Cosmogenesis: The First Era of Religious Jewish History (1 AM to 3442 AM)


5:22 AM Sunday.

I woke at 4:30 AM this morning with some consternation that I got the dating of Cosmogenesis incorrect in my previous post, Cosmogenesis (1 AM to 3400 AM) and the Hebrew Biblical Era (1200 BCE to 332 BCE). In this entry, I will see if I can further clarify my chronology. The first thing I need to do is get some more precision about the Orthodox chronology as it is taught today. Does the Orthodox chronology for the events from 1 AM to the end of prophecy and the beginning of the Era of the Sages and Rabbis follow the order given in Seder Olam Rabbah, as later codified by Maimonides? Let's return to Google Gemini.

1. Does the chronology of Maimonides agree with the chronology of the Seder Olam?


2. Is it possible to study the Seder Olam in English?


3. I just scanned the beginning of the Guggenheim translation, and it looks quite technical. Is there a single master Hebrew calendar chronology of key events of the Tanakh in English that is consistent with the technical details in the Seder Olam?


4. Does the Seder Olam define the period of Soferim (Scribes) and the period of the Zugot (Pairs) or is that a later rabbinic conceptualization?


5. Is it correct that the Soferim picked up the chain of transmission of authority from the Prophets when prophecy ceased according to the rabbinic organizational framework found in the Mishnah?


6. According to the Seder Olam chronology and its subsequent rabbinic interpretation, would it be safe to say that prophecy ended with the completion of the Second Temple in 3412 AM, or would a different date be more appropriate?


7. So just to be clear, the Seder Olam itself dates the end of prophecy to 3442 AM?


8. For those Modern Orthodox and Orthodox scholars who accept the Seder Olam's compressed theological (not necessarily literal) chronology, like Rabbi Mordechai Breuer, is 3442 AM the consensus Hebrew calendar date for the end of the Prophets and the beginning of the Sages?


9. What Jewish leaders are listed in the Seder Olam immediately after this cut-off point, i.e., who are the first identified Sages of the Hellenistic era?


10. Tell me more about Shimon HaTzadik - do we know of him from the Seder Olam, or only the Pirkei Avot and other rabbinic writings?


11. What is the Hebrew word for "Sage," is there a subtle difference in rabbinic thought between a Sage and a Scribe (Sofer), and is Shimon HaTzadik technically considered a Scribe, a Sage, or both?


12. What is the difference between Chacham and Tanna?


13. Does Seder Olam mean "Order of the World"? What is the accepted English translation and what does Rabbah mean in this context?


Okay, on the basis of all of this, I am ready to fine-tune my definition of Cosmogenesis so that it extends from 1 AM to 3442 AM in the Hebrew calendar, and I now have a better understanding of the key role played by Shimon HaTzadik as bridge between the last of the Soferim in the Era of Cosmogenesis and the first of the Tannaim in the Rabbinic Era.


End 7:10 AM.

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