Timeline of the Generations

A visual journey through thousands of years of Jewish history — every sage placed by the years of their life, against the backdrop of the eras and the connections between them.

105 sages on the timeline

Click a sage for full details • hover to see the name

Biblical EraMen of the Great AssemblyEra of the Pairs (Zugot)Era of the TannaimEra of the AmoraimEra of the GeonimEra of the RishonimEra of the AcharonimRecent Generations1500 BCE1000 BCE500 BCE0500100015002000Abraham our FatherIsaac our FatherJacob our FatherRebecca ImenuAsher son of JacobGad son of JacobRachel ImenuYosef HaTzadik (Joseph the Righteous)Aaron the PriestMoses our TeacherSamson the MightyKing DavidKing SolomonIsaiah the ProphetJeremiah the ProphetEzekiel the ProphetDanielLeah ImenuEzra the ScribeSimeon the RighteousYose ben YoezerYose ben YochananJoshua ben PerachiahShimon ben ShetachHillel the ElderShemaiahAvtalyonShammaiRabban Gamliel the ElderRabban Yochanan ben ZakkaiRabbi Chanina ben DosaRabbi AkivaRabbi Eliezer ben HyrcanusRabbi Chananya ben AkashyaRabbi IshmaelRabbi MeirRabbi Shimon bar YochaiRabban GamlielRabbi Yehuda HaNasiRavShmuelRav HunaRav ChisdaAbayeRavaRav AshiRabbi Chanina ben DosaRavinaSarah ImenuRav Yehudai ben Nachman GaonRav Saadia GaonRav Sherira GaonHai GaonRabbi Samuel HaNagidThe Rif (Rabbi Isaac Alfasi)RashiRabbi Judah Halevi (the RiHal)Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra (the Raba'a)Rabbi Jacob ben Meir (Rabbenu Tam)Rabbeinu TamRabbi Moses ben Maimon — MaimonidesRambanRabbeinu YonahMaharam of RothenburgThe RashbaRabbi Jacob ben Asher (Baal HaTurim)Rabbi Joseph Karo - MaranThe Maharal of PragueRabbi Moshe Cordoverothe Remathe holy AriChaim Vital CalabreseRabbi Shmuel Eliezer Halevi EidelsThe Shlah HakadoshRabbi Israel ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem TovRabbi Dov Ber of Mezritchthe Noda BiYehudahThe Gra (The Vilna Gaon)Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of BerditchevRabbi Chaim of Volozhinthe Hatam SoferRabbi Leib Ba'al HaYisurimRabbi Nachman of BreslovRabbi Nathan of BreslovRabbi Meir of PremishlanRabbi Yisrael SalanterRabbi Yosef Chaim of BaghdadThe Chafetz ChaimRabbi Shlomo ElyashivRabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen KookRabbi Eliyahu LopianRabbi Levi Yitzchak SchneersonThe Chazon IshRabbi Aryeh LevinChacham Ezra AttiaRabbi Yisrael AbuhatzeiraRabbi Moshe FeinsteinRabbi Yaakov Yisrael KanievskyRabbi Elazar Menachem Man ShachRabbi Menachem Mendel SchneersonRabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib ShteinmanRabbi Ovadia YosefRabbi Yehuda ShapiraRabbi Chaim KanievskyRabbi Amos Kamos Guetta
Teacher and studentFamily connectionDates unknown

Eras

Open the era page
Open the era page
Open the era page
Open the era page
Open the era page
Open the era page
Open the era page
Open the era page
Open the era page