The Chronology of Sabbatical Cycles in Second Temple and Late Antiquity Period

This study reconstructs sabbatical (Shemitah) and jubilee (Yovel) cycles from the Iron Age to Late Antiquity, arguing that the jubilee functioned as an independent fiftieth year. Modern reconstructions, often following variations of a continuous sabbatical cycle (e.g., Finegan), have not reached consensus on the jubilee’s structure, while recent scholarship emphasizes the diversity of calendrical practices and the gap between legal prescription and historical reality (Stern; S. Schwartz). Building on these insights, this study analyzes biblical, classical, rabbinic, epigraphic, and early medieval sources, showing that chronological synchronisms align when the jubilee is treated as an independent fiftieth year. The evidence suggests a persistent structure in which jubilee cycles recur at regular fifty-year intervals. This reconstruction provides a coherent framework for Jewish history in Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine contexts, consistent with biblical legislation and rabbinic traditions regarding the Jubilee.