Jewish years are numbered according to the rabbinic understanding of when the
Creation of the world took place. Though many rabbis attempted this calculation, it was that of Rabbi Yossi ben Halafta– which declared Monday, October 7, 3761 B.C.E., to be the day Creation began–that gained currency. The following chart shows his account of the time from Creation to the destruction of the Second Temple:
| Year of the Mundane Era | Event | Biblical Basis |
| 1 | Creation, including that of Adam and Eve | Genesis 1:1 |
| 130 | Birth of Seth |
Genesis 5:1-32, with dates of birth given relative to the age of the father. |
| 235 | Birth of Enosh | |
| 325 | Birth of Keinan | |
| 395 | Death of Mehalaleil | |
| 460 | Birth of Jared | |
| 622 | Birth of Enokh | |
| 687 | Birth of Bethuselah | |
| 874 | Birth of Lamekh | |
| 930 | Death of Adam | |
| 1042 | Death of Seth | |
| 1056 | Birth of Noah | |
| 1140 | Death of Enosh | |
| 1235 | Death of Keinan | |
| 1290 | Death of Mehalaleil | |
| 1422 | Death of Jared | |
| 1556 | Birth of Shem | |
| 1654 | Death of Lamekh | |
| 1656 | Death of Methuselah, The Flood | Genesis 11:10-29, with some dates extrapolated from years of life listed previously. There seems to be a bit of inexactitude in the time immediately after the Flood. |
| 1658 | Birth of Arpakhshad | |
| 1693 | Birth of Salah | |
| 1723 | Birth of Ever | |
| 1757 | Birth of Peleg | |
| 1787 | Birth of Reu | |
| 1819 | Birth of Serug | |
| 1848 | Birth of Nahor | |
| 1878 | Birth of Terah | |
| 1948 | Birth of Abraham (Avram) | |
| 2048 | Birth of Isaac | Genesis 21:5 |
| 2108 | Birth of Jacob and Esau | Genesis 25:26 |
| 2238 | Death of Joseph | Genesis 25:26 |
| 2448 | Israelites leave Egypt | Exodis 12:40-41 |
| 2928 | Solomon Dedicates the First Temple in Jerusalem | I Kings 6:1 |
| 3338 | Destruction of the First Temple | The First Temple lasted 410 years, according to the Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 9a. |
| 3408 | Return from the Babylonian Exile | Jeremiah prophesied a 70 year exile. |
| 3828 | Destruction of the Second Temple | A post-Biblical chronology of kingdoms is given in the Talmud, Avodah Zarah 9a and 10a (probably basing itself on Rabbi Yossi’s Seder Olam Rabbah). Daniel prophesied 490 years from the First Temple’s destruction to Second Temple’s destruction. This results in a date for the second destruction of 67 C.E. (Daniel 9:24 ff). |
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