Dear Frans,
I believe the earliest reference to the 4 BC date was by Bishop
James Ussher who died in the mid-17th century. Ussher's chronology of the
world, The Annals of the World in 2 volumes, suggests that the world was
created in 4004 BC, partially to compensate for the 4 BC date of Christ's
birth. Thus, Jesus was born exactly 4000 years after the creation of the
world. Ussher had figured out that Herod had died about 4 BC and this
forced him to adjust his timeline because Herod had killed the innocents
in his attempt to kill the baby Jesus. If he had died in 4 BC then Jesus
must have been born then. For some pretty accessible and interesting
reading on this for your students you might recommend, Questioning the
Millenium by Stephen Jay Gould.
Roy Hammerling
Concordia College
Moorhead, MN
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