1 Although many scholars believe this passage was likely rewritten by a later Christian scribe, the core of the original passage is thought to have contained an account that
Jesus died under the reign of Pontius Pilate.
English Translation by Whiston (1737) of Antiquities of the Jews – Book XVII - Embedded
- see Chapter 3 – Paragraph 3 starting with
Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man
2 See
Finegan (1998) Section 620 -
Pilate’s reign is based on Josephus
Jewish Antiquities Book XVIII Chapter 2 Paragraph 2 for the start of Pilates reign
and
Jewish Antiquities Book XVIII Chapter 4 Paragraph 2 for the length of Pilate’s reign (10 years) and
the end of Pilates reign (~37 AD).
English Translation by Whiston (1737) of Antiquities of the Jews – Book XVII - Embedded
- see Chapter 2 – Paragraph 2 for the start of Pilate's reign - starting with
2. As Coponius, who we told you was sent
- see Chapter 4 – Paragraph 2 for the length of Pilate's reign - starting with
2. But when this tumult was appeased
3 Humphreys (2011) sought to establish when 14 or 15
Nisan fell on a Friday during Pilates reign.
The Gospel accounts state that the crucifixion occurred on the day before
Sabbath which Humphreys(2011) assumed to be on a Friday and on either the 14th or 15th of Nisan. John states that the date was 14 Nisan and the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) state that the
date was 15 Nisan. Humphreys (2011) proposes that the reason for the 14 vs. 15 Nisan discrepancy is because the Gospel writers used two different calendar systems with John
using the official Jewish calendar of the Priests of the Temple in Jerusalem and Matthew, Mark, and Luke using the pre-exilic calendar of ancient Israel where exile refers
to the Babylonian conquest and captivity.
The presumption that the day before the Sabbath is a Friday is complicated by the fact that some Jewish Holidays are considered to be a Sabbath even when they don't fall on the day after Friday.
In Chapter 28 of the Gospel of Matthew, Mary and the other Mary are described in an
interlinear translation as arriving at the empty tomb
after then Sabbaths (Ὀψὲ δὲ σαββάτων) where Sabbaths is plural in the original Greek (σαββάτων). Despite this, the majority of English translations translate Sabbaths as the
singular word Sabbath (after the sabbath) indicating that the day was Sunday - the first day of the week. The following from New Testament Scholar
Dirk Jongkind explains this language
Sabbath is the name of the day but also designates a week. Both the plural and singular are used for both meanings yet normally the intention is clear.
‘The first of the [sabbaths]’ is normally understood to be a standard Hebraism for first of the week (and not ‘weeks’).
It is clear that a ‘sabbath day’ was not intended. Compare for example Luke 18:12 (fasting twice a week [‘sabbath’ singular - σαββάτου].
The expression ‘first (day) of the week’ is used throughout all the gospels and in Acts, always with the plural ‘sabbaths’
Luke 18:2 - Interlinear - Embedded
The specification for the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread which follows the Passover meal is in
Numbers 28:16-17
16 “‘On the fourteenth day of the first month the Lord’s Passover is to be held. 17 On the fifteenth day of this month there is to be a festival; for seven days eat bread made without yeast.
Numbers 28:16-25 - Embedded
