New Testament History

The visit of the Holy Virgin to Elizabeth

After the incarnation, Joseph and the Holy Virgin attended the Passover Festival (15-21 Nisan) in Jerusalem and then travelled to Zechariah and Elizabeth. Zechariah had also been in Jerusalem for the feast. He thus returned to Juttah at the earliest on 22 Nisan. Joseph and the Holy Virgin arrived one day after Zechariah,[1] i.e. at the earliest on 23 Nisan = Friday factual Julian 15 April 1 BC.

A.C.E. thought that Joseph stayed for 1 week at Juttah,[2] but she probably saw his stay in an accelerated form. For instance, in the visions describing the Friday/Saturday and Sunday/Monday nights that occurred one week after the arrival the moon and stars were bright,[3] whereas the New Moon of Iyar occurs one week after Friday 23 Nisan, at which time the sky is dark. In one week A.C.E. probably saw a sojourn of three weeks. If so, the bright Sunday/Monday night was the night of Sunday/Monday factual Julian 9 April 1 BC = the start of 17 Iyar, i.e. shortly after the Full Moon of 15 Iyar. Joseph returned to Nazareth during that night.[4]

The Holy Virgin stayed with Elizabeth for “about three months” (Luke 1:56). The word “about” indicates that it were not exactly three months but between two and three months. Since the Holy Virgin left after John’s birth on the night of Thursday/Friday factual Julian 23/24 June and before his circumcision on the eighth day = Friday factual Julian 1 July = 11 Tammuz,[5] she left at the latest on the seventh day = Thursday factual Julian 30 June = 10 Tammuz, which is two Jewish months + 17 days after 23 Nisan 1 BC, and two Julian months + 15 days after Friday factual Julian 15 April 1 BC. When the Holy Virgin arrived in Nazareth, an angel told Joseph not to leave the Holy Virgin even though she was pregnant (Matt 1:20-23).[6]