SKYFFARTH — ON THE THEORY OF THE MOON's MOTIONS. 455 



visible in Jerusalem duringjanuary (Tebeth, p. 414), viz. that in 

 the year o of our era, Jan. 9, i ih. 30m. p.m., ft 0° W. On this 

 occasion it may be seen that the Hebrews never used lunar 

 months ; for on the 9th or loth day of any lunar month no lunar 

 eclipse could take place, consequently Tebeth and all other He- 

 brew months must have been solar ones. (See p. 414.) It is 

 evident, by the way, that, prior to the Babylonian captivity, 

 Tebeth ist must have coincided with Jan. ist, as has been demon- 

 strated in the author's Chronologia Sacra, p. 40. Petavius and 

 Ideler referred this eclipse to — 3, March 12th, i3h., ft 8° W., 

 obscuration 4^ inches ; but this eclipse was invisible because the 

 ft lay 11° 42' W., and it is refuted by Josephus's History, which 

 specifies that two months intervened between the eclipse and 

 Herod's death, previous to March 20th. 



32. Dio (Iv. 22, p. 390 St.) asseverates that in the 2Sth year of 

 Augustus, which year extended from Mar. 15, a.d. 6, to Mar. 15, 

 A.D. 7, u.c. 759, coss. Messalla and Cinna, a small eclipse of the 

 sun was seen in Rome (rou ^i/J.ou zc ixAi-k^ ifsverd). This is the 

 eclipse a.d. 7, Feb. 5, 23h., U 15° E., which was. however, invisi- 

 ble in Rome, as Pingre states, provided the longitude of the U 

 was not shorter by 3° 23' (p. 429). In a.d. 5. to which Petavius 

 refers the 28th year of Augustus and the aforesaid consuls, no 

 such eclipse was possible at all. 



33. Eusebius Armen. mentions a solar eclipse about the time 

 of Augustus's death (Aug. 19) in Ol. 198 (za<5^' 6v -^povov ixhtpe^ 

 ijXiou iyeuero). The same is reported by Hieronymus (Chron. 

 ii. p. 157), and by Dio (Ivi. 29, p. 472 St.) Since Jerome com- 

 mences the Olympiads, in accordance with the Roman year, on 

 Jan. ist, his 01. 198, i, coincided with a.d. 16. Indeed, during 

 this year, only one day after Augustus's death, an ecliptic new 

 moon occurred, viz. on Aug. 20th, i7h., U 2° E., curve 27°-3o°, 

 15°, 12°. Since the sun rose on that day about 5 o'clock (Rom. 

 T.), the conjunction took place, in consequence of the parallax, 

 prior to sunrise, but, according to our Table (p. 429), 2h. 23m. 

 later. The longitude of the y being shorter by 3° 37', it is pro- 

 bable that the eclipse was perceived in Thebes, Egypt, 25° N., 

 or in Ethiopia. Petavius referred, in accordance with Ptolemy, 

 the death of Augustus to a.d. 14, and, no solar eclipse being 



