Chronological and Thematic Order
Overview
When writing a historical narrative, an author must balance the competing elements of chronology and thematic order. Should events be told in the order that they occurred or based on their relationship to one another? When should one component outweigh the other?
The Biblical text sets chronological order as the norm, but in many places it is sacrificed for literary reasons. At times, two narratives completely swap places with one another, appearing in reverse order. In other cases, several elements of different stories might chronologically overlap. Instead of switching off between the two, Torah will usually complete one narrative unit before moving to the other. This might take the form of a short epilogue that is brought forward to provide closure to the unit, or several verses which are pushed off to serve as an introduction to a later story. The misplaced piece can be one verse long, or several chapters in length.
In several places in Torah, the achronology is explicit in the text. Time markers such as people's ages, the passage of years, or more rarely, definitive dates, clue the reader into the phenomenon. More often, though, scenes are ambiguous and for textual or conceptual reasons a case might be made for achronology, but no proof can be found in the text.
Two Elements are Reversed
In many cases in Torah two elements are reversed, preferring thematic order over chronological order. The reversal can be that the later events were recorded earlier, or that the earlier events were recorded later. And this can be for various reasons, as an appendix or as an introduction:
I. Later events are recorded earlier – The second element was placed earlier in order to complete a larger topic before moving on to the next one (השלמת העניין).
- השלמת העניין – The later element was placed earlier in order to complete a larger topic before moving on to the next one.
- Bereshit 11:32 – Terach was seventy when Avraham was born, and Avraham was seventy-five when he left Charan to Canaan, leaving Terach to live another sixty years after Avraham left Charan. However, the Torah tells of Terach's death before telling of Avraham's move to Canaan. R. Saadia says that Avraham left to Canaan before Terach's death, and the Torah tells of Terach's death here before it actually happened chronologically, because his role in the story ends here. See Avraham's Aliyah.
- Shemot 16:35 – The verses write that the Children of Israel ate the Mann for forty years until they arrived in Israel. All commentators agree that this verse was not written in its chronological order, and that it was placed here to finish up the story of the Mann.
- Shemot 18 – According to Rashbam, the Torah places Shemot 18 here even though it occurred after the decalouge in order not to break up the continuity of the legal section which follows, with an unrelated narrative. Chizkuni offers an alternative that the story is connected by its opening to the Exodus and by its ending to the giving of the Torah. For further discussion, see Chronology – Shemot 18.
- Shemot 40 – Shemot 40 describes erecting the tabernacle, which we know from Sefer Vayikra happened only after the seven days of Miluim. Some of the commentators explain that building the Mishkan was described here in order to complete all the commandments and tell of the execution of the instructions for building the Mishkan, even though it was not erected over here.
- Bemidbar 1-7 – Ramban says that chapters 1-7 were placed earlier than they happened so as to serve as an appendix to Shemot and Vayikra. These chapters fill in details about the Tabernacle and the role of the priests and levites, which had been discussed in the earlier books. The core of Sefer Bemidbar begins only in chapter 8. See Chronology of Bemidbar 1 – 10.
- Introduction - The later element was moved earlier in order to serve as an introduction.
- Bemidbar 1-7 – The counting of the nation was needed in order to understand later stories in Bemidbar.
- The first element was delayed and placed achronologically in order not to pause in the middle of one larger topic (שלא להפסיק העניין).
- The first element was delayed and only told later in order to pause between two adjacent chronological events.
- Bereshit 38 – Ibn Ezra says that the story of Yehuda and Tamar occurred before the selling of Yosef, but was placed here in order to separate between the story of Yosef and Potiphar's wife and the brothers.
Simultaneous Stories
There are a couple of cases in Torah where elements happened simultaneously or partially overlap and therefore one might precede the other even if it did not happen beforehand..
- Bereshit 18-19 – Rashbam (Bereshit 18:16) suggests that two angels went to Sedom, and at the same time one of them stayed with Avraham and he is the one Avraham requested from to save the people of Sedom. This is how he explains the disappearance of one of the angels. See Avraham's Guests – Angels or Men?
- Bereshit 24:22,47 – In the original narrative the servant gave Rivka jewelry before hearing of her lineage, while when he recalls what happened he says that he gave Rivka jewelry only after learning that she was from Avraham's family. Shadal says the two actions were done simultaneously. For further, see A Wife for Yitzchak.
Story Told Twice
- כלל ופרט
- Flashback
- Review, because there was a pause in the meantime
Anachronism
- Bemidbar 21:3 – R. Yosef Bekhor Shor says that Bemidbar 14:45 was written על שם העתיד, even though the place wasn't yet called חרמה.