י׳ בחשוון א׳תרנ״ו 10th 𝑜𝑓 Ḥeŝvan, AM 1656Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
Chronology of
המבול
HAʾMABUL
(the Flood)
The chronology of המבול HAʾMABUL follows destruction, survival and the gradual return of habitable ground. The narrative gives numbered months; interpreters within יהדות YAHADUT identify those months and count its overlapping intervals differently. The main sequence below follows סדר עולם SEDER OLAM, with one earlier boarding date from פרקי דרבי אליעזר PIRKEI DEʾRABI ELIʾEZER. The alternatives preserve disagreements about one Flood, not separate events. AM 1656–1657 supplies the received chronological framework, not independently established historical dates.1
י״ז בחשוון א׳תרנ״ו 17th 𝑜𝑓 Ḥeŝvan, AM 1656Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
The Flood begins; the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky open.
י״ז בחשוון א׳תרנ״ו 17th 𝑜𝑓 Ḥeŝvan, AM 1656: The Flood begins; the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky open.3
כ״ז בכסלו א׳תרנ״ו 27th 𝑜𝑓 Kislev, AM 1656Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
The forty days of rain end.
כ״ז בכסלו א׳תרנ״ו 27th 𝑜𝑓 Kislev, AM 1656: The forty days of rain end.4
א׳ בסיון א׳תרנ״ו 1st 𝑜𝑓 Sivan, AM 1656Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
The waters begin to decrease after the 150-day interval.
א׳ בסיון א׳תרנ״ו 1st 𝑜𝑓 Sivan, AM 1656: The waters begin to decrease after the 150-day interval.5
י״ז בסיון א׳תרנ״ו 17th 𝑜𝑓 Sivan, AM 1656Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
התבה HAʾTEVA comes to rest on the mountains of אררט ARARAT; the ground is not yet habitable.
י״ז בסיון א׳תרנ״ו 17th 𝑜𝑓 Sivan, AM 1656: התבה HAʾTEVA comes to rest on the mountains of אררט ARARAT; the ground is not yet habitable.6
י׳ בתמוז א׳תרנ״ו 10th 𝑜𝑓 Tamuz, AM 1656Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
נח NOAḤ opens the window and sends out the raven.
י׳ בתמוז א׳תרנ״ו 10th 𝑜𝑓 Tamuz, AM 1656: נח NOAḤ opens the window and sends out the raven.7
י״ז בתמוז א׳תרנ״ו 17th 𝑜𝑓 Tamuz, AM 1656Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
The first dove finds nowhere to rest and returns.
י״ז בתמוז א׳תרנ״ו 17th 𝑜𝑓 Tamuz, AM 1656: The first dove finds nowhere to rest and returns.8
כ״ד בתמוז א׳תרנ״ו 24th 𝑜𝑓 Tamuz, AM 1656Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
The dove returns with an olive leaf, evidence that the waters have receded.
כ״ד בתמוז א׳תרנ״ו 24th 𝑜𝑓 Tamuz, AM 1656: The dove returns with an olive leaf, evidence that the waters have receded.9
א׳ באב א׳תרנ״ו 1st 𝑜𝑓 Av, AM 1656Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
The dove leaves and does not return.
א׳ באב א׳תרנ״ו 1st 𝑜𝑓 Av, AM 1656: The dove leaves and does not return. This sequence also places the appearance of the mountain tops here.10
א׳ בתשרי א׳תרנ״ז 1st 𝑜𝑓 Tiŝrei, AM 1657Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
נח NOAḤ removes the covering and sees that the ground's surface has dried.
א׳ בתשרי א׳תרנ״ז 1st 𝑜𝑓 Tiŝrei, AM 1657: נח NOAḤ removes the covering and sees that the ground's surface has dried.11
כ״ז בחשוון א׳תרנ״ז 27th 𝑜𝑓 Ḥeŝvan, AM 1657Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
The earth is fully dry; נח NOAḤ, his family and the animals leave התבה HAʾTEVA.
כ״ז בחשוון א׳תרנ״ז 27th 𝑜𝑓 Ḥeŝvan, AM 1657: The earth is fully dry; נח NOAḤ, his family and the animals leave התבה HAʾTEVA.12
Where does רש״י RAŜI
give a different sequence?
רש״י RAŜI counts the forty-day wait before the raven from the appearance of the mountain tops, rather than the beginning of the waters' decrease. The bird sequence therefore falls later. His comments also preserve two different endpoints for the rain.13
כ״ח בכסלו א׳תרנ״ו 28th 𝑜𝑓 Kislev, AM 1656Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
The rain ends in his comment on בראשית BEREŜIT 7:12; his comment on בראשית BEREŜIT 8:3 instead gives כ״ז בכסלו א׳תרנ״ו 27th 𝑜𝑓 Kislev, AM 1656.
כ״ח בכסלו א׳תרנ״ו 28th 𝑜𝑓 Kislev, AM 1656: The rain ends in his comment on בראשית BEREŜIT 7:12; his comment on בראשית BEREŜIT 8:3 instead gives כ״ז בכסלו א׳תרנ״ו 27th 𝑜𝑓 Kislev, AM 1656.14
י׳ באלול א׳תרנ״ו 10th 𝑜𝑓 Elul, AM 1656Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
נח NOAḤ sends out the raven, calculated from the forty-day wait after א׳ באב א׳תרנ״ו 1st 𝑜𝑓 Av, AM 1656.
י׳ באלול א׳תרנ״ו 10th 𝑜𝑓 Elul, AM 1656: נח NOAḤ sends out the raven, calculated from the forty-day wait after א׳ באב א׳תרנ״ו 1st 𝑜𝑓 Av, AM 1656.15
י״ז באלול א׳תרנ״ו 17th 𝑜𝑓 Elul, AM 1656Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
The first dove follows after seven days.
י״ז באלול א׳תרנ״ו 17th 𝑜𝑓 Elul, AM 1656: The first dove follows after seven days.16
Extending the weekly intervals places the olive leaf on כ״ד באלול א׳תרנ״ו 24th 𝑜𝑓 Elul, AM 1656. The final dove's proposed א׳ בתשרי א׳תרנ״ז 1st 𝑜𝑓 Tiŝrei, AM 1657 date remains provisional: it is not explicitly named by רש״י RAŜI, and depends on how the month length and overlapping endpoints are counted.17
What changes in
רמב״ן RAMBAN's reading?
רמב״ן RAMBAN challenges the shifting starting points used to number the months. His preferred reading includes the rain within the 150 days and brings the resting of התבה HAʾTEVA forward. תרגום המיוחס ליונתן TARGUM HAʾMEYUḤAS LEʾYONATAN agrees with the named months for the resting and the mountain tops.18
י״ז בניסן א׳תרנ״ו 17th 𝑜𝑓 Nisan, AM 1656Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
The 150-day interval ends and התבה HAʾTEVA comes to rest.
י״ז בניסן א׳תרנ״ו 17th 𝑜𝑓 Nisan, AM 1656: The 150-day interval ends and התבה HAʾTEVA comes to rest.19
א׳ בתמוז א׳תרנ״ו 1st 𝑜𝑓 Tamuz, AM 1656Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
The mountain tops become visible.
א׳ בתמוז א׳תרנ״ו 1st 𝑜𝑓 Tamuz, AM 1656: The mountain tops become visible.20
י׳ באב א׳תרנ״ו 10th 𝑜𝑓 Av, AM 1656Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
נח NOAḤ opens the window and sends out the raven.
י׳ באב א׳תרנ״ו 10th 𝑜𝑓 Av, AM 1656: נח NOAḤ opens the window and sends out the raven.21
The beginning and final drying dates remain those of the חשוון ḤEŜVAN-start sequence above.
How does the אייר IYAR beginning
change the chronology?
ר׳ יהושע R. YEHOSUA identifies the narrative's second month as אייר IYAR, while ר׳ אליעזר R. ELIʾEZER identifies it as חשוון ḤEŜVAN. The commentary חזקוני ḤIZKUNI develops the אייר IYAR sequence through the following spring.22
י״ז באייר א׳תרנ״ו 17th 𝑜𝑓 Iyar, AM 1656Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
The Flood begins.
י״ז באייר א׳תרנ״ו 17th 𝑜𝑓 Iyar, AM 1656: The Flood begins.23
כ״ח בסיון א׳תרנ״ו 28th 𝑜𝑓 Sivan, AM 1656Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
The rain ends and the waters begin to recede.
כ״ח בסיון א׳תרנ״ו 28th 𝑜𝑓 Sivan, AM 1656: The rain ends and the waters begin to recede.24
י״ז בתשרי א׳תרנ״ז 17th 𝑜𝑓 Tiŝrei, AM 1657Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
התבה HAʾTEVA comes to rest on the mountains of אררט ARARAT.
י״ז בתשרי א׳תרנ״ז 17th 𝑜𝑓 Tiŝrei, AM 1657: התבה HAʾTEVA comes to rest on the mountains of אררט ARARAT.25
א׳ בטבת א׳תרנ״ז 1st 𝑜𝑓 Tevet, AM 1657Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
The mountain tops become visible.
א׳ בטבת א׳תרנ״ז 1st 𝑜𝑓 Tevet, AM 1657: The mountain tops become visible.26
י״א בשבט א׳תרנ״ז 11th 𝑜𝑓 Ŝʾvat, AM 1657Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
נח NOAḤ opens the window.
י״א בשבט א׳תרנ״ז 11th 𝑜𝑓 Ŝʾvat, AM 1657: נח NOAḤ opens the window. The subsequent bird sequence needs closer textual review.27
א׳ בניסן א׳תרנ״ז 1st 𝑜𝑓 Nisan, AM 1657Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
The ground's surface has dried, but it remains too muddy to walk on.
א׳ בניסן א׳תרנ״ז 1st 𝑜𝑓 Nisan, AM 1657: The ground's surface has dried, but it remains too muddy to walk on.28
כ״ז באייר א׳תרנ״ז 27th 𝑜𝑓 Iyar, AM 1657Precision: day · Basis: not-assessed
The earth is fully dry and the survivors leave התבה HAʾTEVA.
כ״ז באייר א׳תרנ״ז 27th 𝑜𝑓 Iyar, AM 1657: The earth is fully dry and the survivors leave התבה HAʾTEVA.29
What does the
ספר היובלים SEFER HAʾYOVELIM add?
The ספר היובלים SEFER HAʾYOVELIM (Book of Jubilees) preserves another calendar, with its own year count. Its third-month departure must not be folded into the earlier sequences.30
א׳ בסיון 1st 𝑜𝑓 SivanPrecision: unresolved-year-day · Basis: not-assessed
נח NOAḤ leaves התבה HAʾTEVA, builds an altar and offers sacrifices.
א׳ בסיון 1st 𝑜𝑓 Sivan: נח NOAḤ leaves התבה HAʾTEVA, builds an altar and offers sacrifices. The link maps the source's third-month date to סיון SIVAN without assigning a rabbinic AM year.31
Footnotes
- Genesis 7:10–8:19,; Seder Olam Rabbah 1:2,; Seder Olam Rabbah 4, ↩
- Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 23, ↩
- Genesis 7:10–8:19, בראשית BEREŜIT 7:11; Seder Olam Rabbah 4, ↩
- Seder Olam Rabbah 4, ↩
- Seder Olam Rabbah 4, ↩
- Seder Olam Rabbah 4, ↩
- Seder Olam Rabbah 4, ↩
- Seder Olam Rabbah 4,. The date follows the seven-day interval after the raven. ↩
- Seder Olam Rabbah 4,. The date follows the next seven-day interval. ↩
- Seder Olam Rabbah 4, connects the final dove's departure with the mountain tops on this date. ↩
- Genesis 7:10–8:19, בראשית BEREŜIT 8:13; Seder Olam Rabbah 4, ↩
- Genesis 7:10–8:19, בראשית BEREŜIT 8:14–19; Seder Olam Rabbah 4, ↩
- Rashi on Genesis 7:11–8:14, בראשית BEREŜIT 7:12; 8:3, 5–6 ↩
- Rashi on Genesis 7:11–8:14, ↩
- Rashi on Genesis 7:11–8:14, בראשית BEREŜIT 8:5–6; Ramban on Genesis 8:4, discusses this sequence. ↩
- Ramban on Genesis 8:4, explicitly identifies this date while discussing רש״י RAŜI's calculation. ↩
- Rashi on Genesis 7:11–8:14, בראשית BEREŜIT 8:5 combines forty days and three weeks within its sixty-day discussion. ↩
- Ramban on Genesis 8:4,; Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 7:11–8:14,. רמב״ן RAMBAN first considers an intermediate calculation placing the resting on י״ז באייר 17th 𝑜𝑓 Iyar, then states his preferred י״ז בניסן 17th 𝑜𝑓 Nisan interpretation. ↩
- Ramban on Genesis 8:4, ↩
- Ramban on Genesis 8:4,; Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 7:11–8:14, ↩
- Ramban on Genesis 8:4, ↩
- Rosh Hashanah 11b–12a,; Chizkuni on Genesis 7:24, ↩
- Rosh Hashanah 11b–12a, ↩
- Chizkuni on Genesis 7:24, ↩
- Chizkuni on Genesis 7:24, ↩
- Chizkuni on Genesis 7:24, ↩
- Chizkuni on Genesis 7:24,. The English translation attaches the raven to this day, but its dove sequence conflates the eighteenth and twenty-fifth. The Hebrew text includes those dates and ב׳ באדר 2nd 𝑜𝑓 Adar for the final dove; punctuation and attribution of the intervals must be resolved before adding exact-day records. ↩
- Chizkuni on Genesis 7:24, ↩
- Chizkuni on Genesis 7:24, ↩
- Book of Jubilees 6:1–3, ↩
- Book of Jubilees 6:1–3, ↩
The creatures enter נח NOAḤ's התבה HAʾTEVA (the Ark), seven days before the Flood, in פרקי דרבי אליעזר PIRKEI DEʾRABI ELIʾEZER.
The Flood begins; the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky open.
The forty days of rain end.
The waters begin to decrease after the 150-day interval.
התבה HAʾTEVA comes to rest on the mountains of אררט ARARAT; the ground is not yet habitable.
נח NOAḤ opens the window and sends out the raven.
The first dove finds nowhere to rest and returns.
The dove returns with an olive leaf, evidence that the waters have receded.
The dove leaves and does not return.
נח NOAḤ removes the covering and sees that the ground's surface has dried.
The earth is fully dry; נח NOAḤ, his family and the animals leave התבה HAʾTEVA.
The rain ends in his comment on בראשית BEREŜIT 7:12; his comment on בראשית BEREŜIT 8:3 instead gives כ״ז בכסלו א׳תרנ״ו 27th 𝑜𝑓 Kislev, AM 1656.
נח NOAḤ sends out the raven, calculated from the forty-day wait after א׳ באב א׳תרנ״ו 1st 𝑜𝑓 Av, AM 1656.
The first dove follows after seven days.
The 150-day interval ends and התבה HAʾTEVA comes to rest.
The mountain tops become visible.
נח NOAḤ opens the window and sends out the raven.
The Flood begins.
The rain ends and the waters begin to recede.
התבה HAʾTEVA comes to rest on the mountains of אררט ARARAT.
The mountain tops become visible.
נח NOAḤ opens the window.
The ground's surface has dried, but it remains too muddy to walk on.
The earth is fully dry and the survivors leave התבה HAʾTEVA.
נח NOAḤ leaves התבה HAʾTEVA, builds an altar and offers sacrifices.