Introduction

About the Books of Chronicles

The name of the books. The two books of Chronicles that follow the Books of Kings in the Greek Bible constitute a single work in the ancient (Josephus, Against Apion 1:8; Origen in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History VI, 25) and modern Hebrew text, known by the name “Divrei Hayamim” and classified not among the historical books, but among the so-called “Kethuvim” (Greek: “Hagiographa”), that is, “Writings.” The Hebrew designation, before which, according to the indication (1 Kgs 14:19; 1 Kgs 15:7), the word “sefer” (book) should stand, literally means: “book of daily events,” which corresponds to our “Chronicles,” that is, it points to the form of presentation of the material, and the inclusion of the book in the section “Kethuvim” is explained, as some think, by its exhortatory character. The inscription “Divrei Hayamim” is rendered with complete precision in Jerome’s Latin translation by the term “Libri Chronicorum,” but in the Greek text is replaced by something entirely different: “Paralipomenon Basileon Ioudá.” The origin of the Greek designation is explained by the fact that at the time of the translation the published book had no definite name in the Hebrew Bible, and therefore the Septuagint, seeing in it a supplement, an addition to the Books of Kings (Synopsis scripturae sanctae, In Athanasii op. II, p. 83; Jerome – letter to Paulinus; Isidore of Seville, Origin, lib. VI, c. 1), gave it this name. With the new name the Book of Chronicles received from the Septuagint also a new division: the single book of the Hebrew text was divided by them into two, probably in imitation of the division of the Books of Kings. Just as in them the second book is devoted to the history of David’s reign, and from the third begins the history of Solomon’s rule, so also in Chronicles the accounts of the deeds of these two kings are placed in different books: at the end of the first about the deeds of David, from the beginning of the second – about the deeds of Solomon.

The time of writing of the books and the author. As can be seen from the mention of the edict of Cyrus, which permitted the Jews to return to their homeland (2 Chr 36:22), as well as from Persian names of coins (1 Chr 29:7) and measures (2 Chr 3:3), the Book of Chronicles was written during the period of Persian rule. According to the indications of other data, the origin of the Book of Chronicles can be established with certainty as no later than the time of the priest Ezra. The first place among them is held by a consideration derived from the history of the canon. According to the unanimous opinion of the Sacred Scriptures themselves (2 Macc 2:13), of Jewish scholars, for example Josephus, of the Fathers and Teachers of the Church, Irenaeus of Lyons, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, John Chrysostom, the Old Testament canon received its present form under Ezra and Nehemiah. “To books written before Artaxerxes (Artaxerxes – contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah, Ezra 7-8; Neh 2:5),” says Josephus, “nothing can now be added or taken away from them.” In accordance with this, the Book of Chronicles, as included in the canon, appeared no later than the given time. The view that the Book of Chronicles originated at the indicated time is further supported by the identity of its conclusion with the beginning of the first book of Ezra (2 Chr 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-3). Examining these two passages, scholars come to the conclusion that the author of the Book of Ezra compiled the beginning of his work from the Book of Chronicles, but not the reverse: consequently, the latter were already in existence. Precisely in the Book of Chronicles these passages are in a direct and unbroken connection with the preceding chapters 18–21, form the second member of the sentence, which guarantees their originality; whereas in the Book of Ezra they stand in fragments.

The opinion about the origin of the Book of Chronicles under Ezra was held by all Jewish and Christian antiquity. Only from the time of Spinoza have there been attempts to assign it to later centuries. And first of all Spinoza himself put forward the supposition that it was written after Ezra, even after the purification of the Temple by Judas Maccabaeus (10th ch. Tractatus theologico-politicus). Similarly, scholars of later times – Bertheau, Bleek, Gramberg, and others do not hesitate to assign it to the period of the rule of the Lagids and Seleucids. To this very period, in their view, points the supposedly fanatical hatred toward the kingdom of Israel that is observed in the Book of Chronicles, which arose only after the “Israelites” built a temple on Mount Gerizim. But negative criticism does not indicate, and indeed cannot indicate, in what this hatred manifests itself, since in reality it does not exist. “The fact that the writer of Chronicles does not have hatred toward the kingdom of Israel is evident from the fact that he omitted the history of this kingdom from his work; he would have accomplished his purpose of presenting it in an unfavorable light far more readily if he had simply recounted the deeds of its kings.” Another proof that the Book of Chronicles originated during the period of Macedonian rule, in the view of negative criticism, is the genealogy of Zerubbabel (1 Chr 3:19-24). According to Bertheau, Wette, Schrader, Zockler, and others, it breaks down into six generations and extends to the time of Alexander the Great. Without dealing at present with the details of Zerubbabel’s genealogy, let us note only that this passage in the Book of Chronicles is recognized by both ancient and modern exegetes (Carpzov, Clericus, Eichhorn, Keil) as a gloss later than Ezra, which originally was placed by someone in the margin of the Book of Chronicles and later was entered into the text itself. This conclusion is reached by the fact that while all the remaining genealogies of the Book of Chronicles extend at most to the Babylonian captivity, this last one (Zerubbabel’s) extends at least two hundred years beyond the end of the captivity. In confirmation of their opinion, the mentioned scholars further cite the twenty-first chapter of the first book of Chronicles, asserting that the view expressed in it of Satan as an independent evil spirit acting upon men independently of God was borrowed by the Jews after Ezra from Medo-Persian theology. But as is evident from the content of chapter XXI, it does not give grounds for speaking of any kind of relations of Satan to God; and if it is compared with chapter XXIV of the second book of Kings, which tells of the same event, it turns out that the evil spirit acted upon David by God’s permission. According to the testimony of Ps 108, a similar understanding of him was known to the Jews of the time of David. The assertion of negative criticism is also not convincing, that the public fast appointed in the time of Jehoshaphat on the occasion of an invasion of enemies against Judah, which resulted in God granting victory without battle (2 Chr 20), originated from the time of Antiochus Epiphanes (164 B.C.). Books of Sacred Scripture from the pre-captivity period mention fasts established to express sorrow on the occasion of some misfortune, but say nothing of fasts with such a purpose and such consequences. The difference pointed out by negative criticism between the fast of the time of Jehoshaphat and the fast of the pre-captivity period is its own fabrication. In reality they are similar both in character and in consequence. In the time of Jehoshaphat, during the fast, the Jews “besought the Lord” (2 Chr 20:4), “cried to him out of their distress” (2 Chr 20:9), that is, they were in a state of sorrow, the expression of which, as in preceding times, was fasting. The fast in the time of Jehoshaphat was accompanied by the striking down of enemies; the same were its consequences in the period of Judges (Judg 20 and following; 1 Sam 7:6 and following). Finally, the mention found in the Book of Chronicles of the Persian coin darics (1 Chr 29:7), which derived its origin and name from Darius Hystaspis, cannot serve as an indication of the later post-Ezra origin of the Book of Chronicles. The 50–60 years that passed between the first year of Darius Hystaspis and the seventh year of Artaxerxes Longimanus, the contemporary of Ezra, are sufficient for the spread of darics among the Jews, a Persian province. According to them, having come into use by the time of the author of Chronicles, the account is reckoned in it (see also concerning darics in the explanation of 1 Chr 29:7).

If the time of origin of the Book of Chronicles can be established with comparative accuracy, then the question of its author is not subject to definite resolution. The Talmud, the majority of rabbis, teachers of the Church, for example Theodoret and many Western exegetes – Eichhorn, Lange, Hävernick, Michaelis, Keil, and others, consider Ezra to be the author of the Book of Chronicles. In proof of this, they refer mainly to the identity of its conclusion with the beginning of the Book of Ezra, as well as to the similarity noted in these two books both in individual words and names of various things, and in whole narratives. Namely, in both books there are genealogical tables (1 Chr 1-9; Ezra 7), descriptions of the arrangement of the divine service and everything relating to it (1 Chr 23 and so on; Ezra 7-10), identical Persian names of the vessel (1 Chr 28:17; Ezra 1:10), of the drachma (1 Chr 29:7; Ezra 2:69), and so forth. But since these data do not contain direct indications of Ezra’s authorship, and the Bible knows of no other person to whom the composition of the Book of Chronicles could be attributed, some scholars leave the question of its author open.

The content of the Book of Chronicles and their relation to other Old Testament books, particularly to the Books of Kings. In terms of content, the Book of Chronicles is divided into two parts, distinct from one another in character. The first – genealogical – comprises nine initial chapters of the first book and contains genealogical tables of ancient peoples from Adam, and then of the Hebrews, especially the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi with some historical and geographical remarks. In the second part, comprising the remaining chapters of the first book and the whole of the second, there is narrated, after the account of the death of Saul (1 Chr 10), the history of the reign of David (1 Chr 11-29), Solomon (2 Chr 1-9), and his successors until the return of the Jews from captivity by the edict of Cyrus (2 Chr 10-36). In the first part, the Book of Chronicles coincides chiefly with the Books of Genesis and Joshua, from which certain sections are taken (see below in the explanations); in the second – with the Books of Kings in more than 40 passages. But despite all similarity with the latter, sometimes literally exact, the Book of Chronicles presents significant peculiarities in comparison. The principal ones consist in omissions and additions. Namely, the Book of Chronicles omits the reign of Saul, except only for the account of his death, and all information from the reign of David concerning Saul and his descendants, such as: David’s sorrow at the death of Saul and Jonathan, the execution of Saul’s murderer, the enthronement of Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, and the civil war that resulted, ending in Ishbosheth’s death (2 Sam 1-4), David’s kindness to Mephibosheth (2 Sam 9), and the surrender of seven descendants of Saul to the Gibeonites for atonement on account of famine. Further, the Book of Chronicles omits information concerning the family life of David and Solomon and in general the private affairs of both kings: accounts of Michal’s reproaches (2 Sam 6:20-23), of David’s transgression with Bathsheba (2 Sam 11:2-12), of Amnon’s incest and the events it caused up to Absalom’s rebellion and his death (2 Sam 13-20), of David’s old age weakness, Adonijah’s conspiracy, Solomon’s anointing, and of David’s deathbed secret testament to Solomon (1 Kgs 1-3), of Solomon’s marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter (1 Kgs 3:1), of Solomon’s wise judgment (1 Kgs 3:16-28), of the court officials and expenses for maintaining the palace (1 Kgs 4:1-6), and of the construction of the palace itself (1 Kgs 7:1-12), of Solomon’s fall into sin and its consequences (1 Kgs 11). From the accounts in the Books of Kings of David’s state affairs the account of war with the Philistines is omitted (2 Sam 21:15-17), and from events after Solomon’s time the entire history of the ten-tribe kingdom is passed over in silence, and of its kings only so much is recounted as it touched upon the kingdom of Judah. In place of these omissions there are many additions in the Book of Chronicles that fill gaps in the history of the Jewish people. Some of them concern wars and other matters of particular character, others worship. The former include a list of men who came to David at Ziklag when he was fleeing from Saul (1 Chr 12:1-22); a list of warriors who proclaimed David king in Hebron (1 Chr 12:23-40); information about Solomon’s construction of the bronze sea, bronze pillars, and vessels for the temple from the bronze that David took from Hadadezer (1 Chr 18:8), about Abishai’s striking of the Edomites in the Valley of Salt (1 Chr 18:12), about the Ammonites’ hiring of Syrians for one thousand talents for war against the Jews (1 Chr 19:6); a list of David’s armies, their commanders, the leaders of the tribes, and court officials (1 Chr 27:5-34); an account of Solomon’s horsemen and wealth (2 Chr 1:14-17), of his campaign against the Edomites of Seir (2 Chr 8:3), of Rehoboam’s fortification of cities, of the Levites and godly people who transferred from the ten-tribe kingdom to Judah in the time of Jeroboam, of Rehoboam’s wives and children (2 Chr 11:5-23), of Abijah’s war with Jeroboam and the defeat of the latter (2 Chr 13:3-20), of the Egyptian Shishak’s invasion of Judah (2 Chr 12:9-15), of Asa’s activity in strengthening his kingdom and his victory over the Ethiopian Zerah (2 Chr 14:3-14), of the rebuke of Asa by the prophet Hanani (2 Chr 16:7-10) and the burial of his remains (2 Chr 16:13-14), of Jehoshaphat’s piety, his war against Ammonites, Moabites, and other barbarous peoples, his arrangement of his sons, and their killing by his successor Jehoram (2 Chr 17:2-18), of the threatening letter of the prophet Elijah to Jehoram (2 Chr 21:11-20), of the invasion of the Philistines, Jehoram’s sickness and his death (ibid); of Uzziah’s war with the Philistines, Arabians, his construction of cities (2 Chr 26:6-18), of Jotham’s war with the Ammonites and his constructions (2 Chr 27:4-6), of the disastrous battle of Ahaz with Pekah of Israel and the difficult times for the kingdom of Judah in his reign (2 Chr 28:5-25), of Hezekiah’s wealth (2 Chr 32:27-30), of Manasseh’s captivity, his repentance, and his release from captivity (2 Chr 33:11-17). To accounts of a worship character belong: a list of Levites who carried the ark of the covenant (1 Chr 15:2-28); David’s hymn of praise at the transfer of the ark to Zion, a list of Levites appointed for service at the tabernacle (1 Chr 16:4-43); David’s arrangements regarding the construction of the temple (1 Chr 22:1); the division of Levites for service in the temple (1 Chr 23:1-26:1); David’s final arrangements in the presence of the elders (1 Chr 28:1-29); a description of the lampstands, tables, and courts at the temple (2 Chr 4:6-9); the singing and playing of Levites at the dedication of the temple (2 Chr 5:12-14); a description of the bronze platform on which Solomon prayed (2 Chr 6:12-13); the consumption of sacrifices and burnt offerings by fire falling from heaven (2 Chr 7:1-3); Solomon’s sacrifice and the courses of priests and Levites in their service in the temple (2 Chr 8:13-16); the restoration of the lawful worship under Asa through the speech of the prophet Azariah (2 Chr 15:1-15) and under Jehoshaphat (2 Chr 19); idolatry after the death of Jehoiada, the rebuke speech of the prophet Zechariah and its consequences (2 Chr 24:15-22); the destruction of idolatry under Hezekiah (2 Chr 29-31) and under Josiah (2 Chr 34:3-7). All the indicated cases of divergence in the Book of Chronicles give full right to consider them, at least in the sphere of additions and omissions, as independent of the Books of Kings. But independence in this regard compels us to suppose that even the parallel sections of the Book of Chronicles are not extracted from the Books of Kings, as Wette and Schrader think. This is guaranteed in particular by the difference in plan and distribution of similar material in these books (cf. 1 Chr 10 and 1 Sam 31; 2 Chr 2 and 1 Kgs 5:15-32). Not representing a compilation of the Books of Kings, the Book of Chronicles was composed on the basis of sources common to them, which explains their mutual similarity. As for the differences, they are explained by the fact that the author of Chronicles used sources unknown to the writer of the Books of Kings, which he cites at the end of the reign of each king (the records of Samuel the seer, the prophets Nathan and Gad, the records of Nathan, the prophecy of Ahijah of Shiloh, and the visions of the seer Jeddo, the book of the kings of Judah and Israel).

The purpose of writing the book. As seen from the outline of the relation of the Book of Chronicles to the Books of Kings, it sets forth not the history of the Hebrew people, but the history of a single two-tribe kingdom and moreover in its most brilliant moments, marked by the flourishing of theocracy. Namely, the author dwells with especial love on the reigns of the pious kings – David, Solomon, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Hezekiah, and Josiah, and notes the measures taken by them to elevate true worship; likewise, from the deeds of other kings, he describes chiefly those which had relation to religion. The state of the latter was shown by the cult. Hence the author’s extensive descriptions of the order of divine service, the duties of Levites and their ministry. In full correspondence with this is the silence of the author concerning the dark periods of theocracy – the times of the decline of true religion, which are the last years of Solomon’s reign and the entire time of the reign of the post-captivity kings. In setting forth the history of theocracy from David to the Babylonian captivity, and noting in parallel its state – successes in keeping faith with religion and failures in violating it (2 Chr 12:12 and so on), the author wished to show his contemporaries how God rewards faithfulness to Himself and punishes unfaithfulness, and thereby to inspire in them feelings of fear and faithfulness to the law of Jehovah.