Seder Olam Rabbah
Encyclopedia
Seder Olam Rabbah is a 2nd century CE Hebrew language
chronology detailing the dates of biblical events from the Creation to Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia. It adds no stories beyond what is in the biblical text, and addresses such questions as the age of Isaac at the binding and the number of years that Joshua led the Israelites. Tradition considers it to have been written about 160 CE by Yose ben Halafta, which is not unreasonable, but it was probably also supplemented and edited at a later period . In the Babylonian Talmud this chronicle is several times referred to simply as the "Seder Olam" (Shab. 88a; Yeb. 82b; Nazir
5a; Meg. 11b; Ab. Zarah 8b; Niddah
46b), and it is quoted as such by the more ancient Biblical commentators, including Rashi
. But with the 12th century it began to be designated as "Seder Olam Rabbah," to distinguish it from a later, smaller chronicle, Seder Olam Zuṭa; it was first so designated by Abraham ben Nathan
- also known as Ha-Yarhi (Ha-Manhig, p. 2a, Berlin, 1855).
The work is a chronological record, extending from Adam to the revolt of Bar Kokba in the reign of Hadrian
, the Persian period being compressed into 52 years . The chronicle is complete only up to the time of Alexander the Great; the period from Alexander to Hadrian
occupies a very small portion of the work—the end of the 30th chapter.
It has been concluded, therefore, that originally the Seder Olam was more extensive and consisted of two parts, the second of which, dealing with the post-Alexandrian period, has been lost, with the exception of a small fragment that was added by the copyists to the first part.
Many passages quoted in the Talmud
are missing in the edition of the Seder Olam which has survived.
texts, he endeavored not only to elucidate many passages, but also to determine certain dates which are not indicated in the Bible, but which may be inferred by calculation. In many cases, however, he gave the dates according to tradition, and inserted, besides, the sayings and halakot of preceding rabbis and of his contemporaries. In discussing Biblical chronology he followed three principles:
The following examples will illustrate the manner in which these principles are applied. The confusion of languages is said to have taken place in the days of Peleg
. The author concludes that the first year of Peleg's life cannot be meant, as at the time of the confusion Peleg had a younger brother, Joktan, and the latter had several children; nor could it have occurred during the middle years of his life, for Peleg lived 239 years, and the designation "middle years" is not an exact one ; had the redactor intended to indicate only a general period, he would have used the phrase "in the days of Peleg and Joktan." The Bible must therefore mean that the confusion of languages took place in the last year of Peleg's life, and by comparing the dates of the previous generations, the author concluded that it occurred 340 years after the Flood, or 1996 years after the creation of the world.
of the world to the death of Moses
, the writer proceeds to determine the dates of the events which occurred after the Israelites, led by Joshua
, entered the Holy Land
. Here Biblical chronology presents many difficulties, dates not being clearly given, and in many cases the Seder Olam was used by the later Biblical commentators as a basis of exegesis. Thus, it is known that from the entry of the Israelites into the Holy Land to the time of Jephthah a period of 300 years elapsed . By computing the life periods of the Judges
and assuming that Jephthah sent his message, in which he alluded to the 300 years, in the second year of his rulership, the writer concluded that the reign of Joshua lasted 28 years. It may be added that he placed the making of the image for Micah
and the destruction of nearly the whole tribe of Benjamin
in consequence of the wrong done to the Levite and his concubine in Gibeah in the time of Othniel
.
It is further stated that Solomon
began to build the Temple in Jerusalem
in the fourth year of his reign, 480 years after the Exodus
, that is, 440 years after the Israelites entered the Holy Land
. Thus there was a period of 140 years from the second year of Jephthah to the building of the Temple. The author of the Seder 'Olam concluded that the forty years during which the Israelites were harassed by the Philistines
(Judges
13:1) did not begin after the death of Abdon
, as it would seem, but after that of Jephthah, and terminated with the death of Samson
. Consequently there was a period of 83 years from the second year of Jephthah to the death of Eli, who ruled 40 years (I Sam. 4:18), the last year of Samson being the first of Eli's judgeship. At that time the Tabernacle was removed from Shiloh, whither it had been transferred from Gilgal
, where it had been for 14 years under Joshua
; consequently it remained at Shiloh for a period of 369 years, standing all that time on a stone foundation. It is also to be concluded that Samuel judged Israel for 11 years, which with the two years of Saul
(ib. 13:2), the 40 of David's reign (I Kings 2:11), and the four of Solomon's reign, make 57 years, during which the Tabernacle was first at Nob
, then at Gibeon.
The chronology of the Kings was more difficult, as there were differences to reconcile between the book of Kings
and book of Chronicles. Here especially the author applied the principle of "fragments of years" ("shanim meḳuṭṭa'ot"), by which he regarded the remainder of the last year of any king's reign as identical with the first year of his successor's. In the 20th chapter, which closes the second part ("Baba Meẓia"), the author deals with the forty-eight prophets that flourished in the land of Israel
. Beginning with Joshua
, the author reviews the whole prophetic period which terminated with Haggai
, Zechariah, and Malachi
, elucidating as he proceeds many obscure points. Thus, the prophet mentioned in Judges vi. 8 was, according to the Seder 'Olam, Phinehas
, and the man of God that came to Eli (I Sam. 2:27) was Elkanah
.
The prophecy of Obadiah
occurred in the time of Amaziah
, King of Judah (comp., however, Yalḳ., Obad.), and those of Joel
, Nahum
, and Habakkuk
in the reign of Manasseh
. After devoting the 21st chapter to the prophets that lived before the conquest of the land, to the seven prophetesses, and to the seven prophets of the Gentiles, the author resumes the chronology of the Kings. He continues it to the end of ch. xxvii., where he reaches the destruction of the Temple
, which, according to his computation, occurred after it had existed 410 years, or 3,338 years after the creation of the world. Then follow the 70 years of the Captivity and the 420 years of the Second Temple
, which was destroyed, as may be seen, in the year 3828 of the Creation.
The 420 years of the Second Temple
are divided into the following periods: the domination of the Persians, 34 years; of the Greeks
, 180 years; of the Maccabees
, 103 years; of the Herods
, 103 years. It will be seen that the allowance, contrary to historical facts, of only 34 years for the Persian domination is necessary if agreement with the Biblical text is to be insisted upon; for it is stated (Dan.
9:24) that the second exile was to take place after 70 Sabbaths of years (= 490 years). If from this number the 70 years of the first Captivity be deducted, and the beginning of Alexander's domination over Land of Israel be placed, in accordance with Talmudical evidence, at 386 years before the destruction of the Second Temple, there remain only 34 for the Persian rule. From the destruction of the Second Temple, which, according to the Seder 'Olam, occurred at the end of the last week of the Sabbatical year, to the suppression of Bar Kokba's revolt, or the destruction of Bethar, was a period of 52 years. But the text here is very confused, and gave rise to various emendations and interpretations (comp. Salzer in Berliner's Magazin, 4:141 et seq.).
, Jewish authorities generally ascribe its authorship to the well-known Talmudist Jose b. Halafta, on the strength of R. Johanan's statement, "The tanna
of the 'Seder 'Olam' was R. Jose" (Yeb. 82b; Niddah
46b). Johanan's comment is supported by the fact that Jose was known as one who occupied himself with Jewish chronology; further, many sayings of R. Jose's quoted in the Talmud are paralleled in the Seder Olam.
Objecting, however, that the Seder Olam often conflicts with opinions of Jose's expressed in the Talmud, that Jose is referred to in it in the third person ("R. Jose said"), and finally that mention is made in it of Talmudists that lived later than Jose, Ratner (Mabo leha-Seder 'Olam Rabbah, Wilna, 1894) concludes that Jose was not its author; he thinks that Jose was only the principal authority of the Seder 'Olam, and that Johanan's statement, mentioned above, is similar to another statement made by him—"Any anonymous opinion in the Mishnah
belongs to R. Meïr" (Sanh. 86a), although the redactor of the Mishnah was Judah I. Ratner further supposes that R. Johanan himself compiled the work, following generally the opinion of R. Jose. He endeavors to prove this view by showing that many utterances of R. Johanan are taken from the Seder Olam.
Ratner's objections, however, are answered by other scholars, who think that in the Seder 'Olam Jose preserved the generally accepted opinions, even when they were contrary to his own, as is clearly indicated in Niddah
(l.c.). Besides, this work, like all the works of the ancient Talmudists, underwent many alternations at the hands of the copyists. Very often, too, finding that the utterance of a later rabbi agreed with the Seder 'Olam, the copyists inserted the name of that rabbi. A careful examination shows that certain additions are later than the latest midrashim, and it may be that Abraham ibn Yarḥi (l.c.), Isaac Lattes
(Sha'are Ẓiyyon, p. 25), and Menahem Meïri (introduction to Abot, p. 14), who seem to place the redaction of the Seder 'Olam at the time when the Massektot (tractates) Derek Ereẓ Rabbah, the Derek Ereẓ Zuṭa, the Soferim, and other later treatises were composed, may have referred to the work in its present form.
Besides directly quoting the Seder 'Olam, the Talmud
often alludes to it under "tanya" (= "we learned") "tana" (= "he learned"), "tanu rabbanan" (= "our teachers learned"), "amar mar" (= "the teacher said"): often the sentences following these phrases are found in the Seder 'Olam. In addition, many of its passages have been taken into the Mishnah
without any allusion to their source. The Seder 'Olam is not mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud
, although several passages in the latter are based on it. Finally, many of the sayings of the Seder 'Olam have been taken into the Mekilta, the Sifra
, and the Sifre
.
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
chronology detailing the dates of biblical events from the Creation to Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia. It adds no stories beyond what is in the biblical text, and addresses such questions as the age of Isaac at the binding and the number of years that Joshua led the Israelites. Tradition considers it to have been written about 160 CE by Yose ben Halafta, which is not unreasonable, but it was probably also supplemented and edited at a later period . In the Babylonian Talmud this chronicle is several times referred to simply as the "Seder Olam" (Shab. 88a; Yeb. 82b; Nazir
Nazir (Talmud)
Nazir is a treatise of the Mishnah and the Tosefta and in both Talmuds, devoted chiefly to a discussion of the laws of the Nazirite laid down in Numbers 6:1-21. In the Tosefta its title is Nezirut...
5a; Meg. 11b; Ab. Zarah 8b; Niddah
Niddah
Niddah is a Hebrew term describing a woman during menstruation, or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the associated requirement of immersion in a mikveh ....
46b), and it is quoted as such by the more ancient Biblical commentators, including Rashi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
. But with the 12th century it began to be designated as "Seder Olam Rabbah," to distinguish it from a later, smaller chronicle, Seder Olam Zuṭa; it was first so designated by Abraham ben Nathan
Abraham ben Nathan
Abraham ben Nathan Ha-Yarhi was a Provençal rabbi and scholar born in the second half of the twelfth century, probably at Lunel, Languedoc, where he also received his education...
- also known as Ha-Yarhi (Ha-Manhig, p. 2a, Berlin, 1855).
Structure of the Work
In its present form the Seder Olam Rabbah consists of 30 chapters, each 10 chapters forming a section, or "gate."The work is a chronological record, extending from Adam to the revolt of Bar Kokba in the reign of Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
, the Persian period being compressed into 52 years . The chronicle is complete only up to the time of Alexander the Great; the period from Alexander to Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
occupies a very small portion of the work—the end of the 30th chapter.
It has been concluded, therefore, that originally the Seder Olam was more extensive and consisted of two parts, the second of which, dealing with the post-Alexandrian period, has been lost, with the exception of a small fragment that was added by the copyists to the first part.
Many passages quoted in the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
are missing in the edition of the Seder Olam which has survived.
Object of Work
The author probably designed the work for calendrical purposes, to determine the era of the creation; his system, adopted as early as the 3rd century, is still followed. Adhering closely to the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
texts, he endeavored not only to elucidate many passages, but also to determine certain dates which are not indicated in the Bible, but which may be inferred by calculation. In many cases, however, he gave the dates according to tradition, and inserted, besides, the sayings and halakot of preceding rabbis and of his contemporaries. In discussing Biblical chronology he followed three principles:
- To assume that the intention of the Biblical author was, wherever possible, to give exact dates
- To assign to each of a series of events the shortest possible duration of time, where necessary, in order to secure agreement with the Biblical text
- To adopt the lesser of two possible numbers.
The following examples will illustrate the manner in which these principles are applied. The confusion of languages is said to have taken place in the days of Peleg
Peleg
__notoc__Peleg is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two sons of Eber, an ancestor of the Israelites, according to the "Table of Nations" in and . Peleg's son was Reu, born when Peleg was thirty, and he had other sons and daughters. According to the Hebrew Bible, Peleg lived to the age...
. The author concludes that the first year of Peleg's life cannot be meant, as at the time of the confusion Peleg had a younger brother, Joktan, and the latter had several children; nor could it have occurred during the middle years of his life, for Peleg lived 239 years, and the designation "middle years" is not an exact one ; had the redactor intended to indicate only a general period, he would have used the phrase "in the days of Peleg and Joktan." The Bible must therefore mean that the confusion of languages took place in the last year of Peleg's life, and by comparing the dates of the previous generations, the author concluded that it occurred 340 years after the Flood, or 1996 years after the creation of the world.
Examples of method
After dealing in the first 10 chapters with the chronology of the period from the creationCreation according to Genesis
The Genesis creation narrative describes the divine creation of the world including the first man and woman...
of the world to the death of Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
, the writer proceeds to determine the dates of the events which occurred after the Israelites, led by Joshua
Joshua
Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...
, entered the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
. Here Biblical chronology presents many difficulties, dates not being clearly given, and in many cases the Seder Olam was used by the later Biblical commentators as a basis of exegesis. Thus, it is known that from the entry of the Israelites into the Holy Land to the time of Jephthah a period of 300 years elapsed . By computing the life periods of the Judges
Biblical judges
A biblical judge is "a ruler or a military leader, as well as someone who presided over legal hearings."...
and assuming that Jephthah sent his message, in which he alluded to the 300 years, in the second year of his rulership, the writer concluded that the reign of Joshua lasted 28 years. It may be added that he placed the making of the image for Micah
Micah
Micah is a given name.Micah is the name of several people in the Hebrew Bible , and means "who is like God?". The name is sometimes found with theophoric extensions...
and the destruction of nearly the whole tribe of Benjamin
Tribe of Benjamin
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Benjamin בִּנְיָמִין was one of the Tribes of Israel.From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BCE, the Tribe of Benjamin was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes...
in consequence of the wrong done to the Levite and his concubine in Gibeah in the time of Othniel
Othniel
Othniel is the first of the Biblical Judges.-Family:Othniel was related to Caleb, as his father Kenaz was either Caleb's brother or Caleb's father; both are plausible interpretations of Joshua 15:17. The Talmud argues that Othniel was Caleb's brother...
.
It is further stated that Solomon
Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
began to build the Temple in Jerusalem
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
in the fourth year of his reign, 480 years after the Exodus
The Exodus
The Exodus is the story of the departure of the Israelites from ancient Egypt described in the Hebrew Bible.Narrowly defined, the term refers only to the departure from Egypt described in the Book of Exodus; more widely, it takes in the subsequent law-givings and wanderings in the wilderness...
, that is, 440 years after the Israelites entered the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
. Thus there was a period of 140 years from the second year of Jephthah to the building of the Temple. The author of the Seder 'Olam concluded that the forty years during which the Israelites were harassed by the Philistines
Philistines
Philistines , Pleshet or Peleset, were a people who occupied the southern coast of Canaan at the beginning of the Iron Age . According to the Bible, they ruled the five city-states of Gaza, Askelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath, from the Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north, but with...
(Judges
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
13:1) did not begin after the death of Abdon
Abdon
Abdon may refer to:*Abdon, Shropshire, a village in the English county of Shropshire*Abdon , the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, the tenth judge of Israel; also probably Bedan...
, as it would seem, but after that of Jephthah, and terminated with the death of Samson
Samson
Samson, Shimshon ; Shamshoun or Sampson is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Tanakh ....
. Consequently there was a period of 83 years from the second year of Jephthah to the death of Eli, who ruled 40 years (I Sam. 4:18), the last year of Samson being the first of Eli's judgeship. At that time the Tabernacle was removed from Shiloh, whither it had been transferred from Gilgal
Gilgal
Gilgal is a place name mentioned by the Hebrew Bible. It is a matter of debate how many of the places named Gilgal are identical.-The Gilgal associated peacefully with Joshua:...
, where it had been for 14 years under Joshua
Joshua
Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...
; consequently it remained at Shiloh for a period of 369 years, standing all that time on a stone foundation. It is also to be concluded that Samuel judged Israel for 11 years, which with the two years of Saul
Saul
-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...
(ib. 13:2), the 40 of David's reign (I Kings 2:11), and the four of Solomon's reign, make 57 years, during which the Tabernacle was first at Nob
Nob
NOB is also about describing someone.Nob was a place in ancient Israel in the vicinity of Jerusalem. It may have been located close to Bahurim, near the Mount of Olives or possibly further north at Tell Shuafat...
, then at Gibeon.
The chronology of the Kings was more difficult, as there were differences to reconcile between the book of Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
and book of Chronicles. Here especially the author applied the principle of "fragments of years" ("shanim meḳuṭṭa'ot"), by which he regarded the remainder of the last year of any king's reign as identical with the first year of his successor's. In the 20th chapter, which closes the second part ("Baba Meẓia"), the author deals with the forty-eight prophets that flourished in the land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
. Beginning with Joshua
Joshua
Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...
, the author reviews the whole prophetic period which terminated with Haggai
Haggai
Haggai was a Hebrew prophet during the building of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, and one of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the author of the Book of Haggai. His name means "my holiday"...
, Zechariah, and Malachi
Malachi
Malachi, Malachias or Mal'achi was a Jewish prophet in the Hebrew Bible. He had two brothers, Nathaniel and Josiah. Malachi was the writer of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Neviim section in the Jewish Tanakh...
, elucidating as he proceeds many obscure points. Thus, the prophet mentioned in Judges vi. 8 was, according to the Seder 'Olam, Phinehas
Phinehas
-Biblical figures:*Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the High Priest*Phinehas, son of the High Priest Eli. He was a priest at Shiloh, and died when the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant-Other :*Pinchas, the 41st weekly Torah portion....
, and the man of God that came to Eli (I Sam. 2:27) was Elkanah
Elkanah
Elkanah is a Hebrew name meaning "God has purchased" and may refer to several persons in the Bible called Elkanah:* Elkanah , father of Samuel.* A Levite, ancestor of a certain Berechiah....
.
The prophecy of Obadiah
Obadiah
Obadiah is a Biblical theophorical name, meaning "servant of Yahweh" or "worshipper of Yahweh." It is related to "Abdeel", "servant of God", which is also cognate to the Arabic name "Abdullah". Turkish name Abdil or Abdi. The form of Obadiah's name used in the Septuagint is Obdios; in Latin it is...
occurred in the time of Amaziah
Amaziah
Amaziah or Amasias may refer to:#Amaziah of Judah, the king of Judah#A Levite, son of Hilkiah, of the descendants of Ethan the Merarite #A priest of the golden calves at Bethel...
, King of Judah (comp., however, Yalḳ., Obad.), and those of Joel
Joel (prophet)
Joel was a prophet of ancient Israel, the second of the twelve minor prophets and the author of the Book of Joel. He is mentioned by name only once in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, in the introduction to his own brief book, as the son of Pethuel...
, Nahum
Nahum
Nahum was a minor prophet whose prophecy is recorded in the Hebrew Bible. His book comes in chronological order between Micah and Habakkuk in the Bible. He wrote about the end of the Assyrian Empire, and its capital city, Nineveh, in a vivid poetic style....
, and Habakkuk
Habakkuk
Habakkuk , also spelled Habacuc, was a prophet in the Hebrew Bible. The etymology of the name of Habakkuk is not clear. The name is possibly related to the Akkadian khabbaququ, the name of a fragrant plant, or the Hebrew root חבק, meaning "embrace"...
in the reign of Manasseh
Manasseh of Judah
Manasseh was a king of the Kingdom of Judah. He was the only son of Hezekiah with Hephzi-bah. He became king at an age 12 years and reigned for 55 years. Edwin Thiele has concluded that he commenced his reign as co-regent with his father Hezekiah in 697/696 BC, with his sole reign beginning in...
. After devoting the 21st chapter to the prophets that lived before the conquest of the land, to the seven prophetesses, and to the seven prophets of the Gentiles, the author resumes the chronology of the Kings. He continues it to the end of ch. xxvii., where he reaches the destruction of the Temple
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
, which, according to his computation, occurred after it had existed 410 years, or 3,338 years after the creation of the world. Then follow the 70 years of the Captivity and the 420 years of the Second Temple
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...
, which was destroyed, as may be seen, in the year 3828 of the Creation.
The 420 years of the Second Temple
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...
are divided into the following periods: the domination of the Persians, 34 years; of the Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
, 180 years; of the Maccabees
Maccabees
The Maccabees were a Jewish rebel army who took control of Judea, which had been a client state of the Seleucid Empire. They founded the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled from 164 BCE to 63 BCE, reasserting the Jewish religion, expanding the boundaries of the Land of Israel and reducing the influence...
, 103 years; of the Herods
Herodian Dynasty
The Herodian Dynasty was a Jewish dynasty of Idumean descent, client Kings of Roman Judaea Province between 37 BCE and 92 CE.- Origin :During the time of the Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus 134-104 BCE, Israel conquered Edom and forced the Edomites to convert to Judaism.The Edomites were integrated...
, 103 years. It will be seen that the allowance, contrary to historical facts, of only 34 years for the Persian domination is necessary if agreement with the Biblical text is to be insisted upon; for it is stated (Dan.
Dan.
Dan. can mean#a form of address, specifically:##a form of address for members of religious orders "Pray thank Dan Pope who told it me."--Matthew Prior, Alma,...
9:24) that the second exile was to take place after 70 Sabbaths of years (= 490 years). If from this number the 70 years of the first Captivity be deducted, and the beginning of Alexander's domination over Land of Israel be placed, in accordance with Talmudical evidence, at 386 years before the destruction of the Second Temple, there remain only 34 for the Persian rule. From the destruction of the Second Temple, which, according to the Seder 'Olam, occurred at the end of the last week of the Sabbatical year, to the suppression of Bar Kokba's revolt, or the destruction of Bethar, was a period of 52 years. But the text here is very confused, and gave rise to various emendations and interpretations (comp. Salzer in Berliner's Magazin, 4:141 et seq.).
Authorship
Assuming that this "Seder Olam" is the same as the "Seder Olam" mentioned in the TalmudTalmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, Jewish authorities generally ascribe its authorship to the well-known Talmudist Jose b. Halafta, on the strength of R. Johanan's statement, "The tanna
Tannaim
The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
of the 'Seder 'Olam' was R. Jose" (Yeb. 82b; Niddah
Niddah
Niddah is a Hebrew term describing a woman during menstruation, or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the associated requirement of immersion in a mikveh ....
46b). Johanan's comment is supported by the fact that Jose was known as one who occupied himself with Jewish chronology; further, many sayings of R. Jose's quoted in the Talmud are paralleled in the Seder Olam.
Objecting, however, that the Seder Olam often conflicts with opinions of Jose's expressed in the Talmud, that Jose is referred to in it in the third person ("R. Jose said"), and finally that mention is made in it of Talmudists that lived later than Jose, Ratner (Mabo leha-Seder 'Olam Rabbah, Wilna, 1894) concludes that Jose was not its author; he thinks that Jose was only the principal authority of the Seder 'Olam, and that Johanan's statement, mentioned above, is similar to another statement made by him—"Any anonymous opinion in the Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
belongs to R. Meïr" (Sanh. 86a), although the redactor of the Mishnah was Judah I. Ratner further supposes that R. Johanan himself compiled the work, following generally the opinion of R. Jose. He endeavors to prove this view by showing that many utterances of R. Johanan are taken from the Seder Olam.
Ratner's objections, however, are answered by other scholars, who think that in the Seder 'Olam Jose preserved the generally accepted opinions, even when they were contrary to his own, as is clearly indicated in Niddah
Niddah
Niddah is a Hebrew term describing a woman during menstruation, or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the associated requirement of immersion in a mikveh ....
(l.c.). Besides, this work, like all the works of the ancient Talmudists, underwent many alternations at the hands of the copyists. Very often, too, finding that the utterance of a later rabbi agreed with the Seder 'Olam, the copyists inserted the name of that rabbi. A careful examination shows that certain additions are later than the latest midrashim, and it may be that Abraham ibn Yarḥi (l.c.), Isaac Lattes
Isaac Lattes
Isaac ben Jacob Lattes was a rabbi who lived in Provence. In 1340 he wrote Toledot Yiẓḥaḳ, in which he gives valuable information concerning other Provençal authors and discusses the history of tradition. This work is known also by the name Sha'are Ẓiyyon...
(Sha'are Ẓiyyon, p. 25), and Menahem Meïri (introduction to Abot, p. 14), who seem to place the redaction of the Seder 'Olam at the time when the Massektot (tractates) Derek Ereẓ Rabbah, the Derek Ereẓ Zuṭa, the Soferim, and other later treatises were composed, may have referred to the work in its present form.
Besides directly quoting the Seder 'Olam, the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
often alludes to it under "tanya" (= "we learned") "tana" (= "he learned"), "tanu rabbanan" (= "our teachers learned"), "amar mar" (= "the teacher said"): often the sentences following these phrases are found in the Seder 'Olam. In addition, many of its passages have been taken into the Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
without any allusion to their source. The Seder 'Olam is not mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
, although several passages in the latter are based on it. Finally, many of the sayings of the Seder 'Olam have been taken into the Mekilta, the Sifra
Sifra
Sifra is the Halakic midrash to Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah, as appears from Tanḥuma, quoted in Or Zarua, i. 7b. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim" , and in two passages also "Sifra debe...
, and the Sifre
Sifre
Sifre refers to either of two works of Midrash halakhah, or classical Jewish legal Biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Bamidbar and Devarim .- The Talmudic-Era Sifre :The title "Sifre debe Rab" is used by R. Hananeel on Sheb. 37b, Alfasi on Pes...
.
Editions
- The Seder 'Olam Rabbah first appeared at MantuaMantuaMantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
, in 1514, together with the Seder 'Olam Zuṭa, the Megillat Ta'anit, and Abraham ibn David's Sefer ha-Ḳabbalah. It has been reedited several times since then.
- In 1577 the Seder 'Olam Rabbah and the Seder 'Olam Zuṭa were published in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, with a Latin translation by Gilbert GenebrardGilbert GénebrardGilbert Génebrard was a French Benedictine exegete and Orientalist.In his early youth he entered the Cluniac monastery of Mausac near Riom, later continued his studies at the monastery of Saint-Allyre in Clermont, and completed them at the College de Navarre in Paris, where he obtained the...
. The former was edited, with a Latin language translation, notes, and introduction, by John MeyerJohn MeyerJohn Meyer may refer to:* John Meyer , American football player and coach* John Meyer , South African painter* John Ambrose Meyer , Maryland Congressman...
(Amsterdam, 1699).
- Commentaries on the work were written by Jacob EmdenJacob EmdenJacob Emden also known as Ya'avetz, , was a leading German rabbi and talmudist who championed Orthodox Judaism in the face of the growing influence of the Sabbatean movement...
(with the text, Hamburg, 1757), by Elijah Wilna (with the text, Shklov, 1801), and by Enoch Zundel b. Joseph (a double commentary, Eẓ Yosef and Anaf Yosef, Wilna, 1845).
- The three latest editions prior to 1906 are those of Ratner (with critical and explanatory notes, Wilna, 1897), A. Marx (who published the first ten chapters, basing the text upon different manuscripts and supplying it with a German languageGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
translation and an introduction; Berlin, 1903), and Jeroham Meïr Leiner (containing the commentaries of Jacob Emden and Elijah Wilna, and the editor's annotations under the title Me'r 'Ayin, Warsaw, 1904).