The Significance of 3 Hours of Darkness in Matthew 27:45 and Its Historical Corroboration

The New Testament narrative of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, as recorded in Matthew 27:45, describes a remarkable phenomenon: a three-hour period of darkness from the sixth hour to the ninth hour. This passage has been subject to various interpretations, ranging from symbolic meanings to fulfillment of prophetic texts and supernatural events. Yet, many skeptics dismiss the account as unfounded due to its lack of mention in secular historical records. However, historical and textual evidence supports the validity of this event, making the biblical narrative more compelling and less fictitious.

Skeptics and Historical Context

One of the main criticisms of the passage in Matthew 27:45 is the lack of corroborating evidence from secular historians. Skeptics often argue that the event did not happen since it was not recorded by contemporary non-Christian sources. However, such a claim is unfounded when considering the historical evidence available. The event, as described in the Bible, is not only recorded by Christian sources but also by pagan ones, suggesting a more widespread and significant phenomenon.

Historical Sources

Three significant non-Christian sources have been noted to corroborate the biblical account of the darkness at the crucifixion:

1. Thallus

Thallus was a Samaritan philosopher and historian who wrote about the history of the Eastern Mediterranean world up to the time of the Trojan War. He lived around 52 AD and mentioned a significant event in his writings that coincides with the period of Jesus' crucifixion. In his third book, Thallus referred to a darkness that took place during the Crucifixion, calling it an unreasonable event. More importantly, the original writings of Thallus are not extant, but a 3rd-century historian, Julius Africanus, cited him. Africanus attributes Thallus to explain the event as an eclipse of the sun, but he argues that it was an unreasonable and unnatural occurrence.

2. Phlegon

Phlegon was a Greek historian who lived in the 2nd century AD. He wrote a chronological work which included an account of a significant solar eclipse that coincided with the crucifixion. In his writing, Phlegon described a solar eclipse that darkened the sky during the sixth hour of the day (noon) and beyond, causing the stars to appear in the heavens. He recorded that this event occurred in the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad, which would place it in the early 1st century AD, around the time of Jesus' crucifixion.

3. Julius Africanus

Africanus was a 3rd-century Christian historian who wrote during the reign of Emperor Alexander Severus. He was a pagan convert who constructed a library at the Pantheon in Rome and wrote a five-volume history of the world. In his writings, Africanus acknowledges the passage in Matthew 27:45 and references the event of darkness at the crucifixion. He disagrees with Thallus' interpretation of it as a solar eclipse, arguing that the moon cannot cause an eclipse during the full moon—which was the case around the crucifixion. Instead, he suggests that the event was either a supernatural darkness or possibly an earthquake and the subsequent darkness could have been due to dust in the atmosphere from the earthquake. Africanus notes that such an event was so significant that it was reported by Phlegon as a particularly severe solar eclipse.

Local vs. Global Event

The historical accounts do not necessarily support a global darkness. Most translations of Matthew 27:45 describe the darkness as 'over the land' or 'over the whole land', rather than 'over the globe'. In Greek, the term for 'earth' gē is used, which is consistent with a regional rather than a global event. Thus, the darkness is more likely to have been a localized phenomenon, affecting a specific area and visible mostly to those present at the crucifixion.

Conclusion

The traditional narrative of a three-hour darkness during the Crucifixion as recorded in Matthew 27:45 is supported by historical evidence. This corroborative data from Thallus, Phlegon, and Julius Africanus adds weight to the biblical account, making it a more historically plausible event. The event is not a mere invention of early Christians, but rather an occurrence that would have been significant enough to leave a lasting impression on pagan and Christian historians alike.