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The Crucifixion darkness is an episode in three of the Canonical Gospels in which the sky becomes dark in daytime during the crucifixion of Jesus. Ancient and medieval Christian writers treated this as a miracle, and believed it to be one of the few episodes from the New Testament which were confirmed by non-Christian sources. Pagan commentators of the Roman era explained it as an eclipse, although Christian writers pointed out that an eclipse during Passover, when the crucifixion took place, would have been impossible; a solar eclipse cannot occur during a full moon. Modern scholarship, noting the way in which similar accounts were associated in ancient times with the deaths of notable figures, sees the phenomenon as a literary invention that attempts to convey a sense of the power of Jesus in the face of death, or a sign of God's displeasure with the Jewish people. Scholars have also noted the ways in which this episode appears to draw on earlier biblical accounts of darkness from the Book of Amos and the Book of Exodus. ==Biblical account== The oldest biblical reference to the crucifixion darkness is found in the Gospel of Mark, written around the year 70. In its account of the crucifixion, on the eve of Passover, it says that after Jesus was crucified at nine in the morning, darkness fell over all the land, or all the world ( can mean either) from around noon ("the sixth hour") until 3 o'clock ("the ninth hour"). It adds, immediately after the death of Jesus, that "the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom". The Gospel of Matthew, written around the year 85 or 90, and using Mark as a source, has an almost identical wording: "From noon on, darkness came over the whole land (earth ) until three in the afternoon." The author adds dramatic details, including an earthquake and the raising of the dead, which were stock motifs from Jewish apocalyptic literature: "The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised." The Gospel of Luke, written around the year 90 and also using Mark as a source, has none of the details added in the Matthew version, moves the tearing of the temple veil to before the death of Jesus, and explains the darkness as a darkening of the sun: It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land (earth ) until three in the afternoon, while the sun's light failed (the sun was eclipsed ); and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. It appears that the Luke Gospel originally explained the event as an eclipse. The majority of manuscripts of the Gospel of Luke have the Greek phrase "eskotisthe ho helios" ("the sun was darkened"), but the earliest manuscripts say "tou heliou eklipontos" ("the sun's light failed" or "the sun was in eclipse"). This earlier version is likely to have been the original one, amended by later scribes to correct what they assumed was an error, since they knew that an eclipse was impossible during Passover. One early Christian commentator even suggested that the text had been deliberately corrupted by opponents of the Church to make it easier to attack. The account of the crucifixion given in the Gospel of John is very different. It takes place on the day of Passover, the crucifixion does not take place until after noon, and there is no mention of darkness, the tearing of the veil, or the raising of the dead. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Crucifixion darkness」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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