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[This is still part of our series from our MUST READ/MUST OWN resource: The Literary Guide to the Bible, eds. Robert Alter and Frank Kermode. We have found this totally objective approach to be helpful to readers/students, since no doctrinal interpretation is infused, thereby distorting the plain meaning of the text. This concludes the series, i.e. we’ve featured all the OT books, and only those . . . since the NT canon, in our view, is not divine revelation but man-made scriptures of another monotheistic world religion that regards YHWH’s Torah as passé and obsolete and only for Jews. Reformatted and highlighted for this post.]
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1 and 2 Chronicles
Shemaryahu Talmon
Chronicles presents a survey of biblical history—
- from the creation of the world
- to the destruction of the First Temple
- and the conquest of the Kingdom of Judah by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E.
Thus it parallels and on the whole depends upon the more detailed account contained in the first two components of the Hebrew Bible,
- the Pentateuch
- and the Former Prophets.
Like other biblical historiographies, such as Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, Chronicles is made up of originally independent narrative sections of varying length. These sections, relating events in the lives of outstanding personalities, predominantly kings, were combined to form a connected chronological sequence.
Into this framework of historical prose a variety of additional elements were inserted:
- lists (such as 1 Chron. 12:1-40; 15:4-10, 17-24; 23:3-2734; 2 Chron. 17:14-18; 21:2-3; 31:2-3, 11-15),
- short prophetic tales (such as 2 Chron. 12:5-8; 15:1-7; 16:7-9; 20:37; 21:12-15; 25:7-8, 15-16; 28:9-11),
- poetic pieces of a psalmodic nature (such as 1 Chron. 16:8-36, 29:10-19; 2 Chron. 14:11, 20:21),
- and some orations (such as 2 Chron. 13:4-12; 20:5-12, 14-17; 29:4-11; 30:6-9).
These insertions are missing in the parallel account in Samuel-Kings.
Altogether, Chronicles exhibits the chronological breadth which characterizes biblical historiography and is unequaled in the literatures of the ancient Near East or, for that matter, in the early post-biblical Hebrew writings. In the cultures of ancient Mesopotamia the prevailing literary genre was the annalistic form, which covered a restricted period of time by recording historical events in the form of terse notations arranged in dockets.
We may have allusions to this historiographic roster in the references to
- “the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia” (Esther 10:2; see also 2:23, 6:1),
- “the chronicles of King David” (1 Chron. 27:24), and
- “the book of the acts of Solomon” (1 Kings 11:41).
The very comprehensiveness of the biblical historiographies invites a comparison with the great works of history known from the classical world, with which they served as prototypes for later historians.
Content
Chronicles centers on—
- the Davidic dynasty
- and the religious and socio-political constitution of the kingdom of Judah.
- Only passing reference is made to the history of the Northern Kingdom (Ephraim-Samaria).
In this presentation King David, his heir King Solomon, and Mount Zion with its Temple overshadow Moses, who, with Mount Sinai, predominates in the biblical traditions about Israel’s early days. A similar shift of emphasis is observable in many psalms which extol the greatness of the Davidic house and of Jerusalem. It is possibly this similarity in outlook that prompted the Chronicler to adorn his work with pieces of cultic poetry culled from the Book of Psalms: 1 Chronicles 16:8-36 = Psalms 105:1-15 + 96:1-13a + 106:1, 47-48. It is of interest that a short quotation from Psalms 132:8-10 in 2 Chronicles 6:41-42 is not found in the parallel version of Solomon’s prayer in 1 Kings 8.
The Chronicler’s attitude toward the house of David is apparent when his account of Israel’s history in the First Temple period deviates from the mostly parallel account in Samuel-Kings:
- he omits all references to David’s rebellious war against Saul and to his alliance with the Philistines,
- whereas in Samuel both events are recounted in great detail (1 Sam. 19:18-26:25, 27:1-29:11).
- Similarly, there is no mention in Chronicles of David’s dispute with Nabal the Carmelite or of Nabal’s rather mystifying death, after which David married his widow, Abigail (1 Sam. 25:1-42).
- Likewise omitted is the tale of David’s illicit affair with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite (2 Sam. 11:2-12:25), though there is brief reference to the wider context of Israel’s war against the Ammonites (1 Chron. 20:1-3).
- In Samuel the Bathsheba episode constituents a self-contained unit inserted into the more comprehensive battle report, as is clear from the envelope structure (2 Sam. 11:1 and 12:26-31). Therefore, the Chronicler could easily drop this piece of court intrigue without disrupting the flow of his narrative.
The entire string of stories relating to the succession is missing:
- the murder of David’s son Amnon by Absalom (2 Sam. 13),
- the latter’s rebellion and death (2 Sam. 15:1-18:18,
- the court cabal which led to the enthroning of Solomon (1 Kings 1:11-40) and to the execution of his rival Adonijah (1 Kings 2:13-25).
- There is no reference to David’s testament to Solomon (1 Kings 2:1-9)
- nor to incidents which occurred early in Solomon’s reign partly as a result of the implementation of that will:
- the execution of Joab (1 Kings2:28-46) for his slaying of Abner ben Ner, commander of Saul’s army, which David himself had been unable to avenge (2 Sam. 3:26-39);
- and the death of Shimei ben Gera the Benjaminite (1 Kings 2:36-46), who had sided with Absalom is his abortive rebellion against David (2 Sam. 16:6-12).
- Nothing is said of Solomon’s taking in marriage foreign women from neighboring nations nor of the cultic high places which he built for them.
- These deeds are most critically viewed in 1 Kings 3:1-2 and 11:1-10, where they are seen to have precipitated the rebellions that marred the end of Solomon’s reign and to have sparked the internal strife that after his death led to the division of Israel into two separate kingdoms (1 Kings 11:11-12:20).
Chronicles is not, however, simply a parallel version of Samuel-Kings that edits out court intrigues and other material critical of the monarchs. There are also significant additions and alterations. For example,
- 1 Chronicles 23-28 describes in great detail David’s preparations for the building of the Temple;
- in contrast, Kings credits Solomon with the entire operation (1 Kings 6:1-9:1; compare 2 Chron. 3:1-7:10), after David is prevented by divine command from carrying out his building plans (2 Sam. 7).
- The divine intervention is significantly muted in Chronicles (1 Chron. 29:1, 2 Chron. 2:2-6).
- The Chronicler also gives an account of a campaign mounted by Pharaoh Shishak against Solomon (2 Chron. 12:9-12) which finds no mention in Kings.
- Equally, Kings contains no evidence for a cultic reform instituted by Hezekiah, which the Chronicler describes extensively (2 Chron. 29-31).
- The Chronicler seems to imply that he has culled the additional information from one of the many sources to which he refers (discussed below).
Given this pronounced orientation toward the Davidic dynasty and the Southern Kingdom, it is not surprising that the Septuagint entitled Chronicles to paraleipomena ton basileon Iouda, “miscellanies concerning the kings of Judah.”
Historical Scope
The Chronicler records only relatively remote history. He deals with nothing more recent than the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586B.C.E., some two centuries before his own time. The only exceptions to this retrospect framework are the collection of genealogies relating to the post-Exilic generations and the reference to the onset of the Persian period appended at 2 Chron. 36:22-23.
Since the Chronicler’s audience was as far removed as himself from the events he reports, he was not subject to the literary restraints imposed by a directly involved and knowledgeable readership. He had considerable latitude in the arrangement of events and in the adjustment of their presentation to his own historical and theological outlook. The resulting gap between the historical facts and their presentation probably did not escape the notice of his audience. It could well be that precisely to bridge this gap, the Chronicler, more than any other biblical writer, profusely and ostentatiously cites otherwise unknown works (the total runs to about twenty), stating explicitly that they served him as source material for his full-scale survey of the history of Judah (1 Chron. 11:1-2 Chron. 36:21).
This is in marked contrast to the historiographic approach of Ezra-Nehemiah, which makes no attempt to establish the credibility of the account by referring to earlier histories only by their titles. There, by contrast, relevant sources are quoted verbatim and lists, documents, and official reports are incorporated into the narrative.
Some of the earlier Hebrew works referred to in Chronicles appear to be of a historiographic nature.
- They may be identical with or similar to those cited in Kings:
- “the book of the kings of Israel” (1 Chron. 9:1; 2 Chron.20:34, 33:18;
- compare, for example, 1 Kings 14:19; 15:31; 16:14, 20, 27),
- “the book of the kings of Judah and Israel” (2 Chron. 16:11, 25:26, 32:32),
- or “the book of the kings of Israel and Judah” (2 Chron. 27:7, 35:27, 36:8).
It is likely that all these titles designate the same work. Other purported source-texts are ascribed to prophetic authors:
- the books of “Samuel the seer”
- and “Gad the seer” (1 Chron. 29:29),
- “Nathan the prophet” (1 Chron. 29:29, 2 Chron. 9:29), “
- Shemaiah the prophet”
- and “Iddo the seer” (2 Chron. 12:15),
- and “Jehu the son of Hanani” (2 Chron. 20:34).
- There is reference to “the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite” (2 Chron. 9:29)
- and to “the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz” (2 Chron. 32:32), who also is reported to have written “the rest of the acts of Uzziah” (2 Chron. 26:22).
- These latter writings cannot be identified with the canonical Book of Isaiah.
- It may be assumed that all these prophetic tracts, which are sometimes mentioned side by side (as in 1 Chron. 29:29; 2 Chron. 9:29,12:15), were parts of a comprehensive collection entitled “sayings of the seers” (2 Chron. 33:19).
Of special interest are two works which bear the heading midrash:
- “the story [midrash] of the prophet Iddo” (2 Chron. 13:22), whose “book” is mentioned in 2 Chron. 9:29 and 12:15,
- and “the midrash of the book of the kings” (2 Chron. 24:27).
These may be alternative titles for the abovementioned “book of Iddo the seer” and “book of the kings of Israel (and Judah),” respectively.
The term midrash, which in later times came to refer to a specific genre of rabbinic exegetical literature, is sometimes understood in this context as mere fiction and taken to disclose the imaginary character of the Chronicler’s sources and, consequently, the spuriousness of his entire work. But this type of biblical “narrative midrash” may be considered a forerunner of the rabbinic midrash aggadah, an authentic literary genre, just as the apparent examples of “legal midrash” in Ezra-Nehemiah may be seen to foreshadow the rabbinic midrash halakhah. (See the essay on Ezra and Nehemiah in this volume.)
Structure
The book is made up of two main parts—
- 1 Chronicles 1-9 and
- 1 Chronicles 11:1-2 Chronicles 36:21—
- which are distinguished from each other by both content and genre.
- They are best discussed in reverse order.
- The second part, which concerns the history of the Davidic kingdom, parallels the historical account in 2 Samuel 1:1—2 Kings 25:17.
- Within this section are three large segments:
- the accounts of David’s reign (1 Chron. 11:29),
- of Solomon’s reign (2 Chron. 1-9),
- and of the reigns of the kings of Judah until the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (2 Chron. 10:1-36:21).
- There is no parallel to 2 Kings 25:18-30, which relates events after the destruction of the Temple.
This entire complex is preceded by a compilation of various genealogical lists and episodes (1 Chron. 1:1-9:44) which provide a comprehensive but condensed history of Israel from the antediluvian ancestors to the establishment of the monarchy. In its entirety this section parallels the far more detailed history contained in the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets. The genealogy begins with the forefathers of mankind and culminates in the early days of the monarchy:
- Samuel and his sons (6:28),
- Saul and his progeny (8:33-9:39),
- and David and his offspring (3:1-9).
Occasionally, however, the records extend into Exilic and post-Exilic times (for example,3:10-24; 5:23-26; 9:1-34 = Neh. 11). Such references prove that the final redaction occurred in the late Persian or the early Hellenistic period.
This genealogical compilation focuses on
- the tribes of Judah (including Simeon)
- and Benjamin,
- which together formed the nucleus of the Persian province of Jehud in the post-Exilic age.
- Another indication of this orientation is the inclusion of Edomite genealogical records (1:34-54; cf. Gen. 36:1-43), Edom, to all intents and purposes, having been merged with Jehud at that time.
The individual items in this section are derived in part from the Pentateuch and from Joshua and Ruth (see 1 Chron. 2:11-12 and possibly4:22). But certain elements, such as the census lists and battle reports in 1 Chronicles 4:19-23, 38-43 and 5:1-26, are otherwise unknown. Their presence suggests that the compiler of the genealogical rosters, and indirectly the Chronicler, had access to sources of information not tapped by earlier biblical writers. Such sources, however, are not explicitly mentioned in this section, in contrast to the historical account (1 Chron. 11:1-2 Chron. 36:21), where they abound. Consisting of strings of genealogies interspersed with a few episodic tales, 1 Chronicles 1-9 portrays history as a series of static pictures, and thus lacks the dynamism in which biblical historiography generally excels and which is apparent in the rest of Chronicles and in Ezra-Nehemiah.
The two parts of Chronicles are connected by a cluster of notations and brief records concerning King Saul.
- These commence in 1 Chronicles 9:35-44 with a repetition of Saul’s genealogy, already recorded in 8:29-40.
- There follows a report of Saul’s last days, a slightly paraphrased version of the parallel account in 1 Samuel dealing with his defeat at the hands of the Philistines, his death and the death of his sons (1 Chron. 10:1-7),
- and the burial of their corpses by the men of Jabesh-Gilead (10:8-12; cf. 1 Sam. 31:8-13).
- A summary notation (see the Glossary and the essay on Ezra and Nehemiah) refers to the “Witch of Endor” episode (cf. 1 Sam. 28:3-25),
- culminating in the divine announcement of the transfer of kingship from Saul to David (1 Chron. 10:14b): “So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of a necromancer [AR]; And inquired not of the Lord; therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse” (= 1 Sam. 28:17).
Together these notations form a transition between the genealogical records of the premonarchical era and extensive account of the history of Judah and the Davidic dynasty. This compositional bridge demonstrates the skillful use of literary techniques and conventions to weld a variety of sources into one coherent framework and thus present “the chronicle of the whole sacred history” (as Jerome called it; see note 1).
Authorship and Date of Composition
No author or compiler is named in the book.
- Rabbinic tradition considers most of Chronicles, together with Ezra-Nehemiah, to have been written by Ezra and completed by Nehemiah.
- This attribution reflects the prominence accorded to Ezra the scribe, whom the Jewish Sages viewed as a second Moses.
- Many modern Old Testament scholars likewise attribute Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles to one author, generally to the unnamed compiler of Chronicles.
- However, differences in historical outlook, language, and style between Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles make the presumed common authorship questionable.
- The scholarly debate on this issue persists.
Although some scholars would date the composition of Chronicles to the Hellenistic era (300-200 B.C.E.), prevailing opinion holds that the book achieved its final form in Persian times, in the first or, at the latest, the second half of the fourth century.
The Chronicler’s almost exclusive interest in the history of the kingdom of Judah in the First Temple period is seen as a reflection of the actual situation of the community of repatriated exiles, which was comprised entirely of former Judeans and Benjaminites (see, for example, Ezra 1:5, 2:1, 4:1, 10:9; Neh. 4:10; 7:6, 11:4, 7, 25). These were citizens of the Persian province Jehud (Ezra 5:1, 8; 7:14, cf. Dan. 2:25,5:13, 6:13), that is, Jehudim (see, for example, Neh.1:2; 4:1; 5:1, 8, 17; 6:6; 11:3, 4, 25; 13:23; cf. Esther 2:5; 3:4, 6, 10, 13; 4:13, 16) or AramaicJehudaje (Ezra 4:12, 23; 5:1, 5; 6:7, 8, 14; cf. Dan. 3:8, 12), translated “Jews.”
Likewise, the Chronicler’s silence regarding the history of the Northern Kingdom in the same period can be taken to indicate his opposition to the erstwhile Samarians whom the returnees encountered in the Land and refused to admit into their body politic (Ezra 4:1-3). His preoccupation with genealogies and family rosters discloses a concern to ensure that all members of the “reconstituted Israel” could prove their Israelite, or rather, Judean-Benjamite, descent (see Ezra 2:59 = Neh.7:61). Lineage was of special significance where cultic personnel were concerned (see Ezra 2:61-63 = Neh. 7:63-65).
Place in the Canon
In most manuscripts and printed editions of the Hebrew Bible, Chronicles closes the canon and immediately follows Ezra-Nehemiah.
Chronologically, however, Ezra-Nehemiah is a sequel to Chronicles: the latter concludes by quoting the decree of Cyrus (2 Chron. 36:22-23), and Ezra opens with the same text (1:1-3a). And indeed, in some medieval manuscripts, significantly the famous tenth-century Aleppo Codex, Ezra-Nehemiah comes at the end of the canon while Chronicles is the first book in the collection of the “Writings” (Hagiographa).
This same order is possibly reflected in the apocryphal Book of Ezra, which begins with an account of the reigns of the last kings of Judah (1 Esdras 1:1-55, paralleling 2 Chron. 35:1-36:21). Thereupon follows the text of Cyrus’ decree and the report on the first stage of the return (1 Esdras 2:1-14), an almost word-for-word translation of chapter 1 of the canonical Book of Ezra.
It is likely that these traditions preserve the original arrangement. At some stage in transmission, Chronicles was transposed and became the last book in the Hebrew canon. Then the opening verses of Ezra were appended to it. This resumptive repetition (see the essay on Ezra and Nehemiah) served as a signpost, alerting readers to the proper chronological sequence: Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah.
We may assume that,
- like the Fifth Book of Moses, which recapitulates salient parts of the Tetrateuch and therefore came to be known as “Deuteronomium” or “second law” (Hebrew, mishneh torah),
- Chronicles was considered a “Deutero-Biblia,”
- indeed, “the chronicle of the whole sacred history.”
Tradition made it then the finale of the Hebrew Bible.