Selected model
V14.2 · Chronology synthesis and publication
Birth Chronology Workbench
When was Jesus most plausibly born?
Selected reconstruction
Six workspaces organize the research by task. Specialized tools remain available as secondary views, with high-sensitivity reconstructions clearly separated from primary historical anchors.
Question before conclusion
What can the evidence actually establish?
The workbench separates explicit narrative data, external historical anchors, modeled calendars, astronomical correlations, and theological interpretation.
Live constraint report
Exact interval solver
What date window survives?
Proleptic-Julian day arithmetic intersects model ranges, Herod boundaries, ministry-age constraints, and required premises without selecting an arbitrary midpoint as the result.
Five evidentiary layers
1 · Explicit textEvents and relative order directly stated in Matthew or Luke.
2 · External chronologyHerod, Quirinius, Tiberius, and Roman administration.
3 · Modeled calendarCrescent visibility, month boundaries, and modern date conversion.
4 · Astronomical correlationReproducible sky geometry and candidate Bethlehem-star models.
5 · InterpretationRevelation 12, Magi symbolism, festival meaning, and harmonization.
Narrative reconstruction
Matthew and Luke in parallel
Inspect each account independently before enabling a harmonized sequence.
Travel and location
Travel constraints without invented itineraries
This view tests whether proposed sequences leave room for real movement. It does not infer exact roads, travel speeds, a Magi homeland, or an Egyptian destination.
4narrative corridors
1unresolved origin
0exact itineraries claimed
Movement corridor (color matches card)Short local corridorLocation unresolved
Distances are planning-scale estimates. The exact interval solver does not automatically convert them into travel days because routes, pace, stopping patterns, and the Egyptian destination are unknown.
Practical value
Useful for sequence plausibility—not for fixing a birth date
The section can expose compressed or zero-day harmonizations, but geography alone cannot choose among the birth-year models.
Editable harmonization
Infancy-sequence editor
Reorder proposed events and distinguish explicit sequence, inferred gaps, narrative compression, and direct chronological conflict.
Luke 2 and Roman administration
Quirinius Census Laboratory
A grammatical possibility, an administrative reconstruction, and an externally dated event are not equivalent kinds of evidence.
Infancy boundary condition
Herod, eclipse, Passover, and return
Qualitative evidence is primary. Project scores are shown only as an optional weighting experiment.
Later chronological check
Ministry back-calculation
Calculations use astronomical year numbering internally so the BCE/CE transition contains no invented year zero.
Original-language chronology
Greek phrases that carry chronological arguments
Teaching morphology and syntactic alternatives are separated from the historical conclusions later built upon them.
Competing reconstructions
Compare date models without hiding their costs
Select any model to load its assumptions into the workbench.
Interactive logic
Assumption builder
Change one premise and watch the chronology, dependency graph, and confidence assessment update together.
Integrated constraint synthesis
Exact candidate, Herod interval, and infancy windows
This panel converts imported astronomy dates and historical boundaries into active chronology constraints rather than passive notes.
Named reconstruction manager
Clone, annotate, import, and compare chronology states
Saved scenarios preserve the model, assumptions, and ministry settings so alternatives can be compared without losing prior work.
Selected comparison
Research library storage
Initializing IndexedDB…
Model sensitivity and argument structure
Sensitivity analysis and model-specific logic
Use the compact matrix to see which declared assumptions change a model. The exhaustive matrix is retained below as an advanced methodological tool, not a probability calculator.
Exhaustive 419,904-combination matrixDeveloper-grade sensitivity analysis; counts are not historical probabilities.Open advanced tool
V14.2 full assumption space
Eleven-axis scenario analysis
Run all 419,904 combinations for one model, or deselect axes for a focused sensitivity analysis. Work is performed off the main UI thread.
Non-circular reasoning
Interactive dependency graph
The exact date cannot be used to prove the premises on which it already depends.
Scholarly dispute structure
Chronological argument maps
Support, objections, replies, and remaining limits are displayed separately from dependency requirements.
Live cross-workbench integration
Astronomy and observational calendar
The astronomy can reproduce geometry. It cannot independently identify the Magi, reconstruct weather, or establish an official month declaration.
Open the exact research state
The links preserve the adopted scene, observer, calendar model, and relevant comparison panel.
High-sensitivity reconstruction
Zechariah, Abijah, and conception chronology
This tool demonstrates how the proposal works and why it cannot produce a secure date without an external rotation anchor.
Experimental appendix
Not an independent date anchor
The result depends on an assumed priestly-rotation start and festival adjustments that are not externally fixed. Use this only to inspect how the proposal is constructed.
Evidence direction and independence
Claim-to-source audit
Repeated modern presentations of the same underlying argument are grouped so they are not mistaken for independent confirmations.
Independence clusters
Bibliographic metadata backlog
A source may be useful while still lacking publication-grade metadata. This audit makes those omissions explicit.
Audit trail
Primary sources and reception history
Every dossier states both what a source establishes and what it cannot establish.
History of interpretation
Publication edition
Research report and bibliography
Generate a reproducible report with model version, assumptions, exact intervals, ledger, footnotes, bibliography, timestamp, and checksum.
Bibliographic completeness
Data exports and portable reports
Exports include the assumptions, live consistency findings, Gospel sequence, dependency status, ministry calculation, and source list.