The Origins of Christianity in the Calendar Wars of the Second Century BCE

Osborne, Alfred

In the Gospels Jesus is called a ‘Nazarene’ or ‘Nazoraean’. Does this mean he came from Nazareth? Basing himself on Lidzbarski’s analysis of the Hebrew/Aramaic origins of the Greek terms Nazarênos and Nazôraios Dr Osborne proposes that these epithets indicate that Jesus was a nôṣrî, a ‘(Strict) Keeper/Guardian (of the Law)’. This meant he was a follower of the 364-day liturgical calendar known to us from 1 Enoch, Jubilees, and Qumran. An examination of the passages where these terms appear shows that this hypothesis leads to a deeper understanding of the circumstances in which the first Christian communities arose and clarifies greatly the background of Jesus’ crucifixion as Yēšû ha-Nôṣrî.
The book then traces the influence of the nôṣrîm on the history of Israel from their origin in the ‘calendar wars’ that tore apart the Jewish nation from 172-163 BCE. These broke out after the lunisolar calendar was introduced into the temple liturgy by Menelaus the high priest, and only came to an end when the 364-day calendar was reintroduced under his successor, Alcimus. In 151 BCE, however, Jonathan Maccabaeus was appointed high priest and reintroduced the lunisolar calendar. The nôṣrîm were suppressed and forced to emigrate or go underground. They reappear as leaders of Jewish resistance to Roman occupation after Pompey incorporated Judaea into the empire in 63 BCE. Eventually they became the chief instigators of the revolt against Rome that led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Osborne argues that the nôṣrîm thought to have been included in the Twelfth Benediction of the Amidah at Yavneh around 90 CE are these same ‘(Strict) Keepers/Guardians (of the Law)’.