For each solar eclipse in May or April, I recorded the date in B.C.E. per the Julian Calendar convention used by astronomers (but I added the 1 year to make the dates actual B.C.E. dates, of course).  I  recorded the time of the solar eclipse at GMT (Greenwich Universal Time).  I recorded whether it was total(T), partial(P) or annular(A).  I recorded my estimate (from my free computer program called EQUINOX.COM) of the Julian Day number of Nisan 1.  I recorded the Julian Day number for the date in B.C.E. when the solar eclipse occurred (i..e. the day of the eclipse, not the actual eclipse time).  I  then computed whether or not the solar eclipse was near the end of Iyyar.  It was "YES" in the event that Nisan 1 Julian Day number  was around 58-59 days away from the solar eclipse (date) Julian Day number.
    So, all solar eclipses were rejected, if they did not occur near the end of the lunar month of  Iyyar. 

    On a Standard Time basis, Jerusalem and Greenwich, England (site of GMT) are two hours apart.  The times are UTC/GMT.  Ugarit, Syria, times are + 2 hours.  The two most important features of the table are the columns for Iyyar
and Night/Day.  To be the Ugarit solar eclipse of Akenaten, the date of the eclipse must be in Iyyar (actually the end of  Iyyar, about 58-59 days).  Those meeting these conditions are in bold.  Notice that only two of these eclipses occur in Iyyar and during the day (as opposed to some other part of the earth where it is not night).  To be viewed at Ugarit, Syria, the eclipse must be in the daytime at the end of the month Iyyar.  Whereas there are six solar eclipses in Iyyar, but only two occur in the daytime at the Ugarit.

    There are two candidates for the Ugarit solar eclipse.  So, which one is it?  Both are visible at the Ugarit.  Both the one in 5/30/1060 B.C. and  the one at 5/20/1078 B.C. were annular eclipses  visible at the Ugarit.
    Is one near sunset?  No, but one is closer.  The one at 1078 B.C. was around (13.52+2-12=3.52), which  is almost 4 P.M.   But, then sunset was after 7 P.M.  The other was at about 9.09 A.M.
    Is one associated with Reshep (also Rashap)?  Yes, the one in 1078 B.C. is closely associated with the planet Mars.  But, the one in 1060 is not.  Mars does not appear in the sky above at 5/30/1060 B.C.  But, in the sky above in 5/20/1078, it appears next to the sun and moon.  See the screen capture for incomplete eclipse as follows:

    Does one agree with the chronology of King David?  Yes, based upon King David starting to rule in 1077 B.C., it would have to be before 1077 B.C.  The solar eclipse was reported on a tablet to Pharoah Akenaten, with an associated report on the death of King Saul  (according to David M. Rohl in his book,  Pharoahs and Kings: A Biblical Quest (Crown Publishers, New York, 1995, First American Edition (see Chapter 9).  Some believe that King David did not begin rule until 16 years later, in 1061 B.C., but that would still rule out 1060 B.C. (because the report of the death of King Saul was before the rule of King David).
    In summary, the Ugarit solar eclipse must be the one in 1078 B.C.  Of course, if my chronology for King David is in error, by over 16 years, it would be 1060 B.C.  I would also note that in 1060 B.C., one would have observed only the start of the solar eclipse, because evening fell soon.

Visit my web site on the chronology of the birth of Jesus and John at:

http://fuzzdepot.com

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