Seder Olam Revisited: introduction

In the documents proposed here, you will find a chronology of the Bible and a continuation into a chronology of the Jewish people beyond the Bible and until modern days. The name Seder Olam, which means chronology of the world, was given by the author of this original study, Rabbi Yossi Halafta, around 160 CE. This present study follows the same pattern of chronology for the Bible but brings new timeline calculations that allow the chronology to fit with historical data. This study also goes beyond the timeline of Seder Olam, which stopped at the time of the Roman rule some 2000 years ago and also covers the chronology of the Jewish history until today. Therefore, I have titled it "Seder Olam Revisited".

To do so, I have divided the 6000 years that are supposed to be the duration of our present world into “generations” of 120 years each, from Adam to nowadays. Why 120 years? Because the Biblical text indicates that, at the time of the Flood, God had set that the lifetime of a man would no longer exceeds 120 years (Genesis 6:3). So, I have assumed 120 years as human lifetime to divide the 6000 years into 50 equal "generations" in total (50 * 120 = 6000). This division of the chronology fits perfectly with the biblical concept of Jubilee which happened every 50th year. So, here, when we reach 6000 years, meaning at the end of the 50th generation of 120 years, we would have completed a Jubilee cycle. The last 50th generation will be the Jubilee of the World. That Jubilee will start in Hebrew year 5880 (which is 6000-120) and, as of now when I write this, we are in year 5785. In other words, we are today less than 100 years before the start of the 50th Jubilee of the World.  

For those who are not familiar with the concept of Jubilee, it refers to a repetition of 7 times 7 years. The source of this number 7 is when God had established the Shabbat, the day of “rest”, in the 7th day of Creation. So, when He established His laws with the Hebrews, He asked to respect the 7th day, the Shabbat, and also set a 7th year as a year of rest for the land: this 7th year is called a Shmita (or Shemita) year during which it is forbidden to work the land of Israel: men have to give it a rest too. We can already notice from this that the number 7 is of particular importance in the Biblical and Jewish chronologies, as well as the numbers 50 and 120. The number 7 is tied to a week cycle and has no other source than the Bible. Indeed, a year can be derived from natural observation of the planets and from the return of springtime. The day is naturally observed from the cycle of day and night. But the week has no astronomical nor natural source and cannot be observed: it is entirely sourced from the Bible. For more information about Jewish symbolism of the numbers, please click here for my article in this blog.

For easy access to any given generation of 120 years period, I have indicated below direct link to each of them with corresponding years (Biblical and secular years). The generations are also divided into groups of 7, because we shall explain that there is a parallel between these 50 (=7*7+1) generations and the cycles of 7 times a Shemita (7th year) and a final Jubilee (50th year).

BIBLICAL PERIOD

• generation 00: this text is out of the scope of the chronology but covers the Creation

• generation 01: Hebrew years 1-120 (3760-3640 BCE), from Adam to Cain

• generation 02: Hebrew years 120-240 (3640-3520 BCE), Cain and Sumer

• generation 03: Hebrew years 240-360 (3520-3400 BCE), first cities

• generation 04: Hebrew years 360-480 (3400-3280 BCE), Nile valley

• generation 05: Hebrew years 480-600 (3280-3160 BCE), first dynasties

• generation 06: Hebrew years 600-720 (3160-3040 BCE), Hanoch

• generation 07: Hebrew years 720-840 (3040-2920 BCE), Lamech

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• generation 08: Hebrew years 840-960 (2920-2800 BCE), Lemech

• generation 09: Hebrew years 960-1080 (2800-2680 BCE), corruption of the Earth

• generation 10: Hebrew years 1080-1200 (2680-2560 BCE), Enosh

• generation 11: Hebrew years 1200-1320 (2560-2440 BCE), Kenan

• generation 12: Hebrew years 1320-1440 (2440-2320 BCE), Jared

• generation 13: Hebrew years 1440-1560 (2320-2200 BCE), Akkad

• generation 14: Hebrew years 1560-1680 (2200-2080 BCE), the Flood

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• generation 15: Hebrew years 1680-1800 (2080-1960 BCE), after the Flood

• generation 16: Hebrew years 1800-1920 (1960-1840 BCE), peoples of the Earth

• generation 17: Hebrew years 1920-2040 (1840-1720 BCE), the Tower of Babel

• generation 18: Hebrew years 2040-2160 (1720-1600 BCE), Isaac

• generation 19a: Hebrew years 2160-2230 (1600-1530 BCE), Jacob

• generation 19b: Hebrew years 2230-2280 (1530-1480 BCE), Joseph

• generation 20: Hebrew years 2280-2400 (1480-1360 BCE), Moses

• generation 21a: Hebrew years 2400-2455 (1360-1305 BCE), the Exodus

• generation 21b: Hebrew years 2455-2495 (1305-1265 BCE), in the desert

• generation 21c: Hebrew years 2495-2520 (1265-1240 BCE), Joshua

Sites of the Biblical patriarchs period (click on the Enlarge button and see the locations)

• generation 22: Hebrew years 2520-2640 (1240-1120 BCE), Judges

• generation 23a: Hebrew years 2640-2700 (1120-1060 BCE), Samuel

• generation 23b: Hebrew years 2700-2760 (1060-1000 BCE), Unified Kingdom

Sites of the Judges and unified kingdom period (click on the Enlarge button and see the locations)

• generation 24: Hebrew years 2760-2880 (1000-880 BCE), Judah and Israel

• generation 25: Hebrew years 2880-3000 (880-760 BCE), Assyria

• generation 26a: Hebrew years 3000-3045 (760-715 BCE), Sargon II

• generation 26b: Hebrew years 3045-3120 (715-640 BCE), Sennacherib

• generation 27a: Hebrew years 3120-3170 (640-590 BCE), Zedekiah

• generation 27b: Hebrew years 3170-3220 (590-540 BCE), Babylon

• generation 27c: Hebrew years 3220-3240 (540-520 BCE), Cyrus

• generation 28: Hebrew years 3240-3360 (520-400 BCE), Esther

Sites of the two kingdoms until the Persian period (click on the Enlarge button and see the locations)

END OF THE HEBREW BIBLE PERIOD

HELLENISTIC PERIOD

• generation 29: Hebrew years 3360-3480 (400-280 BCE), Alexander the Great

• generation 30a: Hebrew years 3480-3585 (280-175 BCE), Hellenism

• generation 30b: Hebrew years 3585-3600 (175-160 BCE), Maccabees

• generation 31a: Hebrew years 3600-3650 (160-110 BCE), Hasmonean

• generation 31b: Hebrew years 3650-3695 (110-65 BCE), Jannai

Map of the Hellenistic period (click on the Enlarge button and see the locations)

ROMAN PERIOD

• generation 31c: Hebrew years 3695-3720 (65-40 BCE), Pompey

• generation 32a: Hebrew years 3720-3780 (40 BCE - 20 CE), Herod

• generation 32b: Hebrew years 3780-3825 (20-65 CE), Jesus

• generation 32c: Hebrew years 3825-3830 (65-70 CE), War of the Jews

• generation 32d: Hebrew years 3830-3840 (70-80 CE), Titus

• generation 33a: Hebrew years 3840-3890 (80-130 CE), Akiva

• generation 33b: Hebrew years 3890-3960 (130-200 CE), Mishna

• generation 34: Hebrew years 3960-4080 (200-320 CE), Diaspora

• generation 35: Hebrew years 4080-4200 (320-440 CE), Talmud

BYZANTINE, ISLAM & MEDIEVAL

• generation 36: Hebrew years 4200-4320 (440-560 CE), Justinian

• generation 37: Hebrew years 4320-4440 (560-680 CE), Islam

• generation 38: Hebrew years 4440-4560 (680-800 CE), Al-Andalus

• generation 39: Hebrew years 4560-4680 (800-920 CE), Exilarchs

• generation 40: Hebrew years 4680-4800 (920-1040 CE), Sepharad

• generation 41: Hebrew years 4800-4920 (1040-1160 CE), Crusade

• generation 42a: Hebrew years 4920-4960 (1160-1200 CE), Persecutions

• generation 42b: Hebrew years 4960-5040 (1200-1280 CE), Disputations

EMANCIPATION & MODERN ERA

• generation 43: Hebrew years 5040-5160 (1280-1400 CE), Mysticism

• generation 44: Hebrew years 5160-5280 (1400-1520 CE), Inquisition

• generation 45: Hebrew years 5280-5400 (1520-1640 CE), Reformation

• generation 46a: Hebrew years 5400-5460 (1640-1700 CE), Sabbateanism

• generation 46b: Hebrew years 5460-5520 (1700-1760 CE), Hasidism

• generation 47a: Hebrew years 5520-5575 (1760-1815 CE), Napoleon

• generation 47b: Hebrew years 5575-5640 (1815-1880 CE), Emancipation

• generation 48a: Hebrew years 5640-5675 (1880-1915 CE), Aliyah

• generation 48b: Hebrew years 5675-5695 (1915-1935 CE), WW-I

• generation 48c: Hebrew years 5695-5707 (1935-1947 CE), Shoah

• generation 48d: Hebrew years 5707-5760 (1947-2000 CE), Israel

• generation 49a: Hebrew years 5760-5880 (2000-2000 CE), 7x7

• generation 49b: Hebrew years 5760-5880 (2000-2120 CE), Pre-messianic

MESSIANIC

• generation 50: Hebrew years 5880-6000 (2120-2240 CE), Not disclosed

This project is UNDER CONSTRUCTION. Please come back and visit this page.

So, I hope you will enjoy discovering this chronology of the world, since Creation, through the division of 50 generations of 120 years each. I would of course welcome any comment, and you can use my Contact Form for this purpose.

Albert Benhamou

Private Tour Guide in Israel

March 2025

Biblical and Jewish chronology from Adam until modern times