Andreas Kostenberger believes Jesus was born 5BC and died AD33.
I reproduce his post here in full (because I go back to it often and want to make sure its available), but you should look at it on his site and read some of the interesting discussion/comments that follow if you’re interested in it.
Christians celebrate Christmas and Easter every year, but few know when Jesus was actually born and when he died. With Christmas less than 3 months away, some of you may find the following post helpful. Not that any great doctrine rests on the calculations below, but it sure is nice that we can have reasonable confidence that the dates of Jesus’ birth and death are secure and can be gleaned from a combination of biblical and extrabiblical historical data. I may not be willing to stake my life on the accuracy of the data below, but I am confident enough of these calculations that the license plate of my van reads as follows: 5BC–AD33. So here you go:
Jesus’ birth most likely took place in late November of 5 B.C. (the most authoritative treatment of which I am aware is Paul L. Maier, “The Date of the Nativity and the Chronology of Jesus’ Life,” in Chronos, karios, Christos: Nativity and Chronological Studies Presented to Jack Finegan [ed. J. Vardaman and E. M. Yamauchi; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1989], 113–30). This, incidentally, would allow enough time for Jesus to be born and for Herod (who died in 4 B.C.) to mount his campaign to have all the boys two years old and under in Bethlehem and vicinity killed (see Matt 2:16, 19).
Jesus’ crucifixion probably occurred on Friday, April 3, A.D. 33. Luke 3:1–3 tells us that John the Baptist, Jesus’ forerunner, began his ministry “in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.” Both Roman historians Tacitus (Annales 4 §4) and Suetonius (Tiberius 73) date the beginning of Tiberius’s reign at A.D. 14 (the precise date is August 19, the day of Emperor Augustus’s death). Hence the 15th year of Tiberius’s reign, counting from August 19, A.D. 14, brings us to A.D. 29 (14 + 15 = 29).
According to Luke 3:23, Jesus was “about 30 years old” when he began his ministry. If Jesus was born in 5 B.C. (as argued above) and began his ministry, as is indicated by all four Gospels, shortly after that of John the Baptist (that is, in the latter part of the year A.D. 29), this would mean that Jesus was about 33 years old when he began his public ministry (see H. W. Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1977], 31–37 and B. Messner, “’In the Fifteenth Year’ Reconsidered: A Study of Luke 3:1,” Stone-Campbell Journal 1 [1998]: 201–11).
John’s Gospel records Jesus’ appearance at at least 3 Passovers: (1) in Jerusalem (2:13, 23); (2) in Galilee (6:4); and (3) again in Jerusalem (11:55; 12:1). In addition, it is likely that he attended a fourth Passover not recorded in John but recorded in the Synoptics (Matt 12:1 pars.?). This adds up to a length of about 3 ½ years for Jesus’ ministry. If he began his ministry in late A.D. 29, this brings us to A.D. 33 for the crucifixion. It so happens that because of astronomical calculations A.D. 30 and 33 are the only possible dates for Jesus’ crucifixion as far as the date of Passover in these two years is concerned (for the dating of the four Passovers in question see esp. C. J. Humphreys and W. G. Waddington, “The Jewish Calendar, a Lunar Eclipse, and the Date of Christ’s Crucifixion,” Tyndale Bulletin 43 [1992]: 331–51, esp. 335).
Finally, John 2:20 says that the temple was completed 46 years ago (see for this translation A. J. Köstenberger, John [BECNT; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004], 109–10). According to Josephus, the renovation of the temple building proper started in 20/19 B.C. (Antiquities 15.11.1 §380), with completion 18 months later in 18/17 B.C. (Antiquities 15.11.6 §421). Again, counting from 18/17 B.C., adding 46 years brings us to A.D. 29 (there was no year zero)—a great way to check our math above!
For Further Study: See the chart in A. J. Köstenberger, John (BECNT; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004), 11–13, and commentary at 1:19 and 2:20, and the previous post on Johannine chronology here. See also H. W. Hoehner, “Chronology,” in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (ed. J. B. Green, S. McKnight, and I. H. Marshall; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1992), 118–22.
PJ's personal blog. For articles see gospelize.me 
So, Jesus was presented in the Temple which had to happen during the first monthe minus Mary’s purification and that puts it in November? Interesting.
We coul question when the season of firstfruits was, or the commentary of Ruth that it was during the barley harvest that God visited his people with bread after a long draught and things like that, but the Law I think is enough to put to reast the false conclusion that Christ was born at any other time than the time of the birth of lambs.
I honestly don’t know.
how you could determine that Jesus Christ was died on the day of Friday and rises early in the first day of the week, that Jesus given us signed like Jonah in the billy of fish three (3) days and nights and he also in the tomb. please explain me further about this.
According to the ESV Study Bible:
Matt. 12:40 Three days and three nights in Jewish reckoning is inclusive, meaning no more than three days or the combination of any part of three separate days. Jesus was raised “in three days” although he was buried Friday afternoon and resurrected Sunday morning (i.e., part of Friday is day one, all of Saturday is day two, and part of Sunday is day three).
Jesus in Matt 1 2:40 is not seeming to say He will be in the grave 3 days and nights.
Jonah says in 2:1 in the belly of hell and in 2:3 midst of netherworld. Jesus repeats this idea as heart of the land. This seems more to the effect of being in the grip of evil. That would be given over with Judas. And again to the Jews the day ended when the sun darkened and the first lights are spotted. Three hours would be a completeness biblicly. Amos prophesied 8:9 “I will make the sun set at midday and cover the earth with darkness in broad daylight”. This recreated nature and another Exodus.
by any chance does anyone know what day month and year jesus was born and what day month and year he died. if anyone does know the answer to my comment please post your answer to my comment at the post comment. and thank you to all that answers my question. and may god and jesus allways be with you and allways be in your heart. again thank you to all that answer my question.
again i’ll be wait for your replys
I don’t think any historian can know with accuracy today. We’re not even sure on the precise year though we are within a year or two. The Bible and external evidence is not enough to conclude on the month or day Jesus was born.
Did you even read the article….the answer is there!!
On What Day Was Jesus Born?
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While much of the world celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ on the 25th of December, can the actual day of Jesus’ birth be determined from scripture? This question will be explored in some detail, and will yield a result that is quite intriguing. The first passage we will consider begins with the father of John the Baptist, Zacharias:
Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
Luke 1:8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, …
Luke 1:23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
Luke 1:24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, …
The clue given to us here is that Zacharias was of the “course” of Abia.
The 24 Courses of the Temple Priesthood.
7. But David, being desirous of ordaining his son king of all the people, called together their rulers to Jerusalem, with the priests and the Levites; and having first numbered the Levites, he found them to be thirty-eight thousand, from thirty years old to fifty; out of which he appointed twenty-three thousand to take care of the building of the temple, and out of the same, six thousand to be judges of the people and scribes, four thousand for porters to the house of God, and as many for singers, to sing to the instruments which David had prepared, as we have said already. He divided them also into courses: and when he had separated the priests from them, he found of these priests twenty-four courses, sixteen of the house of Eleazar, and eight of that of Ithamar; and he ordained that one course should minister to God eight days, from sabbath to sabbath. And thus were the courses distributed by lot, in the presence of David, and Zadok and Abiathar the high priests, and of all the rulers; and that course which came up first was written down as the first, and accordingly the second, and so on to the twenty-fourth; and this partition hath remained to this day. — Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 7, Chapter 14, Paragraph 7.
King David on God’s instructions (1 Chr 28:11-13) had divided the sons of Aaron into 24 groups (1 Chr 24:1-4), to setup a schedule by which the Temple of the Lord could be staffed with priests all year round in an orderly manner. After the 24 groups of priests were established, lots were drawn to determine the sequence in which each group would serve in the Temple. (1 Chr 24: 7-19). That sequence is as follows:
1 Chr 24:7 1. Jehoiarib 2. Jedaiah
1 Chr 24:8 3. Harim 4. Seorim
1 Chr 24:9 5. Malchijah 6. Mijamin
1 Chr 24:10 7. Hakkoz 8. Abijah
1 Chr 24:11 9. Jeshuah 10. Shecaniah
1 Chr 24:12 11. Eliashib 12. Jakim
1 Chr 24:13 13. Huppah 14. Jeshebeab
1 Chr 24:14 15. Bilgah 16. Immer
1 Chr 24:15 17. Hezir 18. Aphses
1 Chr 24:16 19. Pethahiah 20. Jehezekel
1 Chr 24:17 21. Jachim 22. Gamul
1 Chr 24:18 23. Delaiah 24. Maaziah
1 Chr 24:19 These were the orderings of them in their service to come into the house of the LORD, according to their manner, under Aaron their father, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him.
Now each one of the 24 “courses” of priests would begin and end their service in the Temple on the Sabbath, a tour of duty being for one week (2 Chr 23:8, 1 Chr 9:25). On three occasions during the year, all the men of Israel were required to travel to Jerusalem for festivals of the Lord, so on those occasions all the priests would be needed in the Temple to accommodate the crowds. Those three festivals were Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and Tabernacles (Deut 16:16).
The Yearly Cycle of Service in the Temple.
The Jewish calendar begins in the spring, during the month of Nisan, so the first “course” of priests, would be that of the family of Jehoiarib, who would serve for one week, Sabbath to Sabbath. The second week would then be the responsibility of the family of Jedaiah. The third week would be the feast of Unleavened Bread, and all priests would be present for service. Then the schedule would resume with the third course of priests, the family of Harim. By this plan, when the 24th course was completed, the general cycle of courses would repeat. This schedule would cover 51 weeks or 357 days, enough for the lunar Jewish calendar (about 354 days). So, in a period of a year, each group of priests would serve in the Temple twice on their scheduled course, in addition to the 3 major festivals, for a total of about five weeks of duty.
The Conception of John the Baptist.
Now back to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist.
Luke 1:23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
Luke 1:24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, …
Beginning with the first month, Nisan, in the spring (March-April), the schedule of the priest’s courses would result with Zacharias serving during the 10th week of the year. This is because he was a member of the course of Abia (Abijah), the 8th course, and both the Feast of Unleavened Bread (15-21 Nisan) and Pentecost (6 Sivan) would have occurred before his scheduled duty. This places Zacharias’ administration in the Temple as beginning on the second Sabbath of the third month, Sivan (May-June).
1st Month 2nd Month 3rd Month
Abib – Nisan
(March – April) Zif – Iyyar
(April – May) Sivan
(May – June)
First
Week Jehoiarib (1) Seorim (4) All Priests
(Pentecost)
Second
Week Jedaiah (2) Malchijah (5) Abijah (8)
Third
Week All Priests
(Feast of Unleavened Bread) Mijamin (6) Jeshuah (9)
Fourth
Week Harim (3) Hakkoz (7) Shecaniah (10)
Having completed his Temple service on the third Sabbath of Sivan, Zacharias returned home and soon conceived his son John. So John the Baptist was probably conceived shortly after the third Sabbath of the month of Sivan.
The Conception of Jesus Christ.
Now the reason that the information about John is important, is because according to Luke, Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the sixth month of Elisabeth’s pregnancy:
Luke 1:24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
Luke 1:25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
Luke 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
Luke 1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
Note that verse 26 above refers to the sixth month of Elisabeth’s pregnancy, not Elul, the sixth month of the Hebrew calendar, and this is made plain by the context of verse 24 and again in verse 36:
Luke 1:36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth for the last 3 months of her pregnancy, until the time that John was born.
Luke 1:56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.
Luke 1:57 Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.
Now working from the information about John’s conception late in the third month, Sivan, and advancing six months, we arrive late in the 9th month of Kislev (Nov-Dec) for the time frame for the conception of Jesus. It is notable here that the first day of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, is celebrated on the 25th day of Kislev, and Jesus is called the light of the world (John 8:12, 9:5, 12:46). This does not appear to be a mere coincidence. In the book of John, Hanukkah is called the feast of dedication (John 10:22). Hanukkah is an eight day festival of rejoicing, celebrating deliverance from enemies by the relighting of the menorah in the rededicated Temple, which according to the story, stayed lit miraculously for eight days on only one day’s supply of oil.
The Birth of John the Baptist.
Based on a conception shortly after the third Sabbath of the month of Sivan, projecting forward an average term of about 10 lunar months (40 weeks), we arrive in the month of Nisan. It would appear that John the Baptist may have been born in the middle of the month, which would coincide with Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It is interesting to note, that even today, it is customary for the Jews to set out a special goblet of wine during the Passover Seder meal, in anticipation of the arrival of Elijah that week, which is based on the prophecy of Malachi:
Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Jesus identified John as the “Elijah” that the Jews had expected:
Mat 17:10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
Mat 17:11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.
Mat 17:12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
Mat 17:13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
The angel that appeared to Zacharias in the temple also indicated that John would be the expected “Elias”:
Luke 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
So then, the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the 15th day of the 1st month, Nisan, and this is a likely date for the birth of John the Baptist, the expected “Elijah”.
The Birth of Jesus Christ.
Since Jesus was conceived six months after John the Baptist, and we have established a likely date for John’s birth, we need only move six months farther down the Jewish calendar to arrive at a likely date for the birth of Jesus. From the 15th day of the 1st month, Nisan, we go to the 15th day of the 7th month, Tishri. And what do we find on that date? It is the festival of Tabernacles! The 15th day of Tishri begins the third and last festival of the year to which all the men of Israel were to gather in Jerusalem for Temple services. (Lev 23:34)
Immanuel.
Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Immanuel means “God with us”. The Son of God had come to dwell with, or tabernacle on earth with His people.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), occurs five days after the Day of Atonement, and is a festival of rejoicing and celebration of deliverance from slavery in Egypt (Leviticus 23:42-43).
Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Luke 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
Luke 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Why was there no room at the inn? Bethlehem is only about 5 miles from Jerusalem, and all the men of Israel had come to attend the festival of Tabernacles as required by the law of Moses. Every room for miles around Jerusalem would have been already taken by pilgrims, so all that Mary and Joseph could find for shelter was a stable. During Tabernacles, everyone was to live in temporary booths (Sukkot), as a memorial to Israel’s pilgrimage out of Egypt – Lev. 23:42-43. The birth of the Savior, in what amounted to a temporary dwelling rather than a house, signaled the coming deliverance of God’s people from slavery to sin, and their departing for the promised land, which is symbolized by Tabernacles.
Also of note is the fact that the Feast of Tabernacles is an eight day feast (Lev 23:36, 39). Why eight days? It may be because an infant was dedicated to God by performing circumcision on the eighth day after birth:
Luke 2:21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
So the infant Jesus would have been circumcised on the eighth and last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, a Sabbath day. The Jews today consider this a separate festival from Tabernacles, and they call it Shemini Atzeret.
The Baptism of Jesus
There is another indication in scripture as to when Jesus was born.
Mark 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
Mark 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Jesus said this after His baptism, upon emerging from 40 days in the wilderness, when He began His preaching ministry. The book of Daniel gives us the “time” or prophesy Jesus was speaking about.
Dan 9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
Dan 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, …
The 70th week of Daniel, a period of 7 literal years, began with “Messiah the Prince”. Messiah means anointed, and Jesus was publically anointed by the Holy Spirit at His baptism. Daniel 9:26-27 tells us that the Messiah would be “cut off” (crucified) in the “midst of the week”, which is to say the Messiah would be crucified 3 1/2 years after His baptism. It is very likely that by understanding this prophecy the wise men knew when to look for the Christ child.
Luke 3:22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
Luke 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, …
Luke hints that at His baptism Jesus became about thirty, so it was likely that His birthday coincided, more or less, with His baptism. This agrees with the time of Tabernacles, and 3 years and 6 months later at Passover, Jesus was crucified exactly and precisely as Daniel had prophesied.
Conclusion
So, if you have followed the above reasoning, based on the scriptural evidence, a case can apparently be made that Jesus Christ was born on the 15th day of the month of Tishri, on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, which corresponds to the September – October timeframe of our present calendar!
Jewish month Begins the
New moon of John the Baptist Jesus
1. Abib / Nisan March-April Birth of John
15 Nisan 4
2. Zif / Iyyar April-May 5
3. Sivan May-June Conception of John
after 3rd Sabbath
6
4. Tammuz June-July 1 7
5. Ab / Av July-August 2 8
6. Elul August-September 3 9
7. Ethanim / Tishri September-October 4
Birth of Jesus
15 Tishri
8. Bul / Marheshvan / Heshvan October-November 5
9. Chisleu / Chislev / Kislev November-December 6
Conception of Jesus
25 Kislev ?
10. Tebeth / Tevet December-January 7 1
11. Shebat / Shevat January-February 8 2
12. Adar February-March 9 3
Tabernacles Future Fulfillment
It is also interesting to note that Tabernacles was a feast of ingathering of the Harvest (Exo 23:16 and 34:22). If Jesus’ first coming was indeed on 15 Tishri, the first day of Tabernacles, then it is quite reasonable to presume that the harvest of this earth, the ingathering of the second coming of Jesus Christ, will also occur on precisely the same date. The unknown factor would be the year that this would happen.
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What Year Was Jesus Born?
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http://biblelight.net
I JUST WHAT TO SAY THANK YOU TO PJTIBAYAN FOR ANSWERING TO MY COMMENT.
In sincerity I want all of us to continue in love, but I must correct the Friday Crucifixion Theory. The simple of it all is that Messiah was our Passover Lamb. As well, He was Crucified on Passover 14 Abib, see Exodus 12:6 & Leviticus 23:5. Joseph of Arimathaea buried Him just before Sunset because a High Sabbath was approaching within hours. See Leviticus 23:6-8 to know what Sabbath, for it was NOT Saturday.
In The Prophecy of Jonah, Matthew 12:40, the ONLY SIGN Messiah gave, Messiah Himself detailed His duration in the tomb as exactly 72 hours. This would unquestionably place His Resurrection exactly 72 hours after His Burial; ie. Buried at Sunset so Resurrected at Sunset as well only 72 hours later. The women arriving Sunday morning then became human proof/validation that He had indeed Risen, was already GONE!
Since Sunday morning was proof He was gone, that meant that 12 hours prior, ie. Sunset Saturday was His Resurrection and Sunset Wednesday was His Burial. But, ‘take heed that no man deceive you’, for you are to ‘study to show yourself approved’. You may read my study on the subject by clicking: http://nazarenespace.com/profiles/blogs/messiahs-actual-crucifixion-amp-resurrection. As I stand on Titus 2:8 I encourage ANY rebuttal.
Esther 4:16 and 5:! help us understand that three days and three nights is an expression and not a roman understanding of 72 hours as we do today. Though Esther had asked for prayer and fasting and said that “after” = ‘then’ the prayer fasting she would go to the king, yet ON the third day she approaches the king, not after the 3 days of fasting and prayer.
from what i learned and studied jesus was born in september and died in april at the age 33, i learned that the number 33 has allot of meaning and importance to it and the seal of that number is his age the age of death
We do not know anything about this event. We make up stories for religious reasons but it is impossible for us to know who Jesus was and he certainaly didn’t arise from the dead nor was he born of a Virgin birth. What a lot of crap we continue feed people and they continue to believe it. Our world is likely billions of years old. This is recent history. We know nothing. Just fairy tales, Period.
that is not true we know a lot of things about Jesus.
PS your stupid.
all that goes out to Marie gill
None of the blogs are stupid, just sincere people expressing their views. There is some interesting opinions posted. May I take the liberty of saying that there is a different evangel to all of those that appear on this site, which appears only when the ancient texts are literally translated, may i suggest that you start there and discover for yourself what the texts say. To get you started try this: Matthew 28: 1. The ancient Greek texts from which most English-language Bibles originate states: ‘Opse de sabbaton te epiphoskouse eis mian sabbaton’. Which when literally translated is: ‘Now it is the evening of the sabbaths at the lighting up into one of the sabbaths’. Regardless of your proficiency in Greek you cannot help but notice that the word sabbaton which exclusively means ‘sabbath’ appears twice in that passage, yet for a very long time it has been altered to ‘in the end of the sabbath (or after the sabbath) as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week’. Sabbath means ‘sabbath’ not ‘week’, regardless of whether it is a festival sabbath or a seventh-day sabbath. Those who believe they have seen through the deception of the first day of the week doctrine haven’t because they also rely on a misunderstanding of the literal meaning of the text. I hope this doesn’t undermine anyone’s beliefs but the truth is the truth. As far as the age of the earth is concerned the very first verse of Genesis is also mistranslated or at least the Masoretes thought so because the first word ‘beginning’ does not have the definite article, in other words “in beginning God created the heavens and the earth’ or ‘in a beginning…’. This is borne out in Isaiah which says He did not create it without form or empty (paraphrased), therefore the second sentence should read (it does in my Bible) ‘and the earth became without form and empty’ (paraphrased) not ‘and it was without form and empty’. Regretfully the critic who legitimately believes that the earth is older than 6000 years has rejected all Scripture on the basis of a misunderstanding of what the Scriptural text actually does say.
Keep searching.
A key piece is missing, The Jewish feasts have attached to them special sabbaths, not just Saturday. People get confused about the multiple sabbaths all the time. The see the word sabbath, and think it means Saturday (technically Friday sundown till Saturday sundown). But Saturdays were not by any means the only Sabbaths, not by a long shot.
So the three days and three nights in the belly, i.e. In the ground, was accurate and literal. Jesus died before the Passover sabbath, not the regular Saturday sabbath, placing his death in a Thursday.