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Where Does the Date of 2 Shebat Come From?

We can sometimes read on the Internet that Jewish texts announce a death of Herod the Great on 2 Shebat. Here are the precise results of our…

3 min

Where Does the Date of 2 Shebat Come From?

We can sometimes read on the Internet that Jewish texts announce a death of Herod the Great on 2 Shebat. Here are the precise results of our research on the real state of knowledge: no, there is no ancient Jewish text (neither in the Seder Olam Rabbah, nor in the Talmud, nor in other rabbinic sources) explicitly stating:

“Herod died on 2 Shebat.”

This claim circulates in some modern works, but it does not correspond to an identifiable passage in the ancient Jewish sources.

So here is exactly what is true, what is false, and what is possible.

  1. What the ancient Jewish sources really say

1) The Seder Olam Rabbah

This text gives a general chronology of Jewish history, but:

  • it does not mention the precise date of Herod’s death,
  • it does not give 2 Shebat,
  • it provides no Hebrew calendar date for this event.

The Seder Olam is very useful for the Second Temple period, but it does not give daily dates for the kings.

2) The Talmud

The Talmud:

  • speaks of Herod,
  • recounts episodes of his reign,
  • discusses his relationship with the sages,
  • but gives no date of death,
  • and certainly not 2 Shebat.

Partial conclusion

No ancient Jewish source explicitly says: “Herod died on 2 Shebat.”
This claim is not false in principle, but it is not textually attested.

  1. So where does this date of 2 Shebat come from?

It comes from modern works, notably:

  • E. Filmer (1966),
  • Andrew Steinmann (2009),
  • Rodger Young,
  • and other revisionist researchers.

These authors attempted to reconstruct the date of Herod’s death by using:

  • astronomical data (the eclipse of January 10, -1),
  • the length of the funeral described by Josephus,
  • the proximity of Passover,
  • and retroactive calculations based on the Hebrew calendar.

They arrive at a probable date, not attested in the ancient texts:

2 Shebat = January 26, -1 BC

It is therefore a modern reconstruction, not an ancient Jewish tradition.

  1. Why do some authors speak of “Jewish sources”?

Because:

  • the Hebrew calendar is used to convert the date,
  • Jewish tradition places certain events of Herod around Shebat,
  • but no text explicitly says “2 Shebat = death of Herod.”

It is therefore a modern interpretation, not a quotation.

  1. Is this date of 2 Shebat plausible nonetheless?

Yes, it is historically very plausible, and even more coherent than the traditional date of -4, because it:

  • corresponds to the total eclipse of January 10, -1,
  • leaves the necessary time for the events described by Josephus,
  • allows a proclamation of Archelaus at Passover,
  • agrees better with the chronology of the birth of Jesus.

It is plausible, but not textually attested in the Jewish sources.