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Regarding James Wheeler's correction:
Herod the Great was the ruler who died in 4 BCE, and was also the ruler
that ordered the slaughter of innocents. 4 BCE is thus after the birth of
Jesus. The Herod who was involved in the trial was Herod Antipas, the son
of Herod the Great. Easter is usually dated by the solar eclipse that was
observed in Jerusalem on Good Friday.
Btw, the dating of the death of Herod the Great in 4 BCE is an inference
drawn primarily from the writings of Josephus (in his _Antiquities of the
Jews_) who mentioned a lunar eclipse which occurred shortly before Herod's
death. Assuming that that eclipse was a full lunar eclipse and including
a couple of other historical tidbits constrains Herod's death to be in the
spring of 4 BCE. If the eclipse was partial then I think a couple of other
dates become possible as well.