Étienne Nodet, «On Jesus' Last Supper», Vol. 91 (2010) 348-369
In the Gospels, Jesus' last supper involves custom and legal issues: chronological discrepancies between the Synoptics and John, a mock trial before the Sanhedrin, two trials before Pilate (John), and so on. This study focuses on the calendar problem, a topic of utmost importance in ancient Judaism, and follows A. Jaubert's hypothesis, against J. Jeremias' now classical view: the Synoptics display a somewhat loose connection with the Jubilees sectarian calendar, while John's chronology seems to be historically more accurate.
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ON JESUS’ LAST SUPPER
its rising and the moon will not shed its lightâ€. Again, we have the
two eclipses at the same time. In Matt 24,29, Jesus says that before
the appearance of the Son of Man “the sun will be darkened, the
moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from heavenâ€.
All the ancient writers who comment on the prophecies make the
connection with the passage on the Son of Man and with all the
signs mentioned in the Gospels at Jesus’ death (Matt 27,45.51):
darkness over all the land, rent curtain, earthquake, resurrection of
the saints. The darkness may refer, in general, to the two eclipses
of the ancient prophecies, but Luke 23,45 specifies an eclipse of
the sun, which explains the darkness. No ancient authority knows
of any independent tradition on an eclipse of the moon 10.
However, an eclipse at a Passover moonrise, at the very
beginning of the feast, is a very rare phenomenon, albeit of limited
scope. If it occurred immediately after Jesus’ death, it may have
been viewed as a heavenly harbinger, later developed into a full-
s c a l e apocalyptic picture, perhaps in connection with the
destruction of Jerusalem, since Josephus himself gives numerous
signs and oracles to this effect (War 6 :288-315). No more can be
said in support of the year 33. As for the eclipse of the sun in
Luke 23, we shall see another possible explanation.
III. The Solar Calendar of the Book of Jubilees. Its Authority
Before reassessing Jaubert’s hypothesis, it is necessary to
discuss the non-lunar calendar of the book of Jubilees.
The Greek Fathers knew of this book as Little Genesis. The
Greek version is lost, but it was the source of a Latin translation,
which survives in several quotations, as well as an Ethiopian
translation, titled The Book of the Division of Times. In his major
study, R. Charles has shown that the original work was written in
Hebrew 11, a conclusion confirmed by some fragments unearthed
from the Qumran caves. The book rewrites the stories of Genesis,
As shown by a research on the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae. The proof
10
texts adduced by Humphreys and Waddington are in fact inconclusive, for they
always rely upon the prophecies and speak of both eclipses (Acta Pilati; Cyril
of Alexandria, In Johelem, 3:1-4).
R.H. CHARLES, The Book of Jubilees or the Little Genesis (London
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