Seder Olam Revisited: C33b- Mishna
- Albert Benhamou
- 5 days ago
- 30 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
CHRONOLOGY OF JEWISH HISTORY
Generation 33: Hebrew years 3840-3960 (80-200 CE)
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Introduction
This 33rd chronological generation sees the times of last struggle of the Jewish people against Rome and their ultimate expulsion from Jerusalem and Judea. It is the start of their long diaspora, away from their homeland. It is also the time of preparedness for this new exile, with the compilation of the Oral Law into what will become the Talmud to help the exiled communities overcome their forthcoming tribulations.
Hebrew Year | CE | Event | Source |
3892 | 132 | Revolt of Bar Kochba | |
3896 | 136 | End of the revolt | Cassius Dio, Roman History, book LXIX |
3896 | 136 | Rabbi Akiva tortured to death | Talmud, Berachot, 61b |
3896 | 136 | Justin and the Dialogue with Trypho | |
3898 | 138 | Emperor Antoninus Pius | Talmud, Avoda Zara, 10b |
3900 | 140 | The Sanhedrin in Shefaram | |
3920 | 160 | Death of Shimon bar Yhai | Idra Zuta |
3290 | 160 | Compilation of the Seder Olam | Talmud, Niddah, 46b |
3923 | 163 | The Sanhedrin in Sepphoris | |
3940 | 180 | Compilation of the Mishna | |
3953 | 193 | Year of the Five Emperors | |
3960 | 200 | Synagogue of Sardis | Josephus, Jewish Ant. 14:234 |
3960 | 200 | Anesthesia on Rabbi Elazar | Talmud, Baba Metzia, 83b |
Year 3892 – 132 CE – Revolt of Bar-Kochba
The making of Jerusalem into a Roman city was the trigger to another Jewish revolt led in 132 by a man called Simon Ben Kosiba, from Judea. His real name has been confirmed by archaeological findings. The Midrash called him “bar Koziba” (meaning son of lie) because Rabbi Akiva called him “bar Kochba” (meaning son of star) and claimed he was the Messiah! This caused so much destruction to the Jewish nation (source: Lamentations Rabbah II:2). Bar Kochba had initial military success and killed many Roman legionnaires in a fresh style of warfare: the guerilla. The tactic was to hide in man-made underground caves and tunnels, which had been dug for several years before the revolt, and hit isolated Romans by surprise. Many of the legionnaires died in the first two and a half years that took the Roman empire by surprise.
It was initially believed that the Roman governor of Judea was Turnus Rufus (also called Quintus Tineus Rufus) who used to have discussions with Rabbi Akiva (such as about the Sabbation river, see document C32d, year 71 CE). According to Tradition, Rufus was killed at the start of this Jewish uprising, then his wife converted to Judaism and married Rabbi Akiva who was a widower at that time (Talmud, Nedarim 50b). So, who succeeded him as governor of Judea? This question has puzzled historians since, but recent archaeology digs in 2016 found a rock off the shore of the ancient city of Dor with the following inscription:
The City of Dor honors Marcus Paccius, son of Publius, Silvanus Quintus Coredius Gallus Gargilius Antiquus, governor of the province of Judea, as well as […] of the province of Syria, and patron of the city of Dor (Madan magazine, 2016, to read about it, click here).
So, the name of the governor was Gargilius Antiquus and he ruled over Judea from the beginning of the revolt and after. This name was not unknown to historians, but they didn't know that he ruled over Judea in that period. He was previously known to have ruled in other eastern provinces.
Bar-Kochba managed to re-establish a form of Jewish independence over Judea for two and a half years. But it was a hidden independence, by living in caves. These caves had been secretly prepared as hideouts some years before the revolt began. Many of them have been found by archeologists in the Judean hills and desert.
The hilltop fortress of Herodion was one of the command centers of the rebellion. At some point, the Romans found a cave entrance and set it on fire, according to testimonials found in the Talmud:
They [the Romans] filled the cave wherein we sheltered with smoke, etc. (Talmud, Yevamoth 115a)
The site of Herodion is one of the most interesting ones to be excavated in recent years and is today a national park open to visitors. To read about recent discoveries related to Bar-Kochba, click here.
The rebels never fought a Roman army in a regular fashion and didn't reconquer Jerusalem where the 10th Legion was stationed. But they aimed to discredit the Roman power and issued new coinage every year, depicting the Temple with sacred items, and a star above as a symbol of Bar-Kochba’s name.
The importance of the Great Revolt is illustrated by military orders sent to commanders and officers across the Empire to “urgently” move to Judea. It is believed that a couple of Roman legions were destroyed in Judea due to guerilla warfare which was unknown to Roman army commanders.
Year 3896 – 136 CE – The end of the Great Revolt
Then Hadrian sent his best general, Sextus Julius Severus, from the province of Britain, to crush the revolt. And up to 8 legions were called in reinforcement from all the Roman empire which had about 30 legions at the time ! This number of legions in a single campaign was quite rare in an already conquered province, while the frontier of the empire was located hundreds of miles more East.
In 135, the Romans destroyed scores of Jewish villages and towns, suspected to shelter underground hideouts for the rebels. It is estimated that at least 200,000 Jewish civilians perished in the Roman reprisal.
Fifty of their most important outposts and nine hundred and eighty-five of their most famous villages were razed to the ground. Five hundred and eighty thousand men were slain in the various raids and battles, and the number of those that perished by famine, disease and fire was past finding out. Thus, nearly the whole of Judaea was made desolate, a result of which the people had had forewarning before the war. For the tomb of Solomon, which the Jews regard as an object of veneration, fell to pieces of itself and collapsed, and many wolves and hyenas rushed howling into their cities. Many Romans, moreover, perished in this war.
Therefore, Hadrian in writing to the Senate did not employ the opening phrase commonly affected by the emperors, "If you and our children are in health, it is well; I and the legions are in health." (Cassius Dio, Roman History, book LXIX, to read it online, click here)
The fact that Hadrian reported the events in Judea to the Roman Senate, without using the customary sentence I and the legions are well proved that the situation had been difficult for his armies to overcome.
But, in that year 135 CE, the war was taking a good turn for Rome, and Hadrian decided to use the imperial salutation as a symbol of final victory although, technically, the military campaign was not fully finished on the ground.
After a few months and into the year 136, Bar-Kochba and his men made a last stand in the fortress of Beitar, in the mountains of Judea south-west from Jerusalem (ancient Beitar ws located in the modern-day Arab village of Battir, near the Israeli city of Beitar Illit). The cost to human lives of this war was so great, on both sides, that Hadrian refused to have a triumph, as was customary in Rome after a victory. It is the only case of such an occurrence in Roman History.
The Talmud bears several references to the massacre that took place in Beitar:
In a Baraitha it has been taught: For seven years [after the massacre at Beitar] the Gentiles fertilized their vineyards with the blood of Israel without using manure. (Talmud, Gittin, 57a-b)
According to Jewish tradition, Beitar fell on the 9th of Av (of 136 CE). The Romans did not initially allow the corpses to be buried. But they finally authorized their burial on the 15th of Av, which is traditionally a joyful day for Jews, as much as the 9th of the same month is a mournful day. (Talmud, Taanit, 31a)
The Romans also put to death several eminent rabbis of this time, one of them being Rabbi Meir who was the grandson of Nero, and Rabbi Hananiah ben Teradyon his father-in-law:
A favorite saying of Rabbi Meir was : Study with all your heart and with all your soul to know My ways and to watch at the doors of My law. Keep My law in your heart and let My fear be before your eyes. Keep your mouth from all sin and purify and sanctify yourself from all trespass and iniquity, and I will be with you in every place. (Talmud, Berachot, 17a)
The great Rabbi Akiva was also tortured in the Roman town of Caesarea:
Our Rabbis taught: Once the wicked Government issued a decree forbidding the Jews to study and practice the Torah. Pappus ben Judah came and found Rabbi Akiva publicly bringing gatherings together and occupying himself with the Torah. He said to him: Akiva, are you not afraid of the Government? He replied: I will explain to you with a parable. A fox was once walking alongside a river, and he saw fishes going in swarms from one place to another. He said to them: From what are you fleeing? They replied: From the nets cast for us by men. He said to them: Would you like to come up on to the dry land so that you and I can live together in the way that my ancestors lived with your ancestors? They replied: Are you the one that they call the cleverest of animals? You are not clever but foolish. If we are afraid in the element in which we live, how much more in the element in which we would die! So, it is with us. If such is our condition when we sit and study the Torah, of which it is written, For that is your life and the length of your days (Deuteronomy 30:20), if we go and neglect it how much worse off we shall be!
It is related that soon afterwards Rabbi Akiva was arrested and thrown into prison, and Pappus ben Judah was also arrested and imprisoned next to him. He said to him: Pappus, who brought you here? He replied: Happy are you, Rabbi Akiva, that you have been seized for busying yourself with the Torah! Alas for Pappus who has been seized for busying himself with idle things!
When Rabbi Akiva was taken out for execution, it was the hour for the recital of the Shema, and while they combed his flesh with iron combs, he was accepting upon himself the kingship of heaven. His disciples said to him: Our teacher, even to this point? He said to them: All my days I have been troubled by this verse, ‘with all your soul’, [which I interpret,] ‘even if He takes your soul’. I said: When shall I have the opportunity of fulfilling this? Now that I have the opportunity shall I not fulfil it? He prolonged the word ‘Ehad’ (One) until he expired while saying it. A bath kol [a voice from heavens] went forth and proclaimed: Happy are you Akiva that your soul has departed with the word ehad!
The ministering angels said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Such Torah, and such a reward? [He should have been] from them that die by Your hand, O Lord. He replied to them: Their portion is in life. A bath kol went forth and proclaimed, Happy are you, Rabbi Akiva, that you are destined for the life of the world to come. (Talmud, Berachot, 61b)
Rabbi Akiva is buried in the old cemetery of Tiberias, Israel.
Sometime after the end of the rebellion, the construction of “Aelia Capitolina” was completed. The main street, the Cardo, was a straight line flanked by shops on both sides. The entrance of the city was from the gate at the north where stood a column.
Hadrian extorted a heavy toll from the Jewish nation after the revolt. Not only scores of villages were destroyed, and a great number of their population exterminated, but he also executed the religious leadership, and attempted to erase the memory of a Jewish entity by building a Roman city over the ruins of Jerusalem and by changing the name of Judea into Syria-Palestina, thus attaching Judea to the Syria province. It is from his time that the term Palestina was re-introduced, from the old pagan Philistine people who lived in the coastline at the time of the Judges and King David. So, Hadrian renamed the province to erase even the remembrance of the Jewish state and capital. It is his choice of name that gave root to the region being called Palestine in modern days.
Year 3896 – 136 CE – Justin and the Dialogue with Trypho
Shortly after the revolt of Bar-Kochba was crushed by the Romans, one Christian named Justin endeavored to convince the Jews of the Messianic nature of Jesus. It was a right time because the Jews, once again, seemed to have been abandoned by their God to the harsh hands of the pagan Romans. From the point of view of the Christians, God must surely be angry at His original people for refusing to accept the Messiah (Jesus) He sent to earth! To make his point, Justin imagined that he communicated with an imaginary Jew called Tryphon with whom he would argue using the Jewish Scriptures in favor of Jesus to be the Messiah of the Jews. The written work is known as the Dialogue with Trypho. It is possible that Justin made up the name Trypho from the well-known contemporary rabbi Tarfon.
But his arguments failed to convince anyone among the Jewish population because he had no knowledge of Hebrew, so he only used the text of the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Bible, and built many of his demonstrations based on erroneous assumptions in interpreting the Greek words. One famous example concerned the so-called announcement of the forthcoming birth of Jesus in the Scriptures based on Isaiah 7:14:
הִנֵּה הָעַלְמָה הָרָה וְיֹלֶדֶת בֵּן וְקָרָאת שְׁמוֹ עִמָּנוּ אֵל
In the Septuagint, the word עַלְמָה which means Young Girl in Hebrew had been translated into Greek as Virgin. Thus, the early Christians understood this verse from Isaiah the Prophet as an announcement of the miraculous birth of Jesus from a virgin mother. The correct translation of this verse should be :
Behold, the young girl shall conceive and bear a son and will name him EmmanuEl (the name means God is With Us).
In general, the Jews rejected Christian attempts to demonstrate that Jesus was their Messiah because of the following "messianic signs" that did not occur at the time of Jesu :
In Messianic times, before the venue of the Messiah, the Jewish "exiles" will be gathered to the Promised Land. But, in these times, the contrary happened, as many Jews were taken as slaves to many parts of the Roman Empire, and the Promised Land even changed name and ownership under the Roman rule.
The Temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem. But, at the contrary, the Temple had been destroyed, and the holy city of Jerusalem was changed into a Roman city dedicated to a pagan god, Jupiter.
After the arrival of the Messiah, who would come in a time of global wars and who would stop them, peace would prevail. Even in the animal kingdom the lion will live next to the lamb. Yet, since Jesus had been executed about 100 years earlier, wars and destructions became worse, and the holy city and the Temple were even destroyed after his earthly passage.
The Messiah will be a chosen man, not God Himself, from the Tribe of Judah and a direct descendant of King David. But, in the case of Jesus, such linage had not been ascertained.
For the above reasons, and others related to Scriptures, Jesus could not have been the Messiah of the Jews. And he didn't declare himself as such either. Justin's efforts were obviously doomed to fail among the Jewish people, as it was as if a lawyer would try to defend a case in court with the help of a wrong version of the book of laws.
Later, Justin set to Rome at the time of the emperor Antoninus Pius where he opened a Christian school, which had to be clandestine in these times because Christianity was not an authorized faith yet. Justin was denounced by a Greek philosopher, then tried and executed in 165 during the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
It is worth noting as well that the term Christian did not exist yet in these times: it appeared some years later, from the Greek version of the Hebrew word Messiah translated as Christos. In the Holy Land, the early Christians were considered as a sect (min in Hebrew), like the Sadducees or the Essenes, and were called the Nazarenes or Nazoreans, because they were the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. This term will remain as such in the Eastern provinces of the Roman empire (and is still used today in Hebrew as Notzrim and in Arabic as Nasrani), whereas the Western part adopted the Greek term and called them Christians.
Year 3898 – 138 CE – Antoninus Pius
Hadrian spent the last years of his life in Rome, in poor health, with worries and unhappiness. Before he died in 138, he chose his successor, Antoninus Pius, who had previously served as proconsul of the Asian provinces. When Antoninus came to power, all his children had already died except for one daughter, Annia Galeria Faustina "the Younger" (Faustina "the Elder" was her mother, wife of Antoninus), who later married Marcus Aurelius in 145 who became the successor of Antoninus in 161 CE.
According to Tradition, Antoninus had befriended Judah the son of the nassi Shimon ben Gamaliel (see this document, year 180 CE). Antoninus met Shimon when he was proconsul in Syria as he was often stationed in Tiberias. According to Tradition, Judah was born the moment when Akiva had died at the hands of the Romans in 135 CE, thus perpetuating the scholarship of the Talmudic schools. Judah must have kept some correspondence with Antoninus in Rome when he later became emperor. This correspondence, done by means of symbols to keep them obscure to third parties, had started with Shimon, Judah’s father, when Antoninus went to Rome to become emperor, and continued with Judah. Although Judah was young, he was very knowledgeable and wise. Several narratives are given in the Talmud about this extraordinary relationship between the rabbi and the emperor. One example concerned the daughter Galeria who committed adultery, a circumstance that was hidden in official History, except for rumors that were reported by other sources. Antoninus sought advice from Judah:
The emperor [Antoninus] had a daughter named Gilla [Galeria] who committed a sin, so he sent to Rabbi [Judah] a rocket-herb (1), and Rabbi in return sent him coriander (2). The emperor then sent some leeks (3), and he sent lettuce in return (4). (Talmud, Avodah Zarah, 10b)
Notes from above:
The word for rocket-herb is gargilla which could be read as gar Gilla, meaning "Gilla has gone astray".
It is called kusbarta which was meant as kus barta; barta means daughter but kus could be either “reprove” or “slay”; Rabbi wanted to indicate that the emperor had the two options.
They are called karethi, which means “cut-off”, thus showing that Antoninus was prepared to apply a harsh sentence against his daughter.
It is called hasa which also means “compassion”: Rabbi suggested to choose the other option.
This Talmudic anecdote shows that Rabbi saved Galeria from sure punishment. Some Roman sources cited the rumors of adultery concerning Antoninus' daughter:
Some say, and it seems plausible, that Commodus Antoninus, his son and successor [of Marcus Aurelius], was not begotten by him but in adultery; they embroider this assertion, moreover, with a story current among the people. On a certain occasion, it was said, Faustina, the daughter of [Antoninus] Pius and wife of Marcus, saw some gladiators pass by and was inflamed for love of one of them; and afterwards, when suffering from a long illness, she confessed the passion to her husband. And when Marcus reported this to the Chaldeans, it was their advice that Faustina should bathe in his blood and thus couch with her husband. (Historia Augusta, The Life of Marcus Aurelius, 19:1-2 ; to read it online, click here)
We can see that the two narratives concur: Antoninus sought advice from the “Chaldeans”, a term meant to say people of the east which, with some imprecision from Roman historians, could have applied to a rabbi in Judea. Yet we know from History that the daughter was a good wife and had a marriage blessed by a great number of children. So she must have been pardoned, obviously, as the Talmud inferred.
Year 3900 – 140 CE – The new Sanhedrin with Shimon ben Gamaliel II
Shimon, the son of Rabban Gamaliel II who had died before the siege of Lydda, was elected in 140 CE as nassi to replace his father.
After the end of the Revolt of Bar-Kochba, the assembly of Sages, who survived the last onslaught in Judea and settled in Galilee, re-established the Sanhedrin in 135 in the village of Usha. Shimon had participated in the revolt, like many other religious leaders who thought the Messianic times had started but managed to escape the massacre of the last stand at Beitar and could tell his companions and disciples the horrors of the Roman repression that took place.
The Sanhedrin then moved to the village of Shefaram in 140. What a fall: after being in Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin was now set in small villages of Galilee! After Shefaram, it moved again to Beth-Shearim where many Sages were later buried, and then it moved to Sepphoris in 163 which was a major city in Galilee, rebuilt with a Roman design, as compared to the previous three villages.
During the harsh times of the Roman repression, some Jews had decided to escape from Judea and re-settled in Mesopotamia where a Jewish community was flourishing there.
Year 3920 – 160 CE – Death of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
When Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai died in 160 CE, he experienced what is commonly called today "near death experience", or rather in his case the experience of "life after death". Many people who have reported such experiences, and for some of them it momentarily meant clinical death before they returned to life, came with the same feedback: they experienced an intense bright light, and met people (or spirits) who had died before them (family, relatives, etc.) who seem to come and greet them in the gate of the afterlife. They also experienced being judged with their entire life passing before them, and more. The Scriptures also report such experiences by some rabbis and one of them was Shimon bar Yochai who had a congregation, alive and dead, sitting with him until he died:
Rabbi Shimon wrapped himself [with the surrounding light] and sat. He opened and said (Psalms 115:17): "The dead shall not praise God (1) and not all those who go down to Dumah [a lower level where evil souls go after death]." [...]
Then he said: "Here is Rav Hammnuna Saba [the Elder, who was one of Rabbi Shimon's teachers and who died earlier], and surrounding him are seventy righteous, dressed with crowns, each of them with light that radiates from the light of 'Atika Kadisha' (2)" [...] And he said: "Here is Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair with us, prepare a place for him."
The friends that were there were in shock and they stood and moved to sit in the lower part of the house (3). (Idra Zutra, introduction)
Notes of the above:
He mentioned the two first letters of the Tetragrammaton.
The original Light that was created in the Day One of Creation see document C00).
By fear of being taken to death along with Rabbi Shimon.
After giving his last lecture, with a great congregation of attendees among the living and the dead (before the gate of the death had been opened for Rabbi Shimon), he finally passed away, with a smile on his face, having felt that he had been able to give this last lecture about the time to come.
Experiences of "life after death" are found in the Talmud. Here is another example:
Rabbi Abbahu said: The dead man knows all that is said in his presence until the top-stone closes [his grave]. [...] For full [twelve months] the body is in existence and the soul ascends and descends; after twelve months the body ceases to exist, and the soul ascends but descends nevermore. (Talmud, Shabbat, 152b)
The death of Shimon bar Yochai occurred on the day called Lag BaOmer, which means the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer, which is the 49 days period between Passover and Shavuot. It is today celebrated across Israel as a day of revival of both the religious and the national spirits (to read more about Lag BaOmer, click here).
About Year 3920 – 160 CE – Seder Olam Rabbah
Around the year 160 CE, the book called Seder Olam, meaning the "Order of the World" (or Chronology of the world), was composed by Rabbi Jose (Yossi) ben Halafta, a disciple of Akiva (Talmud, Yevamoth 82b, Niddah 46b). The presently known version is however a composition made by the Babylonian schools, because the text contains Talmudic references from the Babylonian Talmud and not from the Jerusalem Talmud. Accordingly, some believe that it was taught by Rabbi Yose in Galilee, but it may have been composed by his followers who emigrated to Babylonia to escape Roman persecutions. And the work was unknown to the schools of Judea and Galilee.
Seder Olam contains a chronology from Adam until the revolt of Bar-Kochba. It has been referred to in the Talmud and many other works since. The first printing version was published in Mantua, Italy, in 1514, less than 60 years after the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg in 1455. This point is worth stressing because it shows the importance of the work, based on the demand for its publication.
Seder Olam consists of 30 chapters, but the entire period from Nehemiah, the last prophet of the Hebrew Bible, until the Great Revolt only covers the last chapter. Most of the chronology is thus derived from Biblical sources, which explains that there is little added from the Hellenistic period. The subsequent Rabbinical works about Biblical chronology have been based on Seder Olam ever since.
To download Seder Olam in Hebrew (with all 30 parts), click here.
To download the first four parts, in English and with notes:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Although the Biblical chronology from the Creation to the Exodus is detailed and free from debate, the periods that follow, from the time of Joshua and the Judges until later events, are based on personal calculations and assumptions made by the author. Unfortunately, these assumptions do not match chronologies established by the Egyptian, Babylonian and Persian historical records. And this is the goal, somehow, of this present work, Seder Olam Revisited, to match Biblical chronology with Historical chronologies. The main dates and differences between Seder Olam and the present work are shown below.
Note that we don't examine here Biblical chronologies computed by Christian scholars because they are based on the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Bible, which is not devoid of mistakes.
Event | Seder Olam (Hebrew year) | Equivalent year (BCE) | Seder Olam Revisited (Hebrew year) | Equivalent year (BCE) | Divergence in number of years |
Creation | 1 | -3760 | 1 | -3760 | 0 |
The Flood | 1656 | -2104 | 1656 | -2104 | 0 |
Birth of Isaac | 2048 | -1712 | 2048 | -1712 | 0 |
The Exodus | 2448 | -1312 | 2454 | -1306 | +6 years |
First Temple - foundation | 2928 | -832 | 2745 | -1015 | -183 years |
First Temple - destruction | 3338 | -422 | 3173 | -587 | -165 years |
Second Temple - completion | 3412 | -349 | 3244 | -516 | -168 years |
Second Temple - destruction | 3829 | 69 | 3830 | 70 | +1 year |
How to explain the differences?
Up to the time of the Exodus, both chronologies are identical, because the chronology of the Bible is clearly detailed from the Creation until Jacob went down to Egypt.
For the date of the Exodus, the discrepancy of six years has been explained in a previous document (see document C21a, Biblical year 2454).
For the construction of the First Temple, it started 480 years "from the Exodus" according to interpretations of the Biblical text; so the Seder Olam added 480 to their calculation of the year of Exodus (2448) to reach the Hebrew year 2928 (about 832 BCE); but this simple assumption would make the period of Judges and Kings far too long and the result does not fit any archaeological evidence about the presumed reign of David and Solomon (around 1000 BCE); this is a major mismatch with historical facts (for example the destruction of the kingdom of Israel by several Assyrian invasions in 744-718 BCE); the correct interpretation of these 480 years obviously ought to be different and has been explained in a previous document which took into account 480 years from the first exit of the Bene-Israel (as of Sons of Jacob-Israel) from Egypt and not the actual Exodus (see document C23b, year 1015 BCE); the Bible also mentions a period of 300 years at the time of Judge Yiftah: this specific duration is also explained in another document (see document C23a, year 1074 BCE). This issue causes a difference of 183 years between Seder Olam and the present chronology
The destruction of the First Temple is assumed to have happened 410 years from its foundation (its construction took 7 years); and there is historical evidence for this particular event, based on the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who destroyed Jerusalem in 587 BCE; Seder Olam calculated the year of this destruction as Hebrew year 3338 which corresponds to 422 BCE: again, this is far too late to fit with historical chronology. The reason for this 165 years difference is chiefly caused by the above issue (the difference of 183 years); but then there is also another issue related to the 410 years, as explained in another document (see document C27a, year 597 BCE). As a result, the difference between Seder Olam and the present chronology is now 165 years.
The construction of the Second Temple was completed some years after Cyrus gave authorization to the Jews to return to Sion, as it was completed during the reign of Artaxerxes. Seder Olam considers that the Temple was completed in Hebrew year 3412, because it aimed to fit 420 years for the duration of the Second Temple calculated backward from its destruction in 69-70 CE. The latter date was contemporary and known to the author of Seder Olam (1st century CE). So, 70-420 = 350 BCE gave the Hebrew year of 3412 for the completion of the Second Temple. Yet it is impossible to fit in the Persian rule over Yehud province longer than a few decades! In other words, for the last part of the chronology, Seder Olam worked backwards, from the destruction of the Second Temple in 69-70 CE, and therefore had to compress the entire Persian rule into a mere 34 years to fit all the rest. How did he do this? The author argued that 2 or 3 Persian kings were one same ruler:
It has been taught that Cyrus [II The Great], Darius, and Artaxerxes were all one. He was called Cyrus because he was a worthy king (1), Artaxerxes after his realm, while Darius was his own name. All the same, the contradiction remains. (2) — There is no contradiction. The one verse [in Haggai] speaks of him [the king of Persia] before he degenerated, the other after he degenerated. R. Kahana strongly demurred to this [saying]: Did he indeed degenerate? (Talmud, Rosh Hashanah, 3b-4a)
Notes from the above: (1) Cyrus is called Koresh in Hebrew (כּוֹרֶשׁ) and this name is paralleled to the word Kosher (כשר) which uses the same letters; (2) this Talmudic discussion is about the apparent contradiction between Haggai 1:15 and Ezra 6:15.
The reason the Talmud mentioned the tradition (It has been taught) that Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes were the same king is because of the following verse:
And they built and finished it [the Second Temple], according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the decree of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. (Ezra 6:14)
The use of singular (king of Persia) seems to imply that the three named kings were one man. This assumption was probably taught by the author of Seder Olam but it was a wrong assumption, which caused the chronology to have a "Persian rule" of 34 years only. The fact is that they were three different kings, each one of them issued a decree:
First Cyrus made his famous decree after he conquered Babylon: The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom, and put it also in writing. (Ezra 1:1). The reconstruction of the Temple was started at the time of Cyrus but halted because of the Samaritans' complaint.
Then came Darius who, at the request of the Israelites to renew the works of the construction, found the decree of Cyrus and issued his own decree to authorize the pursuance of the construction: I, Darius, have made a decree; let it be done with all diligence. (Ezra 6:12)
And finally, under Artaxerxes' reign, Ezra received the authorization for the return of the Israelites to their ancient land: Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, and so forth. And now I make a decree. (Ezra 7:12-13)
Three kings, three decrees, three different reigns. It took three decrees to enable the Israelites to start the return to Sion, to start rebuilding the Temple, then to complete it, then to have a much larger return to Sion, followed by the time of Ezra with the compilation of the Tanakh. These three decrees mirror the three patriarchs (for their merit, their descendants received the Torah). And here, with Ezra, the Torah was completed with two other groups of scriptures to form the three-parts Tanakh (to read about the Jewish symbolism of numbers, click here).
There is another proof in the Book of Daniel about the succession of four kings of Persia:
Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all; and when he is waxed strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. (Daniel 11:2)
So, who were these kings of Persia who ruled in the lifetime of Daniel? First Cyrus who conquered Babylon and authorized the return of Jews to Sion and the reconstruction of their temple. Then his successor Cambyses who conquered Egypt. Then Darius who was the last ruler that Daniel knew before his death. During Darius' reign, the Second Temple was completed. Darius was succeeded by Xerxes, the 4th and great king of Persia who ruled over the greatest empire of 127 provinces (Esther 1:1) (see document C28, year 484 BCE), but who also waged war against Greece, as mentioned in the above text. Thus, there is no doubt that the vision that Daniel had received from Angel Gabriel referred to different kings of Persia.
The calculation made by the author of Seder Olam, Rabbi Yose ben Halafta, raised further concern at the time of the completion of the Talmud, many years after his death:
Persian rule lasted 34 years after the building of the Temple, Greece ruled 180 years during the existence of the Temple, the Hasmonean rule lasted 104 years during temple times, the House of Herod ruled 103 years. Thence onward, one should go on counting the years as from the Destruction of the Temple. Hence we see that it was 206 years, yet you say 180 years! — But for 26 years the Romans kept faith with Israel and did not subdue them, and therefore those years are not reckoned in the period during which Rome cast her dominion over Israel. (Talmud, Avodah Zarah, 9a)
This present Seder Olam Revisited chronology, in line with historical chronologies, shows the following:
The Second Temple was completed during the Persian rule in 516 BCE (which corresponds to the 70 years promised by God for the exile in Babylon) (see document C28, year 516 BCE). The Persian rule in Judea ended with the arrival of Alexander the Great in 332 BCE, so it lasted 184 years (516 minus 332) since the completion of the Second Temple, not the mere 34 years computed by Seder Olam.
The Greek rule started from Alexander in 332 BCE and ended, depending on how one wishes to count it, with either the revolt of the Maccabees (167 BCE) or the start of the Hasmonean dynasty by Simon Maccabee (142 BCE) which was peacefully accepted by both the Seleucids and Rome; so the Greek rule can be said to have lasted either 165 years or 190 years; the 25 years difference corresponds to successive wars between the Greeks and the Maccabees.
The Hasmonean dynasty lasted from Simon Maccabee (142 BCE) until Antigonus lost power to Herod (37 BCE), so it is 105 years, which is in line with the Talmudic chronology.
The dynasty of Herod lasted from the start of Herod's reign (37 BCE) until the start of the Jewish revolt (66 CE), when Agrippa II fled from Jerusalem: this is in line with the Talmudic calculation of 103 years.
The Roman rule could be counted from the time Pompey conquered the region (63 BCE), but, as the Talmud mentions, there were 26 years from that event until the end of the Hasmonean dynasty (37 BCE) when Rome acknowledged their ally Herod as King of the Jews, against the will of the Jewish nation; so the Roman indirect rule is indeed counted from the reign of Herod (37 BCE) and not from the conquest of Pompey; the 180 years mentioned in the Talmud correspond to the duration until this question was debated by the Talmudists, in year 143 CE.
Ruler / Years of rule | Seder Olam | Seder Olam Revisited |
Persian | 34 | 184 |
Greek / Hellenistic | 180 | 190 |
Hasmonean | 104 | 105 |
Herodian | 103 | 103 |
Seder Olam has later been called Seder Olam Rabbah, meaning the Great Seder Olam, to distinguish it from a later complementary work called Seder Olam Zutta, meaning the Small Seder Olam.
For the Christian world, it is interesting to note the following detail: there were 37 years from Jesus' birth (4 BCE) and his crucifixion (33 CE), and there also were 37 years from Jesus' crucifixion (33 CE) until the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE). There is however some uncertainty about the year of his birth because the two only gospels mentioning it are contradictory: Matthew mentions before the death of Herod (4 BCE) and Luke mentions the Census of Quirinius (6 CE). As of the year of Jesus' crucifixion, we have previously calculated the year 33 CE which seems the most possible (see document C32b, year 33 CE).
About Year 3940 – 180 CE – Judah ha-Nassi, compiler of the Mishna
Shimon ben Gamaliel II died in 180 CE. The same year, Marcus Aurelius who had succeeded Antoninus Pius as emperor, also died. New troubles started against the Jews:
When Rabban Simeon b. Gamaliel died, locusts [nickname for the tax collectors] came up and troubles increased. (Talmud, Sotah, 49b)
He was succeeded as nassi by his son Judah "the Prince" who directed the huge task of compiling the Mishna, which is the foundation for the Talmud. This was done in tough times, when Roman persecution was great against religious leaders and when the Sanhedrin had to move from place to place to avoid trouble.
In these times, the so-called Tanaim, who were the first sages involved in this work, feared that the knowledge of the scriptures would get lost. So, they decided that a written compilation of the Oral Law was necessary for future generations under the rule of foreign powers, in Judea and in exile. Judah was acknowledged as leader of the task because of his wisdom, and, besides the surname of Judah the Prince, he is simply mentioned in the Talmud as Rabbi.
According to Tradition, Judah was born in 135 CE, the same day when Akiva died at the hands of the Romans (see above, year 135 CE). But, in contrast, Judah ha-Nassi was well treated by the Romans (due to his special relationship with emperor Antoninus Pius) (see above, year 138 CE) and ended up becoming wealthy. For climate and health reasons, he moved the Sanhedrin from Beth-Shearim to Sepphoris in 163 CE (see above), where the Mishna was finally compiled.
The Mishna is composed of six sections:
Zeraim (זרעים) – laws related to Land of Israel and its agriculture.
Moed (מועד) – laws concerning the Holy Days in the time of the Temple and in Diaspora.
Nashim (נשים) – laws concerning family life and women.
Nezikin (נזיקים) – laws governing the interpersonal relationships, business, damages, etc.
Kodashim (קודשים) – laws concerning sanctity i.e. sacrifices, prohibitions, dietary, etc.
Tehoroth (טארות) – laws of "family purity".
The mnemonic way to remember the order of these 6 sections is with the first letter of each section to form the acronym: זמ"נ נק"ט.
The Mishna touches every subject that governs daily life, including medicine. One striking example shows that, without knowing the medical reason for it, the Sages already knew from the traditions of the Oral Law how to cure someone who got bitten by a rabid dog:
If one was bit by a mad dog, he may not give him to eat the lobe of its liver, but Rabbi Matthia ben Heresh permits it. (Talmud, Yoma, Mishna 83a)
Normally the Sages did not allow to eat anything from an impure animal (such as a dog) but this rule was overturned in this situation because it would save an individual's life. The question remains: how did the Sages know that eating the liver of a mad dog would cure an infected man who would otherwise die of rabies? This disease has plagued humanity since about 2000 BCE until Louis Pasteur of France found a cure by in 1885 from his studies of the real nature of germs and viruses. The cure is not far off what the Talmud was hinting at, that the liver produces the blood anti-toxins which was the basis of Pasteur's discovery.
Another example of topics discussed in the Talmud is the issue of fair allocation. The problem is tackled in the case of splitting the estate of a dead man who had three wives with different respective rights:
Mishna: If a man who was married to three wives died, and the ketubah [the marriage contract] of one was a maneh [100 zuz], of the other 200 zuz, and of the third 300 zuz, and the estate [was worth] only one maneh [100 zuz], [the sum] is divided equally.
If the estate [was] 200 zuz, [the claimant] of the maneh receives 50 zuz, and of the 200 and 300 zuz [each] 3 gold denarii [equivalent to 75 zuz].
If the estate [was] 300 zuz, [the claimant] of the maneh receives 50 zuz, [the claimant] of the 200 zuz a maneh [100 zuz], and [the claimant] of 300 zuz six gold denarii [150 zuz].
Similarly, if three people contributed to a joint fund and they had made a loss or a profit, they share in the same manner. (Talmud, Ketuboth, Mishna 93a)
This division of the estate does not seem quite right at first glance because one would expect the division to be calculated according to the proportion of the rights, totaling 600 (100+200+300). This is precisely what is done in the case of a 300 zuz estate, which is divided proportionally in 50, 100 and 150 zuz between claimants. So why would the division not be "equally" done in the case of an estate of 100 zuz, for which each widow receives 1/3? Similarly, for 200 zuz estate, why divide disproportionally in 50, 75 and 75? This is because the Talmud is more concerned with "fairness" rather than dry logic. Without fair allocation in money matters, society would be dissatisfied. The Talmudic solution to this issue has only been fully understood in 1985 and described as the "nucleolus solution" to minimize dissatisfaction between creditors who must share the money of a bankruptcy. It has been described in the Journal of Economic Theory, 1985, issue 36, pages 195-213: Robert J. Aumann and Michael Maschler, "Game Theoretic Analysis of a Bankruptcy Problem from the Talmud".
Judah ha-Nassi kept his role of nassi until his death in 219, although some say that he died in 188 CE, but this date would be quite short for a tenure of 8 years during which the compilation of the Mishna would have been completed. He was buried in Beth-Shearim, his native hometown, after a procession from Sepphoris where he had lived.
After the period of the Tanaim, started the period of the Amoraim, the Sages who commented the Mishna and added many details to form what is called the Gemara. Together, Mishna and Gemara form the Talmud. The period of Amoraim lasted about 400 years.
About Year 3953 – 193 CE – The Year of the Five Emperors
When Marcus Aurelius died, he left a vast and powerful Roman empire. He was succeeded by his son Commodus who was rumored to be the son of the gladiator with whom Galeria had had an affair (see above, year 138 CE). Commodus behaved in a most abnormal way as a ruler and preferred to fight as a gladiator (Commodus was the Roman emperor depicted in Ridley Scott’s movie “Gladiator” in 2000). He was assassinated in 192, a situation which left a political crisis about his succession. Five people claimed to deserve the role of emperor in that year and fought one against the other by declaring themselves emperor, until ultimately only one of them survived, Septimus Severus, who defeated his last opponent in 197.
Year 3960 – 200 CE – The synagogue of Sardis
As an example of Jewish communities in exile after the Great Revolt of 70 CE is the one of Sardis in Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. Jews lived there since the 3rd century BCE and grew in number over the years, especially with the refugees from Judea. So, they needed a larger synagogue and petitioned the Roman authorities to obtain the right to build one. A Roman governor had already granted them the right to keep a synagogue as stated by Josephus:
"Lucius Antonius, the son of Marcus, vice-quaestor, and vice-praetor, to the magistrates, senate, and people of the Sardians, sends greeting. Those Jews that are our fellow citizens of Rome came to me and demonstrated that they had an assembly of their own [a synagogue], according to the laws of their forefathers, and this from the beginning, as also a place of their own [a rabbinic tribunal], wherein they determined their suits and controversies with one another. Upon their petition therefore to me, that these might be lawful for them, I gave order that these their privileges be preserved, and they be permitted to do accordingly." (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, book 14,234)
The new synagogue of Sardis had vast proportions, which gives some idea of how large the Jewish community was there at the time.
About Year 3960 – 200 CE – Anesthesia on Rabbi Elazar
Elazar, the son of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, was not as healthy as his father. The following circumstance is related in the Talmud, which describes the first known use of anesthesia for medical purposes:
He was given a sleeping draught and taken into a marble chamber. They opened his abdomen and removed a basketful of fat. (Talmud, Baba Metzia, 83b)
Anesthesia started to be used by surgeons in the 19th century, about 1800 years after the surgery on Elazar.
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Albert Benhamou
Private Tour Guide in Israel
Tishri 5786 - September 2025
