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Seder Olam Rabbah (Hebrew:סדר עולם רבה, "The Great Order of the World") is a 2nd-century CEHebrew language chronology detailing the dates of biblical events fromcreation toAlexander the Great's conquest of Persia. It adds no stories beyond what is in the biblical text, and addresses such questions as the age ofIsaac at hisbinding and the number of years thatJoshua led the Israelites. Tradition considers it to have been written about 160 CE byJose ben Halafta,^[1] but it was probably also supplemented and edited at a later period.^[2]

In theBabylonian Talmud this chronicle is several times referred to simply asSeder Olam,^[3] and it is quoted as such by the more ancient biblical commentators, includingRashi. But starting in the 12th century, it began to be designated asSeder Olam Rabbah to distinguish it from a later, smaller chronicle,Seder Olam Zuṭa; it was first so designated byAbraham ben Nathan Ha-Yarhi.^[4]

In its present form,Seder Olam Rabbah consists of 30 chapters, each 10 chapters forming a section or "gate."

The work is a chronological record, extending fromAdam to therevolt of Bar Kokba in the reign ofHadrian, thePersian period being compressed into 52 years.^[2] The chronicle is complete only up to the time ofAlexander the Great; the period from Alexander toHadrian occupies a very small portion of the work—the end of the 30th chapter.

Many passages quoted in theTalmud are missing in the edition ofSeder Olam which has survived.

The author probably designed the work for calendrical purposes, to determine the era of thecreation; his system, adopted as early as the 3rd century CE, is still followed.^[5] Adhering closely to the Pharisaic interpretations ofBible texts, he endeavored not only to elucidate many passages, but also to determine certain dates which are not indicated in the Bible, but which may be inferred by calculation.^{[citation needed]} He also recognized the importance of theJubilee andSabbatical cycles as a long-term calendrical system, and attempted at various places to fit the Sabbatical and Jubilee years into its chronological scheme.

In many cases, however, he gave the dates according to tradition, and inserted, besides, the sayings andhalakhot of preceding rabbis and of his contemporaries. In discussingbiblical chronology he followed three principles:^[5]

1. To assume that the intention of the biblical author was, wherever possible, to give exact dates
2. To assign to each of a series of events the shortest possible duration of time, where necessary, in order to secure agreement with the biblical text
3. To adopt the lesser of two possible numbers.

The currentHebrew calendar year numbering system, which counts years from thecreation, has been in use for more than 1000 years.^[6] Thedating system of numbering the years from creation was adopted sometime before 3925Anno Mundi (165 CE), and based on the calculation of RabbiYose ben Halafta during about 160 CE in the bookSeder Olam Rabbah.^[7]

These years are based on the computations of dates and periods found in theHebrew Bible. In Jewish tradition, "Year 1" is considered to have begun on the 25 ofElul, 5 days before the beginning of "Year 2" on the first ofTishrei, whenAdam was created. The new moon of its first month (Tishrei) is designatedmolad tohu (meaning new moon of chaos or nothing). By Halafta's calculationAdam was created during the year3761 BCE.^[8] However,Seder Olam Rabbah treats the creation of Adam as the beginning of "Year Zero". This results in a two-year discrepancy between the years given inSeder Olam Rabbah and the Jewish year used now. For example,Seder Olam Rabbah gives the year ofthe Exodus from Egypt as 2448AM; but, according to the current system, the year would be 2450 AM.

Despite the computations by Yose ben Halafta, confusion persisted for a long time as to how the calculations should be applied.^[9] During 1000, for example, the Muslim chronologistal-Biruni noted that three different epochs were used by various Jewish communities being one, two, or three years later than the modern epoch.^[10] The epoch seems to have been settled by 1178, whenMaimonides, in his workMishneh Torah, described all of the modern rules of the Hebrew calendar, including the modern epochal year. His work has been accepted by Jews as definitive, though it does not correspond to the scientific calculations. For example, the Jewish year for the destruction of theFirst Temple has traditionally been given as 3338 AM or 423/2 BC.^[11] This differs from the modern scientific year, which is usually expressed using theProleptic Julian calendar as 587 BC. The scientific date takes into account evidence from the ancient Babylonian calendar and its astronomical observations. So, too, according to Jewish computation, the destruction of theSecond Temple occurred in the lunar month of Av inanno 68 CE, rather than in 70 CE.^[12] In this and related cases, a difference between the traditional Jewish year and a scientific date in a Gregorian year or in aproleptic Julian calendar date results from a disagreement about when the event happened—and not simply a difference between the Jewish and Gregorian calendars (seethe "Missing Years" in the Jewish Calendar and below,Excursus: Jewish Chronology in the Scroll of Antiochus).

In Jewish thought the counting is usually considered to be from the creation of the world, as has been emphasized in many ancient texts dealing with creation chronology,viz. that the six days of creation till man are literal days—including the days before the creation of the sun and earth.^[13][14] However, some understand these days metaphorically.^[15]

According toGenesis, theconfusion of languages took place in the days ofPeleg.^[16]Seder Olam attempts to identify when exactly in Peleg's life this occurred. It concludes that the first year of Peleg's life cannot be meant (as at the time of the confusion Peleg had a younger brother, Joktan, who had several children); nor could it have occurred during the middle years of his life (for the designation "middle years" is not an exact one; had the Bible intended to indicate only a general period, it would have used the phrase "in the days of Peleg and Joktan"). The Bible must therefore mean that the confusion of languages took place in the last year of Peleg's life, which (based on the dates of the previous generations in Genesis) occurred 340 years after theFlood, or 1996 years after the creation of the world.^[17]

After dealing in the first 10 chapters with the chronology of the period from the creation of the world to the death ofMoses, the writer proceeds to determine the dates of the events which occurred after theIsraelites, led byJoshua, entered theHoly Land. Here biblical chronology presents many difficulties, dates not being clearly given, and in many casesSeder Olam was used by later biblical commentators as a basis of exegesis. It is known that from the entry of the Israelites into the Holy Land to the time ofJephthah a period of 300 years elapsed.^[18] By computing the life periods of theJudges and assuming that Jephthah sent his message (alluding to the 300 years) in the second year of his rule,Seder Olam concludes that the reign of Joshua lasted 28 years. The work places two events in the Book of Judges whose date is unclear (the making of the image forMicah^[19] andBattle of Gibeah episode^[20]) in the time ofOthniel.

I Kings states thatSolomon began to build theTemple in Jerusalem in the fourth year of his reign, 480 years after theExodus,^[21] that is, 440 years after theIsraelites entered theHoly Land. Thus 140 years passed from the second year of Jephthah to the building of the Temple.Seder Olam concludes that the forty years during which the Israelites were harassed by thePhilistines^[22] did not begin after the death ofAbdon, as it would seem, but after that ofJephthah, and terminated with the death ofSamson. Consequently, there was a period of 83 years from the second year of Jephthah to the death ofEli, who ruled 40 years,^[23] the last year of Samson being the first of Eli's judgeship. At that time theTabernacle was removed fromShiloh, whither it had been transferred fromGilgal, where it had been for 14 years underJoshua; consequently it remained at Shiloh for a period of 369 years, standing all that time on a stone foundation. It is also to be concluded that Samuel judged Israel for 11 years, which with the two years ofSaul,^[24] the 40 of David's reign,^[25] and the four of Solomon's reign, make 57 years, during which the Tabernacle was first atNob, then atGibeon.

The chronology of the Kings was more difficult, as there were differences to reconcile between thebook of Kings andbook of Chronicles. Here especially the author applied the principle of "fragments of years" ("shanim mekutta'ot"), by which he regarded the remainder of the last year of any king's reign as identical with the first year of his successor's. In chapter 20, which closes the second part ("Baba Meẓia"), the author deals with the forty-eight prophets that flourished in theland of Israel. Beginning withJoshua, the author reviews the whole prophetic period which terminated withHaggai,Zechariah, andMalachi, elucidating as he proceeds many obscure points. Thus, the prophet mentioned in Judges 6:8 was, according toSeder Olam,Phinehas, and the man of God that came to Eli^[26] wasElkanah.

According toSeder Olam, the prophecy ofObadiah occurred in the time ofAmaziah^[27] and those ofJoel,Nahum, andHabakkuk in the reign ofManasseh. After devoting the 21st chapter to the prophets that lived before the conquest of the land, to the seven prophetesses, and to the seven prophets of the Gentiles,Seder Olam resumes the chronology of the Kings. This continues until the end of chapter 27, where it is calculated that the destruction of theTemple occurred after it had existed 410 years, or 3,338 years after the creation of the world.

Several vital clues are provided by the 2nd-century authors of Seder Olam and theTosefta, as to the placement of events in relation to theJubilee andseven year cycle. Although no dates are provided in ancient records, general time-frames for certain events are provided by an inference to their relation to either the First Temple's building or to the First Temple's destruction, and which Temple is said to have stood 410 years.^[28][29][30] Since, according to Jewish oral tradition, the destruction of the First Temple occurred in 422 BCE,^[31][32] a year which also corresponded to the 1st-year of the seven-year cycle,^[33][34] scholars have sought to plot all events described in the Hebrew Scriptures based on these reference points. Other references include such facts (as brought down in Seder Olam) that the 11th-year ofSolomon's reign, when he completed his building of the First Temple, was in the 4th-year of the seven-year cycle,^[35] or, similarly, thatJehoiachin's exile began 25 years before the next Jubilee and during the fourth year of a Sabbatical year,^[36] or that the 18th-year ofJosiah's reign was the year ofJubilee,^[37] and that the 14th-year after the First Temple's destruction was also a Jubilee.^[38]

Moreover, the interval between the First Temple's destruction in 422 BCE and the Second Temple's destruction in 68 CE is put at 490 years.^[39][40]

In the Jewish custom of recollecting regnal years of kings, the 1st day of the lunar monthNisan marks a New Year for kings, meaning, from this date was calculated the years of the reign of Israelite kings; thus if a king was enthroned in the preceding month,Adar, he begins his second year of reign in the next lunar month, following the 1st of Nisan.^[41] Based on this unique way of reckoning regnal years, ifKing X died in the lunar month Nisan in the year 2022, andKing XX succeeded him on the throne in Nisan of 2022, both kings are reckoned as having reigned one year in 2022. All dates provided in the following table showing King David's line of succession are, therefore, made subject to this caveat.

According to Seder Olam, the 70-year period spoken of byJeremiah 25:11,Jeremiah 29:10 andDaniel 9:2 began in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, in 441 BCE,^[93] and ended in the year 370 BCE, with the beginning of the return of the exiles underCyrus.^[94]

Aside from the disparity between the traditional Jewish method of dating Nebuchadnezzar's year of ascension (put at 441 BCE) and the conventional method of dating for Nebuchadnezzar's first-year of reign (put at 605 BCE) – a disparity of 164 years, there are also historic discrepancies in the chronological list of successive Babylonian kings mentioned by Seder Olam. Seder Olam's assignment of regnal years for the Babylonian kings in that period differs from those assigned byBerossus the Chaldean for the same period. The major difference being that in Seder Olam's chronology (which teaching is followed by theBabylonian Talmud,Megillah 11b) the seventy-year period was defined by only three Babylonian kings, namely:Nebuchadnezzar who reigned 45 years,Evil-merodach who reigned 23 years andBelshazzar who reigned 3 (for a total of 71 years, with one year deducted^[95][96]), whereas Berossus mentions five Babylonian kings for the same period, and that Nebuchadnezzar reigned only 43 years,^[97] followed by Evil-merodach who reigned 2 years, who, in turn, was succeeded byNeriglissar who reigned 4 years, followed byLaborosoarchod who reigned 9 months, and, finally, byNabonnedus (also known as Belshazzar)^[98] who reigned 17 years (for a total of 67 years). It is presumed that the author of Seder Olam had not seen the ancient chronological record of Berossus who lists these five Babylonian kings by name, and that the author of Seder Olam copied only those names of Babylonian kings that he could glean from the Hebrew Scriptures, without any knowledge of the fact that the Hebrew Scriptures had merely mentioned those kings directly related to major events in Jewish history, while omitting the rest.^[99] Moreover, the actual number of years given for the kings' individual reigns is not mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures, and is only had either through the record of Berossus, as transmitted byJosephus, or else by those contradictory figures given in the Talmud.

The Babylonian kings' list in Seder Olam is explained by medieval biblical exegeteSaadia Gaon (892–942). In hisJudeo-Arabic commentary on theBook of Daniel (9:2), he begins by explaining what is meant by accomplishing "seventy years in the desolation of Jerusalem," saying that this seventy-year period refers not to the destruction of Jerusalem,per se, but rather to the Kingdom of Babylon,^[100] in accordance with the biblical verse: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will remember you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place"(Jeremiah 29:10).^[100] Saadia wrote that these seventy years begin with Nebuchadnezzar's ascension to the throne and that he reigned 45 years, and that his son Evil-merodach reigned after him 23 years, and that his son's son after him reigned 3 years, for a total of seventy years.^[100][101] The way in which the rabbis derived 45 years for Nebuchadnezzar's reign was by calculating the beginning of the reign of Evil-merodach which was thought to have been in the 37th year ofJehoiachin's captivity, in accordance with the verse(Jeremiah 52:31): "In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year of his kingship, he freed Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison." The same event is explained in2 Kings 25:27 as meaning that Jehoiachin was released "in the year that he (Evil-merodach) began to reign" (Hebrew:בשנת מלכו).^[102] When Jehoiachin was first exiled in 433 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had already been in power eight years;^[100][103] (hence: 8 + 37 = 45). At any rate, Evil-merodach is thought by Seder Olam to have begun his reign in 396 BCE, when Jehoiachin was released from his bonds.

Saadia explains, moreover, how Seder Olam derived 23 years, instead of Berossus' 2 years, for Evil-merodach's reign, saying that since the third-year of Belshazzar's reign is referenced in the Scripture^[104] and he is thought by the author of Seder Olam to have died in the third-year of his reign,^[105] although the Book of Daniel does not say explicitly that Belshazzar died in the third-year of his reign,^[106] it stands to reason that the years in between Nebuchadnezzar's 45-year reign and Belshazzar's 3-year reign, at the least, is collected as 23 years, during which time Evil-merodach reigned.^[107] TheTalmud refers to this as "deductive reasoning" (Hebrew:גמרא).^[108] Belshazzar was thought by the author of Seder Olam to be the mere grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, based on the Scripture: "All the nations shall serve him (i.e. Nebuchadnezzar) and his son (i.e. Evil-merodach) and his grandson, etc."(Jeremiah 27:7).^[95] Chroniclers have largely rejected Seder Olam's method of assigning regnal years for the Babylonian kings and have relied, instead, on Berossus and on other archaeological records.^[109] Still, the 164–165-year disparity between events described in rabbinic tradition and the same events using conventional dating methods has been the subject of intense debate, with Jewish scholars occasionally taking sides.

According to one Jewish tradition, the seventy-year period of exile commences with the beginning of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, and concludes with the rise ofCyrus the Great who ordered the rebuilding of Jerusalem.^[110][111] Another Jewish tradition avers that it begins with the destruction of Jerusalem in the 19th-year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign,^[112] continuing thereafter for another 52 years of desolation, followed by a 19-year Persian period, where Cyrus is alleged to have reigned for 3 years, followed by Ahasuerus who is said to have reigned for 14 years and, finally, Darius, in whose 2nd year of reign the seventy-year period culminated with the rebuilding of Jerusalem.^[113] Persia's hegemonic power over the nation of Israel, according to Seder Olam, is said to have extended until the rise ofAlexander the Great. Seder Olam names only three Persian kings during this time period,viz.:Cyrus (said to have reigned an additional 3 years after conquering Babylon,^[114] and who jointly ruled with Darius the Mede), followed by Ahasuerus (who is said to have reigned 14 years),^[115] and, lastly, Darius, who succeeded Ahasuerus,^[116] and in whose 2nd-year of reign the foundation of the Second Temple was laid.^[117] These three Persian kings, from the end of Israel's exile under the Babylonians until the foundation of the Temple was laid in 356 BCE, spanned a period of 19 years. From the time of the Second Temple's building (in 352 BCE) under the Persians, until the rise of Alexander the Great who put away Persian dominion over Israel, the period is put at 34 years,viz., from 352 BCE to 318 BCE.^[118] Some scholars have assumed that the allowance (contrary to historical facts) of only 34 years for the Persian domination is necessary to make the chronology agree with the PharisaicTalmudical interpretation (ofDaniel 9:24), that the second exile was to take place after 70 Sabbaths of years (= 490 years) from an "issuing forth of a word" to rebuild Jerusalem. If from this period of 490 years the 70 years of the first Captivity is deducted, and the beginning ofAlexander's control of the Land of Israel is placed (in accordance withTalmudic tradition) at 386 years before the destruction of the Second Temple, then there remain only 34 for the Persian rule.

Alternatively, what seems to be a historical inaccuracy inSeder Olam has been explained in a different way. According toRashi,^[119] the 34-year Persian period is the time span between the building of the Second Temple under Darius in 352 BC (according toJewish calculations) andAlexander the Great's rise to power in 318 BCE. This time-frame, therefore, does not signify the end of the dynasties in Persia, but rather of their rule and hegemony over Israel before Alexander the Great rose to power. The difficulty besetting this explanation, however, lies in the fact that fromDarius I who laid the foundation of theSecond Temple to Alexander the Great, who brought an end to Persian hegemony over Israel, there are collected no less than 190 years.^[120][121] This would suggest that the author of Seder Olam confounded Darius I withDarius III Codomannus, the latter Darius being a contemporary with Alexander the Great.^[122][123]

As with the Seder Olam's record of the Babylonian kings, so is there difficulty reconciling the accounts in Seder Olam with historical records that mention successive Persian kings, such as that which was documented byHerodotus,Ptolemy andManetho, beginning with Cyrus' successor,Cambyses (Artaxerxes) the son of Cyrus (who reigned 5 years),^[124] followed by theMagi (who reigned 7 months),^[125] followed byDarius the son of Hystaspes (who reigned 36 years),^[126] and who, in turn, was succeeded byXerxes (Artaxerxes) b. Darius (who reigned 21 years).^[127] He, in turn, was succeeded byArtabanus (who reigned merely 7 months),^[128] followed byArtaxerxes, the son of Xerxes the Great, who reigned 41 years.^[127] He is said to have also borne the nameAhasuerus.^[129] The year of accession for this last king herein named (Ahasuerus) would have, therefore, been long after the Second Temple had already been built.^[130]

Azariah dei Rossi, one of the first to address the discrepancy between Seder Olam's recollection of only three Persian kings (for the period ofPersian hegemony over Israel) versus conventional chronology where there were more than 10 Persian kings for the same period, suggests that theSages 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 theBible.^[131]

The narration continues after the 70 years of theBabylonian captivity with the building of theSecond Temple which stood 420 years, and which was destroyed, as may be seen, in the year 3828 of the creation. The 420 years of the Second Temple are divided into the following periods: 34 years ofPersian rule while the Temple stood; 180 years of theGreeks; 103 years of theMaccabees; 103 years of theHerods. The period of Herodian rule over Israel, namely, 103 years, refers merely to its hegemony over Israel while the Temple was still standing. The beginning of this period is reckoned during Herod the Great's reign in 35 BC and ends in 68 CE with the destruction of the Second Temple (based on Jewish computations).

From the destruction of the Second Temple, which (according toSeder Olam, ch. 30) occurred at the departure of the Sabbatical year (meaning, the beginning of the 1st-year in a seven-year cycle), to the suppression of theBar Kokhba revolt (or the destruction ofBethar) is given as a period of 52 years. But the text here is very confused and has given rise to various emendations and interpretations, as the historical date for the destruction of the Second Temple is 70 CE and that for the conclusion of the Bar Kochba revolt is 135 CE.^[166]

Assuming that thisSeder Olam is the same as theSeder Olam mentioned in theTalmud, Jewish authorities generally ascribe its authorship to the well-known TalmudistJose b. Halafta, on the strength ofR. Johanan's statement, "Thetanna ofSeder Olam was R. Jose".^[1] Johanan's comment is supported by the fact that Jose was known as one who occupied himself withJewish chronology; further, many sayings of R. Jose's quoted in the Talmud are paralleled inSeder Olam.^[5]

However, Ratner^[167] said thatSeder Olam often conflicts with Jose's opinions in the Talmud, that it refers to Jose in the third person ("R. Jose said"), and finally it mentions Talmudists who lived later than Jose. For these reasons, he concluded that Jose wasnot its author; he says that Jose was only the principal authority ofSeder Olam, and that Johanan's statement, mentioned above, is similar to another statement he made—"Any anonymous opinion in theMishnah belongs toRabbi Meir",^[168] although the redactor of the Mishnah wasJudah I. Ratner further supposes that R. Johanan himself compiled the work, following generally the opinion of R. Jose. He tries to prove this by showing that many sayings of R. Johanan are taken fromSeder Olam.^[5]

Other scholars say that inSeder Olam Jose preserved the generally accepted opinions, even when they were contrary to his own, as indicated inNiddah 46b, and that, like all works of the ancientTalmudists, it underwent alternations in copying. Sometimes, finding that the utterance of a later rabbi agreed withSeder Olam, the copyists inserted the name of that rabbi. A careful examination shows that certain additions are later than the latest midrashim, and it may be thatAbraham ibn Yarḥi,^[169]Isaac Lattes,^[170] andMenahem Meïri,^[171] who seem to place the redaction ofSeder Olam at the time when the Massektot (tractates)Derek Ereẓ Rabbah, theDerek Ereẓ Zuṭa, the Soferim, and other later treatises were composed, may have referred to the work in its present form.^[5]

Besides directly quotingSeder Olam, theTalmud often alludes to it. A passage inSeder Olam (chapter 30) describing the 420 years of four hegemonic powers (Persian, Grecian, Hasmonean and Herodian) appears almost verbatim in the Babylonian Talmud.^[172] Often, the phrases "tanya" (= "we learned"), "tana" (= "he learned"), "tanu rabbanan" (= "our teachers learned"), and "amar mar" (= "the teacher said") introduce sentences also found inSeder Olam. In addition, many of its passages have been taken into theMishnah without any allusion to their source.Seder Olam is not mentioned in theJerusalem Talmud, although several passages in the latter are based on it. Finally, many of the sayings ofSeder Olam have been taken into theMekhilta, theSifra, and theSifre.^[5]

Acceptance of Seder Olam Rabbah's chronology was not universal. Among the premodern sources whose chronologies contradict Seder Olam Rabbah arePirkei deRabbi Eliezer,Josippon, MidrashLekach Tov, a source quoted byRashi,Ibn Ezra,Baal HaMaor,Radak,Rashba,Ritva,Ralbag, andIsaac Abarbanel.^[173]

• Seder Olam Rabbah (in print) first appeared atMantua, in 1514, together with theSeder Olam Zuta, theMegillat Ta'anit, andAbraham ibn David'sSefer ha-Ḳabbalah. It has been reedited several times since then.
• In 1577Seder Olam Rabbah andSeder Olam Zuṭa were published inParis, with a Latin translation byGilbert Genebrard. The former was edited, with aLatin language translation, notes, and introduction, by John Meyer (Amsterdam, 1699).
• Commentaries on the work were written byJacob Emden,^[174] byElijah Wilna,^[175] and byEnoch Zundel b. Joseph.^[176]
• The three latest editions prior to 1906 are those of Ratner,^[177] A. Marx (who published the first ten chapters, basing the text upon different manuscripts and supplying it with aGerman language translation and an introduction; Berlin, 1903), and Jeroham Meïr Leiner (containing the commentaries of Jacob Emden and Elijah Wilna, and the editor's annotations under the titleMe'r 'Ayin, Warsaw, 1904).
• Ben Halpetha, Jose (1971). M.D. Yerushalmi (ed.).Seder Olam Rabba (in Hebrew). Gil Publishers, in affiliation with the Haredi Youth Organization.OCLC 233091049.
• Heinrich W. Guggenheimer (2005),Seder Olam: The Rabbinic View of Biblical Chronology, Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield (ISBN 978-0-7657-6021-0)
• Chaim Milikowsky (2013),Seder Olam: Critical Edition, Commentary, and Introduction (2 vols.), Yad Ben-Zvi: Jerusalem (OCLC 857371834)(ISBN 9789652173591)

• Missing years (Jewish calendar)
• Traditional Jewish chronology

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Seder 'Olam Rabbah".The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
• The Jewish Encyclopaedia cites the following works:
  • Fürst, in Orient, Lit. vii. 547 et seq.;
  • idem, Bibl. Jud. ii. 107–108;
  • Grätz, Gesch. 3d ed., iv. 184, and note 14;
  • A. Marx, introduction to his edition of the Seder Olam;
  • B. Ratner, Mabo leha-Seder Olam Rabbah;
  • Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. cols. 1433–1434;
  • Weiss, Dor, ii. 257 et seq.;
  • Winter and Wünsche, Die Jüdische Litteratur, iii. 299 et seq.;
  • Zunz, G. V. p. 85.
• Strack, H.L. (1991), Stemberger, Günter;Bockmuehl, Markus (eds.),Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash (Google eBook) (1996 ed.), Fortress Press, p. 326,ISBN 978-1451409147 (Note: page 326 in this edition was p. 354 in 1991).

• English translation of the Seder Olam (INCOMPLETE)
• Seder Olam Rabbah - Gilbert Génébrard's Latin translation (Paris 1578)
• Jewish Encyclopedia article for Seder Olam Rabbah

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