King David, We Hardly Knew Ye

Chronicles 9-29

     So, there is not much to add to the historical information around Chronicles that we didn't get from the Book of Kings because now all we have done is gone back to the beginning of the Monarchy. What we can take note of, however, is the subtle differences between the histories of the Books of Kings compared to the Books of Chronicles. The Book of Kings is believed to have been fleshed out during the reforms of Josiah and maybe the generations after, during the Babylonian occupation. The fall of Judah would have been fresh in the minds of the editors and authors of the writings. The Book of Chronicles is believed to have been constructed after the return of the exiles from Babylon and so the history of David and the messianic promises of the prophets would have been in the minds of those authors and editors.
      The first major difference between the two texts are the events of King David. He is definitely portrayed in a much more positive light. There is no mention of his adultery or some of the other questionable decisions. I don’t remember the Book of Kings mentioning the special warriors known as the Three and the Thirty, but that was fun. It reminded me of a comic book series or something. Also, there is no mention of David's childhood or the situation with Goliath. These chapters are mostly the military victories and accomplishments of the first King of united Israel. This book is also more heavy on the religious side than the political. There is much more detail in these writings about how David prepares for the building of the Temple and the inner workings of the priesthood.

      The final chapters of this first book of Chronicles are all about the duties and positions within the Temple. These would have been the major references for the returning exiles who began the process of rebuilding Solomon’s Temple. The children of Abraham would never reach the height of power or prosperity that they enjoyed during the period of Kings and Chronicles, but the stories would be dutifully recorded and retold in hopes of one day achieving greatness in the name of Yahweh.

Back to the Start

I Chronicles 1-8

        The first eight chapters are a quick recap of the genealogies of the Israelites from Adam down to the first King of Israel, Saul. The book of Chronicles lists many sources available to the Jews of that day including public records, registers and genealogical lists that were kept by the Israelites. The Deuteronomical History (Genesis- Kings) is thought to be another source for this book. Genealogical records were very important as they were the basis for land ownership of the various tribes and the families within those tribes.
        Wow, we have come a long way. So far we have finished the first collection of writings known as the Torah (instruction) which is Genesis - Deuteronomy. The second collection of works within the Tanakh is known as the Nevi’im (Prophets) and is broken into two subgroups. First we have the Nevi’im Rishonim (Former Prophets) which is what we just finished; the books of Joshua-Kings, also referred to by some as the Deuteronomical History. The second part of the Nevi’im is known as the Nevi’im Aharonim (Latter Prophets) and are the collection of writings attributed to the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekial, and the Twelve Minor Prophets. They have a fascinating history of their own, but all in due time. Interestingly enough the books of the Latter Prophets are actually thought to be older than the narratives of the Former Prophets.
       Stuck in between the works of the Nevi’im Rishonim and Nevi’im Aharonim is the third collection of writings within the Tanakh known as the Ketuvim (writings). The Ketuvim is made up of the three Poetic Books (Sifrei Emet) Psalms, Proverbs, and Job; The Five Scrolls (Hamesh Megillot) of the books of Ruth, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes (my favorite), and Esther; the Other Books (of which there is no formal grouping or name) which are the books of Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah (two prophets in one book, but later split into two books by the Christians), and finally the book we are starting; Chronicles. Another ridiculously large book of the ancient world that had to be split into two scrolls, I and II Chronicles.
       In Hebrew this book is called Divrei Hayyamim (The Matters [of] the Days) and at one time it was believed that these writings were what the author of Samuel and Kings based their work off of. Some even believed the author to be one of the authors of portions of the book Ezra-Nehemiah. However, most modern scholars have dismissed this theory. The earliest possible date for this book would be around 539 BCE because the book mentions the actions of Cyrus the Great, the Persian king who conquered Babylon and allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. It is believed that the works of the prophets (former and latter) were completed after the Babylonian exile and inducted into the Jewish canon around the 2nd century B.C.E. Yet, the Ketuvim as a whole did not become an accepted book of the Jewish Tanakh till the 2nd century A.D. There is evidence, though, that many Israelites were adding some of the other works to their already canonized books of the prophets as early as 132 B.C.E. even though there was no official title for the collection.
        I will try to move us through I and II Chronicles as quickly as possible since most of it is just a retelling of the books of Kings. I would like to point out that there is a different tone to this book than that of the books of Kings. Chronicles was probably written after the return of the exiles from Babylon and the author was a little more favorable towards the previous monarchies than that of the author/s of Kings who were most likely recent exiles into Babylon and still bitter about the rulers that were in power at the time.