---
title: Date of the First Passover Anchored to Solomon's Temple
description: Explore how using Solomon's Temple and astronomical reconstruction results in a proposed Passover date of Friday evening, April 17, 1446 BC.
---

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# [Date of the First Passover Anchored to Solomon's Temple](https://aviv.services/blog/date-of-the-first-passover-anchored-to-solomons-temple)

 Written by [Jonathan Lankford](https://aviv.services/blog/author/jonathan-lankford) | October 12, 2026 at 11:50 PM

## Purpose

This document presents the logic used for the first Passover on Friday evening, April 17, 1446 BC, and the Exodus on the following Sabbath day. It is not presented as settled history but as a reconstruction based on the Tyrian king list, the traditional Carthage date, 1 Kings 6:1, and astronomical considerations.

## 1. The Carthage Anchor

Josephus preserves material from Menander of Ephesus, who claimed to translate Tyrian records. These records connect Hiram of Tyre, Solomon's contemporary, to later Tyrian kings including Pygmalion. Ancient historians dated Dido's flight from Tyre and the founding of Carthage to 825 BC. The Tyrian chronology places the Temple construction 143 years and 8 months before that event.

Josephus, *Against Apion*, Book I, Section 106:

There are then records among the Tyrians that take in the history of many years, and these are public writings, and are kept with great exactness, and include accounts of the facts done among them, and such as concern their transactions with other nations also, those I mean which were worth remembering. Therein it was recorded that the temple was built by king Solomon at Jerusalem, one hundred forty-three years and eight months before the Tyrians built Carthage; and in their annals the building of our temple is related; for Hirom, the king of Tyre, was the friend of Solomon our king, and had such friendship transmitted down to him from his forefathers.

Josephus, *Against Apion*, Book I, Section 116:

So the whole time from the reign of Hirom, till the building of Carthage, amounts to the sum of one hundred fifty-five years and eight months. Since then the temple was built at Jerusalem in the twelfth year of the reign of Hirom, there were from the building of the temple, until the building of Carthage, one hundred forty-three years and eight months. Wherefore, what occasion is there for alleging any more testimonies out of the Phoenician histories \[on the behalf of our nation\], since what I have said is so thoroughly confirmed already?

Source: [Flavius Josephus, Against Apion, BOOK I](https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=J.+Ap.+1)

## 2. Dating the Temple

Working backward from 825 BC gives approximately 968/967 BC for the beginning of Temple construction. The difference between 968 and 967 arises from regnal-year reconstructions and accession-year counting. 1 Kings 6:1 states that construction began in Ziv, the second month. Using the Biblical Aviv-based chronology, the Temple begins in Ziv (month 2) of 967 BC.

## 3. Biblical Month

In agreement with the calculations based on the founding of Carthage, Ziv falls roughly in April-May. Thus the Temple foundation is placed in spring 967 BC.

## 4. Counting Back to the Exodus

1 Kings 6:1 says the Temple began in the 480th year after the Exodus. Taking this figure literally and placing the Temple foundation in spring 967 BC yields an Exodus year of spring in 1446 BC.

## 5. Astronomical Reconstruction

The Passover occurred on Aviv 14 in the evening, going into Aviv 15 in 1446 BC. Using astronomical reconstruction, we can pinpoint the date of Aviv 15 in 1446 BC.

### Astronomical Conjunction

The starting point is the **astronomical new moon**, the dark moon, also called the **conjunction**. NASA's moon phase calculations place a conjunction on **April 2, 1446 BC** (Julian calendar reconstruction).

### Crescent New Moon

Ancient Israel did not begin months at conjunction. The month would begin when the first crescent could be observed after sunset.

On April 2, 1446 BC, at sunset in the land of Canaan:

- The moon would have been approximately **10-12 hours old**.
- Solar elongation would still have been very small.
- The crescent illumination would have been extremely thin.

Under normal naked-eye visibility criteria, a crescent this young would be highly unlikely to be seen. Most historical visibility models would predict non-visibility on this evening.

By the following evening, April 3, 1446 BC:

- The moon would have been approximately **34-36 hours old**.
- Angular separation from the Sun would be substantially greater.
- The illuminated crescent would be wider and brighter.

A moon of this age would generally be considered a strong candidate for first naked-eye visibility under favorable weather conditions. Therefore, the evening of **April 3, 1446 BC** is considered the most likely beginning of **Aviv 1**.

### Equinox and Aviv Considerations

The biblical month of **Aviv** is more than simply the first month of the year. The Hebrew word *aviv* refers to a stage of barley development in which the grain is young and green but sufficiently mature that it will ripen for harvest in the coming weeks. This agricultural condition is important because the Feast of Firstfruits occurs during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, shortly after Passover, when the first sheaf of the barley harvest was presented before God.

Therefore, the first month could not begin too early in the season. If the barley had not yet reached the aviv stage, there would not be a harvestable firstfruits offering by the time of Passover and Unleavened Bread. The determination of Aviv was thus tied both to the lunar cycle and to observable agricultural conditions in the land.

It is assumed that the barley in the land of Goshen and Canaan had already reached the aviv stage before the first observable crescent associated with **April 3, 1446 BC**. Under normal seasonal weather patterns, barley that had reached aviv by that time would be expected to ripen sufficiently for harvest by Passover approximately two weeks later.

The spring equinox provides an additional seasonal checkpoint. While Scripture never explicitly states that Aviv must begin after the equinox, many students of the biblical calendar argue that the month of Aviv should be the lunar month whose **Passover full moon occurs after the spring equinox**. This ensures that Passover remains anchored to the spring harvest season described in the Torah.

Under this model:

- The astronomical conjunction occurs April 2, 1446 BC.
- The first visible crescent is observed on the evening of April 3.
- Aviv 1 begins at sunset on April 3.
- The full moon of the month occurs after the spring equinox.
- The barley is assumed to be in the aviv stage and capable of ripening in time for Firstfruits.

Therefore, this lunation qualifies as the biblical month of Aviv because it satisfies both the seasonal harvest requirement and the lunar timing associated with Passover and Unleavened Bread.

## 7. Passover of the Exodus

If Aviv 1 began at sunset on April 3, then Aviv 15 would begin at sunset on April 17, 1446 BC. This would be the Passover of the Exodus.

## 8. Day of the Week

| Method | Purpose | Intermediate Step | Expected Result |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Zeller's Congruence | Direct weekday formula | None | Friday |
| Julian Day Number (JDN) | Convert to continuous day count | JDN → weekday | Friday |
| Rata Die | Count days from a fixed epoch | RD → weekday | Friday |
| Modern astronomical algorithms | Compute continuous time scale then calendar conversion | JD/JDN internally | Friday |

 

Using the proleptic Julian weekday calculations of Zellar’s Congruence and Julian Day Number (JDN), it can be certain that April 17, 1446 BC, falls on a Friday. Therefore, the evening beginning Aviv 15 - when the Passover occurred - would coincide with the start of the biblical Sabbath at sunset.

## Summary Timeline

1. Rome founded (753 BC)
2. Justin: Dido fled 72 years earlier (825 BC)
3. Josphus: Temple was 143 years 8 months before Dido fled (spring of 967 BC)
4. 1 Kings 6:1: Exodus 480 years earlier (spring of 1446 BC)
5. Sighted new moon of Aviv before spring equinox (April 3, 1446 BC)
6. Passover/Exodus after spring equinox (April 17-18, 1446 BC)
7. Zeller’s Congruence and Julian Day Number (Friday evening and Sabbath)

## Further reading

[967 B.C.E.: How the Lynchpin Date for Solomon's Temple Was Determined | ArmstrongInstitute.org](https://armstronginstitute.org/685-967-bce-how-the-lynchpin-date-for-solomons-temple-was-determined) 

[The Biblical Date For The Exodus Is 1446 BC: A Response To James Hoffmeier | Associates For Biblical Research](https://biblearchaeology.org/the-biblical-date-for-the-exodus-is-1446-bc-a-response-to-james-hoffmeier/) 

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