Seder Olam Zutta

Seder Olam Zutta (Hebrew: ) is an anonymous chronicle from 803 CE, called "Zuta" (= "smaller," or "younger") to distinguish it from the older ''Seder Olam Rabbah.'' This work is based upon, and to a certain extent completes and continues, the older aforementioned chronicle. It consists of two main parts: the first, comprising about three-fifths of the whole, deals with the chronology of the 50 generations from Adam to Jehoiakim (who, according to this chronicle, was the first of the Babylonian exilarch), the second deals with 39 generations of exilarchs, beginning with Jehoiachin and going until the 9th century CE.

Contents

The authorial intention of this work was to demonstrate that the Babylonian exilarchs were direct descendants of David, King of Israel, through a cascading genealogy.

From Genesis to the Exile

After a short introduction, taken from the ''Seder Olam Rabbah'', giving the general chronology from Adam to the destruction of the Second Temple (a period of 3,828 years) and stating the number of years which elapsed between the most important events (such as between the Flood and the confusion of tongues), the chronology recommences with Adam. ''Seder Olam Zuta'' is more complete at this point than ''Seder Olam Rabbah'', as it gives the duration of the generations between Adam and Abraham, which is lacking in the ''Seder Olam Rabbah.'' It gives also the lifetime of each of Jacob's twelve sons as recorded by tradition. Otherwise it merely enumerates the generations.

From David onward, it gives the names of the high priests and prophets who lived in the time of each king. Thus, for instance, David had Abiathar as high priest, and Nathan and Gad as prophets; Solomon, who ascended the throne at the age of twelve, had Zadok for high priest, and Jonathan, Iddo, and Ahijah as prophets. In this way it completes the list of the high priests enumerated in I Chronicles. et seq. Shallum officiated in the time of Amon, and between Shallum and Azariah (who served in the time of Rehoboam), ''Seder Olam Zuta'' lists 12 high priests. But in Chronicles only five high priests are enumerated, whose names are not found at all among those given by the ''Seder Olam Zuta.''

''Seder Olam Zuta'' divides these 50 generations into five series, each of 10 generations. The last persons in each series are, respectively, Noah, Abraham, Boaz, Ahaziah