Kol
Torah is enormously proud to present a landmark article written by
TABC alumni Reuven Herzog '13 and Benjy Koslowe '13, themselves
former Kol Torah editors-in-chief. This article was originally
delivered as a Shiur at TABC's summer of 2014 Tanach Kollel.
The
article presents an intriguing solution to a very well-known issue
regarding the compatibility of Chazal's Seder Olam and the commonly
accepted historic chronology. Although dozens of articles address
this issue, we believe that this article is the best article written
on this subject published to date.
The
Hebrew calendar counts the current year as 5775 Anno Mundi[1].
However, many adherents to this calendar may not realize that this
year stems from Seder Olam Rabbah, a late Tannaitic work. Detailing
important dates and years in Jewish history, Seder Olam establishes a
timeline from Adam HaRishon to the end of the Bar Kochba revolt, and
it became the ubiquitous dating convention in the Jewish community
around the turn of the second millennium CE.
A
challenge regarding the Hebrew calendar is that the year 5775 may not
be so precise. Seder Olam records that the time between the
destructions of the two Batei Mikdash lasted 490 years. However,
secular history records that the Churban of the first Beit HaMikdash
took place in 586 BCE, and that the Churban of the second Beit
HaMikdash occurred in 70 CE; this leaves us with a period of 655
years[2]. Thus, there is a discrepancy of 165 years between Seder
Olam and secular history!
The
“missing years” are a puzzling element of the Jewish Mesorah.
They beg the question of what happened to them and whether Seder Olam
was intended to be a definitive history or something else entirely.
In
this article, we intend to follow Seder Olam’s chronology and
explain how it reaches its conclusions, using an internally
consistent methodology. Beyond this, we hope to demonstrate how Seder
Olam’s inconsistency with outside sources is not a flaw; rather, it
serves a tremendous purpose in the Rabbinic period.
Seder
Olam Rabbah is a Tannaitic work generally attributed to the mid-2nd
century Tanna Rabi Yosi ben Chalafta. A Midrashic commentary on
Jewish history, it chronicles and exegetes the stories of Tanach and
a little beyond, using the historical narratives as a springboard for
Chazal’s teachings and messages, similar to other Midreshei
Aggadah. In fact, Seder Olam can be thought of as similar to the
Midrash Rabbah collection, a “History Rabbah[3],” in that its
goal is not to explicitly comment on historical facts, but rather to
use stories as an educational tool.
In
building its timeline, Seder Olam uses two primary sources, both
stemming from the Tanach. The first and dominant source is explicit
references from the books of Tanach to specific years and periods of
time, combined via simple arithmetic intuition. These references are
plentiful and clear enough to write the timeline almost entirely,
from Adam HaRishon to the Churban of the first Beit HaMikdash. (The
dating of Malchut Yehudah is slightly cloudier; we will deal with
this later.) The second source is implicit references and inferences
used to fill in the gaps where Tanach is more ambiguous. These are
primarily used in the works post-Churban HaBayit, where dates of
certain events are given, but there are no large blocks of time
recorded.
The
first section of the timeline is incredibly easy to construct, taken
almost directly from lists found in Sefer BeReishit. After the
conclusion of the Gan Eden narratives there is a list of Adam’s
descendants, including how long they lived, and more significantly
how old they were when the next child on the list was born. As an
example (BeReishit 5:12-14):
“VaYechi
Keinan Shiv’im Shanah VaYoled Et Mahalaleil. VaYechi Keinan Acharei
Holido Et Mahalaleil Arba’im Shanah UShemoneh Mei’ot Shanah
VaYoled Banim UVanot. VaYihyu Kol Yemei Keinan Eser Shanim UTsha
Mei’ot Shanah VaYamot.”
“And
Keinan lived 70 years, and he gave birth to Mahalaleil. And Keinan
lived 840 years after giving birth to Mahalaleil, and he gave birth
to many children. And all the days of Keinan were 910 years, and he
died.”
The
only relevant information for us in this paragraph is how long Keinan
lived before the birth of his son; everything afterwards is overlap
and therefore does not help to create a contiguous timeline.
Such
Pesukim are repeated almost verbatim for the entire line of Adam to
Noach, ten generations in all (plus the birth of Noach’s children,
the eleventh generation). The result of this timeline is a simple
calculation of dates for when each person was born:
from:
Kol Torah Webmaster
to:
Kol Torah
date:
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subject:
Fwd: Kol Torah Parashiyot Tazria-Metzora
The Hebrew Calendar and its Missing Years-
Part Two
by
Reuven Herzog (‘13) and Benjy Koslowe (‘13)
Last
week we presented the work of Seder
Olam Rabbah and
went through its chronology from Adam HaRishon until
Alexander the Great, highlighting important events along the way.
This week we will bring light to issues that arise when
comparing Seder
Olam’s
account of Bayit Sheini chronology with theconventional [BK1] account
of history. We will then hopefully explain how Seder
Olam’s
account consistently employs the methodology of Chazal to
successfully arrive at its conclusions, regardless of
outside chronologies.
III.
Addressing Problems with Gaps
The
calendric calculation of Seder
Olam,
which we have seen, becomes dubious when compared to the accepted
conventional history. These historic accounts are supported by the
vast majority of historians. Steles and other archaeological findings
from both Persia and Greece, who were classically enemy empires, as
well as works from Ptolemy and other Egyptian sources, all support
the following account of history:
Name
|
Start
of Reign
|
End
of Reign
|
Cyrus
II the Great
|
550
BCE
|
530
BCE
|
Conquest
of Babylonia and Cyrus Proclamation 539 BCE
|
Cambyses
II
|
530
BCE
|
522
BCE
|
Darius
I the Great
|
522
BCE
|
486
BCE
|
Xerxes
I
|
485
BCE
|
465
BCE
|
Artaxerxes
I
|
465
BCE
|
424
BCE
|
Xerxes
II
|
424
BCE
|
424
BCE
|
Sogdianus
|
424
BCE
|
423
BCE
|
Darius
II
|
423
BCE
|
404
BCE
|
Artaxerxes
II
|
404
BCE
|
358
BCE
|
Artaxerxes
III Ochus
|
358
BCE
|
338
BCE
|
Artaxerxes
IV
|
338
BCE
|
336
BCE
|
Darius
III
|
336
BCE
|
330
BCE
|
There
are three main points of disagreement between Seder
Olam and
the accepted conventional history. These variances, taken all
together, generate forSeder
Olam roughly
165 “missing years” during the Second Temple period.
1. Seder
Olam describes
the chronological order of kings as Koresh, followed by
Achashveirosh, followed by Daryavesh. In fact, Daryavesh is said to
be the son of Achashveirosh and Esther. Secular sources disagree,
instead placing Darius chronologically before Xerxes[1] (as well
as recording a king, unnamed in Tanach, between Cyrus and Darius).
Historians
believe that the Persian king who took control over the Babylonian
empire was Cyrus. After him ruled Cambyses, then Darius, and then
Xerxes. Cyrus is consistent with Koresh from Tanach, both narratively
– the Cyrus Cylinder is clear evidence for the Biblical Koresh’s
proclamation – and linguistically – the names are very similar.
Likewise, Darius is naturally identified to be Daryavesh. Pinpointing
the character of Achashveirosh is trickier.Seder
Olam describes
that Achashveirosh was king in between Cyrus (Koresh) and Darius
(Daryavesh). However, the name Achashveirosh sounds nothing like
Cambyses, whom historians say was the second king of this Persian
line.
Of
all the kings mentioned, Xerxes is the likeliest candidate to be
Achashveirosh. The name “Xerxes” is a Greek translation of the
Persian name “Chashyarsha” (“חשיארש”)[BK2] .
Interestingly, at the end of Megilat Esther (10:1), Achashveirosh’s
name is spelled with a Keri UKetiv (a word that is spelled
differently than it is read) that is written as though it should be
read like “Chashirash” (“אחשרש”)[BK3] .
There
is additional evidence from Sefer Ezra as to Achashveirosh and Xerxes
being one and the same. In Ezra 4:5-6 we have a list of Persian
monarchal genealogy. Pasuk 5 mentions Koresh and Daryavesh, after
which Pasuk 6 mentions Achashveirosh. The simple read of the Pesukim
indicates that Achashveirosh was king after Daryavesh. This also
suggests that Achashveirosh is Chashirash/Xerxes.
Thus,
while conventional history places Achashveirosh as
king after Daryavesh, Seder
Olam places
Achashveirosh as king before Daryavesh.
This is one discrepancy.
2. Seder
Olam writes
that Daryavesh and Artachshasta are the same person. This claim is
based on Sefer Ezra. In Perakim 1-6 the king is Daryavesh, whose role
in the story ends during his sixth year when the Second Temple is
built (Ezra 6:15). In the next Perek the Persian king is called
by the name “Artachshasta,” and it is his seventh year as king
(Ezra 7:7). It is in this year that Ezra arrives in Israel and
emerges as the leader of his generation. Seder
Olam claims
that Daryavesh and Artachshasta are the same person – this king
sees the completion of the Temple construction in his sixth year, and
then Ezra arrives in Israel in his seventh.
Seder
Olam’s
account differs very much from conventional history. Conventional
history shows that Artaxerxes (i.e. Artachshasta) was crowned king
more than 20 years after the death of Darius. In between
Darius and Artaxerxes is the king Xerxes (whom we identified above as
Achashveirosh). This is another discrepancy between the two
calendars.
3. Both Seder
Olam and
conventional history agree that Alexander the Great defeated a
Persian king named Darius. However, Seder
Olam and
conventional history disagree as to which Darius this was. According
to Seder
Olam,
this king was the Darius who saw the construction of the Second
Temple (and who was alternatively called “Artachshasta”).
According to conventional history, this king is identified as Darius
III, who lived 150 years after Darius I (the character in
Tanach). Conventional history identifies several Persian kings in
between Darius I and Alexander’s defeat of Darius III. Seder
Olam skips
them all.
Because Seder
Olam moves
Xerxes, morphs Darius with Artaxerxes, and equates Darius I with the
king who was killed by Alexander the Great, Seder
Olam winds
up with roughly 165 fewer years of history than the
conventional account.
Another
challenge with Seder
Olam is
that the Chanukat HaBayit-Ezra jump (achieved by identifying
Daryavesh with Artachshasta) seems to clash with the narrative of
Sefer Ezra. When Ezra arrives in Israel, the entire Jewish population
is intermarried with the local idol-worshipers. This would be a truly
stunning turn of events only a year after the dedication of the
second Beit HaMikdash. Furthermore, Chaggai and Zecharyah, the two
central Nevi’im during the construction of the Beit HaMikdash, are
nowhere to be found during Ezra’s time; if this is only a year
later, as Seder
Olam claims,
what happened to them? Furthermore, would they have not stopped the
people from intermarrying? It seems clear that there must have been a
long period without leaders between the two events.
In
summary, as we see from the timeline of conventional history, it is
commonly deduced that the [BK4] Persian kings ruled for a
total of 220 years. This contradicts the Seder
Olam account,
which assumes 52 years of Persian rule under only three (or
four) kings. This is a discrepancy of approximately 165years (this
approximation is due to slight differences in calculations, which can
be explained based on overlapping kings’ years). These are
the missingyears.
IV.
How Seder Olam is Internally Consistent
We
will attempt to resolve this conflict by showing how Seder
Olam,
a Midrashic adaptation of history, is internally consistent. By
following its own rules,Seder
Olam creates
an inclusive and precise, if not externally accurate, calendar.
Tanach
is not always crystal clear about chronology. Seder
Olam,
though, uses exact dates to chronicle the Jewish story[2]. Seder
Olam’s
modus operandi for deciding a date when there is ambiguity is
minimalism. We see this minimalist tendency of Chazal as well
regarding character identification. For example, in Shemot Perek 2 we
encounter two anonymous Jewish men who witness Moshe killing an
Egyptian, forcing Moshe to flee (Shemot 2:13-14). TheMidrash
Tanchuma identifies
these men as Datan and Aviram, two men who appear in Parashat Korach
as leaders of an insurgency against the leadership. Chazal make this
identification so as to minimize the amount of characters in the
grand story (as well as to teach a lesson about long-time rivalries
and their origins).
Similarly,
and more relevant to our topic, Seder
Olam is
minimalist regarding chronology. For example, Avraham is told that
his descendants will be slaves for 400 years (BeReishit 15:13).
However, the Chumash never explicitly identifies when
these years begin. Being minimalist and decisive, Seder
Olamidentifies
the 400 years of slavery as beginning from the birth of
Yitzchak. This minimalism is evident as well by Seder
Olam’s
morphing of Daryavesh and Artachshasta. The text of Sefer Ezra is not
absolutely clear as to what happens between the sixth year of
Daryavesh and the seventh year of Artachshasta, so Seder
Olam makes
an absolute decision and says that Daryavesh and Artachshasta are the
same person. Seder
Olam makes
a similar decision by skipping from Darius I to Darius III –
instead of having two separate characters, it is possible to say that
they were the same person. While these decisions are not consistent
with conventional history, they work within the methodology of Seder
Olam.
Like Seder
Olam’s
alterations with Darius, we can show as well how its misplacement
of Xerxes is internally consistent within its methodology.
The
Perek that unlocks much of the post-Churban calendar actually
precedes the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. Yirmiyahu Perek 25 is
important in that it contains two critical details that together
allow for an explanation of the timeline of Galut Bavel and the
return to Israel. First, the Perek opens with a double date. The
Nevu’ah is introduced, “HaDavar
Asher Hayah El Yirmiyahu Al Kol Am Yehudah BaShanah
HaRevi’it LiYhoyakim [BK5] Ben
Yoshiyahu Melech Yehudah, Hi HaShanah HaRishonit LiNvuchadretzar
Melech Bavel,” “The
word which came to Yirmiyahu concerning all the people of Yehudah, in
the fourth year of Yehoyakim son of Yoshiyahu, king of Yehudah, which
was the first year of Nevuchadretzar, king of Bavel” (Yirmiyahu
25:1). Since all reference points from the Babylonian exile and
onward are dated to foreign kings, the synchronization found here
between the Judean years and the Babylonian yearsallows
for the shift.
The
other key found in this Perek is the message of the Nevu’ah itself,
the famous 70 years of Babylonian rule. Yirmiyahu here
tells Bnei Yisrael that as a result of the people’s refusal to
change its evil ways and serve Hashem properly, Hashem will
bring Bavel to rule over them for 70 years. After this time is
up, Bnei Yisrael will return to independence. (This refers to a
period of subservience to Bavel, and does not mean a period of exile.
Exile ensues as a punishment and a message since Bnei Yisrael rebel
against Bavel and do not accept their lighter punishment of
subservience.)
Sefer
Ezra begins with the Persian king Koresh’s proclamation allowing
the Jews to return to Eretz Yisrael and to rebuild the Beit
HaMikdash. This is dated,“UViShnat
Achat LeChoresh Melech Paras Lichlot Devar Hashem MiPi
Yirmiyahu,” “In
the first year of Koresh, king of Persia, at the conclusion of the
word of Hashem spoken by Yirmiyahu.” The only relevant speech of
Yirmiyahu is Perek 25. Seventy years of Babylonian rule
have expired[BK6] and, as prophesied, Bavel is no longer
controlling anyone; Persia is now in charge.
Yirmiyahu
25 occurs in the fourth year of Yehoyakim’s reign. Working
backwards from the Beit HaMikdash’s destruction (year 3338),
Tzidkiyahu ruled for 11 years, and Yehoyakim also ruled for
11 years[3]. Accounting for a year of overlap, Yehoyakim’s
first year was 21 years before the Churban HaBayit. Thus,
his fourth year (i.e. the first year of Babylonian rule) was
18 years before the destruction, which comes out to be year
3338-18=3320 of Seder
Olam.
Seventy years later, the first year of Koresh’s rule, was
in year 3390 of Seder
Olam.
In
fact, there are two different periods of 70 years relating
to the end of Bayit Rishon. The first is prophesied by Yirmiyahu as
70 years of Babylonian rule with no mention of exile. The
second, which we previously discussed[4], is a retrospective
reference by Zecharyah to the time between the destruction of the
first Beit HaMikdash and the construction of the second Beit
HaMikdash.
The
difference in time between the first 70 years and the
second is easily calculable. The Babylonian conquest of Israel, the
beginning of Yirmiyahu’s 70years, occurred in the fourth year of
Yehoyakim’s reign. We have already established that this was
18 years before the Churban Beit HaMikdash, the start of
Zecharyah’s 70 years. Logically, this difference between the
beginnings of the two blocks holds for the ends of the two blocks as
well. The first year of Koresh’s reign – the end of Yirmiyahu’s
prophecy – would therefore precede the second year of Daryavesh’s
reign – the end of Zecharyah’s 70 years – by 18years.
As
just demonstrated, there are 18 years between Koresh’s
declaration, in the first year after his conquest of Babylonia, and
the construction of the Beit HaMikdash, in Daryavesh’s second year.
Historical sources point to a nine-year reign of Cyrus over
Babylonia, and then another king ruling for eight or nineyears,
followed by Darius. However, the latest mention of Koresh in the
Tanach is his third year (Daniel 10:1). This leaves a large gap until
the next date, the second year of Daryavesh – a gap of
fourteen years. According to Megilat[BK7] Esther,
Achashveirosh ruled for at least 12 years – the primary
events all occur then (Esther 3:7). Preferring not to leave a gap in
the timeline, Seder
Olam moves
the reign of Achashveirosh/Xerxes into the gap following Koresh,
fitting him snugly between Koresh and Daryavesh.
Interim
Conclusion
In[BK8] the
final installment of this essay, we hope to suggest two reasons
for Seder
Olam’s
intentional deviation from conventional chronology, one looking
toward the past and one looking toward the future.
Footnotes
[1] Who
are equated with Daryavesh and Achashveirosh, respectively, as will
be explained. [2] Despite Seder
Olam’s
interpretation as such, it is possible that numbers in Tanach (and
particularly lengths of time) are not entirely precise. Certain
repetitions of number in short spans give an impression of rounding
and usage of more typological numbers. As an example, five Shofetim
and kings in Sifrei Shofetim and Shmuel are said to have each ruled
for 40 years, with another Shofeit ruling for 80 years,
twice 40. The number four symbolizing completeness (encompassing all
directions), 40 years can simply connote “a long period
of time.”
We
can therefore also suggest that the dates mentioned in Tanach are not
intended to be completely exact, but rather are sometimes meant to
carry meaning. Due to this, some imprecision of numbers can be
allowed. [3] Yehoyachin,
in between these two, did not rule for a significant period of time.
[4] See
section II-B.
from:
Kol Torah Webmaster to: Kol Torah
date: Thu, Apr 30, 2015 at 8:40 PM
subject: Kol Torah Parashiyot Acharei Mot-Kedoshim 2015
The
Hebrew Calendar and its Missing Years – Part Three by Reuven
Herzog (‘13) and Benjy Koslowe (‘13)
In
the last two weeks we presented Seder
Olam Rabbah and
its chronology. We showed how its approach to texts and history
reveals a consistent methodology, if it does not match conventional
dating. With all that we mentioned above, there still must be a
reason why Seder
Olam skipped
so much. While it is a minimalist work, there still should be
justification for this course of action. Several suggestions are
given, and we will present two that seem to be the most compelling.
V. Purpose of Seder Olam V-A. 1,000 Years since Yetziat Mitzrayim
The
first answer has to do with Minyan Shetarot, also known as the
Seleucid era or the Anno
Graecorum (“Greek
year”). This is the dating system that Jews accepted in the latter
half of the Second Temple period. This count began in what we today
refer to as 312 BCE. During this year was fought the Battle of Gaza,
leading to Seleucus’s successful conquering of Babylonia. The
Greeks decided that this year would be “Year One.” Along with the
Seleucid Empire and other Hellenistic civilizations, the Jews adopted
the system. Throughout the Talmud there is evidence of documents
being dated with respect to this year.
At
first glance the year 312 BCE is not especially significant for
Jewish history. The Vilna Gaon points out, though, that as per
the Seder
Olamcalculation,
313 BCE (the effective “Year Zero”) is found to be exactly 1,000
years after Yetziat Mitzrayim (2448)! Because of Seder
Olam,
the Seleucid year was effectively sanctified. A document dated with
this count to the 45th year,
for example, suddenly became synonymous with 1,045 years since
Yetziat Mitzrayim. Support for this can be found in the line at the
end of Seder
Olam, “UVeGolah
Kotevin BiShtarot LeMinyan Yevanim ‘Alfa,’” “And
in the exile they write on Shetarot of the Greek count (Minyan
Shetarot) ‘One Thousand.’”
One
may notice that even so, a slight gap exists in Seder
Olam’s
chronology. The Macedonian conquest is calculated to have occurred in
3442[1], yet Minyan Shetarot begins in year 3448!
This
can be explained by a Gemara in Mesechet Avodah Zarah (10a),
discussing Minyan Shetarot and its inherent connection to Yetziat
Mitzrayim:
ההוא
שטרא דהוה כתיב ביה שית שנין יתירתא,
סבור
רבנן קמיה דרבא למימר:
האי
שטר מאוחר הוא,
ניעכביה
עד דמטיא זמניה ולא טריף,
אמר
רב נחמן:
האי
ספרא דוקנא כתביה,
והנך
שית שנין דמלכו בעילם דאנן לא חשבינן להו,
הוא
קחשיב ליה,
ובזמניה
כתביה;
דתניא,
ר'
יוסי
אומר:
שש
שנים מלכו בעילם,
ואח"כ
פשטה מלכותן בכל העולם כולו.
מתקיף
לה רב אחא בר יעקב:
ממאי
דלמלכות יונים מנינן?
דלמא
ליציאת מצרים מנינן,
ושבקיה
לאלפא קמא ונקטיה אלפא בתרא,
והאי
מאוחר הוא!
אמר
רב נחמן:
בגולה
אין מונין אלא למלכי יונים בלבד.
There
was [produced in court] a document which was dated six years ahead.
The Rabbis who were sitting before Rava were of opinion that it
should be pronounced a post-dated document, which is to be deferred
and not executed until the date which it bears. Whereupon Rav Nachman
said: This document must have been written by a scribe who was very
particular and took into account the six years of the Greek Reign in
Eilam which we do not reckon. The dating is therefore correct, for we
have learnt: Rabi Yosi said, Six years did the Greeks reign in Eilam
and thereafter their dominion extended universally. Rav Acha
b. Ya’akov then put this question: How do we know that our Era [of
Documents] is connected with the Kingdom of Greece at all? Why not
say that it is reckoned from the Exodus from Egypt, omitting the
first thousand years and giving the years of the next thousand? In
that case, the document is really post-dated! — Said Rabi Nachman:
In the Diaspora the Greek Era alone is used.[2]
Seder Olam mentions
that Alexander ruled for 12 years. However, it is unclear if this
refers to his complete rule or only to his rule over the
former-Persian Empire. Though historically inaccurate, this Gemara
implies that those 12 years are his total reign, of which six were
only in Greece and six were following the conquest of Persia. These
six years are from 3442 to 3448 of Seder
Olam,
achieving the desired goal of 1000 years after Yetziat Mitzrayim.
So
how did Seder
Olam achieve
this desired date? Seder
Olam’s
biggest jump is the Darius skip, which we have demonstrated is
achieved by equating Daryavesh with Artachshasta, and by skipping
from Darius I to Darius III. This jump accounts for the vast majority
of the missing years. It was well known that Alexander the Great came
to power by killing a Persian ruler named Darius. This fact, coupled
with the motivation of giving significance to the date of Minyan
Shetarot, was good reason to make this skip and shorten an
inconveniently-long history[3]. V-B. No Progress is No History
Another
apparent justification for Seder
Olam’s
skipping over 165 years is the assumption that years without Jewish
progress, particularly in the context of the second Beit HaMikdash,
are effectively removed from Jewish history, as they are not worthy
to have existed. This notion can explain the three sets of years
which we have shown to be skipped over by Seder
Olam.
Before
demonstrating how Seder
Olam approaches
this nadir of Jewish performance, it is worth discussing Sefer
Yeshayahu tangentially. Modern academic and a growing number of
Jewish scholars suggest a theory that after Perek 39 of Sefer
Yeshayahu, a new author takes over. This claim has several bases,
including the dramatic shift after Perek 39 from rebuke and
destruction to visions of comfort (see Yeshayahu 40:1), the explicit
mention of King Koresh (44:28 and 45:1), and the explicit call for
Bnei Yisrael to leave Bavel (48:20). Additionally, Yeshayahu is named
in the first half of the book 15 times, whereas in the second half he
is not mentioned even once. The conclusion is that this anonymous
second author, referred to as Yeshayahu HaSheini or Deutero-Isaiah,
was a prophet hundreds of years after the Yeshayahu of middle-late
Bayit Rishon.
According
to this theory, Deutero-Isaiah was a prophet for Bnei Yisrael when
Koresh announced that the Jews could return to Israel. This Navi,
alongside the leadership of Zerubavel, called on the people to return
and to not give up hope (see 40:9 and 40:29). He tried to show how
Hashem still desired the nation and had not abandoned them (see
41:8-10), and how He was willing to give the people a new start
(44:22). But, as is clear from Sefer Ezra, the Jews at large fail to
answer the call.
Shivat
Tziyon was a period of tremendous hope and excitement in Jewish
history, yet it ended in utter disappointment. The feeling of the
time, as presented by the Nevi’im, was that this is the ultimate
Redemption and Renewal. This time, the Jewish people would properly
serve God as an entire Nation in the Land of Israel; they would
correct the mistakes and sins of Bayit Rishon. Zecharyah prophesizes
a reversal of Yirmiyahu’s prophecies of torture, of God returning
to His people, and telling Bnei Yisrael that they should finally
fulfill the destiny of the Jewish people, to be a nation of Tzedek
and Mishpat, of Emet and Shalom. Malachi consistently makes allusions
to Moshe, implying that the Covenant is being renewed and Bnei
Yisrael are starting again on their journey to God. However, as is
tragically depicted in Sefer Ezra, this does not occur. The return to
Israel is miniscule and the Beit HaMikdash itself is much smaller.
Furthermore, for the vast majority of the time the Jews are
leaderless, both politically and spiritually, and they assimilate
into the surrounding society. Not until Shimon HaTzaddik, during the
period of Alexander the Great, do we learn of a religious revolution,
and even then it was a different approach of scholar-based Judaism
and not a fulfillment of the original path of Bayit Rishon.
Politically, too, Bayit Sheini did not achieve its potential. For two
and a half centuries, the Jews were ruled by a foreign power with no
known strong leader. The Chashmona’im’s revolution did not last,
and the last stand against the Romans was doomed by sectarian splits
and infighting. Bayit Sheini was the great hope of the Jewish people,
but ended as a failure.
We
have stated that years of the second Beit HaMikdash without Jewish
progress are effectively removed from Jewish history. This explains
why Deutero-Isaiah was hidden, as it were. Although an ambitious
Navi, Deutero-Isaiah was unable to convince Bnei Yisrael to return to
Israel. The result? Deutero-Isaiah was made to be an appendix to
Sefer Yeshayahu. Like his local message, Deutero-Isaiah’s real name
is forever lost in the annals of history[4].
This brings us back to our discussion of Seder
Olam and
the missing years. Modern historians tells us that Cyrus II the Great
allowed the Jews to return to Israel in 539 BCE and that the Second
Beit HaMikdash was completed in 516 BCE. As we have shown, these two
decades marked a low-point in Jewish history. A mere 42,360 Jews
heeded the call to return to Israel (Ezra 2:64), and internal strife
led to a “building freeze” (4:24). Chazal therefore hid the
prophet Deutero-Isaiah.
Moving
slightly forward in history, modern history reveals that the Purim
story probably took place after the Second Beit HaMikdash was already
built. The main events of the Megilah take place in the 12th year
of Achashveirosh’s reign. Though this fits in Seder
Olam’s
count, assuming Koresh ruled only three years after his conquest of
Bavel, if we assume that Koresh ruled for nine, and that the
construction of the Beit HaMikdash took place 18 years after Koresh’s
proclamation, even a 12-year reign of Achashveirosh cannot possibly
occur between Koresh and Daryavesh.
Rather
than leaving the exile even after the Beit HaMikdash’s
construction, Jews were living and thriving in Shushan HaBirah. The
Pasuk “Ish
Yehudi Hayah BeShushan HaBirah UShemo Mordechai,” “There
was a certain Jew in Shushan the capital, whose name was Mordechai”
(Esther 2:5), should be read with shock rather than with pride.
Mordechai is a leader in Persian politics when his nation has the
ability to return to Israel. Even his name is derived from the
Persian deity Marduk![5]
For
the same reasons why Chazal hid Deutero-Isaiah, Chazal adjusted the
years of Achashveirosh’s reign. By moving Achashveirosh from after
Daryavesh to before Daryavesh (see previous installments to
understand how this was possible), the years of Jewish history when
the Jews failed to return to Israel were effectively erased from the
count.
Even
well after the Mikdash was built, though, Jewish history failed to
significantly progress toward the Divine goal. The Mikdash is
completed in Year 6 of Daryavesh (Ezra 6:15), after which Jewish
life was weak and leaderless for several decades until Ezra’s
ascent in Year 7 of Artachshasta (Ezra 7:7). For thematic reasons,
the book of Ezra closes the gap on these years in which there was no
progress. Seder
Olam takes
the next step and makes it that these years never existed. Seder
Olam puts
these two dates immediately next to each other, thus skipping nearly
60 years of history. Again, the purpose of this skip was to
demonstrate that years in which Jewish history stalemated are not
worthy to have existed. According to Seder
Olam,
they effectively did not.[6] VI. Conclusion
Seder
Olam’s
goal may not be primarily to give a comprehensive and precise history
of all time, but rather to use history as a tool for teaching. The
book assumes that its readers were aware of history. Likely, they
knew when exactly the Purim story happened. Given this, it does not
need to match up with secular dating. On the contrary, its adjusting
of chronology not only remains loyal to the literal sense of the
canonized texts, it also yields two tremendous benefits – making
Yetziat Mitzrayim be the point of reference for all Jewish dating,
and (on a more subtle level) teaching an important lesson about
Ge’ulah and the goals of the Jewish future, what needs to happen
next. Appendix
Calculation
of Years According to Seder
Olam:
|
Event
|
Time
Elapsed
|
Total
Years
|
Birth
of Adam
|
0
|
0
|
Birth
of Avraham
|
1948
|
1948
|
Birth
of Yitzchak
|
100
|
2048
|
Yetziat
Mitzrayim
|
400
|
2448*
|
Binyan
Bayit Rishon
|
480
|
2928
|
Churban
Bayit Rishon
|
410
|
3338
|
Binyan
Bayit Sheini
|
70
|
3408
|
Macedonian
Conquest
|
34
|
3442
|
Begin
Minyan Shetarot
|
6
|
3448*
|
Churban
Bayit Sheini
|
380
|
3828
|
Present
Day
|
1947
|
5775
|
Seder
Olam’s
Timeline of Galut Bavel and Shivat Tziyon
|
Year
of Bavel
|
Event
|
Regnal
Year
|
Year
of Persia
|
1
|
Nevuchadnetzar’s
conquest of Middle East
|
4
Yehoyakim
|
|
7
|
Galut
Yehoyachin
|
11
Yehoyakim
|
|
18
|
Churban
HaBayit
|
11
Tzidkiyahu
|
|
70
|
Cyrus
Proclamation
|
1
Koresh
|
1
|
|
Achashveirosh’s
Party (Esther Perek 1)
|
3
Achashveirosh
|
6
|
|
Miracle
of Purim
|
12
Achashveirosh
|
15
|
|
Binyan
Bayit Sheini
|
2
Daryavesh
|
18
|
|
Aliyat
Ezra
|
7
Artachshasta
|
23
|
|
Aliyat
Nechemyah
|
20-36
Artachshasta
|
36-52
|
|
Closing
of Tanach
|
1
Alexander the Great
|
52
|
[1] See
end of section II-B. [2] Translation
by Soncino. [3] Additionally, Seder
Olam’s
skip allowed for a simple explanation of a rather esoteric prophecy
in Sefer Daniel, which we described in last week’s installment. By
combining Artachshasta with Daryavesh and skipping from Darius I to
Darius III, Seder
Olam is
able to present a history that indeed involves three Persian kings
and then an even greater Greek king, as per the prophecy. [4] It
is worth explaining that Deutero-Isaiah is not merely “hidden” in
a random book of Tanach. Rather, his Nevu’ot form a perfect second
half to the earlier Nevu’ot of Yeshayahu, and the book certainly
should be read as a single, unified work. Though the majority of
Yeshayahu’s prophecies discuss Pur’anut, suffering and
destruction, the general structure of the book reveals that this
suffering will always be followed by Nechamah, comfort and
reconstruction of Bnei Yisrael’s relationship with Hashem. In this
vein, Deutero-Isaiah could not be a more appropriate conclusion to
Yeshayahu, his Nevu’ot discussing the Nechamah that was so long
waited for after the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. [5] Much
more can be said about the ironic undercurrent of Megilat Esther, as
a harsh criticism to the Jews who stayed in Bavel at the time.
[6] It
is worth mentioning Mitchell First’s Jewish
History in Conflict: A Study of the Major Discrepancy between
Rabbinic and Conventional Chronology(1st
ed.; New Jersey: Jason Aronson, Inc., 1997). The bulk of the work
presents several lists of Jewish figures and how they addressed the
discrepancy in calendars. His lists begin chronologically with
Azariah de Rossi who, in 1574, accepted conventional history both
because of the many testimonies from different historians, as well
because of inconsistencies between Tanach and Seder
Olam.
For example, he points to Nechemyah 12:10-11, a list of succession of
high priests that spans many more years than prescribed by Seder
Olam’s
chronology. First’s research is full and informative and can serve
as useful further reading for those who want to continue learning
about the topic of our essay and how it was addressed over the years.
Most relevant to our essay is First’s evaluation of the responses
that he details, as well as his conclusion. While he raises the
“1,000 Years since Yetziat Mitzrayim” explanation and the general
tendency of Chazal toward minimalism, Mr. First, for reasons that he
elucidates, prefers another answer to the dilemma. Daniel 9:24-27
vaguely describes a period of 490 years, and the author of Seder
Olam was
interested in presenting this prediction as having come true. Thsse
author of Seder
Olam assumed
that the beginning of the first exile and the end of the Second
Temple, respectively, began and ended this period (much can be said
about this interesting assumption, which is reasonable but certainly
not self-evident). Additionally, he knew that there were 380 years
from the onset of Minyan Shetarot until Churban Bayit Sheini. Left
with only 40 years for the beginning of the Bayit Sheini under
Persian rule, as well as sufficient room to use the text as
support, Seder
Olam recorded
a significantly altered version of Persian history. For more details,
see Part IV (pp. 113-137) of Jewish
History in Conflict.
