; and the latter by Chrysippus, and others after him. Xenophanes of Colophon was the founder of the Eleatic school, who, Timaeus says, lived in the time of Hiero, lord of Sicily, and Epicharmus the poet; and Apollodorus says that he was born in the fortieth Olympiad, and reached to the times of Darius and Cyrus”; “Herodotus in his first book agrees with him. The date is about the fiftieth Olympiad. Pythagoras is ascertained to have lived in the days of Polycrates the tyrant, about the sixty-second Olympiad. Mnesiphilus is described as a follower of Solon, and was a contemporary of Themistocles. Solon therefore flourished about the forty-sixth Olympiad” (Stromata, 1, 14). Hippolytus: “This philosopher [Anaxagoras] flourished in the first year of the 88th Olympiad, at which time they say that Plato also was born.” Socrates Scholasticus: “In Britain, however, Constantine was proclaimed emperor, instead of his father Constantius, who died in the first year of the two hundred and seventy-first Olympiad, on the 25th of July”; The Emperor Constantine lived sixty-five years, and reigned thirty-one. He died in the consulate of Felician and Tartan, on the twenty-second of May, in the second year of the 278th Olympiad. This book, therefore, embraces a period of thirty-one years. (Ecclesiastical History, Book 1, Ch 2 and Ch 40); “Thus was that war concluded which had been undertaken on account of the suffering Christians in Persia, under the consulate of the two Augusti, being the thirteenth of Honorius, and the tenth of Theodosius, in the fourth year of the 300th Olympiad: and with it terminated the persecution which had been excited in Persia against the Christians” ((Ecclesiastical History, Book 7, Ch 20); Theophilus of Antioch: “When Cyrus, then, had reigned twenty-nine years, and had been slain by Tomyris in the country of the Massagetae, this being in the 62d Olympiad, then the Romans began to increase in power, God strengthening them, Rome having been rounded by Romulus, the reputed child of Mars and Ilia, in the 7th Olympiad, on the 21st day of April, the year being then reckoned as consisting of ten months. Cyrus, then, having died, as we have already said, in the 62d Olympiad, this date falls 220 A.V.C., in which year also Tarquinius, surnamed Superbus, reigned over the Romans...” (Autolycus, iii, 27).

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by Jacob Michael

A few facts about Christmas and the surrounding liturgical year ...

- The word "Christmas" is from the Old English (c. 1038) Cristes Maesse, or "the Mass of Christ"

- There are extant records (the Depositio Martyrum, a forerunner to the Roman Martyrology lists) from the mid-4th century (c. 350 AD) that include an entry on December 25 for natus Christus in Betleem Iudeae ("the birth of Christ in Bethlehem of Judea")

- In 349 AD, Pope Julius fixed the celebration of Christmas for the Western Church as being December 25

- The more-or-less universal fixing of the date of Christmas (i.e., when the East picked up on the Western custom) happened gradually near the end of the 4th (370-390 AD) century, in implicit, unspoken response to the (Eastern) Arian heretics who were denying Christ's divinity - the Eastern Church simply began emphasizing and giving more prominence to the Dec. 25 feast that the West had already been celebrating

- Justinian's Codex (529 AD) officially imposed a cessation of all labor on the celebration of the Feast of the Nativity - a custom we still follow today

- The Second Council of Tours (c. 566-7) declared a twelve-day celebration between the feasts of Christmas (Dec. 25) and Epiphany (Jan. 6) - a celebration we remember in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" - as well as a pre-Christmas fast during the four weeks of Advent

- It was a Catholic saint, St. Francis of Assisi, who in the 13th Century invented and popularized the manger scene, or crèche

- Recognizing that "Christ-Mass" was a singularly Catholic celebration, the English Parliament of the 17th century (already steeped in anti-Catholic Anglicanism) outlawed the celebration of Christmas (and that of Easter as well) and persecuted those who violated the prohibition; the Plymouth Pilgrims in Massachusetts did the same in the mid-1600s.

- Historically, the "high-church" denominations (Lutherans, Catholic, Anglican, Episcopalian) have pushed for the celebration of Christmas, while "low-church" denominations (Baptists, Presbyterians, Quakers, Puritans) have rejected it

Today, the secular world also recognizes the explicitly Catholic nature of the "Christ-Mass" celebration, and so in most US cities the phrase "Merry Christmas" has been quietly replaced with the religiously-neutral "Happy Holidays." Singing Christmas carols at public events is a serious no-no. Erecting manger scenes in front of public buildings is against the law in many places. Eventually, someone at the ACLU will realize that the word "Holidays" is just a variation on the Catholic term "Holy Day" (as in, "holy days of obligation," to which category Christmas belongs), and then we'll be seeing the ubiquitous presence of slogans like "Merry Winter Festival," or "Happy Solstice!"

The proper celebration of the Christmas season is as follows: four weeks of Advent that lead up to Christmas; twelve days of Christmas from Dec. 25 to Jan. 6; the end of Christmas and the beginning of Epiphany on Jan. 6.

During Advent (which is the beginning of the new Church calendar year), we prepare ourselves for the Incarnation by seriously examining our lives and asking ourselves if we are ready for a visit from Our King. The four weeks (one for each of the thousand years that preceded the Incarnation, from Adam to Jesus) are meant specifically to remind us that the Incarnation was only the first Coming of Jesus - that there will most certainly be a Second Coming. The liturgical readings during these four weeks attest to this, as we are confronted with passage after passage that speaks of the Second Coming of Christ.

The preparations we make (through increased prayer, fasting, examination, etc.) are truly intended to remind us of our year-long duty to be always in preparation for the Second Coming. We are exhorted by the Church and Sacred Scripture to be ready for the Second Coming, to not be caught off guard like the virgins in Our Lord's wedding parable.

The anti-Catholic world has reversed this completely, and you can just see it all around you - perhaps you're even part of that reversal process, and you just didn't realize it.

During Advent, we prepare for Christmas - we don't start celebrating it. But for the secular world, Christmas is a season that begins, not on Dec. 25, but on the day after Thanksgiving. In fact, just the opposite of the Christian custom takes place - where we ought to prepare for Christmas during the four weeks leading up to Dec. 25, begin our Christmas celebration on Dec. 25, and carry it through to Jan. 6, the secular world bids us to start celebrating four weeks before Dec. 25, end our Christmas celebrations by Dec. 26, make sure we have the tree and decorations cleared out by New Year's Day, and then begin thinking about becoming better people.

Because the secular world does not acknowledge the season of Advent, that necessary time of preparation, there is no time of reflection or self-examination prior to Christmas Day. There is no yearly reminder that the Second Coming is an imminent reality, and we must - for the sake of our eternal souls - prepare for it.

So when does the secular world find time for self-reflection and examination? You guessed it - after the Christmas season has ended. It's a little custom we call "making New Year's Resolutions." What is this, but the self-inventory of the soul that should have taken place during Advent? Christians fast during Advent - the secular world begins their diet plans in earnest on Jan. 1; Christians make resolutions to pray more, to increase in patience and charity, and in all other ways to live as holier people - but they make these resolutions during Advent, while the secular world makes these similar resolutions (devoid of any real religious substance, of course) on Jan. 1.

What is the point of pointing this out?

Simply this: what Christians do (or should be doing!) during Advent and leading up to Christmas is a foreshadowing of what they will do during the days of their lives that lead up to the Second Coming; what non-Christians refuse to do during Advent, and put off until after Christmas, is precisely a foreshadowing of what they will experience at the Second Coming.

We Christians are to prepare for the Coming of Christ before He actually comes - and that Coming is symbolized and recalled at Christmas. Non-Christians miss this season of preparation, and then scramble for six days after the 25th to make their resolutions. By then, however, it's too late - Christmas has come and gone, Our Lord has already made His visitation to the earth, and He has found them unprepared. This is precisely what will take place at the Second Coming, when those who have put off for their entire lives the necessary preparations will suddenly be scrambling to put their affairs in order. Unfortunately, by then it will have been too late, and there will be no time for repentance.

The Second Coming will be less forgiving than the Incarnation. There will be no four-week warning period before the Second Coming, like we get during Advent. There will be no six-day period of grace after the Second Coming during which to make resolutions and self-examination, like the secular world does from Dec. 26 until Jan. 1.

The 25th has passed - the King is here. Our part now is to be a sign of contradiction to the world, to go against the cultural current. For most of the world, Christmas ended on Dec. 26th - for Christians, Dec. 26th is "the first day of Christmas."

So leave your tree alone. Let the people of the world be the ones to cast this symbol of Christ out of their homes (yes, it is a symbol of Christ - that's why we choose Evergreens, a symbol of eternal life, and not dead oak trees or maples) - and they can't wait to get those trees out of their houses, can they? A co-worker told me yesterday that he had his tree and decorations gone by noon on the 26th. That's a tragedy, because it’s a natural picture of a supernatural reality – if he has no time for Christ-Mass trees, certainly the Christ Child Himself fares no better on this man’s schedule.

I mentioned to him that Christmas lasts until the Feast of the Epiphany. He said he's not a Catholic, so he doesn't follow the Church's calendar rules. I didn't have the heart to tell him that by celebrating Christmas on Dec. 25 (and later this year, by celebrating Easter Sunday on Mar. 27) he's already following the Church's liturgical calendar.

That's the irony. The whole secular world is unwittingly submitting to the Church's authority by honoring Dec. 25th as a "holy-day." The trouble is that they are not truly honoring that day, sanctifying that day, or treating it as "holy."

Christmas has only just begun, friends. Let's do something counter-cultural this year and keep the celebration of Christmas alive and strong - through carols, decorations, parties, gifts, etc. - at least until January 6.

Hodie Christus natus est.

Catholic Apologetics International