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The Cornerstone Biblical Commentary provides students, pastors, and laypeople with up-to-date, evangelical scholarship on the Old and New Testaments. It’s designed to equip pastors and Christian leaders with exegetical and theological knowledge to better understand and apply God’s word by presenting the message of each passage as well as an overview of other issues surrounding the text.
Featuring the entire text of 1–2 Chronicles in the New Living Translation.

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CORNERSTONE BIBLICAL COMMENTARY

TYNDALE HOUSE PUBLISHERS, INC.

Contents

Biographical Note........................................viGeneral Editor's Preface.................................viiAbbreviations............................................ixTransliteration and Numbering System.....................xiii1 CHRONICLES.............................................12 CHRONICLES.............................................224

Chapter One

It was during my seminary days that I first took a serious look at the books of Chronicles. Up to that point my attitude had been that expressed by the title of these books in the Septuagint. There they are called Paraleipomenon or "omissions," implying that they contain material that was not included in the books of Samuel and Kings. Chronicles was just "the leftovers"; Samuel-Kings was "the main course." But it was under the tutelage of Raymond Dillard that I saw for the first time that these "leftovers" could be "the main course." His riveting lectures left me on the edge of my seat as we discussed the significance of the Chronicler's version of Israel's story and its implications for theology. The first line of the work now known as 1 and 2 Chronicles begins with the words "The descendants of Adam" (1 Chr 1:1), while the final pericope of the work begins with the words "In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia" (2 Chr 36:22). These two citations reveal the scale of the accomplishment of this work: It is nothing short of a history of the world from the creation of humanity to the restoration of the Jews from Babylonian exile; it is, as Jerome once called it, "the chronicle of the whole of sacred history." Until recently, however, the work as a whole has often been maligned by (and, probably even worse, ignored in) critical scholarship.

Jerome's statement above is the most likely origin of the book's English name, "Chronicles." This name is closely aligned with the Hebrew tradition, which calls this work dibre hayyamim, or "events of the days," a title that is used to refer to the official royal histories used as a source in the book of Kings (1 Kgs 14:19; 15:31; 16:5, 14, 20, 27). The name in the Greek tradition (Paraleipomenon, or "omissions"), however, does little to encourage its readership. As noted above, this title reflects a common attitude toward Chronicles: It is simply to be used as a supplement to the more important works of Samuel and Kings.

There are other reasons why Chronicles has been ignored and maligned in biblical studies, both on literary and historical levels. In terms of its literary character, although Chronicles reviews the "whole of sacred history," the vast majority of this "sacred history" is covered efficiently through the genre of genealogical lists, which fill the first nine chapters of the work (1 Chr 1-9)-not the most riveting introduction to capture the imagination of modern readers. When the Chronicler finally does get to the key narratives of David and Solomon in 1 Chronicles 10-2 Chronicles 9, he lessens the tension of the plot by removing nearly all references to the failures of these kings and inserts long lists of people (1 Chr 11-12, 23-27). In the rest of his account (2 Chr 10-36), the Chronicler excises from his source the story of the northern kingdom with its fascinating parallel plot to the enduring Davidic kingdom.

In addition, Chronicles is often ignored and maligned in biblical studies because of its perceived lack of historical worth. There is no question that the Chronicler was at some distance from the events he related, indicated by the final recorded incident in the book, which places it in the Persian period. The Chronicler raises questions for many historians in the way he rehearses the history of Israel. His results not only diverge from Samuel and Kings but also reflect a consistent agenda and style. In the sections that are not found in Samuel and Kings, one can discern a common vocabulary that reveals the personality of the Chronicler. This vocabulary occurs not only in the "direct narrative," that is, those sections where the Chronicler is describing events in the third person, but also in the "dramatic narrative," that is, those sections that cite speeches or prayers. Many have questioned the veracity of the Paraleipomenon or "omissions" that the Chronicler has added into his account.

These critiques are the product of our modern fixation on literature and history. It may be difficult for us to appreciate a literary work in which long lists and genealogies form a key component, but this does not appear to be true for ancient writers and readers. Although not testing the limits of our modern patience, the New Testament Gospel of Matthew begins in similar fashion, drawing the reader into the story of Jesus by tracing his human origins in the line of Abraham and David. Modern readers may want the story of Israel to be told with more brilliant colors, but the Chronicler had an agenda that sought to capture the imagination of his own generation rather than a modern one. It is this agenda that has often been the subject of modern debate over the historical character of the Chronicler, yet all the while the greatest detractors seem to think that modern historiography itself is devoid of an agenda. Fundamental to the task of writing history, whether in the ancient or modern world, is linking cause and effect and establishing a rationale for understanding events in a certain way. Throughout time, all history writing has highlighted certain themes by emphasizing particular parts of history over others through including or excluding various events. It is true that there are dimensions of ancient historiography, such as the creation and shaping of speeches to reflect the sentiments of a character (see Thucydides) or the inclusion of supernatural causes, which are seen as inappropriate for many modern historians, but these were accepted modes of historical writing in the ancient world and would not have been considered faulty or inferior. The Chronicler has also shaped his historical presentation in a certain way to highlight historiographical principles that were key to his worldview and theology and helpful to his readers, who lived in a unique period in history. Understanding these principles is key to using Chronicles for reconstructing the history of Israel as well as for highlighting its theological significance for believers today. Some of these principles will be highlighted under "Major Themes" below (see also the introductions to 1 Chr 1-9, 10-29, 2 Chr 1-9, and 10-36 for historiographic principles key to each section of the work).

In order to investigate the Chronicler's work, we need to look more closely at introductory issues of history, text, and literature. First, we need to discover when this work was written, who was responsible for it, and to whom it was written. Second, we need to evaluate the textual sources for the study of Chronicles, that is, evaluate the various ancient manuscripts in Hebrew and other languages that bear witness to the original text. Part of the textual study is to ascertain the textual limits of the work itself, whether it comprised 1 and 2 Chronicles or whether it included Ezra and Nehemiah as well. Finally, in light of this, we need to...