Bible Dictionary
Eclipse Of The Sun
An eclipse of the sun occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth, temporarily blocking sunlight. The prophets use such darkness in descriptions of judgment, while the three-hour darkness at the crucifixion cannot be attributed to an ordinary eclipse because it occurred at Passover.
Definition
An eclipse of the sun is the temporary obscuring of sunlight when the moon passes between the sun and the earth. The biblical prophets use the phenomenon in descriptions of darkness and judgment, while the darkness at Christ’s crucifixion is distinguished from an ordinary eclipse.
Biblical Usage
Prophetic passages refer to the sun being darkened. These references may allude to eclipses occurring near the times of the prophetic writings, but the three-hour darkness at the crucifixion cannot reasonably be explained by an eclipse.
Historical Background
The sources associate some prophetic notices with recorded eclipses in the eighth and seventh centuries BC. At Passover the moon was full, making a solar eclipse impossible.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Smith's Bible Dictionary
No historical notice of an eclipse occurs in the Bible, but there are passages in the prophets which contain manifest allusion to this phenomenon. (Joel 2:10,31; 3:15; Amos 8:9; Micah 3:6; Zechariah 14:6) Some of these notices probably refer to eclipses that occurred about the time of the respective compositions: thus the date of Amos coincides with a total eclipse which occurred Feb. 9, B.C. 784, and was visible at Jerusalem shortly after noon; that of Micah with the eclipse of June 5, B.C. 716. A passing notice in (Jeremiah 15:9) coincides in date with the eclipse of Sept. 30, B.C. 610, so well known from Herodotus’ account (i. 74, 103). The darkness that overspread the world at the crucifixion cannot with reason be attributed to an eclipse, as the moon was at the full at the time of the passover.