Crucifixion darkness
In his apologetic work Contra Celsum, the third-century Christian scholar Origen offered two natural explanations for the darkness: that it might have been the eclipse described by Phlegon of Tralles in his Chronicle or that it might have been clouds.
[16] It adds, immediately after the death of Jesus, "The curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom",[17] but does not mention an earthquake or the opening of tombs.
[30] The fourth century Gospel of Nicodemus describes how Pilate and his wife are disturbed by a report of what had happened, and the Judeans he has summoned tell him it was an ordinary solar eclipse.
[31] Another text from the fourth century, the purported Report of Pontius Pilate to Tiberius, claimed the darkness had started at the sixth hour, covered the whole world, and during the subsequent evening the full moon resembled blood for the entire night.
[33] Tertullian, in his Apologeticus of AD 197, referred to the crucifixion darkness and claimed that an independent account of the omen was held in the Roman archives: And yet, nailed upon the cross, He exhibited many notable signs, by which His death was distinguished from all others.
As proof that the incident had happened, Origen referred to a description by the Chronicles of Phlegon of Tralles of an eclipse, accompanied by earthquakes felt in other parts of the Empire during the reign of Tiberius.
[35] In his Chronicle of Theophanes, 9th-century Christian chronicler George Syncellus cites the History of the World of Sextus Julius Africanus as writing in reference to the darkness mentioned in the synoptic gospels as occurring at the death of Jesus:[36] On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down.
Phlegon records that during the reign of Tiberius Caesar there was a complete solar eclipse at full moon from the sixth to the ninth hour; it is clear that this is the one.
[37]In the Book of Mormon, which the Latter Day Saint movement claims as scripture, an account is given of a period of darkness in the New World (Western Hemisphere) at the time of Christ's crucifixion and death.
[41] Modern writers who regard this as a miraculous event tend either to see it as operating through a natural phenomenon—such as volcanic dust or heavy cloud cover—or avoid explanation completely.
[45] Some writers explained the crucifixion darkness in terms of solar storms, heavy cloud cover, or the aftermath of a volcanic eruption.
[19] Astronomer Bradley E. Schaefer stated that the lunar eclipse would not have been visible in Jerusalem during daylight hours and would not account for darkness on earth.
The first scholar to support this view was Edward Gibbon, who argued in his multi-volume work The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire that the gospels' account couldn't be considered historical, since no author of the period seemed to have noticed the event and the sources usually adduced to support its historicity were of dubious value (Thallus and Phlegon of Tralles) or later pseudepigrapha (Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite).
[55][56] W. D. Davies and Dale Allison similarly conclude "It is probable that, without any factual basis, darkness was added in order to wrap the cross in a rich symbol and/or assimilate Jesus to other worthies".
[58] The image of darkness over the land would have been understood by ancient readers as a cosmic sign, a typical element in the description of the death of kings and other major figures by writers such as Philo, Dio Cassius, Virgil, Plutarch and Josephus.
It is to be treated as a literary rather than historical phenomenon notwithstanding naive scientists and over-eager television documentary makers, tempted to interpret the account as a datable eclipse of the sun.
[61] One suggestion is that the darkness is a deliberate inversion of the transfiguration;[61] alternatively, Jesus's earlier discourse about a future tribulation mentions the Sun being darkened,[62] and can be seen as foreshadowing this scene.
have seen it as a sign of God's judgement on the Jewish people, sometimes connecting it with the destruction of the city of Jerusalem in the year 70; or as symbolising shame, fear, or the mental suffering of Jesus.
[66] Fitzmyer compares the event to a contemporary description recorded in Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews,[67] which recounts "unlawful acts against the gods, from which we believe the very sun turned away, as if it too were loath to look upon the foul deed".
In particular, parallels have often been noted between the darkness and the prediction in the Book of Amos of an earthquake in the reign of King Uzziah of Judah: "On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight".
