20:4 B: They ruled with Christ for a thousand years.
The pre-Christian synagogue made the time of the absolute
eschatological consummation begin with the appearance of the Messiah; for it,
then, the reign of the Messiah had to last forever. Only the post-Christian
synagogue differentiates between the days of the Messiah and of the
eschatological consummation in the ʿolam
ha-ba, that is, in the future world: the former are temporally limited, and
only the ʿolam ha-ba lasts forever.
From the beginning, opinions differed widely about the length of the messianic
period. The various traditions on this may be gathered here first.
1. The length of the days of the Messiah.
A. The Palestinian traditions.
a. Tanḥuma עקב
7B: How long do the days of the Messiah last? R. Aqiba († ca. 135) said, “40
years. Just as the Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness, so he (the
Messiah) will haul them out into the wilderness and make them eat tumbleweed
and gorse374 (see Job 30:4).” — R. Eliezer (presumably the son of R.
Yose the Galilean [ca. 150]) said, “100 years.” — R. Berekhiah (ca. 340) said
in the name of R. Dosa (ca. 180?), “600 years.” — Rabbi († 217?) said, “400
years. As it says, ‘As in the days when you went out from the land of Egypt, I
will display miracles’ (Mic 7:15). As (the stay) in Egypt lasted 400 years, so
too the days of the Messiah will last 400 years.” — R. Eliezer (presumably b.
Hyrcanus [ca. 90]) said, “1,000 years. As it says, ‘Make us rejoice according
to the length of days that you have chastened us, according to the length of
years we have seen evil’ (Ps 90:15).” — R. Abbahu (ca. 300) said, “7,000 years.
As it says, ‘As a bridegroom delights in his bride, so will your God delight in
you’ (Isa 62:5). As the days of the wedding celebration amount to 7 days, so
too the days of the Messiah will be 7,000 years (for 1 day of God = 1,000
years; see Ps 90:4).” — The Rabbanan said, “2,000 years. As it says, ‘The day
of vengeance (= 1,000 years) is in my heart and my year of redemption (= 1,000
years) has come’ ” (Isa 63:4; presumably another supporting passage
belongs here).
b. Pesiqta Rabbati 1 (4A): How long will
the days of the Messiah last? R. Aqiba said, “40 years; see Deut 8:3: ‘He
chastened you and made you hunger’ (40 years during the wilderness wandering).
It says further: ‘Make us rejoice according to the length of days that you have
chastened us’ (Ps 90:15). As the chastening there lasted 40 years, so too the
chastening that is spoken of here.” R. Abin (I, ca. 325; II, ca. 370) said,
“What was R. Aqiba’s scriptural basis? ‘As in the days when you went out from
the land of Egypt, I will display miracles’ (Mic 7:15).” (As the miracles after
the exodus from Egypt lasted in the wilderness for 40 years, so too the
miracles in the messianic age.) — R. Eliezer (ben Hyrcanus [ca. 90] is meant)
said, “400 years; see Gen 15:13: ‘They will serve them and they will oppress
them for 400 years.’ And in Ps 90:15 it says, ‘Make us rejoice according to the
length of days that you have chastened us.’ ” — R. Berekhiah said in the
name of R. Dosa the elder, “600 years; see Isa 65:22: ‘The days of my people
will be as the days (duration) of trees.’ Which tree is meant? The sycamore
tree (so according to Gen. Rab. 12 [9B] and according to Num. Rab. 13 [170A]),
which stands for 600 years.” — R. Eliezer b. Yose the Galilean (ca. 150) said,
“1,000 years; see Ps 90:4: ‘1,000 years are in your eyes like yesterday.’ See
also Isa 63:4: ‘The day of vengeance is in my heart and my year of redemption
has come.’ And 1 day of God lasts 1,000 years.” — R. Joshua (ca. 90) said,
“2,000 years; see Ps 90:15: ‘Make us rejoice according to the length of days
that you have chastened us.’ “Days” (plural) are not fewer than 2 days, and 1
day of God lasts 1,000 years.” — R. Abbahu said, “7,000 years; see Isa 62:5:
‘As a bridegroom delights …’ ” (see above in a). — Rabbi († 217?) said, “One cannot calculate (the beginning of
the messianic period); for it says, ‘The day of vengeance is in my
heart’ ” (Isa 63:4; thus, he will make it known to no one; see Midr. Ps. 9
§ 2; Midr. Eccl. 12:9 and b. Sanh. 99A). And how long do the days of the
Messiah last? The days of the Messiah last for 365,000 years. (Isa 63:4 speaks
of a “year of redemption”; 1 year = 365 days, 1 day of God = 1,000 years, so
one year of God = 365,000 years.)
c. Midrash Psalm 90 § 17 (197A): How long
will the days of the Messiah last? R. Eliezer (ca. 90) said, “1,000 years; see
Ps 90:4: ‘1,000 years are in your eyes like yesterday.’ ” — R. Joshua (ca.
90) said, “2,000 years; see Ps 90:15: ‘Make us rejoice according to the length
of days that you have chastened us.’ ‘Days,’ that is, 2 days, and 1 day of God
lasts 1,000 years; see Ps 90:4.” — R. Berekhiah and R. Dosa the elder said,
“600 years; see Isa 65:22: ‘The days of my people will be as the days of trees.’
And a sycamore tree stands for 600 years in the earth.” — R. Yose (the Galilean
[ca. 110]) said, “60 years; see Ps 72:5: ‘So they will fear you (the Messiah) …
generation, generations.’ A generation is 20 years, generations (at least two)
are 40 years, that is, altogether, 60 years.” — R. Aqiba († ca. 135) said, “40
years, corresponding to the days that you chastened us in the 40 years that the
Israelites spent in the wilderness; see Deut 8:3: ‘He chastened you and made
you hunger.’ ” — The rabbis said, “354 years, corresponding to the number
of days of a lunar year, according to which the Israelites reckon; for it says,
‘My year of redemption (= 354 days) has come’ ” (so according to older
editions and manuscripts, while the Buber edition reads: “Our teachers said,
‘4,000 years; see Isa 63:4.” Yet this passage leaves the 4,000 years
unexplained). — R. Abbahu said, “7,000 years, corresponding to the days of the
bridegroom in his in his wedding chamber; see Isa 62:5” (as above in a and b).
d. Pesiqta 29A: “Yahweh has war against
Amalek from generation to generation” (Exod 17:16).… R. Yose the Galilean (ca.
110) said, “From the generation of Mordecai and Esther until the generation of
the Messiah, which will last for 3 generations. How do we know that the
generation of the Messiah will last for 3 generations? Because it says, ‘They
will fear you … generation, generations’ ” (Ps 72:5; see above in c). — Likewise, Tanḥ. כי תצא 23A and TanḥB תצא § 18 (22B), except that here the epithet “the Galilean” is
missing. In Mek. Exod. 17:16 (64B), this saying is attributed to R. Eliezer (b.
Hyrcanus [ca. 90]), certainly incorrectly, because this scholar immediately
before interpreted the words “from generation to generation” in the sense of
“always.” — In SDeut 32:7 § 310 (134A) too, which is anonymous, we find the
conclusion from Ps 72:5 that the time of the Messiah lasts 3 generations.
B. The Babylonian traditions.
a. Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 99A (1st
baraita): R. Eliezer (ca. 90) said, “The days of the Messiah will last 40
years; see Ps 95:10: ‘Forty years I am disgusted with the generation.’ ” —
R. Eleazar b. Azariah (ca. 100) said, “70 years; see Isa 23:15: ‘It will happen
on that day that Tyre will be a forgotten place for 70 years, like the days of
a king.’ Who is this only king? It is the Messiah.” — Rabbi († 217?) said, “3
generations; see Ps 72:5: ‘They will fear you … generation, generations’ ”
(that is, 3 generations).
b. Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 99A (2nd
baraita): R. Eliezer (ca. 90) said, “The days of the Messiah will last 40
years. Here it says, ‘He chastened you and made you hunger’ (namely for 40
years in the wilderness; Deut 8:3), and there it says, ‘Make us rejoice
according to the length of days that you have chastened us …’ (Ps 90:15).” — R.
Dosa said, “400 years. It says here, ‘They will serve them and they will
oppress them for 400 years’ (Gen 15:13), and there it says, ‘Make us rejoice
according to the length of days that you have chastened us’ (Ps 90:15).” —
Rabbi († 217?) said, “365 years, corresponding to the number of days in a solar
year; see Isa 63:4: ‘The day of vengeance is in my heart.…’ ” — Abimi b.
Abbahu (ca. 330) taught as a tannaitic tradition, “The days of the Messiah will
last for Israel for 7,000 years; see Isa 62:5: ‘As a bridegroom
delights.…’ ” — Rab Judah († 299) said that Samuel († 254) said, “The days
of the Messiah will last as long as from the days of the creation of the world
until now; see Deut 11:21: ‘So that your days and the days of your children may
be as long … as the duration of heaven over the earth.’ ” — Rab Nahman b.
Isaac († 356) said, “As long as from the days of Noah until now; see Isa 54:9:
‘As long as it has been since the days of Noah, this is valid for me (this is
how long the oath will last) … no longer to be angry against you.’ ” (The
midrash reads כי
מי נח as כימי נח.)
c. Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 97A: In the
school of Elijah it has been taught: “The world will exist for 6,000 years:
2,000 years of which are for the Tohu (time without Torah), 2,000 years for
(the rule of) the Torah, and 2,000 years for the days of the Messiah; and
because of our sins, which are great, what has passed of the latter (which
should have dawned in the year 4,000 after the creation of the world, i.e., 240
CE) has passed.” — The same is found in b. ʿAbod. Zar. 9A; S. Eli. Rab. 2
toward the beginning.
2. With careful deliberation over all the aspects that come into
consideration, we believe that we may apportion the various opinions in the
following way among the individual rabbinic scholars:
a. R. Eliezer b. Hyrcanus (ca. 90) estimates the reign of the Messiah
on the basis of Ps 90:15 to be 1,000 years.
b. R. Joshua (ca. 90) on the basis of Ps 90:15, 2,000 years.
c. R. Eleazar b. Azariah (ca. 100) on the basis of Isa 23:15, 70
years.
d. R. Aqiba († ca. 135) on the basis of Deut 8:3 and Ps 90:15 or on
the basis of Mic 7:15 and Ps 95:10, 40 years.
e. R. Yose the Galilean (ca. 110) on the basis of Ps 72:5, 3
generations = 60 years.
f. R. Dosa (ca. 180?) on the basis of Isa 65:22, 600 years.
g. R. Eliezer b. Yose the Galilean (ca. 150) on the basis of Gen 15:13
and Ps 90:15, 400 years; likewise, 4 Ezra 7:28.
h. R. Eliezer, without being able to be more specific as to who this
is, 100 years.
i. Rabbi († 217?) on the basis of Isa 63:4, 365 years (in a later
period, using Ps 90:4, lengthened to 365,000 years).
k. A majority of rabbis, presumably at the time of R. Joshua (ca. 90),
on the basis of Isa 63:4, 2,000 years.
l. A majority of rabbis, presumably at the time of Rabbi († 217?), 354
years.
m. A baraita from the school of Elijah, 2,000 years.
n. A baraita (later R. Abbahu) on the basis of Isa 62:5, 7,000 years.
o. Samuel († 254) makes the duration of the messianic period equal to
the period of time since the creation of the world to the present, which is
about 4,000 years, specifically on the basis of Deut 11:21. The number 4,000
follows a reading in Midr. Ps. is also accepted by a majority of rabbis.
p. R. Abbahu (ca. 300) on the basis of Isa 62:5, 7,000 years.
q. Rab Nahman b. Isaac († 356) reckons to the messianic period as many
years as have elapsed since Noah until his time, specifically on the basis of
Isa 54:9. Since Noah’s birth to 356 CE would be 3,060 years and since the
flood, 2,460 years.
3. The calculation of the length of the messianic period is made:
a. on the basis of the scheme of the week of the world, according to
which the world period without the Torah is 2,000 years, the time of the reign
of the Torah is 2,000 years (from the 53rd year of Abraham’s life
until 240 CE), the days of the Messiah are 2,000 years (which would have needed
to arise in the year 240 CE) and the Sabbath for world is 1,000 years. — So R.
Joshua, a rather large number of the scholars, who presumably were his contemporaries,
and the baraita from the school of Elijah;
b. on the basis of attempts to flesh out the second or messianic
redemption according to the example of the first redemption from Egypt. Here
belong the 40 years of R. Aqiba, corresponding to the 40 years of wilderness
wandering, and the 400 years of R. Eliezer b. Yose the Galilean and of 4 Ezra,
corresponding to the 400 years of slavery in Egypt. Psalm 95:10 and Micah 7:15
serve as scriptural proof for the 40 years, though particularly Deut 8:3 is
used in connection with Ps 90:15; Gen 15:13 and Ps 90:15 are used for the 400
years;
c. on the basis of various passages of Scripture. So R. Eliezer, R.
Eleazar b. Azariah, R. Yose the Galilean, R. Dosa, Rabbi, Samuel, R. Abbahu,
and Rab Nahman b. Isaac.
4. R. Eliezer b. Hyrcanus (ca. 90) is the oldest rabbinic authority
that represents the 1,000-year duration for the reign of the Messiah. From this
it does not follow, though, that he was the actual originator of this view. R.
Eliezer was considered by his contemporaries as the most tenacious
representative of older observances and traditions; he himself could say of
himself, “I have never offered any saying that I did not hear from the mouth of
my teacher” (b. Sukkah 28A). So it is completely probable that the 1,000-year
duration of the messianic period was already taught in Jewish schools before R.
Eliezer. The possibility that the author of Revelation formulated the
1,000-year kingship of the returning Christ in dependence on the Jewish
tradition about the 1,000-year messianic kingdom can therefore not be disputed
on chronological grounds. (Hermann L. Strack and Paul Billerbeck, A
Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Midrash, ed. Jacob N.
Cerone, 4 vols. [trans. Andrew Bowden and Joseph Longarino; Bellingham, Wash.:
Lexham Press, 2021], 3:965-69)
