10th-11th century book of prayers found in the Cairo Geniza
Background and Biography Excerpts Chronology
Margalioth (1960) hypothesized that the Hebrew word translated asin wrathin the 23 Shvat fasting prayer found in the Cairo Geniza prayer book might contain a hidden code which would reveal the year when this earthquake struck. By using one of the more common Gematria ciphers, he arrived at the number 679 forin wrath. Since the name Ra'ash shvi'it suggests that the earthquake struck during a Sabbatical Year and 679 is evenly dividable by 7, 679 qualifies as a Sabbatical (7th) year. The next challenge that emerged was to ascertain the start date for the Hebrew Calendar in the mid 8th century CE. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, the Hebrew Calendar used 70 CE as a start year. Thus if one adds 70 to 679, one comes up with a year of 749 CE which just so happens to be the same year that 23 Shvat and 18 January fall on the same day. There is, however, one complication. By the early 10th century CE, the way the Hebrew calendar was reckoned changed into the system that is currently used today (Stern, 2012:334-335). In this new modern reckoning, 70 CE is no longer the start year for the Hebrew Calendar and 749 CE is no longer a Sabbatical Year. How exactly the Hebrew Calendar was reckoned in the mid 8th century CE before this early 10th century calendar reform is uncertain. Nevertheless, the excerpt provided by Karcz (2004) seems to define a 70 CE start date -since destruction of Jerusalem to the date it happened in Land of Israel the count of "in wrath". Thus the real uncertainty here is whether gematria was coded into the prayer and which cipher is meant to be used.
Seismic Effects
- the land trembled and many cities fell and sages and pious and the just and the [etc.]... died under the ruins
Locations
- the Land of Israel
Online Versions and Further Reading Notes