350 ÉTIENNE NODET string of ad hoc arguments, but, on the other side, Jaubert’s conclusions do indeed have some weaknesses. At least two problems should be considered, which concern the Synoptics: firstly, they clearly put the Last Supper on Thursday evening, which does not match the Passover day of the solar calendar; secondly, the bread and wine of the Eucharistic institution do not match the major elements of a traditional Passover. As a starting point, it is useful to assess the date of Jesus’ death, for recent research has provided some new clues. II. Was Jesus Crucified on Friday, 14 Nisan, 33 CE (April 3rd) ? In the official festival calendar of Judea, in use at the Jerusalem temple, Passover time was specified clearly: the slaughtering of the lambs was done between 3 and 5 p.m. on Nisan 14th (the first month) and the Passover meal began after sunset that evening. That calendar is lunar and Babylonian. It depends on the new moons and it had been calculated for many centuries. However, the Jewish custom was to declare a new month if the faintly glowing lunar crescent could be detected immediately after sunset at the end of the 29th of the current month; otherwise the new month was declared one day later. In other words, it was known that the lunar revolution lasts ca. 29.5 days, so that the legal lunar month has 29 or 30 days; if for some reason the new moon could not be seen on the 29th for two consecutive months, they were said to be “full” (i.e. of 30 days) and the following one was declared “hollow” (i.e. of 29 days only), even without any observation. Briefly stated, astronomy can accurately calculate the times of the new moons, and thus the date of Passover, at least in theory, but there is still a possible inaccuracy of one day, because of the uncertainty of detecting the new moon. But this uncertainty can be reduced by considering the conditions of visibility in Jerusalem and the orbital perturbations of the earth and moon. During Pilate’s tenure (26-36 CE), the useful results for the date of Passover (Nisan 14th) are as follows: – in 27, Thursday April 10th (or the following day if the sky was clouded); – in 30, Friday April 7th (or highly improbably the preceding day) ;