Chronology

Found 12 Search results

1. The Main Monologue of Sefer Devarim

   Rabbi Yehuda Rock

   Moshe's monologue is finally complete. Rishonim are divided as to when Moshe actually heard the content of this speech from God. Specifically, the Rishonim discuss the many commandments that appear within this monologue: did Moshe receive these commandments at Sinai or did he receive them only in The Fortieth Year?

2. The Mishkan - Ideal First Choice or After-the-Fact?

   Rabbi Menachem Leibtag

   One of the major areas of disagreement concerning the effect of the sin of the Golden Calf concerns the Mishkan. Would there have been no Mishkan according to Rashi had the nation not sinned?

3. Sefer Devarim, the Most ‘Misunderstood’ Book of the Bible

   Rabbi Menachem Leibtag

   תאריך פרסום: תשסט | |

   What is the purpose of Sefer Devarim? Rabbi Menachem Leibtag challenges the popular assumption that Sefer Devarim is a ‘review’ of the rest of Chumash, and proves that, in fact, Sefer Devarim is a crucial ending to the Chumash. By examining the progression from Sefer Shmot all the way to Devarim, we can see that Devarim is not a historical review; rather it details how Am Yisrael must become a nation representing God, utilizing a whole new set of laws, once they enter the land of Israel. 

4. There is no Earlier and Later in the Torah - Is This True?

   Rabbi Dr. Avraham Walfish

   תאריך פרסום: תשס"ט | |

   It is well established that biblical narrative frequently departs from the chronological order of the events it is describing. This principle was first enunciated by Talmudic sages in the well-known, "there is no earlier and later in the Torah". However, classic commentators such as Rashi, Ibn Ezra, and Ramban sharply debated the proper application of this principle and the textual conditions which warrant its utilization. In this lecture we will survey many of the better-known and some of the lesser-known instances in which this principle has been employed, and in each case we will examine its legitimacy, its necessity, and its ramifications.

5. Megillat Esther and Sefer Zekharya

   Rabbi Menachem Leibtag

   

   According to the chronology posited by Seder Olam, Ahashveyrosh was the king immediately after Cyrus but before Darius, and the story of Megillat Esther immediately led to the building of the second Beit HaMikdash and a mass Aliya. However, according to the common historical approach Ahashverosh was the king who succeeded Darius. The Beit HaMikdash was already built and two decades pass before any new Aliya movement. In fact, no major event takes place immediately after the events in Megillat Esther. However, parallels between Megillat Esther and the prophecies of Zekharya imply that the initiators of the holiday of Purim understood that the ultimate success of the Return to Zion and the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash depended on the implementation of social Mitzvot. 

6. Chronology, Structure, and Two Judean Kings

   Rabbi Alex Israel

   In many of the Elisha stories the king in the story is not identified. While many assume that the anonymous king is Yehoram, Ahav's son, because of the sequence of the chapters, the good relationship between Elisha and the king in some of the stories and the ease in which Aram lays seige to Shomron indicate that the kings in the story belong to Yehu's dynasty. Two possible explanations are offered as to the non-chronological order of the Elisha's stories.

   Yehoram, King of Yehuda, strays from the path of Yehoshafat his father and adopts the path of the House of Ahav, of which his wife Atalya is a daughter. Besides the spiritual turmoil that his rule brings, Yehoram murders all of his brothers who he views as a threat to his rule and loses control over areas that have been under the rule of Yehuda since David's reign. How does Eliyahu send Yehoram a castigating letter long after his disappearance?

7. The Length of the Sojourn in Egypt

   Rabbi Michael Hattin

   How many years was Am Yisrael's slavery in Egypt? The Torah's stated period of four hundred and thirty years is difficult to corroborate, for elsewhere the Torah indicates that the period of enslavement could not possibly have extended for so long.  The commentaries strive to reconcile this number with the rest of the chronology that the Torah provides concerning this event. However, if we begin the count with Avraham's initial journey from his birthplace of Ur, we can realize that the story of the descent to Egypt and the enslavement is thus recast as part of a much larger matrix, one that is characterized by the unsettled state of wandering and homelessness. His life of trust, of trial and of eventual triumph is thus reflected in the lives of his descendents, who eventually emerge from the crucible of Egypt as a nation.

8. The Prophetic Purpose of Sefer Yehoshua

   Rabbi Menachem Leibtag |

   Did Yehoshua fulfill God's command to capture the land promised to Am Yisrael? Through an analysis of the promise that God made to Yehoshua and to Moshe we learn about the acceptance of the covenant, and about Sefer Yehoshua as a book of prophecy rather than of history. 

   Courtesy of www.tanachstudy.com

9. Minor Figures, Major Transformations - the Subtle Revolution in Sefer Shoftim

   Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein

   תאריך פרסום: תשע"ד | |

   The leaders at the beginning of the book of Shoftim seem to be successful and exemplary, but as the book goes on, the leaders seem to be increasingly problematic. And why are there only two leaders- - both of whom do both great and reprehensible things- discussed in the second half of the book? To respond to these questions, we turn to Haza”l who provide interesting directions as we consider the context of the times, the structure and the chronology of the book. 

10. Yaakov Out of Sequence: Beit El, Hebron, Shechem?

    Rabbi David Silverberg

11. The Missing Years

    Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky

    Before studying the book of Ezra, the controversy concerning the chronology of the kings of Persia must be addressed.

    Modern scholarship assumes that the Persian Empire spanned approximately 206 years and the Second Mikdash stood for 585 years.

    By contrast, traditional rabbinic sources present a dramatically different portrait of the Persian era. The Persian empire spanned 52 years and the Second Mikdash stood for just 420 years.

    Five traditional approaches exist as how to deal with this controversy. It is evident that the dispute concerning the chronology of the Persian kings carries significant theological, historical and exegetical implications. Throughout our treatment of Shivat Tzion we will be operating within the framework of the scholarly consensus.

12. Tanakh timeline at a glance - Chart and Explanation

    Rabbi Dr. Yehoshua Reiss

    The chart below displays the major timelines of the Tanakh in order, starting from Beresheet until the return to Zion. It depicts the Main stories and characters from every central period, and includes information on the ruling empires as well as noting the biblical literature written during those times.

    Click the Infograph to print and view the chart in full size.