1 Chronicles
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Quick Overview of 1 Chronicles. – –1-9 – –Genealogical tables
from Adam to the time of Ezra. – – 10-29– –the dual history of
King Saul and King David (in connection with the book of
Samuel).
Link: https://bible-history.com/old-testament/...
The Book of First Chronicles covers a series of genealogies
and then the history of the last days of King Saul and the
early years of King David. Some of the main events include: 2)
The return of the ark to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 13-16).
Included in this section is the account of the misfortune of
Uzzah, who was killed when he reached forth to save the ark
from falling (1 Chronicles 13).
3) David purposes to build the temple but is forbidden because
of the great amount of bloodshed to which he has been a party
(1 Chronicles 17).
4) The account of David's conquests (1 Chronicles 18-20).
5) The census and the plague (1 Chronicles 21).
6) David's preparations for building the temple (1 Chronicles
22). Although David was himself forbidden to build a temple
for God, he set about to collect the necessary materials for
such a temple, that the task of his son Solomon might be
easier.
7) Designation of the duties of the Levites (1 Chronicles 23).
8) Organization of the government (1 Chronicles 24).
9) David's last words and his death (1 Chronicles 28-29).
Link: https://bible-history.com/old-testament/...
Hebrew Name - Divrei Hayamim "Words of the Days". The books of
Chronicles were originally one book, as in the case of Samuel
and Kings. The Hebrew title is translated the "words of the
days", yet the word Chronicles is mainly adopted by a
theologian named Jerome who thought that they ought to bear
the title from the Greek word for time which is "Chronos".
This title created a distraction from the true meaning and
purpose of this wonderful book.
Link: https://bible-history.com/old-testament/...
Author - Ezra (According to Tradition). Hebrew tradition
credits Ezra has the author of the books of Chronicles, in the
beginning of the books trace the genealogical records all the
way back to Adam which took place in approximately 4004 BC.
Link: https://bible-history.com/old-testament/...
The Books of Chronicles (Hebrew Divrei Hayyamim, דברי הימים,
Greek Paralipomenon, Παραλειπομένων) are part of the Hebrew
Bible. In the Masoretic Text, it appears as the first or last
book of the Ketuvim (the latter arrangement also making it the
final book of the Jewish bible). Chronicles largely parallels
the Davidic narratives in the Books of Samuel and the Books of
Kings.[1] It appears in two parts (I & II Chronicles),
immediately following 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings as a
summary of them with minor details sometimes added. The
division of Chronicles and its place in the Christian canon of
the Old Testament are based upon the Septuagint...
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_Chronicl...
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 Ch 1 through 9). The
second part is an account of the accession and reign of
David (1 Ch 10 through 29). The third part is an account of
the events under David's successors in the dynasty (2 Ch).
The genealogies begin with Adam (1 Ch 1:1) and extend to the
latest Old Testament times (1 Ch 9; compare Neh 11, and the
latest names in the genealogical lines, e.g. 1 Ch 3:19 ff).
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 Ch 1:10,19,43 ff; compare
Gen 10:8,25; 36:31 ff). 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 Ch
4:9,10,38-43).
The account in Chronicles of the reign of David divides
itself into three parts. The first part (1 Ch 10 through 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 Ch 22 through 29:22a) deals with one
particular event and the preparations for it. The event is
the making Solomon king, at a great public assembly (1 Ch
23:1; 28:1 ff). 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 Ch 29:22b-30) is a
brief account of Solomon's being made king "a second time"
(compare 1 Ki 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...
Link: https://bible-history.com/isbe/C/CHRONIC...
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 Chr. 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
Chr. 27:24; 29:29; 2 Chr. 9:29; 12:15; 13:22; 20:34;
24:27;
26:22; 32:32; 33:18, 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 Chr. 17:18; comp. 2 Sam. 7:18-20; 1 Chr. 19;
comp. 2 Sam. 10,
etc.).
As compared with Samuel and Kings, the Book of
Chronicles
omits many particulars there recorded (2 Sam. 6:20-
23; 9; 11;
14-19, etc.), and includes many things peculiar to
itself (1
Chr. 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 Chr. 12:1-
37), the
removal of the ark from Kirjath-jearim to Mount Zion
(1 Chr. 13;
15:2-24; 16:4-43; comp. 2 Sam. 6), Uzziah's leprosy
and its
cause (2 Chr. 26:16-21; comp. 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 Chr. 20:4) is used instead of Gob (2 Sam.
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 (Heb. 5:4; Matt. 12:42; 23:35;
Luke 1:5;
11:31, 51).
Link: https://bible-history.com/eastons/C/Chro...
Hebrew "Words" or "Acts of days." In the Septuagint
Paraleipomena, i.e. "Supplements" to 1 and 2 KINGS. Probably
compiled by Ezra. One genealogy, indeed, of a later date,
namely, Zerubbabel's, was doubtless added by a more recent
hand (1 Chronicles 3:22-24) as was Nehemiah 12:10-11-22-23.
The Book of Ezra forms a continuation to Chronicles. The
chief difficulty at the return from Babylon was to maintain
the genealogical distribution of lands, which was essential
in the Jewish polity. Ezra and Nehemiah therefore, as
restorers of that polity, gave primary attention to this.
Again, the temple service, the religious bond of the nation,
could only be maintained by the Levites' residence in
Jerusalem, for which end the payment of tithes and
firstfruits was indispensable. Moreover, the Levitical
genealogies needed to be arranged, to settle the order of
the temple courses, and who were entitled to allowances as
priests, porters, and singers.
The people also needed to have their inheritances
assigned according to their families, to be able to pay
tithes. Hence, genealogies occupy a prominent place in the
Chronicles, just as we should expect in a book compiled by
Ezra under such circumstances. Zerubbabel, and subsequently
Ezra and Nehemiah, not only strove in the face of
difficulties (Ezra 2-3; Ezra 5-6; Ezra 8; Nehemiah 7-8) to
restore the temple service to its state under the kings of
Judah, but also to infuse into the people a national spirit.
For this end, the Chronicles give a summary history of
David, introduced by the closing scene of Saul's life, and
of the succeeding kings, especially of some of the greatest
and best kings who built or restored the temple, abolished
corruption, and established the services in due order, as
Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, Josiah, etc.
Since the northern kingdom of Israel had passed
away, and Samaria its only remaining representative was
among Judah's bitterest foes, Israel's history occupies a
subordinate place. Accordingly, 1 Chronicles 1-8 give the
genealogies and settlements; 1 Chronicles 9:1-24 their
disturbance by the captivity, and partial restoration at the
return; this portion is reinserted in Nehemiah 11:3-22 with
additional matter from the archives, as to times succeeding
the return from Babylon, down to Nehemiah 12:27, where
Nehemiah's narrative is resumed from Nehemiah 11:2. At 1
Chronicles 9:35 begins Saul's genealogy, taken from the
tables drawn up in Hezekiah's reign (for 14 generations from
Jonathan to Azel correspond to the 14 from David to
Hezekiah); then the history of (mainly) Judah's kings
follows, and of the events down to the end of the book of
Ezra, which suit the patriotic purpose of the compiler.
1 Chronicles 15-17; 22-29; 2 Chronicles 13-15; 17-
20; 24; 26; 29-31; 35, are mainly unique to Chronicles, and
manifestly are calculated to awaken by the glorious (as well
as the sad) memories of the past a desire in the people to
restrain the corruption which had led to the captivity, and
to restore the national polity in church and state. The
conclusion of Chronicles and the beginning of Ezra are
similar, the one ending with Cyrus' decree for the
restoration, the other telling how that decree was obtained
and was carried out. If this connection of the two books
were rejected, it would be hard to account for the breaking
off of the narrative in Chronicles' close, in Ezra's
lifetime, and the abruptness with which the book of Ezra
opens (Ezra 1:1). The style of both, tinged with Chaldaisms,
accords with this view. The mention in both 1 Chronicles
29:7 and Ezra 2:69 of the Persian coin, "darics" (as it
ought to be translated instead of "dram"), is another...
Link: https://bible-history.com/faussets/C/Chr...
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 David's 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]
Link: https://bible-history.com/smiths/C/Chron...
