The Age of Desolation (1-2000)
From the Book Reckoning of Time
It was seven years after the Creation when Adam sinned and The Age of Desolation began in Year One of the Redemption Plan or year eight of Labor of Man (see Jubilees Table). Adam died at the age of 930 in year 923.
According to the Book of Enoch, sometime during the life of Yared the father of Chanok (Enoch) the fallen angels came down onto the earth and corrupted the human race, which necessitated the Flood and the destruction of the world in the days of Noach.
And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.’ And Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto them: ‘I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’ And they all answered him and said: ‘Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.’ Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. Enoch, Book 1, Chapter 6:1-7
The second progenitor Noach was born in the last Sabbatical year of 1049 of the 21st Jubilee. His two sons Yepheth and Ham were born in the last Sabbatical year of 1549 of the 31st Jubilee but his youngest son, Shem, from whom the Redeemer would come, was born two years later in 1551, the first year of the 32nd Jubilee thus heralding a new hope for the world to come. Methushelach the last patriarch died in year 1649 which was the last Sabbatical year of the 33rd Jubilee at the age of 969 when the flood took place. Thus, none of the righteous patriarchs saw the cataclysm of the flood, but Noach. In the Jubilee year of 1650 the flood finished and in the following year of 1651, Shem at the age of 100, brought forth Arpakshad into the renewed world of the flood [from Targum Jonathan].
Ever, son of Shelah, was born in 1716 (Gen_11:16).
Insert: The Hebrew word for a “Hebrew” person is eevriy and comes from the root word ever which means “to cross over.” A Hebrew is “one who has crossed over.” This name also comes from the same root word making it highly possible that Ever is the father (progenitor) of the eevriy (Hebrew) people, not Avraham, and Avraham was first called Hebrew after him (Gen_14:13).
Peleg, son of Ever, was born in the Jubilee year of 1750; Nahor, son of Serug: in the Sabbatical year of 1842; Terah, son of Nahor: in the Sabbatical year of 1871, and Avram, son of Terah: in year 1941.
There is a great deal of misunderstanding of the chronological date for the birth of Avraham assumed by many Christian commentators, particularly archbishop James Usher, who placed his birth seventy-five years before the death of his father Terah. Further error might have been made when they have taken the account of Apostle Stephen in Act_7:4 where he stated that Avraham’s departure from Haran was after the death of his father, probably, because this is how the events are listed in Genesis: Avram’s departure from Haran is listed after the death of his father.
And the days of Terah came to be two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran. (Gen 11:32)
So Avram left, as Yehovah had commanded him, and Lot went with him. And Avram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. (Gen 12:4)
Perhaps the most important key found in the Book of Yasher is that it corrects the erroneous chronological date for the birth of Avraham. The Book of Yasher recounts the story of mankind from Adam to the destruction of the Flood (chapters 1-6). The story of the post-Flood world begins in chapter 7 where we are told that Terah was 38 years old when he begat Haran and Nahor, the older brothers of Abraham (v.22). At this point, the Biblical genealogy tells us, “And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Avram, Nahor, and Haran” (Gen_11:26).
Yet, the book of Yasher clearly states that “Terah was thirty eight years old, and he begat Haran and Nahor” (Yasher 9:22). Is there a contradiction between the Biblical account and the Book of Yasher? Not at all. On the contrary, the Book of Yasher gives more detailed account on the births of Terah’s sons, therefore, the fact that the Torah says Terah was 70 when he begat Avram (as Yasher 7:50-51 makes the same statement), Nahor and Haran, must refer to the date when Avram was begotten: 32 years after his two brothers. Avram was the youngest of the three, but is listed first in Gen 11:26 because the birthright became his because of his righteousness and the age of Terah is given according to Avram.
And Terah took a wife and her name was Ambhelo the daughter of Cornebo; and the wife of Terah conceived and bare him a son in those days. Terah was seventy years old when he begat him, and Terah called the name of his son Avram, because the king had raised him in those days, and dignified him above all his princes (Yasher 7:50-51).
The account goes on to tell that Haran, Avram’s oldest brother, took a wife when he was 39 years of age, and when he was 42, she bare to him Sarai, in the tenth year of Avram’s life (Yasher 9:1-4). Thus Sarai was 10 years younger than Avram whom she would later marry. She was born in 1951 (the first year of the new Jubilee cycle). This means that Haran, Avram’s brother, was born 42 years earlier and was 32 years older than Avram. This is also affirmed in Yasher 12:16, where we read, “and Haran was in those days that Avram was born thirty and two years old.” He was born when Terah his father was 38.
Ussher, in his chronological work, concluded erroneously that Avram was born seventy-five years before Terah his father died. Terah died at the age of 205 (Gen_11:32). Ussher assumes that Terah’s death and Avram’s departure for Kana’an was the same year, therefore, since Terah died, Avram’s birth would have been, according to Ussher, 75 years sooner. If this is correct, it would place Avram’s birth two years after Noach’s death. However, from the Book of Yasher and from tradition of the Jewish Sages, we learn that the two patriarchs Noach and Abraham were contemporaries [Avraham being 58 when Noach died in the last Sabbatical year of 40th Jubilee (see Jubilees Table)].
Further more we learn from this book that Avram was a righteous man who learned Torah from Noach and his son Shem:
And when Avram came out from the cave, he went to Noach and his son Shem, and he remained with them to learn the instruction of the Lord and his ways, and no man knew where Avram was, and Avram served Noach and his son Shem for a long time.
And Avram was in Noach’s house thirty nine years, and Avram knew the Lord from three days old, and he went in the ways of the Lord until the day of his death, as Noach and his son Shem had taught him; and all the sons of the earth in those days greatly transgressed against the Lord, and they rebelled against him, and they served other gods, and the forgot the Lord who had created them in the earth . . . . And Terah had twelve gods of large size, made of wood and stone, after the twelve months of the year… (Yasher 5-8).
Thus Avram, from age 10 to 49, was in the house of Noach, learning the truth of YHVH. This would have been from the year 1951 (the year Sarai was born) until the year 1989 (the year Peleg died and the nations were dispersed at Bavel, Gen_10:25). During this time, “king Nimrod reigned mightily, and all the earth was under his control, and all the earth was of one tongue (Yasher 9:20).
And indeed, if Usher is right and Avram was 75 old when he left Haran and Terah being 70 old when Avram was born, Terah must have died at the age of 145 when Avram left him, not 205 according to Gen_11:32, and many of Terah’s years would have been left from the Scripture. Why then did Scripture relate Terah’s death before Avram’s departure which confused so many commentators?
Rashi in his comment on Gen 11:32 had this to say:
[This happened] after Avram had left Haran and had come to the land of Canaan, and had been there for over sixty years, for it is written (below Gen_12:4): “And Avram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran,” and Terah was seventy years old when Avram was born, making Terah one hundred and forty-five years old when Avram left Haran. Accordingly, many of his [Terah’s] years were left. Why then did Scripture relate Terah’s death before Avram’s departure? So that the matter should not be publicized to all, whereby they would say: “Avram did not fulfill [the commandment of] honoring his father, for he left him in his old age and went away.” Therefore, Scripture calls him (Terah) dead, for the wicked, even in their lifetime, are called dead, whereas the righteous, even in their death, are called living, as it is said (2Sa_23:20): “And Benayahu the son of Jehoiada, the son of a living man.”” – [from Gen. Rabbah 39:7, Ber. 18b].
According to the tradition of the sages, Avram, 52, began to preach in 1993, the first year of the last Sabbatical cycle of The Age of Desolation, seven years before the beginning of the next age, The Age of Instruction. Noach died in the last Sabbatical year of 1999 of the 40th Jubilee with which The Age of Desolation ended in the Jubilee year of 2000.
Little is said in the Torah concerning this age most likely because it was characterized by the apostasy of perverted generations and the corruption of the original creation.