Avodah Zarah 9a (ט.) — the Talmud in English

The Persian kingdom

ruled over Israel

while the Temple stood,

during the period of the Second Temple. Their kingdom lasted

thirty-four years.

The Persian kingdom was then nullified, and

the Greek kingdom

took control of the Land of Israel

while the Temple stood,

while the Temple was still in existence,

for one hundred eighty years.

The Hasmonean and his sons seized the kingship from the Greeks, and

the Hasmonean kingdom ruled while the Temple stood for one hundred three

years.

The house of Herod

ruled after them for

one hundred three

years.

Their kingdom continued until the destruction of the Temple.

From this point onward, go out and calculate

the reckoning of the years

after the destruction of the Temple,

and from that point a new reckoning begins. One who wishes to count the sequence of years for the history of the Sages, or to write the date in a document, or to record another event, counts from the destruction of the Temple—

These two beraitot appear, at first glance, to contradict one another. For in this beraita it is stated that the Hasmoneans together with the Herodian kings ruled [under Roman rule] for two hundred six years, whereas in the earlier beraita it is stated that the Romans ruled over Israel for one hundred eighty years.

Rather, it must be resolved that there is no contradiction here, for indeed the Hasmoneans began to rule in the Land of Israel two hundred six years before the destruction. However, during the first twenty-six years, the Israelites alone ruled, because the Romans maintained their allegiance to the Israelites. Only afterward, in the days of Yohanan, the fifth Hasmonean king, did the Romans take control and betray their allegiance to Israel, ruling also over the Hasmonean and Herodian houses. It follows that one hundred eighty years before the destruction, the Roman kingdom extended its rule over Israel.

The kingdoms that ruled during the Second Temple period:

Persian kingdom — 34

Greek kingdom — 180

Hasmoneans — 26

Hasmoneans under the Romans — 77

Total: Hasmoneans — 103

Herodian house under the Romans — 103

Total under Roman rule — 180

Second Temple — 420

Rather, twenty-six years,

twenty-six years,

they maintained their allegiance to Israel,

they remained loyal to the Israelites,

and they did not enslave them,

and they did not subjugate the Israelites.

And therefore,

therefore,

he does not count them,

the tanna does not count these years in the first beraita, when it says

“when the wicked kingdom extended its rule”

which is the Roman kingdom

over Israel,

for they did not rule over them; rather, they participated in their rule. From here we learn what they said above: that for twenty-six years they maintained their allegiance.

We learned in a beraita: “From this point onward, go out and calculate how many years after the destruction of the Temple.” That is, from the year of the destruction of the Temple a new reckoning begins.

However, the writers of gittin and documents wrote in the document the number of years according to the Greek kingdom—that is, the year of so-and-so from the beginning of the Greek kingdom [as explained on the following page].

And they too, the writers of documents, did not count from the very beginning of their reign, but from six years afterward, because their kingdom became established only six years after the founding of the Greek kingdom [Alexander of Macedon captured Elam from the Persian king in the year 3442 from Creation, but his general reign began in the year 3448]

The Temple was destroyed three hundred eighty years after the general reign of the Greek kingdom.

And this is the calculation:

Greek kingdom: 180; 180 − 6 = 174. Hasmoneans and Herod: 206; 174 + 206 = 380. The Temple was destroyed in 3828.

The tanna who counts from the year of the destruction of the Temple, and the scribe who counts from the Greek kingdom, if they do not know the number of the year in which they currently stand, can ascertain it from one another. The tanna who counts from the year of the destruction will ask the scribe which year the scribe is counting, and he will add twenty years to it—for even if he does not know the number of the “particular” year, he certainly knows the “general” number, which century it is; a person does not err concerning this, but only concerning the “particular” number, namely, the years within the centuries—and thus he will know his calculation [380 + 20 = 400].

For example: if the “scribe” tells him that the current year is fifty-three, he will write seventy-three, and his calculation will be correct.

And conversely, when the “scribe” does not know the number of the year, he will inquire of the tanna who counts from the year of the destruction, subtract twenty years, and his calculation will be correct.

Rav Pappa said: If this tanna errs,

if he errs in the number of the years,

and does not know the particular number, what it is,

if he does not know the “particular” year, the year in which he currently stands—

let him ask the scribe

and ask the scribe

what he has written,

what number he is writing,

and let him add to it

and add to it

twenty years, and he will find his calculation,

and he will arrive at the sum of his reckoning.

And your mnemonic

will be this verse [Genesis 31]:

“These twenty years I have been in your house.”

That is, the tanna who counts from the destruction of the Temple adds twenty years.

And likewise,

if the scribe errs

and does not know the number of the year in which he currently stands,

let him ask the tanna,

let him ask the tanna,

how much he counts,

how many years he is counting,

and let him subtract from them

and subtract from them

twenty years, and he will find his calculation,

and he will then arrive at his reckoning.

And your mnemonic

will be in your possession so that you do not confuse the tradition—who subtracts and who adds:

Scribe —

less.

The scribe customarily abbreviates in his writing and is precise to write with missing letters, in accordance with the tradition [and this will serve as a hint that the scribe subtracts the twenty years].

Tanna —

addition.

The tanna teaches beraitot, which are added to the Mishnayot [and this hints that the tanna adds the twenty years].

The tanna of the school of Elijah said: The world is destined to exist for six thousand years,

corresponding to the six days of Creation, with each thousand years likened to one day, and afterward there will be one thousand years that will be a Shabbat and rest for the world.

Of these six thousand years,

, two thousand

of them were designated as “years of

chaos,”

without Torah.

Two thousand

after them are “years of

Torah,”

without the days of the Messiah.

And two thousand

after them are the years that are fitting to be

“the days of the Messiah,”

in which the Messiah ought to come.

However,

because of our numerous sins, some of them have elapsed,

some of the years of the Messiah have already passed—

some of those have elapsed,

many years have already gone by, and the Messiah has still not come!

And the Gemara explains the beraita:

Two thousand

years of

Torah—when

from when do we begin counting them?

If you say

that the count of the two thousand years of Torah is

from the giving of the Torah until now,

until the end of the four-thousandth year from Creation, this is difficult, for

there are not that many!

For from the time of the giving of the Torah until the year four thousand from Creation, there are not two thousand years.

For when you examine them,

when you examine the preceding two thousand years of chaos [if you calculate them, as will be explained],

two thousand,

two complete “thousand-year periods,”

and the particular portion of this thousand,

and several more portions of the third thousand,

that is what there was!

For the years of chaos, from Creation until the giving of the Torah, lasted more than two thousand years, since the Torah was given in the year 2448 from Creation. 1\.

In

Tos

Rabbi Elhanan

and in

the Ritva

it is explained that they had a different version [and this also appears to be the implication of

Rashi].

According to

the calculation of the years based on the verses of the Torah is as follows:

Adam the first — 1

Seth — 130

Enosh — 235

Kenan — 325

Mahalalel — 395

Enoch — 622

Methuselah — 687

Lamech — 874

Noah — 1056

Shem — 1558

the Flood — 1656

Arpachshad — 1658

Shelah — 1693

Eber — 1723

Peleg — 1757

Reu — 1787

Serug — 1819

Nahor — 1849

Terah — 1878

Abraham — 1948

the generation of the Dispersion — 1996

Isaac — 2048

Jacob — 2108

Jacob in Egypt — 2238

The Egyptian exile — 210 years

The Exodus from Egypt and the receiving of the Torah — 2448

And this is difficult, for from the time of the giving of the Torah until the end of the fourth millennium there are only one thousand five hundred fifty-two years? [1552 = 2448 − 4000],

and the calculation is short by four hundred forty-eight.

According to that version, the Gemara raises a difficulty concerning the statement of the beraita that many years of the years had already elapsed [448 = 1552 − 2000].

And we answer: the two thousand years of Torah do not begin from the time of the giving of the Torah,

but from

the time concerning which it is said:

“and the souls that they made in Haran.”

That is, from the time Abraham our forefather brought souls beneath the wings of the Shekhina and bound them to Torah; from that time we begin counting the two thousand years of Torah.

And

when did Abraham begin making souls in Haran?

It is received by tradition

that this is our tradition:

that Abraham at that time

at that time

was fifty-two years old,

he was fifty-two years old.

Abraham was born in the year 1948; add fifty-two years to it + 52 = 2000.

How much is lacking from what the tanna taught,

how many years are lacking from the years stated by the tanna? —

Four hundred forty-eight,

four hundred forty-eight years.

When you examine it,

when you examine and calculate how much time there is

from

the time concerning which it is said

“the souls that they made in Haran” until the giving of the Torah,

the calculation will come out that

there are four hundred forty-eight years.

From the time Abraham was fifty-two until the giving of the Torah, there are exactly four hundred forty-eight years. It follows that the two thousand years of Torah ended 172 years after the destruction of the Temple [see the table].

Abraham at age 52 — 2000

The Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah — 2448

The First Temple — 480 years after the Exodus from Egypt — 2928

The destruction of the First Temple — after it stood for 410 years — 3338

The construction of the Second Temple after 70 years of the Babylonian exile — 3408

The destruction of the Second Temple after it stood for 420 years — 3828 172

years after the destruction — 4000

The “tanna” who wishes to count how many years of the days of the Messiah have already elapsed, but does not remember his count, can ask the “scribe” which year he is counting according to the Greek kingdom, and according to his reckoning—by adding forty-eight—the tanna can establish his count.

For the scribe counts from the time the Greek kingdom extended its rule, which was in the year 3448 from Creation, whereas the tanna counts from the year 4000. It follows that the scribe’s sequence of “particular” years precedes the tanna’s sequence by forty-eight years.

Rav Pappa said: If the tanna errs,

if the tanna makes a mistake,

and does not know his particular number, what it is,

and does not know which “particular” year he is currently in—

let him ask the scribe what he has written,

let him ask the scribe how many years he writes according to his reckoning,

and let him add to it

and add to it

forty-eight

forty-eight,

and he will find his calculation [its connection] and will find the number of years according to his reckoning.

And your mnemonic

will be this sign for you: