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Easton's Bible Dictionary
The two books were originally one. They bore the title in the Massoretic Hebrew
Dibre hayyamim , i.e., "Acts of the Days." This title was rendered by Jerome in
his Latin version "Chronicon," and hence "Chronicles." In the Septuagint version
the book is divided into two, and bears the title Paraleipomena, i.e., "things
omitted," or "supplements", because containing many things omitted in the Books
of Kings.
The contents of these books are comprehended under four heads.
(1) The first nine chapters of Book I. contain little more
than a list of genealogies in the line of Israel down to the time of David.
(2) The remainder of the first book contains a history of the reign of David.
(3) The first nine chapters of Book II. contain the history of the reign of Solomon.
(4) The remaining chapters of the second book contain the history of the separate
kingdom of Judah to the time of the return from Babylonian Exile. |
The time of the composition of the Chronicles was, there is every ground to
conclude, subsequent to the Babylonian Exile, probably between 450 and 435 B.C.
The contents of this twofold book, both as to matter and form, correspond closely
with this idea. The close of the book records the proclamation of Cyrus permitting
the Jews to return to their own land, and this forms the opening passage of the
Book of Ezra, which must be viewed as a continuation of the Chronicles. The peculiar
form of the language, being Aramaean in its general character, harmonizes also
with that of the books which were written after the Exile. The author was certainly
contemporary with Zerubbabel, details of whose family history are given ( 1
Chronicles 3:19 ).
The time of the composition being determined, the question of the authorship may
be more easily decided. According to Jewish tradition, which was universally received
down to the middle of the seventeenth century, Ezra was regarded as the author
of the Chronicles. There are many points of resemblance and of contact between
the Chronicles and the Book of Ezra which seem to confirm this opinion. The conclusion
of the one and the beginning of the other are almost identical in expression.
In their spirit and characteristics they are the same, showing thus also an identity
of authorship.
In their general scope and design these books are not so much historical as didactic.
The principal aim of the writer appears to be to present moral and religious truth.
He does not give prominence to political occurences, as is done in Samuel and
Kings, but to ecclesiastical institutions. "The genealogies, so uninteresting
to most modern readers, were really an important part of the public records of
the Hebrew state. They were the basis on which not only the land was distributed
and held, but the public services of the temple were arranged and conducted, the
Levites and their descendants alone, as is well known, being entitled and first
fruits set apart for that purpose." The "Chronicles" are an epitome of the sacred
history from the days of Adam down to the return from Babylonian Exile, a period
of about 3,500 years. The writer gathers up "the threads of the old national life
broken by the Captivity."
The sources whence the chronicler compiled his work were public records, registers,
and genealogical tables belonging to the Jews. These are referred to in the course
of the book ( 1
Chronicles 27:24 ; 29:29
; 2
Chronicles 9:29 ; 12:15
; 13:22
; 20:34
; 24:27
; 26:22
; 32:32
; 33:18
, 33:19
; 27:7
; 35:25
). There are in Chronicles, and the books of Samuel and Kings, forty parallels,
often verbal, proving that the writer both knew and used these records ( 1
Chronicles 17:18 ; Compare 2
Samuel 7:18 - 20
; 1
Chronicles 19 ; Compare 2
Samuel 10 , etc.).
As compared with Samuel and Kings, the Book of Chronicles omits many particulars
there recorded ( 2
Samuel 6:20 - 23
; 9
; 11
; 14
- 19,
etc.), and includes many things peculiar to itself ( 1
Chronicles 12 ; 22
; 23
- 26
; 27
; 28
; 29
, etc.). Twenty whole chapters, and twenty-four parts of chapters, are occupied
with matter not found elsewhere. It also records many things in fuller detail,
as (e.g.) the list of David's heroes ( 1
Chronicles 12:1 - 37
), the removal of the ark from Kirjath-jearim to Mount Zion ( 1
Chronicles 13 ; 15:2
- 24
; 16:4
- 43
; Compare 2
Samuel 6 ), Uzziah's leprosy and its cause ( 2
Chronicles 26:16 - 21
; Compare 2
Kings 15:5 ), etc.
It has also been observed that another peculiarity of the book is that it substitutes
modern and more common expressions for those that had then become unusual or obsolete.
This is seen particularly in the substitution of modern names of places, such
as were in use in the writer's day, for the old names; thus Gezer ( 1
Chronicles 20:4 ) is used instead of Gob ( 2
Samuel 21:18 ), etc.
The Books of Chronicles are ranked among the khethubim or hagiographa. They are
alluded to, though not directly quoted, in the New Testament ( Hebrews
5:4 ; Matthew
12:42 ; 23:35
; Luke
1:5 ;
11:31 ,
11:51 ).
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
(no entry)
Smith's Bible Dictionary
The name originally given to the record made by the appointed historiographers
in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. In the LXX. these books are called Paralipomena
(i.e. things omitted), which is understood as meaning that they are supplementary
to the books of Kings. The constant tradition of the Jews is that these books
were for the most part compiled by Ezra. One of the greatest difficulties connected
with the captivity and return must have been the maintenance of that genealogical
distribution of the land which yet was a vital point of the Jewish economy. To
supply this want and that each tribe might secure the inheritance of its fathers
on its return was one object of the author of these books. Another difficulty
intimately connected with the former was the maintenance of the temple services
at Jerusalem. Zerubbabel, and after him Ezra and Nehemiah, labored most earnestly
to restore the worship of God among the people, and to reinfuse something of national
life and spirit into their hearts. Nothing could more effectually aid these designs
than setting before the people a compendious history of the kingdom of David,
its prosperity under God; the sins that led to its overthrow; the captivity and
return. These considerations explain the plan and scope of that historical work
which consists of the two books of Chronicles. The first book contains the sacred
history by genealogies from the Creation to David, including an account of Davids
reign. In the second book he continues the story, giving the history of the kings
of Judah, without those of Israel, down to the return from the captivity. As regards
the materials used by Ezra, they are not difficult to discover. The genealogies
are obviously transcribed from some register in which were preserved the genealogies
of the tribes and families drawn up at different times; while the history is mainly
drawn from the same document as those used in the books of King. [KINGS,
BOOKS OF]
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
kron'-i-k'-ls (dibhere ha-yamim), "The Words of the
Days"; Septuagint paraleipomenon:
1. The Name
The analogy of this title to such English words as diary, journal, chronicle,
is obvious. The title is one which frequently appears in the Hebrew of the Old
Testament. It is used to denote the records of the Medo-Persian monarchy (Esther
2:23; 6:1; 10:2), and to denote public records, either Persian or Jewish, made
in late postexilian times (Nehemiah 12:23), and to denote public records of King
David (1 Chronicles 27:24). But its most common use is to denote the Judahite
and Israelite records referred to in the Books o f Kings as sources (1 Kings 14:19;
15:7 and about 30 other places). The references in Kings are not to our present
Books of Chronicles, for a large proportion of them are to matters not mentioned
in these. Either directly or indirectly they refer the reader to public archives.
As applied to our present Books of Chronicles this title was certainly not intended
to indicate that they are strictly copies of public documents, though it may indicate
that they have a certain official character distinguishing them from other contemporary
or future writings. The Greek title is Paraleipomenon, "Of Things that have been
Left Untold." Some copies add "concerning the kings of Judah," and this is perhaps
the original form of the title. That is, the Greek translators thought of Chronicles
as a supplement to the other narrative Scriptural books. Jerome accepted the Greek
title, but suggested that the Hebrew title would be better represented by a derivative
from the Greek word chronos, and that this would fit the character of the book,
which is a chronicle of the whole sacred history. Jerome's suggestion is followed
in the title given to the book in the English and other languages.
2. The Position of Chronicles in the Old Testament
In most of the VSS, as in the English, the Books of Chronicles are placed after
the Books of Kings, as being a later account of the matters narrated in Kings;
and Ezra and Nehemiah follow Chronicles as being continuations of the narrative.
In the Hebrew Bibles the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah and 1 and 2 Chronicles are
placed last. By common opinion, based on proof that is entirely sufficient, the
three books constitute a single literary work or group of works, by one author
or school of authors. It is co nvenient to use the term "the Chronicler" to designate
the author, or the authors if there were more than one.
3. Two Books, or One?
It is the regulation thing to say that 1 and 2 Chronicles were originally one
book, which has been divided into two. The fact is that Chronicles is counted
as one book in the count which regards the Old Testament as 22 or 24 books, and
as two books in the count which regards the whole number of books as 39; and that
both ways of counting have been in use as far back as the matter can be traced.
Both ways of counting appear in the earliest Christian lists, those of Origen
and Melito, for example. 1 Chronicles closes with a summary which may naturally
be regarded as the closing of a book.
4. The Contents
With respect to their contents the Books of Chronicles are naturally divided into
three parts. The first part is preliminary, consisting mostly of genealogical
matters with accompanying facts and incidents (1 Chronicles 1-9). The second part
is an account of the accession and reign of David (1 Chronicles 10-29). The third
part is an account of the events under David's successors in the dynasty (2 Chronicles).
The genealogies begin with Adam (1 Chronicles 1:1) and extend to the latest Old
Testament times (1 Chronicles 9; compare Nehemiah 11, and the latest names in
the genealogical lines, e. g. 1 Chronicles 3:19). The events incidentally mentioned
in connection with them are more numerous and of more importance than the casual
reader would imagine. They are some dozens in number. Some of them are repeated
from the parts of the Old Testament from which the Chronicler draws as sources--for
example, such statements as that Nimrod was a mighty one, or that in the time
of Peleg the earth was divided, or the details concerning the kings of Edom (1
Chronicles 1:10,19,43; compare Genesis 10:8,25; 36:31). Others are instances which
the Chronicler has taken from other sources than the Old Testament--for instance,
the story of Jabez, or the accounts of the Simeonite conquests of the Meunim and
of Amalek (1 Chronicles 4:9,10,38-43).
The account in Chronicles of the reign of David divides itself into three parts.
The first part (1 Chronicles 10-21) is a series of sections giving a general view,
including the death of Saul, the crowning of David over the twelve tribes, his
associates, his wars, the bringing of the ark to Jerusalem, the great Davidic
promise, the plague that led to the purchase of the threshing-floor of Ornan the
Jebusite. The second part (1 Chronicles 22-29:22) deals with one particular event
and the preparations for it. The event is the making Solomon king, at a great
public assembly (1 Chronicles 23:1; 28:1). The preparations for it include arrangements
for the site and materials and labor for the temple that is to be built, and the
organizing of Levites, priests, singers, doorkeepers, captains, for the service
of the temple and the kingdom. The third part (1 Chronicles 29:22-30) is a brief
account of Solomon's being made king "a second time" (compare 1 Kings 1), with
a summary and references for the reign of David.
The history of the successors of David, as given in 2 Chronicles, need not here
be commented upon.
5. Sources Biblical and Extra-Biblical
The sources of the Books of Chronicles classify themselves as Biblical and extra-Biblical.
Considerably more than half the contents come from the other Old Testament books,
especially from Samuel and Kings. Other sources mentioned in the Books of Chronicles
are the following:
(1) The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel (2 Chronicles
16:11; 25:26; 28:26; 32:32).
(2) The Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah (2 Chronicles 27:7; 35:27; 36:8).
(3) The Book of the Kings of Israel (2 Chronicles 20:34).
(4) The Book of the Kings (2 Chronicles 24:27).
It is possible that these may be four variant forms of the same title. It is also
possible that they may be references to our present Books of Kings, though in
that case we must regard the formulas of reference as conventional rather than
exact.
(5) The Book of the Kings of Israel (1 Chronicles 9:1), a genealogical work.
(6) The Midrash of the Book of the Kings (2 Chronicles 24:27).
(7) The Words of the Kings of Israel (2 Chronicles 33:18), referred to for details
concerning Manasseh.
Observe that these seven are books of Kings, and that the contents of the last
three do not at all correspond with those of our Biblical books. In the seventh
title and in several of the titles that are yet to be mentioned it is commonly
understood that "Words" is the equivalent of "acts" or "history"; but it is here
preferred to retain the form "Words," as lending itself better than the others
to the syntactical adjustments.
(8) The Words of Samuel the Man of Vision and the Words of Nathan the Prophet
and the Words of Gad the Seer (1 Chronicles 29:29) are perhaps to be counted as
one work, and identified with our Books of Judges and Samuel.
(9) The Words of Nathan the Prophet (2 Chronicles 9:29; compare 1 Kings 11:41-43).
Source concerning Solomon.
(10) The Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite (2 Chronicles 9:29; compare 1 Kings
11:29; 14:2, etc.). Solomon.
(11) The Visions of Jedo the Seer (2 Chronicles 9:29; compare 1 Kings 13). Solomon.
(12) The Words of Shemaiah the Prophet (2 Chronicles 12:15; compare 1 Kings 12:22).
Rehoboam.
(13) "Shemaiah wrote" (1 Chronicles 24:6). David.
(14) Iddo the Seer in Reckoning Genealogies (2 Chronicles 12:15). Rehoboam.
(15) "The Words (The History) of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is inserted in
the Book of the Kings of Israel" (2 Chronicles 20:34; compare 1 Kings 16:1,7,12).
Jehoshaphat.
(16) "The rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the Prophet,
the son of Amoz, write" (2 Chronicles 26:22; compare Isaiah 1:1; 6).
(17) "The Vision of Isaiah .... in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel"
(2 Chronicles 32:32; compare 2 Kings 18-20; Isa 36-39, etc.). Hezekiah.
(18) The Words of the Seers (2 Chronicles 33:19 margin). Manasseh.
(19) References to "Lamentations," and to "Jeremiah" etc. (2 Chronicles 35:25).
Josiah.
(20) The Midrash of the Prophet Iddo (2 Chronicles 13:22). Abijah. These numbers,
from 12 to 20, are referred to as works of prophets. At first thought there is
plausibility in the idea that the references may be to the sections in Samuel
and Kings where these several prophets are mentioned; but in nearly all the cases
this explanation fades out on examination. The Chronicler had access to prophetic
writings not now known to be in existence.
(21) Liturgical writings of David and Solomon (2 Chronicles 35:4; compare Ezra
3:10). Josiah.
(22) Commandments of David and Gad and Nathan (2 Chronicles 29:25). Hezekiah.
(23) The Commandment of David and Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun (2 Chronicles 35:15).
Josiah.
(24) Chronicles of King David (1 Chronicles 27:24).
(25) Last Words of David (1 Chronicles 23:27).
Add to these many mentions of genealogical works, connected with particular times,
those for example of David, Jotham, Jeroboam II (1 Chronicles 9:22; 5:17), and
mentions of matters that imply record-keeping, from Samuel and onward (e.g. 1
Chronicles 26:26-28). Add also the fact that the Chronicler had a habit, exhibited
in Ezra and Nehemiah, of using and quoting what he represents to be public documents,
for example, letters to and from Cyrus and Artaxerxes and Darius and Artaxerxes
Longimanus (Ezra 1:1; 6:3; 4:7,17; 5:6; 6:6; 7:11; Nehemiah 2:7). It is no exaggeration
to say that the Chronicler claims to have had a considerable library at his command.
|
6. Nehemiah's Library
If such a library as this existed we should perhaps expect to find some mention
of it somewhere. Such a mention I think there is in the much discussed passage
in 2 Macc 2:13-15. It occurs in what purports to be a letter written after 164
BC by the Maccabean leaders in Jerusalem to Aristobulus in Egypt. The letter has
a good deal to say concerning Nehemiah, and among other things this: "And how
he, founding a library, gathered together the books about the kings and prophets,
and the (books) of David, and letters of kings about sacred gifts." It says that
these writings have been scattered by reason of the war, but that Judas has now
gathered them again, and that they may be at the service of Aristobulus and his
friends.
This alleged letter contains statements that seem fabulous to most modern readers,
though they may not have seemed so to Judas and his compatriots. Leaving out of
view, however, the intrinsic credibility of the witness, the fitting of the statement
into certain other traditions and into the phenomena presented in Chronicles is
a thing too remarkable to neglect. In the past, men have cited this passage as
an account of the framing of a canon of Scripture--the canon of the Prophets,
or of the Prophets and the Hagiographa. But it purports to be an account of a
library, not of a body of Scripture; and its list of contents does not appear
to be that of either the Prophets or the Hagiographa or both. But it is an exact
list of the sources to which the author (or authors) of Chronicles and Ezra and
Nehemiah claim to have access--"books about the kings" (see above, Numbers 1-7),
"and prophets" (Numbers 8-20), "and of David" (Numbers 21-25), "and letters of
kings about sacred gifts" (those cited in Ezra and Nehemiah). The library attributed
to Nehemiah corresponds to the one which the Chronicler claims to have used; and
the two independent pieces of evidence strongly confirm each the other.
7. The Way of Using the Biblical Sources
The method in which the Biblical sources are used in Chronicles presents certain
remarkable features. As a typical instance study 1 Chronicles 10 in comparison
with 1 Samuel 31. 1 Chronicles 10:1-12 is just a transcription, with slight changes,
of the passage in Samuel. A large part of Chronicles is thus made up of passages
transcribed from Samuel and Kings. The alternative is that the Chronicler transcribed
from sources which had earlier been transcribed in Samuel and Kings, and this
alternative may in some cases be the true one.
This phenomenon is interesting for many reasons. It has its bearings on the trustworthiness
of the information given; a copy of an ancient document is of higher character
as evidence than a mere report of the contents of the document. It has a bearing
on questions concerning the text; are the texts in Kings and Chronicles to be
regarded as two recensions? It is especially interesting as illustrating the literary
processes in use among the writers of our Scriptures.
It is sometimes said that they used their sources not by restating the contents
as a modern compiler would do, but by just copying. It would be more correct to
say that they do this part of the time. In 1 Chronicles 10 the copying process
ceases with 1 Chronicles 10:12. In 1 Chronicles 10:13,14 the Chronicler condenses
into a sentence a large part of the contents of 1 Samuel; one clause in particular
is a condensation of 1 Samuel 28. So it is with other parts. 1 Chronicles 1:1-4
is abridged from Genesis 5 at the rate of a name for a section; so is 1 Chronicles
1:24-27 from Genesis 11:10-26. In the various parts of Chronicles we find all
the methods that are used by any compiler; the differentiating fact is simply
that the method of transcribing is more used than it would be by a modern compiler.
In the transcribed passages, almost without exception, there has been a systematic
editorial revision. Words and clauses have been pruned out, and grammatical roughness
smoothed away. Regularly the text in Chronicles is somewhat briefer, and is more
fluent than in Samuel or Kings. If we give the matter careful attention we will
be sure that this revisional process took place, and that it accounts for most
of the textual differences between Chronicles and the earlier writings, not leaving
many to be accounted for as corruptions.
8. Additions by the Chronicler
Of course the most significant changes made by the Chronicler are those which
consist in additions and omissions. It is a familiar fact that the added passages
in Chronicles which bulk largest are those which deal with the temple and its
Worship and its attendants--its priests, Levites, musicians, singers, doorkeepers.
Witness for example the added matter in connection with the bringing of the ark
to Jerusalem, the preparations for the temple, the priests' joining Rehoboam,
the war between Abijah and Jeroboam, the reforms under Asa and Jehoshaphat, details
concerning Uzziah, Hezekiah's passover, the reform of Manasseh, the passover of
Josiah (1 Chronicles 15-16; 22- 29; 2 Chronicles 11:13-17; 13; 14; 15; 17; 19;
20; 26:16-21; 29-31; 33:10-20; 35). It has been less noticed than it should be
that while the Chronicler in these passages magnifies the ceremonial laws of Moses,
he magnifies those of David yet more.
Next in bulk comes the added genealogical and statistical matter, for example,
the larger part of the preliminary genealogies, details as to David's followers,
Rehoboam's fortified cities and family affairs with details concerning the Shishak
invasion, Asa's military preparations and the invasion by Zerah, with numbers
and dates, Jehoshaphat's military arrangements, with numbers, Jehoram's brothers
and other details concerning him, Uzziah's army and his business enterprises (1
Chronicles 2-9; 12; 27; 2 Chronicles 11:5-12,18-23; 12:3-9; 14:3-15; 17:1-5,10-19;
26:6-15).
The Chronicler is sometimes spoken of as interested in priestly affairs, and not
in the prophets. That is a mistake. He takes particular pains to magnify the prophets
(e.g. 2 Chronicles 20:20; 36:12,16). He uses the word "prophet" 30 times, and
the two words for "seer" (chozeh and ro'eh) respectively 5 and 11 times. He gives
us additional information concerning many of the prophets--for example, Samuel,
Gad, Nathan, Ahijah, Shemaiah, Hanani, Jehu, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah. He has
taken pains to preserve for us a record of many prophets concerning whom we should
otherwise be ignorant--Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, Jedo (2 Chronicles 9:29), Iddo,
the Oded of Asa's time, Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, Eliezer the son of Dodavah,
two Zechariahs (2 Chronicles 24:20; 26:5), unnamed prophets of the time of Amaziah
(2 Chronicles 25:5-10,15,16), Oded of the time of Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28:9).
In addition, however, to the materials that can be thus classified, it is the
method of the Chronicler to preserve interesting incidents of all kinds by working
them into his narrative. When he reaches Jair in his genealogical list, he finds
himself in possession of a bit of information not contained in the older writings,
and he inserts it (1 Chronicles 2:21). He is interested to keep alive the memory
of the "families of scribes which dwelt at Jabez" (1 Chronicles 2:55). He has
found items concerning craftsmen, and concerning a linen industry, and a potters'
industry, and he connects these with names in his list (1 Chronicles 4:14,21,23).
He has come across a bit of a hymn in the name of Jabez, and he attaches the hymn
to his list of names as an annotation (1 Chronicles 4:9,10). There are matters
concerning the sickness and the burial of Asa, and concerning the bad conduct
of Joash after the death of Jehoiada, and concerning constructions by Hezekiah
(2 Chronicles 16:12,13; 24:15-27; 32:27-30), that seem to the Chronicler worth
preserving, though they are not recorded in the earlier writings. The fruits of
the habit appear, in many scores of instances, in all parts of the Books of Chronicles.
9. Omissions by the Chronicler
As the Books of Chronicles thus add matters not found in the older books, so they
leave out much that is contained in the Books of Samuel and Kings. Here, however,
the question should rather be as to what the Chronicler has retained from his
sources than as to what he has omitted. He writes for readers whom he assumes
to be familiar with the earlier books, and he retains so much of the older narrative
as seems to him necessary for defining the relations of his new statements of
fact to that narrative. From the point where the history of David begins he has
omitted everything that is not strictly connected with David or his dynasty--the
history of northern Israel as such, the long narratives concerning the prophets,
such distressing affairs as those of Amnon and Absalom and Adonijah and the faithlessness
of Solomon, and a multitude of minor particulars. We have already noticed his
systematic shortening of the passages which he transcribes.
10. The Extra-Biblical Sources
There are two marked phenomena in the parts of Chronicles which were not taken
from the other canonical books. They are written in later Hebrew of a pretty uniform
type; many parts of them are fragmentary. The Hebrew of the parts that were copied
from Samuel and Kings is of course the classical Hebrew of those books, generally
made more classical by the revision to which it has been subjected. The Hebrew
of the other parts is presumably that of the Chronicler himself. The difference
is unmistakable. An obvious way of accounting for it is by supposing that the
Chronicler treated his Scriptural sources with especial respect, and his other
sources with more freedom. We will presently consider whether this is the true
account.
There are indications that some of the non-Biblical sources were in a mutilated
or otherwise fragmentary condition when the Chronicler used them. Broken sentences
and passages and constructions abound. In the translations these are largely concealed,
the translators having guessed the meanings into shape, but the roughnesses are
palpable in the Hebrew. They appear less in the long narratives than in the genealogies
and descriptive passages. They are sometimes spoken of as if they were characteristic
of the later Hebrew, but there is no sense in that.
For example, most of the genealogies are incomplete. The priestly genealogies
omit some of the names that are most distinguished in the history, such names
as those of Jehoiada and two Azariahs (2 Kings 11:9, etc.; 2 Chronicles 26:17;
31:10). Many of the genealogies are given more than once, and in variant forms,
but with their incompleteness still palpable. There are many breaks in the lists.
We read the names of one group, and we suddenly find ourselves in the midst of
names that belong to another group, and with nothing to call attention to the
transition. The same phenomena appear in the sections in 1 Chronicles 23:2-27.
These contain a succession of matters arranged in absolutely systematic order
in classes and subclasses, while many of the statements thus arranged are so fragmentary
as to be hardly intelligible. The most natural explanation of these phenomena
assumes that the writer had a quantity of fragments in writing--clay tablets,
perhaps, or pottery or papyrus, or what not, more or less mutilated, and that
he copied them as best he could, one after another. A modern writer, doing such
work, would indicate the lacunae by dots or dashes or other devices. The ancient
copyist simply wrote the bits of text one after another, without such indications.
In regard to many of the supposable lacunae in Chronicles scholars would differ,
but there are a large number in regard to which all would agree. If someone would
print a text of Chronicles in which these should be indicated, he would make an
important contribution to the intelligibility of the books.
11. The Object in Writing the Books of Chronicles
On the basis of these phenomena what judgment can we form as to the purposes for
which the books of Chronicles were written? There are those who find the answer
to this question a very simple one. They say that the interests of the writer
were those of the temple priesthood, that it seemed to him that the older histories
did not emphasize these interests as they ought, and that he therefore wrote a
new history, putting into it the views and facts which he thought should be there.
If this statement were modified so as not to impugn the good faith of the Chronicler,
it would be nearly correct as a statement of part of his purpose. His purpose
was to preserve what he regarded as historical materials that were in danger of
being lost, materials concerning the temple-worship, but also concerning a large
variety of other matters. He had the historian's instinct for laying hold of all
sorts of details, and putting them into permanent form. His respiration from God
(we do not here discuss the nature of that inspiration) led him this way. He wanted
to save for the future that which he regarded as historical fact. The contents
of the book, determined in part by his enthusiasm for the temple, were also determined
in part by the nature of the materials that were providentially at his disposal.
There seems also to have been present in his consciousness the idea of bringing
to completion the body of sacred writings which had then been accumulating for
centuries.
As we have seen, the Greek translators gave to the Books of Chronicles a title
which expressed the idea they had of the work. They regarded it as the presentation
of matters which had been omitted in the earlier Scriptures, as written not to
supersede the older books, but to supplement them, as being, along with Ezra and
Nehemiah, a work that brought the Scriptures up to date, and made them complete.
12. The Text
The text of the Books of Chronicles has been less carefully preserved than that
of some other parts of the Old Testament. Witness for example the numbers 42 and
8 for the ages of Ahaziah and Jehoiachin (2 Chronicles 22:2; compare 2 Kings 8:26;
2 Chronicles 36:9; compare 2 Kings 24:8). There is no proof, however, of important
textual corruption. As we have seen, the fragmentary character of certain parts
is probably in the main due to exactness in following fragmentary sources, and
not to bad text; and the differences between Samuel or Kings and Chronicles, in
the transcribed passages, are mostly due to intended revision rather than to text
variations.
13. Critical Estimates
In critical discussions less semblance of fair play has been accorded to Chronicles
than even to most of the other Scriptures. It is not unusual to assume that the
Chronicler's reference to sources is mere make-believe, that he "has cited sources
simply to produce the impression that he is writing with authority." Others hurry
to the generalization that the Books of Kings mentioned in Chronicles (see Numbers
1-7 above) are all one work, which must therefore have been an extensive Midrash
(commentary, exe getical and anecdotal) on the canonical Books of Kings; and that
the references to prophetic writings are to sections in this Midrash; so that
practically the Chronicler had only two sources, the canonical books and this
midrashic history of Israel; and that "it is impossible to determine" whether
he gathered any bits of information from any other sources.
Into the critical theories concerning Chronicles enters a hypothesis of an earlier
Book of Kings that was more extensive than our present canonical books. And in
recent publications of such men as Buchler, Benzinger and Kittel are theories
of an analysis of Chronicles into documents--for example, an earlier writing that
made no distinction between priests and Levites, or an earlier writing which dealt
freely with the canonical books; and the later writing of the Chronicler proper.
What we know in the matter is that three sets of authors combined in producing
the Books of Chronicles--first, the men who produced the canonical sources, second,
the men who produced the other sources, and third, the man or men who directly
or indirectly put the contents of these sources together into the book which we
have. We have no means of knowing what most of the intermediate processes were,
and it is superlatively useless to guess. It is gratuitous to say that the mention
of sources in Chronicl es is not made in good faith. It is probable that among
the sources were Midrashim that were nearly contemporaneous. It is exceedingly
improbable that none of the sources mentioned were genuine and ancient. All probabilities
agree to the effect that the returned exiles and their near descendants were likely
to study the ancient history of their race, and to gather materials for that purpose.
As we have seen, the phenomena of the book indicate the presence of an antiquarian
motive which was sure to be interested in genuine items of evidence from the remote
past.
14. Date and Authorship
The current opinion sixty years ago was that the Books of Chronicles and the whole
Old Testament were completed about 404 BC, near the time when Artaxerxes Mnemon
succeeded Darius Nothus. The statement now fashionable is that the Books of Chronicles
were completed not later than about 250 BC, and this constantly degenerates into
the statement that they were written about 250 BC or later. In fact, they were
completed within the lifetime of Nehemiah, not later or not much later than 400
BC.
In discussing this we cannot ignore the fact that Chronicles and Ezra and Nehemiah
are one work, or, if you prefer, one series. The closing verses of 2 Chronicles
duplicate the opening verses of Ezra. This is not, probably, an inadvertent repetition.
The Books of Chronicles were written later than the other parts of the series.
The closing verses are the Chronicler's notification to his readers that he has
brought up the earlier history to the point at which he had previously begun the
narrative in Ezra. The testimony concerning Ezra and the "men of the Great Synagogue"
and Nehemiah and their work on the Scriptures does not deserve the contempt with
which some persons treat it. We know nothing concerning the Great Synagogue as
an organization, but we know much concerning the succession of men, from Daniel
to Simon the Just, who are called the men of the Great Synagogue. The old traditions
do not say that Ezra was the founder of the succession, but they make him the
typical person in it. Two bits of tradition are not necessarily inconsistent if
one attributes work to Ezra which the other attributes to the men of the Great
Synagogue. The regulation remark that tradition attributes Biblical work to Ezra
and not to Nehemiah is untrue. Nehemiah was one of the men of the Great Synagogue,
and prominent as such. He is introduced to us as a handsome boy, a king's favorite,
coming to Jerusalem in 444 BC. In 433 BC he returned to the king. After an unknown
interval of time he came back to Judea, and presumably spent the remainder of
his long life there, dying some years or sortie decades after 400 BC.
15. Evidence as to Date and Authorship
The placing of the work of the Chronicles at the close of the Hebrew Scriptures
is in itself of the nature of testimony. The men who placed it there testify thereby
to their belief that these are the latest writings of the Old Testament aggregate.
We are familiar with the testimony of Babha' Bathra' to the effect that most of
the later books of the Old Testament were due to the men of the Great Synagogue
and to Ezra, but that Nehemiah completed the Books of Chronicles. We cannot avoid
including the Chronicles among the 22 books which Josephus says were written before
the death of Artaxerxes Longimanus (Apion, I, 8). Of course the limit of time
here really intended by Josephus is not the death of Artaxerxes, but the lifetime
of men who were contemporary with him--that of Nehemiah, for example. We have
already noted the testimony concerning Nehemiah's library (2 Macc 2:13-15). The
time when the library was being gathered was the most likely time for it to be
used as the Chronicler has used it. Add the recapitulation in Ecclesiasticus (44-49),
which m entions Nehemiah latest in its list of Old Testament worthies.
Internal marks, also, justify the conclusion that the work of the Chronicler was
complete before Nehemiah died. The abundant presence of Persian words and facts,
with the absence of Greek words and facts, seems conclusive to the effect that
the work was done before the conquests of Alexander rendered the Greek influence
paramount. In some of the sections (e.g. Ezra 7:28; Nehemiah passim) Ezra and
Nehemiah speak in the first person. The whole work makes the impression of being
written up to date. The latest situation in Chronicles is the same with that in
Ne (1 Chronicles 9; compare Nehemiah 11:3-12:26). The latest event mentioned is
the differentiating of the Samaritan schism. A certain enrollment was made (Nehemiah
12:22-26) in the reign of Darius, up to the high-priesthood of Johanan (elsewhere
called Jonathan and John), but including Jaddua the son of Johanan in the high-priestly
succession. Ezra and Nehemiah were still in office (Nehemiah 12:26). This enrollment
naturally connects itself with the expulsion of Jaddua's bro ther Manasseh for
marrying into the family of Sanballat (Nehemiah 13:28; Josephus, Ant, XI, 7-8).
Jaddua belongs to the fifth generation from Jeshua, who was high priest 538 BC.
Josephus says that Sanballat held a commission from Darius. He mentions a certain
Bagoas, "general of another Artaxerxes' army," as in relations with the high priest
John.
Arguments for a Later Date
Josephus, however, apparently regards the Darius who commissioned Sanballat as
the last of the kings of that name, and says that Jaddua was contemporary with
Alexander the Great, thus dating the Samaritan schism a little before 331 BC.
All scholars reject these statements when they are used for dating the Samaritan
schism, but some scholars eagerly accept them for the purpose of proving the late
date of the last books of the Hebrew Bible. The argument never was valid, and
it is completely exploded by the Aramaic papyri recently discovered in Egypt,
which show that Bagoas and the high priest Johanan and the sons of Sanballat were
contemporaries in 407 BC, the 17th year of Darius Nothus, and for some years earlier.
Dr. Driver (LOT, edition 1897, 518) expresses an opinion very commonly held concerning
the Chronicles: "The only positive clue which the book contains as to the date
at which it was composed is the genealogy in 1 Chronicles 3:17-24, .... carried
down to the sixth generation after Zerubbabel. This would imply a date not earlier
than about 350 BC." Turn to the passage and do your own arithmetic on it. Jeconiah
was born 614 BC (2 Kings 24:8). If as an average each of the sons in the succession
was born when his fat her was about 25 years old, that would bring the first birth
in the 6th generation from Zerubbabel to about 414 BC, and not 350 BC. This is
not an improbable showing.
Dr. Driver suggests, however, that in 1 Chronicles 3:21 we should follow the Greek
reading instead of the Hebrew. This would give us: "And the sons of Hananiah:
Pelatiah, and Jeshaiah his son, Rephaiah his son, Arnan his son, Obadiah his son,
Shecaniah his son." The meaning here is ambiguous. It may be understood to be
that each of the six men named after Hananiah was the son of the man named before
him (compare 1 Chronicles 3:10-14, or 1 Chronicles 6:20-30,50-53); or as counting
the six as the sons of Hananiah (compare 1 Chronicles 3:16; 7:20,21, etc.). Understanding
it in the first of these two ways the number of generations after Zerubbabel would
be increased to eleven. So many generations before the early decades of the 4th
century BC would be exceptional, though not impossible. But the statement that
there were 11 generations is weak, being based on a conjectural interpretation
of an unproved text emendation, and standing unconfirmed in opposition to credible
proof.
16. Truthfulness and Historicity
"The Books of Chronicles are a tendency writing of little historical value"; "a
distorted picture in the interest of the later institutions of postexilic Judaism";
"some ancient facts, having trickled down through oral or written tradition, are
doubtless preserved. .... They are few indeed compared with the products of the
imagination, and must be sifted like kernels of wheat from a mass of chaff." These
statements, taken at random from the book that happens to be handiest, fairly
represent the opinion held by many. They regard the Chronicles as a fabrication
made in the interest of a religious party, a fabrication in which the history
has been intentionally falsified.
A principal motive for this opinion is to discredit the testimony of Chronicles
against certain critical theories, the said testimony being more full and detailed
than that in Samuel and Kings and the prophets. But on the whole question the
testimony of Chronicles is to the same effect with that of the other books. The
testimony of the other books supports that of the Chronicles. The discrediting
of Chronicles is part of a theory which denies the historical trustworthiness
of practically all parts of the Old Testament and New Testament.
(1) Alleged Proofs of Untruthfulness
Against the Chronicles it is alleged that they sometimes contradict the older
books; but nearly all the instances are capable of satisfactory solution. The
large numerals in Chronicles, for example those concerning the armies of David,
Abijah, Jeroboam, Asa, Zerah, Jehoshaphat, Amaziah, Uzziah, are adduced as extravagant
and incredible. Most of the difficulty in connection with such numbers, whether
in Chronicles or Exodus or Numbers or Judges or Samuel, disappears when we observe
that they clearly belong to an artificial way of counting. These numbers are given
in even thousands or even hundreds (even fifties or tens in a very few instances),
which would not be the case if the hundreds and thousands were merely numerical.
It is alleged that the Chronicler views the glories of the past as on a larger
scale than that in which they are presented in the earlier books, but this is
not uniformly the case. On the basis of these allegations the Chronicler is charged
with an extravagance that is inconsistent with sober truthfulness, but this charge
follows the fate of the others. It is said that the Chronicler lacked trustworthy
sources, but that is a thing to be proved, not taken for granted, and we have
seen that it is improbable. It is alleged that the text is in such bad shape as
to render the contents unreliable. This may be balanced against the counter conjecture
that, since the Books of Chronicles have not been so often copied as the Books
of Kings, their text is in the transcribed passages to be preferred to that of
Kings. In fine, the reasons alleged against the historicity of Chronicles dwindle
on examination, though there remain some problems that cannot be so easily disposed
of.
(2) Truthfulness in the Various Parts
Different parts of the Chronicles have their own separate problems of historicity.
Take the genealogies, for example. If anyone had fabricated them, he would not
have put them into their present fragmentary form, in which they have no story
interest, and are of no direct use to anybody. On the other hand it is reasonable
to account for their present form by the hypothesis that the writer used such
materials as he had. This hypothesis is not derogatory to the inspiration of the
writer. Deity saw fit to have these materials placed in the Scriptures, and to
this end He influenced men of different generations through providential leadings
and through impulses of the Spirit. No one thinks that the Spirit-guided man who
put the genealogies in their final form received them as miraculous revelations.
He received them as the product of effort in study--his own efforts and those
of his predecessors. He is entitled to be counted as truthful if he used good
judgment and fidelity in selecting and recording his materials.
Similar statements would be true in regard to the other statistical matter, and
in regard to the many incidents that are mentioned in connection with the genealogies
and other matters. To think of them as inventions by the Chronicler is not congruous
with human experience. They are too brief and broken to have interest by themselves
as stories. You can assign no possible reason that one could have for inventing
them. They bear the marks of being genuine antiquarian discoveries. The final
writer believed that he had come across facts which would be of interest if put
into connection with the history as currently narrated. These matters are much
more reasonably accounted for as facts than as inventions. And furthermore, a
good many of them, first and last, have been corroborated by exploration. Take,
for example, Manasseh's being carried to Babylon by the captains of the king of
Assyria, or the account of Uzziah's military greatness (2 Chronicles 33:11; 26:6),
or the references to industries in 1 Chronicles 4:14-23 (compare PEFS, 1905, 243,
328; or Bible Sidelights from Gezer, 150).
Possibly on a different footing is such a passage as the account of Abijah and
Jeroboam (2 Chronicles 13:3-18). It says that Abijah had 400,000 men and Jeroboam
800,000, of whom 500,000 were slain in the battle. One might plausibly argue that
these numbers were intended as a notice to the reader that he is to understand
the story, not as fact, but as a work of the imagination, a religious parable,
a midrashic narrative sermon, taken from the Midrash of Iddo (verse 22). Whether
or no one finds this argument convincing, anyone can see that it does not accuse
the Books of Chronicles of being untruthful. If the passage is a parable it is
true in the sense in which it was intended to be understood. A similar case is
the account of Jehoshaphat's peril from the invading nations and his wonderful
rescue (2 Chronicles 20).
On still a different footing are such narratives as those concerning the bringing
up of the ark, the first making of Solomon king, the reforms under Asa, Jehoshaphat,
Hezekiah, Josiah. These are sober narratives, with nothing in them to suggest
flights of the imagination. Probably no one doubts that the Chronicler intended
them to be understood as historical fact. If one is under bondage to the modern
tradition which dates De from the time of Josiah and the priestly laws from after
the exile, he must needs count these parts of Chronicles as falsified history;
but if he is free from that bondage he will see no strong reason for counting
them so. |
17. The Values of the Chronicles
In fine men are correct when they say that the greatest values of the Books of
Chronicles lie in their availability for vividly illustrating the great truths
of religion. They are correct when they assign great value to these books as depicting
the ideas of the time when they were written. But they are none the less of great
value as repeating from the other Scriptures the outline of the history of the
religion of Yahweh, and presenting additional material for the filling in of that
outline.
LITERATURE
Among the older commentaries on Chronicles see that of Keil in the Keil-Delitzsch
series, published in English in 1872; that of Zockler in the Lange series, 1876;
that of Barker in the Pulpit Commentary, after 1880. Among more recent works,
from the point of view which denies the historicity of Chronicles, see R. Kittel
in the Polychrome Bible, 1895, and Curtis and Masden in the International Critical
Commentary, 1910. A brilliant characterization from that point of view is that
by Torrey, "The Chronicler as Editor and as Independent Narrator" in AJSL, January,
1909, and subsequent numbers. On the other side see Beecher, Reasonable Biblical
Criticism, 1911, chapters xviii and xxii; "Is the Chronicler a Veracious Historian?"
in Bible Student (October, 1899 and subsequent numbers), is a defense of the historicity.
All works on Old Testament Introduction discuss the questions concerning Chronicles.
In view of the many proper names in Chronicles, such a book as Gray, Studies in
Hebrew Proper Names, has its uses. For the chronological facts, especially in
connection with the closing of the Old Testament history, see Beecher, Dated Events
of the Old Testament, 1907. For the Egyptian papyri see Drei Aramaische Papyrusurkunden
aus Elephantine, Sachau, Berlin, 1907, or the Appendix to Toffteen, Historic Exodus.
Also Sprengling's article in AJSL, April, 1911. As to light on the Chronicles
from explorations, see "The Excavations of Gezer, 1902-5, and 1907-9," PEF; or
Bible Sidelights from the Mounds of Gezer, 1906. For other books see the lists
in Encyclopedia Biblica and HDB.
Willis J. Beecher
Tags:
1 chronicles, 2 chronicles, acts of the days, bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, book of chronicles, david, define, dibre hayyamim, ezra, judah, paraleipomena, solomon, things omitted
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