Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1862-05-21
AGE OF THE WORLD.
The Institution of the Pa soyer.

The Institution Of the Pa s0yer.
On this su' iect Peter Akers, in his
Chronology, has made the following re
marks:
The ancient Jews were neither accus-
toned nor required to keep the Passover
at the Nernal equinox as some have as
serted" Mr.. Akers furthe., says, The
Passover was governed by the day OF the
week and not by the moon, always being
held on Saturday" | object to this for
several reasons:
/. Because Josephus who wa. jew
ism priest, and ought to have known as
well as Mr. Akers, or a. other man now
living, says:
"ln the month Of X nticus, which IS by
Us called Nisan, and is the beginning of
our year, on the fourteenth day Of the lu
mar month, when the Sun is in Aries, (for
IN that month 1T WAS when we were deiiv-
cred from the Egyptians,) the law ordain
ed, that we should every year slay that
sacrifice which | before told you we slew
when we came out of Egypt and which
was called the Passover and so we do
celebrate this passover in companies. leav-
ing nothing of what we saeraice till the
day following" Ant B. c. 10 ; s.
Mark that he says In Nanticus, the lunar
month, on the fourteenth day, (about the
iuil OF the Moon) when the sun is in Arr
les, they kept the Passover, and on the
next day they were delivered from the
Egyptians. Now when is the Sun in Ar
les Ferguson says: The sun always
enters Aries at the instant OF the Nernal
equinox, p. 800. This proves, SO far as
Josephus and erguson can be relied on,
that AIR Akors is r.aistlken
2 Josephus says, Ant. H. Il c. 6. S
.. 4 Il.
lipse Of the moon" Ina note from which
Winston says This eclipse happened
March 18th The argument deduced
from these quotations is this That the
18th OF Nj ,rch Q. > in that year Il j. Z.
4SlO,) was the 18th \. 5, but three days
before the Nernal equinox, when Herod
was near dying in bis last sickness after
which he went beyond Jordan, and bath
ed some days in the hot springs then Jer
icho, where We know he lay several days
before his death then alter Archelaus
had mourned seven days for his father,
and returned to Jerusalem, it is said, AT
the feast oil unleavened bread, which was
now at hand and is by the Jews called the
Passover DE. Wars. b. 2. c. l. 5. g.
Does not this prove that the Passover fell
that year several days, if not whole
moon, alter th eclipse in March, which
fell just before the Nernal equinox If
whole moon, then when was it? Answer
the 18th Of April, \. 5. which was Thurs
day. O merely make this observation to
obviate some objections to my time for
the Crucihxion and Passover which shal
not now farther notice) But Mr. " his
toa thinks that Herod died about Septem-
Der but how could that be If the Passover
was now at hand, as .Iosephus says it
tla olo Of An chal
mourning for his father The Passo er
never fell in September
MIR Akers thinks the Passover was not
governed by the moon, always being held,
he saws, on Saturday But what does the
Bible say Thou shalt therefore keep
this ordinance in his season from year to
wear" Ex 1910 Does this mean any
particular day? But now let US ascertain
what season it was. And in doing this we
will hear Mr. Akers own words for it. He
saws Il have proved, in its proper place
that the exodus, (and consequently the
Passover occurred in the above year of
the world, 3S99, on Saturday, the 18th Of
Abb or Nissan, sychronizing with the 21th
of March, in the above Julian year, (306I)
Mark, that he says he has proved it
He will not therefore, try to dlsprove it =
Well the 9th OF March in .. ;. in that
wear. which was on the 10Th of March in
the \ ) which was SATURDAY also; for
change of styles does not change the day
of the week Well, now what time did /
the moon tull IN March of that year BY
calcuation | find that it fulled late in the /
afternoon of the 9th of March, .. Style I
Nondon time which was the twentieth F.!
of March, n ). and if it was not at the {
time of the Nernal equinox, | Viii leave 1T
to Mr. Akers any other gentleman, to 1
sav how far it was from it And that it
was the time of the Exodus, | have no
boubt, for the moon did not full so near
the Vernal equinox for the space OF nine
teen wears before, or after this time, to
wit, B. c. l647.
But J am not right sure that MIR. Akers
is very correct hand to calculate the
time OF the equinoxes; Tor be says;
jackson says, vol ,, p. p IN the year
Is. G. l593-his year OF the exodus--A j.
p. 3l2l. that the vernal equinox came on
t. e 26th of April, which he also says, was
both the fifteenth of Nisan, and the fif-
teenth of Phamenoth, lie calculated
from A. d I7iS, when the vernal equinox
was reckoned in the beginning OF the tenth
of March But the fifteenth OF Nisan for
nv corresponding year of the exode, %,
which is proved to be correct, was Satur-
dav, the 22d Of March
The 22d Of March of that year was tru
" Saturday in both styles; the Dominical
letters being the same; and as Mr. Akers
does not inform US what style he meant,
we cannot saw with certainty how far he
missed his calculation; but as to the cal
eulation of Mr.. jackson, that carries con-