Abstract
Biblical scholars occasionally contact the ASA office for help. A recent request involved an attempt to clear up the chronology of Holy Week. Did Christ die on Thursday or Friday? An analysis of relevant texts in the Gospel of John and the Synoptic Gospel coupled with Amos 8: 7-10 led to the conclusion that Christ was crucified on a Thursday. This interpretation noted that there was no conflict with the traditional observance of Good Friday, because the timeline was altered as the Amos passage was fulfilled. Our Friday today corresponds to Thursday in Jesus' day. Key for this was the supernatural cessation of the normal motion of the Sun while the earth continued its normal path. This allowed the right combination of events to provide a total eclipse at noon and ultimately have it both ways.