The missing years in the Hebrew calendar refer to a chronological discrepancy between the rabbinic dating for the destruction of the First Temple in 422 BCE (3338 Anno Mundi)[1] and the academic dating of it in 587 BCE. In a larger sense, it also refers to the discrepancy between conventional chronology versus that of Seder Olam in what concerns the Persian period during which time it exercised hegemony over Israel, a period which spanned 207 years according to conventional chronology,[2] but only 34 years according to Seder Olam. Invariably, the resulting timeframe effects also the number of years in which stood the Second Temple, said by a late rabbinic tradition to have stood 420 years, but by conventional chronology 589 years.[3]

Dating in academic sources

The academic datings in question are confirmed by a variety of Persian, Babylonian and Greek sources, which include records of datable astronomical observations such as eclipses,[4] although there are disagreements among modern scholars, ranging from 1 to 2 years, over some of the dates in the conventional chronology.[5]

Siege of Jerusalem (597 BC)

Both the Babylonian Chronicles and the Bible indicate that Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem. The Babylonian Chronicles (as published by Donald Wiseman in 1956) establish that Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem the first time on 2 Adar (16 March) 597 BCE.[6] Before Wiseman's publication, E. R. Thiele had determined from the biblical texts that Nebuchadnezzar's initial capture of Jerusalem occurred in the spring of 597 BCE,[7] while other scholars, including William F. Albright, more frequently dated the event to 598 BCE.[8]

Second siege and destruction of the First Temple

According to the Bible, Nebuchadnezzar installed Zedekiah as king after his first siege,[9] and Zedekiah ruled for 11 years before the second siege resulted in the end of his kingdom.[10]

Although there is no dispute that Jerusalem fell the second time in the summer month of Tammuz,[11] Albright dates the end of Zedekiah's reign (and the fall of Jerusalem) to 587 BCE, whereas Thiele offers 586 BCE.[12] Thiele's reckoning is based on the presentation of Zedekiah's reign on an accession basis, which was used for most but not all of the kings of Judah. In that case, the year that Zedekiah came to the throne would be his first partial year; his first full year would be 597/596 BCE, and his eleventh year, the year Jerusalem fell, would be 587/586 BCE. Since Judah's regnal years were counted from Tishrei in autumn, this would place the end of his reign and the capture of Jerusalem in the summer of 586 BCE.[12][13]

Dating in traditional Jewish sources

A variety of rabbinic sources state that the Second Temple stood for 420 years.[14] In traditional Jewish calculations, based on Seder Olam Rabbah, the destruction of the Second Temple fell in the year 68 of the Common Era, implying that it was built in about 352 BCE.[15][16][17] Adding 70 years between the destruction of the First Temple and the construction of the Second Temple, it follows that the First Temple was destroyed in around 422 BCE.[15][18] While acceptance of this chronology was widespread among ancient rabbis, it was not universal: Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer, Midrash Lekach Tov, and numerous rishonim disagree with the chronology of Seder Olam Rabbah.[19]

The traditional Jewish date recognized by the rabbis as the "year of destruction" is approximately 165 years later than the accepted year of 587 or 586 BCE. This discrepancy is referred to as the "missing years".

Details of rabbinic chronology

According to the Talmud[20] and Seder Olam Rabbah,[21] the Second Temple stood for 420 years, with the years divided up as follows:

103 years (35 BCE – 68 CE) = Herod's Dynasty.
103 years (138–35 BCE) = Hasmonean Dynasty.
180 years (318–138 BCE) = Grecian rule over Israel
34 years (352–318 BCE) = Persian rule while the Second Temple stood (not including additional years of Persian rule before the Temple's construction).

The date of 318 BCE for the Greek conquest of Persia is evident from the Talmud, which implies that that Greek rule began six years before the beginning of the Seleucid era (which occurred in 312/11 BCE).[22][23][24] (Note that in academic chronology, Alexander conquered the Persian empire between 334–330 BCE.)

Seventy years passed between the destruction of the First Temple and the building of the Second Temple in the seventy first year,[25] so construction of the Second Temple in 352 BCE implies that the First Temple was destroyed in 423 BCE.

Similarly, Megillat Antiochus implies that the Second Temple was built in 352 BCE, and thus that the First Temple was destroyed in 423 BCE.[26]

The figure of 420 years is likely derived from the prophecy of seventy weeks in Daniel 9:24–27. The rabbis this passage interpreted as referring to a period of 490 years which would pass between the destructions of the First and Second Temple—70 years between the Temples, plus 420 years of the Second Temple, starting in the 71st year after the destruction,[27][19] though the passage can plausibly be interpreted in other ways.[19]

Proposed explanations

If traditional dates are assumed to be based on the standard Hebrew calendar, then the differing traditional and modern academic dating of events cannot both be correct. Attempts to reconcile the two systems must show one or both to have errors.

Missing years in Jewish tradition

Scholars see the discrepancy between the traditional and academic date of the destruction of the First Temple arising as a result of Jewish sages missing out the reign lengths of several Persian kings during the Persian Empire's rule over Israel. Modern scholars tally 14 Persian kings whose combined reigns total 207 years.[28][29] By contrast, ancient Jewish sages only mention four Persian kings totaling 52 years. The reigns of several Persian kings appear to be missing from the traditional calculations.

Azariah dei Rossi[30] was likely the first Jewish authority to claim that the traditional Hebrew dating is not historically precise regarding the years before the Second Temple,[31]: 262 [19]: 82 [32]: 77  and suggests that the Sages of Israel may have chosen to include in their chronology only those years of the period of Persian dominion that were clearly expressed or implied in the Bible.[33] Additional time, the length of which was not clearly stated, was chosen to be ignored.[33] Nachman Krochmal[34] agreed with dei Rossi,[19]: 51  pointing to the Greek name Antigonos mentioned in Pirkei Avot 1:3 as proof that there must have been a longer period to account for this sign of Hellenic influence. Dei Rossi and Krochmal argued that when the length of a historical period was unknown, Seder Olam Rabbah took the method of assuming the shortest possible length.[19]: 126 

Astrologer and chronicler, Raḥamim Sar-Shalom, following the view of dei Rossi, suggests that the purpose of the author of Seder Olam was only to state the number of years of the Persian period that were included in the Bible, and that a lack of understanding of the purpose by the Amoraim is what caused them, among other things, to calculate the date from creation erroneously.[35] The "missing years" not only offset the span of the Persian period, but also offset the number of years collected since the first man, Adam, walked the face of the earth.

Solomon Judah Loeb Rapoport noted that the traditional Jewish chronology, when combined with another rabbinic tradition, places the Exodus from Egypt at exactly 1000 years prior to the Seleucid era (known in Jewish sources as "Minyan Shtarot"). He suggests that the authors of the traditional Jewish chronology intentionally omitted years from the Persian period to obtain the round number with the intent of allowing Jews who had counted years from the Exodus to easily switch to the Seleucid era system, used by Greek rulers at the time.[36]

David Zvi Hoffmann points out that the Mishnah in Avot (1:4) in describing the chain of tradition uses the plural "accepted from them" even though the previous Mishnah mentions only one person. He posits that there must have been another Mishnah mentioning two sages that was later removed.

Shimon Schwab interpreted the Biblical words "seal the words and close the book" (Daniel 12:4) as a commandment to obscure the Biblical chronology so that it would not be possible to accurately calculate the time of the Messiah's arrival. Thus, according to Schwab, the traditional Jewish calendar intentionally omitted years from the Persian period.[37] However, Schwab later withdrew that suggestion for numerous reasons.[31]: 281-285  [19]: 66–67  [32]: 67–68, 93 

A 2006 article in Ḥakirah journal suggested that the sages were concerned with the acceptance of the Mishnah. There existed a rabbinical tradition that the year 4000 marked the close of the "era of Torah". Thus, it is proposed, the sages arranged the chronology so that the redaction of the Mishnah should coincide with that date and thus have a better chance of acceptance.[32]: 67–115 

Mordechai Breuer suggested that like other works of midrash, the tradition chronology in Seder Olam Rabbah was never meant to be taken literally but rather was intended to be symbolic.[38]

Some Jewish thinkers, including Isaac Abarbanel, Chaim Hirschensohn and Adin Steinsaltz, have argued that the original Jewish chronology agreed with the academic chronology, but later misunderstandings or textual corruptions of Seder Olam Rabbah gave the impression that it refers to a shorter period of time.[19] However, Seder Olam Rabbah's chronology is implicit in many different passages, and it is difficult to plausibly explain all of the passages in a way that agrees with the academic chronology.[19]: 116 

Seder Olam versus Conventional chronology
Successive Chaldean rulersConventional chronology[39]Seder Olam's chronology[40]
Nebuchadnezzar43 years[41][42]45 years[40][43][lower-alpha 1]
Amel-Marduk2 years[44]23 years[40][43]
It is to be noted here that where conventional chronology goes on to cite another 3 successive Chaldean kings (spanning a period of nearly 22 years), Talmudic chronology cites only one Chaldean king that reigned after Amel-Marduk, namely, Baltasar (co-regent with Nabonidus), and who is said by the Talmudic record to have reigned a mere 3 years.
Neriglissar4 years[45]---
Labosordacus9 months[46]---
Nabonidus (Baltasar)[47] (Note: Others see Baltasar as Nabonidus' son and co-regent)[Nabonidus]
17 years[48][49][lower-alpha 2]		[Baltasar]
3 years[40][50][lower-alpha 3]
Total number of years:67 years71 years
Successive Persian rulersConventional chronology[39]Seder Olam's chronology[51]
Herodotus notes in his Histories that Cyrus the Great reigned 29 years.[52] However, from Cyrus' taking of Babylon in the 17th year of the reign of Nabonidus, only 9 years remained of Cyrus' 29-year reign.[39] This view is corroborated by Ptolemy's Canon. The nine years of Cyrus' reign as mentioned by him only reflect the number of regnal years remaining after Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon in 539 BCE. Cyrus is thought to have died in 530 BCE.[53]
Cyrus the Great29 years[52][lower-alpha 4]3 years[43][lower-alpha 5]
Cambyses (Note: In the Talmud (Megillah 11b), Cambyses is not mentioned, but is replaced by Ahasuerus who is thought to have succeeded Cyrus the Great)[Cambyses]
7 years and 5 months[54][lower-alpha 6]		[Ahasuerus]
14 years[55]
The Magi7 months[56]---
Darius, the son of Hystaspes36 years[57][58]2 years[lower-alpha 7]
[36 years][59][lower-alpha 8]
Xerxes (Artaxerxes), the Great, b. Darius[lower-alpha 9]21 years[58]---
Artabanus7 months[58]---
Artaxerxes (Cyrus) b. Xerxes the Great
(Ahasuerus)[lower-alpha 10]		41 years[58]---
Xerxes2 months[58][62]---
Sogdianus7 months[58]---
Darius, the son of Xerxes19 years[58][62]---
Artaxerxes II Mnemon[lower-alpha 11]46 years[62]---
Artaxerxes III Ochus21 years[62]---
Artaxerxes IV Arses2 years[62]---
Darius III Codomannus4 years[62][63]---
Total number of years:228 years + 4 mo.[lower-alpha 12]53 years

Critiques of academic dating

Attempts have been made to reinterpret the historical evidence to agree with the rabbinic tradition. Specifically, arguments against Herodotus as a reliable historian, which is used primarily for academic sources. The reinterpretation of the Greek, Babylonian and Persian sources that is required to support the traditional dating has been achieved only in parts and rejected by mainstream scholarship.; David Rohl also believes there is an issue with the chronology of secular sources vs. scripture, arguing that there is a missing approximate 200 year period that would make the Exodus and events of the Bible largely historical. Rabbinical sources seem to agree with this argument, as Rohl's revised chronology would make their chronology more plausible.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ According to one Jewish tradition, the seventy-year period of exile commences with the beginning of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, and concludes with the rise of Cyrus the Great who ordered the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
  2. ↑ The scholars who deciphered The Babylonian Chronicles (inscribed on tablets) and who analyzed the delineation of years inscribed therein have put the fall of Babylon, in the 17th-year of Nabonidus, in 539 BCE.
  3. ↑ In the Talmud, the name Nabonidus is not mentioned, whereas the presumed succession went from Nebuchadnezzar to his son Amel-Marduk, and from Amel-Marduk to his son Baltasar. Although the full regnal years of the man are not mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, there is, however, a reference in Daniel 8:1 alluding to Baltasar's 3rd-year of reign, including a reference to Baltasar's death in Daniel 5:30–31. According to Rabbeinu Chananel on BT Megillah 11b, the seventy-year period spoken of by Jeremiah (25:11–12; 29:10) and by Daniel (9:1–2) refers to the period of time from the destruction of Jerusalem in the days of Nebuchadnezzar to the 2nd-year of the reign of Darius the Great, the same year being the 3rd and final year of Baltasar's reign.
  4. ↑ In Parker's and Dubberstein's Babylonian Chronology, 626 B.C.–A.D. 75, p. 14, Cyrus' reign takes up where Nabonidus' reign ends. The nine years given for Cyrus only reflect the number of regnal years remaining after Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon in 539 BCE, bringing an end to Nabonidus' seventeen-year reign. Cyrus is thought to have died in 530 BCE.
  5. ↑ The only reference in the Hebrew Bible mentioning the regnal years of Cyrus the Great is found in Daniel 10:1, viz., "In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, etc." There is no indication as to how long he reigned.
  6. ↑ It is to be noted that historians differ as to the number of his regnal years. Manetho puts down for this king that he reigned 5 years over his own kingdom in Persia, but 6 years over Egypt. Ptolemy's Canon writes that he reigned 8 years.
  7. ↑ These two years are only mentioned by the Talmud (Megillah 11b) so as to mark the conclusion of the 70-year period of Jerusalem's destruction, when Darius, during his 2nd-year of reign, laid the foundation for the Second Temple's rebuilding. It does not imply the complete regnal years of Darius' reign.
  8. ↑ According to the Talmud (Megillah 11b), this Darius is thought to have been the son of Ahasuerus, based on a verse in Daniel 9:1. Seder Olam erroneously places this Darius as a contemporary with Alexander the Great, and the last of the Persian kings. In conventional chronology, Darius the Great was not the son of Ahasuerus, but rather the son of Hystaspes, and is said to have reigned 36 years, and was succeeded by his son Xerxes. However, in Seder Olam's chronology, Darius is mentioned only with respect to his 2nd-year of reign when he laid the foundation of the Second Temple (356 BCE), a crucial point of reference considering that it is thought to have marked the end of the seventy-year period of Jerusalem's destruction. According to Ezra 6:15, Darius went on to fully complete the Temple in the 6th-year of his reign (352 BCE), but since the entire period of Persian hegemony over Israel during the time of the Second Temple was thought by Seder Olam to have been a mere 34 years (from 352 BCE to 318 BCE),[60] this would imply that Grecian (Macedonian) hegemony over Israel began in 318 BCE, at the conclusion of Darius the Great's reign, or else at the beginning Xerxes' reign, when the Persian army was defeated by Alexander the Great. Modern scholarship has obviated the clear discrepancy in Seder Olam's chronology by saying that Tannaic scholars confounded Darius the Great with Darius III, and which caused the rabbis to omit ten other successive kings after Darius the Great.
  9. ↑ According to Josephus (Antiquities 11.5.1-5), Ezra ascends to the Land of Israel, in 7th year of his reign.
  10. ↑ By some accounts, he is said to have also borne the name Ahasuerus, a contemporary of Esther and Mordecai.[61]
  11. ↑ According to Isaac Abarbanel, this ruler is the same as Ahasuerus (אחשורוש‎), who reigned in the days of Esther and Mordecai. According to Abarbanel, some say that he reigned 14 years, while others say that he reigned 40 years.[28]
  12. ↑ Years may vary depending on source used. Most authorities hold that the Persian period in the Land of Israel commenced in the year 539 BCE, and ended in 332 BCE, with Alexander the Great's victory over the Persians.[64] Mitchell First, who puts the Persian period at 207 years, reckons these years from when Cyrus first took Babylon in 539 BCE, rather than from Cyrus' first year of reign.

References

  1. ↑ Rashi on Babylonian Talmud, Avodah Zara 9a; Seder hadoroth year 3338 Anno Mundi
  2. ↑ First, Mitchell (1997). Jewish History in Conflict. Northvale, New Jersey / Jerusalem: Jason Aronson. p. 5. ISBN 1-56821-970-9. In the conventional chronology, the Persian period commenced in the year 539 BCE... and the entire Persian period spanned the years 539 to 332 BCE.
  3. ↑ First, Mitchell (1997). Jewish History in Conflict. Northvale, New Jersey / Jerusalem: Jason Aronson. p. 4. ISBN 1-56821-970-9.
  4. ↑ Missing years in the Hebrew calendar
  5. ↑ First, Mitchell (1997). Jewish History in Conflict. Northvale, New Jersey / Jerusalem: Jason Aronson. p. 4 (note 10). ISBN 1-56821-970-9.
  6. ↑ D. J. Wiseman, Chronicles of Chaldean Kings in the British Museum (London: Trustees of the British Museum, 1956) 73.
  7. ↑ Edwin Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, (1st ed.; New York: Macmillan, 1951; 2d ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965; 3rd ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Kregel, 1983). ISBN 0-8254-3825-X, 9780825438257, 217.
  8. ↑ Kenneth Strand, "Thiele's Biblical Chronology As a Corrective for Extrabiblical Dates," Andrews University Seminary Studies 34 (1996) 310, 317.
  9. ↑ 2 Chronicles 36:6–10
  10. ↑ 2 Chronicles 36:11
  11. ↑ Jeremiah 52:6
  12. 1 2 Edwin Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, (1st ed.; New York: Macmillan, 1951; 2d ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965; 3rd ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Kregel, 1983). ISBN 0-8254-3825-X, 9780825438257.
  13. ↑ Leslie McFall, "A Translation Guide to the Chronological Data in Kings and Chronicles," Bibliotheca Sacra 148 (1991) 45.
  14. ↑ Seder Olam Rabbah chapter 30; Tosefta Zevahim 13:6; Jerusalem Talmud Megillah 18a; Babylonian Talmud Megillah 11b-12a, Arakhin 12b
  15. 1 2 Hadad, David (2005). Sefer Maʻaśe avot (in Hebrew) (4 ed.). Beer Sheba: Kodesh Books. p. 364. OCLC 74311775. (with endorsements by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Rabbi Shlomo Amar, and Rabbi Yona Metzger)
  16. ↑ Sar-Shalom, Rahamim (1984). She'harim La'Luah Ha'ivry (Gates to the Hebrew Calendar) (in Hebrew). Tel-Aviv. p. 161 (Comparative chronological dates). OCLC 854906532.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  17. ↑ Maimonides (1974). Sefer Mishneh Torah - HaYad Ha-Chazakah (Maimonides' Code of Jewish Law) (in Hebrew). Vol. 4. Jerusalem: Pe'er HaTorah. pp. 184–185 [92b–93a] (Hil. Shmitta ve-yovel 10:2–4). OCLC 122758200. According to this calculation, this year which is one-thousand, one-hundred and seven years following the destruction, which year in the Seleucid era counting is [today] the 1,487th year (corresponding with Tishri 1175–Elul 1176 CE), being the year 4,936 anno mundi, it is a Seventh Year [of the seven-year cycle], and it is the 21st year of the Jubilee" (END QUOTE). = the destruction occurring in the lunar month of Av, two months preceding the New Year of 3,829 anno mundi.
  18. ↑ Maimonides (1989). Jehoshua Blau (ed.). R. Moses b. Maimon Responsa (in Hebrew). Vol. 2. Jerusalem: Meḳitse nirdamim / Rubin Mass Ltd. pp. 666–668 (responsum #389). OCLC 78411726.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 First, Mitchell (1997). Jewish History in Conflict: A Study of the Major Discrepancy between Rabbinic and Conventional Chronology. Jason Aronson, Incorporated. ISBN 9781461629122.
  20. ↑ Avodah Zarah 8b–9a
  21. ↑ Chapter 30
  22. ↑ Avodah Zarah 10a; see commentary of Rabbeinu Chananel there
  23. ↑ Feeney, D. (2007). Caesar's Calendar: Ancient Time and the Beginnings of History. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 139. ISBN 9780520251199.
  24. ↑ Stern, Sacha (2001). Calendar and Community: A History of the Jewish Calendar Second Century BCE–Tenth Century CE. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 281 (note 33). ISBN 978-0-19-827034-8.
  25. ↑ 2 Chronicles 36:21
  26. ↑ See Megillat Antiochus#Chronology in Megillat Antiochus
  27. ↑ Seder Olam Rabbah, chapter 28. According to Rabbi Jose in Seder Olam, this figure is had by an exegesis on Daniel 9:24–27 and where "seventy weeks" is explained as being seven years for every week, for a total of 490 years, beginning with the time of the destruction of the First Temple, and ending with the destruction of the Second Temple, and where for seventy years after the First Temple was destroyed there was no Temple. This leaves 420 years for the duration of the Second Temple. The same teaching can be found in the Babylonian Talmud (Nazir 32b).
  28. 1 2 Abravanel, Isaac (1860). Maʻyenei ha-Yeshuʻah (Commentary on the Book of Daniel). Stettin, Poland: R. Grossmann & E. Shrentsel. p. 46a. OCLC 50864691. (Amsterdam 1647)
  29. ↑ First, Mitchell (1997). Jewish History in Conflict. Northvale, New Jersey / Jerusalem: Jason Aronson. pp. 17, 19–20. ISBN 1-56821-970-9.
  30. ↑ In Me'or Einayim (c. 1573)
  31. 1 2 Schwab, Shimon (1991). "Comparative Jewish Chronology?". Selected speeches : a collection of addresses and essays on hashkafah, contemporary issues and Jewish history : including "Comparative Jewish chronology" (PDF). CIS Publishers. ISBN 9781560620587.
  32. 1 2 3 Epstein, Sheldon; Dickman, Bernard; Wilamowsky, Yonah (2006). "A Y2K Solution to the Chronology Problem" (PDF). Hakirah. 3.
  33. 1 2 First, Mitchell (1997). Jewish History in Conflict. Northvale, New Jersey / Jerusalem: Jason Aronson. p. 48. ISBN 1-56821-970-9.
  34. ↑ In Guide to the perplexed of our times (Hebrew, 1851)
  35. ↑ First, Mitchell (1997). Jewish History in Conflict. Northvale, New Jersey / Jerusalem: Jason Aronson. p. 94. ISBN 1-56821-970-9.
  36. ↑ Erekh Millin, p.74
  37. ↑ Simon Schwab (1962). "Comparative Jewish Chronology". Ateret Tsevi: Jubilee volume presented in honor of the eightieth birthday of Rabbi Dr. Joseph Breuer (PDF). New York: Feldheim. pp. 177–197.
  38. ↑ הוראת ההיסטוריה ואמונת חכמים, ספרית המורה הדתי - תולדות ישראל א (תשלז) 71-82
  39. 1 2 3 Parker, R.A.; Dubberstein, Waldo H. (1956). Babylonian Chronology, 626 B.C.–A.D. 75. Providence: Brown University Press. OCLC 460027103.
  40. 1 2 3 4 Ben Halpetha, Jose (1971). M.D. Yerushalmi (ed.). Seder Olam Rabba (in Hebrew). Gil Publishers, in affiliation with the Haredi Youth Organization. pp. 89, 91 (chapter 28). OCLC 233090728. (reprint of 1955 edition, Jerusalem)
  41. ↑ Parker, R.A.; Dubberstein, Waldo H. (1956). Babylonian Chronology, 626 B.C.–A.D. 75. Providence: Brown University Press. p. 12. OCLC 460027103.
  42. ↑ Josephus, Against Apion 1:19–20 (1.146), citing Berossus.
  43. 1 2 3 Babylonian Talmud (Megillah 11b)
  44. ↑ See Parker, R.A.; Dubberstein, Waldo H. (1956). Babylonian Chronology, 626 B.C.–A.D. 75. Providence: Brown University Press. p. 28. OCLC 460027103., who put down only two regnal years for this king; Josephus, Against Apion 1:19–20 (1.146–147), citing Berossus. (It is to be noted that Josephus, elsewhere, contradicts himself, saying that Amel-Marduk reigned 18 years.)
  45. ↑ See Parker, R.A.; Dubberstein, Waldo H. (1956). Babylonian Chronology, 626 B.C.–A.D. 75. Providence: Brown University Press. p. 29. OCLC 460027103., who put down only four regnal years for this king, and who is called by them Nergal-Shar-Usur; Josephus, Against Apion 1.147. (It is to be noted that Josephus, elsewhere, contradicts himself, saying that Neriglissar reigned 40 years).
  46. ↑ Josephus, Against Apion 1.148
  47. ↑ Josephus in his Antiquities (10.11.2–4.) wrote that Baltasar (Belshazzar) is simply another name for Nabonidus
  48. ↑ Parker, R.A.; Dubberstein, Waldo H. (1956). Babylonian Chronology, 626 B.C.–A.D. 75. Providence: Brown University Press. pp. 13–14. OCLC 460027103.
  49. ↑ Josephus, Against Apion 1.150–151
  50. ↑ Babylonian Talmud (Megillah 11b).
  51. ↑ Ben Halpetha, Jose (1971). M.D. Yerushalmi (ed.). Seder Olam Rabba (in Hebrew). Gil Publishers, in affiliation with the Haredi Youth Organization. p. 96 (chapter 29). OCLC 233090728. (reprint of 1955 edition, Jerusalem)
  52. 1 2 Herodotus (1975). G.P. Goold (ed.). Herodotus: The Persian Wars. Vol. 1 (Books I–II). Translated by A.D. Godley. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann Ltd. p. 269 s. 213–215 (Book I). ISBN 0-674-99130-3. (ISBN 0-434-99117-1 - British)
  53. ↑ "The Babylonian Chronicle" by David Noel Freedman, in The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Sep., 1956), pp. 49-60 (JSTOR 3209218)
  54. ↑ Herodotus (1921). G.P. Goold (ed.). Herodotus: The Persian Wars. Vol. 2 (Books III–IV). Translated by A.D. Godley. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann Ltd. p. 87 s. 65–68 (Book III). ISBN 0-674-99131-1. (ISBN 0 434 99118 X - British).
  55. ↑ These years, according to the Talmud (Megillah 11b), are attributed unto Ahasuerus, who is thought to have reigned after Cyrus the Great.
  56. ↑ Herodotus (1921). G.P. Goold (ed.). Herodotus: The Persian Wars. Vol. 2 (Books III–IV). Translated by A.D. Godley. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann Ltd. p. 87 s. 65–68 (Book III). ISBN 0-674-99131-1. (ISBN 0 434 99118 X - British)
  57. ↑ Herodotus (1971). E.H. Warmington (ed.). Herodotus: The Persian Wars. Vol. 3 (Books V–VII). Translated by A.D. Godley. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann Ltd. p. 305 (Book VII). ISBN 0-674-99133-8. (ISBN 0-434-99119-8 - British)
  58. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cory, I.P. (1828). The Ancient Fragments. London: William Pickering. p. 65. OCLC 1000992106. (cites the Persian kings as listed by Manetho)
  59. ↑ Rashi (Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 11b, s.v. באדין‎), following an opinion brought down elsewhere in the Babylonian Talmud (Rosh Hashana 3b), which, in turn, follows Seder Olam (chapter 30), says that Darius, Cyrus and Artaxerxes were all one and the same person.
  60. ↑ Ben Halpetha, Jose (1971). M.D. Yerushalmi (ed.). Seder Olam Rabba (in Hebrew). Gil Publishers, in affiliation with the Haredi Youth Organization. p. 99 (chapter 30). OCLC 233090728. (reprint of 1955 edition, Jerusalem)
  61. ↑ In the Septuagint, the Book of Esther refers to the king as 'Artaxerxes,' (Ancient Greek: Ἀρταξέρξης); Josephus, Antiquities 11.6.1–13.
  62. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ptolemy's Canon
  63. ↑ According to Parker's and Dubberstein's Babylonian Chronology, p. 36, the 6th-year of Alexander the Great's reign over Macedonia, which fell-out in 331 BCE, was the 5th-year of Darius III. During the same year, the Macedonians put an end to Persian hegemony over Israel.
  64. ↑ First, Mitchell (1997). Jewish History in Conflict: A Study of the Major Discrepancy between Rabbinic and Conventional Chronology. Lanham: Jason Aronson. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-56821-970-7. OCLC 845250409.

Bibliography

  • Dawn of the Gods: The untold timeline of Genesis, by Marco Lupi Speranza (self published, 2018) – reconstruction in accordance with Sumerian history.
  • Jewish History in Conflict: A Study of the Major Discrepancy between Rabbinic and Conventional Chronology, by Mitchell First (Jason Aronson, 1997)
  • Talmudic and Rabbinic Chronology, by Edgar Frank (New York: Feldheim 1956)
  • Chronology of the Ancient World, by E.J. Bickerman (Cornell University Press, 1968, 1982)
  • The Crime of Claudius Ptolemy. Robert R. Newton (The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 1977)
  • Daniel 9 in You Take Jesus and I'll Take God by S. Levine, revised edition, Hamoroh Press, Los Angeles, 1980 – explains the Jewish understanding of Daniel 9:24–27
  • The Romance of Biblical Chronology Archived 2012-05-12 at the Wayback Machine, by Martin Anstey (London: Marshall Brothers, 1913) – interprets Daniel as prophesying the crucifixion of Jesus, so the Temple as having been destroyed in 502 BCE
  • R' Shimon Schwab in "Comparative Jewish Chronology in Jubilee Volume for Rav Yosef Breuer" pp. 177–197.
  • David Zvi Hoffmann "Ha'mishna Rishona" (Heb.)
  • Fixing the History Books, Dr. Chaim S. Heifetz's Revision of Persian History, by Brad Aaronson – Jewish scholarly critique of secular dating
  • Fixing the Mind by Alexander Eterman – a rebuttal of Heifetz's critique.
  • Secular Chronology by Walter R. Dolen Archived 2010-12-03 at the Wayback Machine – Christian scholarly critique of secular dating
  • Significant Events In Jewish And World History – timeline based on traditional Jewish sources
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