Introduction

The Second Book of Chronicles, Hebrew דברי הימים ב, Greek Παραλειπομένων β, Chronicorum II — in the original Hebrew biblical text formed one whole with 1 Chronicles, just as in the church’s reckoning of the canonical books of the Old Testament, both books are accepted as one. Only the LXX, having given these books a new distinct name, divided the originally unified sacred book into two, and this division was adopted in the printed editions of the Hebrew Bible following the lead of the Bomberg edition (1517). The basis for the division could lie in the content of both books themselves, of which 1 Chronicles, after genealogical tables (chapters 1–9), contains the complete, finished history of David’s reign (chapters 10–29), while 2 Chronicles contains the reign of Solomon (chapters 1–9) and the subsequent kings of Judah down to the very Babylonian captivity (chapters 10–36). Evidently, the content of 2 Chronicles is in general covered by or coincides with the scope of the content of 3 and 4 Kings. The character of the narrative of Chronicles is sufficiently defined by the Hebrew title divrei ha-yamim – the words or deeds of days, that is, of the past, and by the Latin of the blessed Jerome: Chronicon, chronicle: these are annals, chronicles, compiled on the basis of historical records of the prophets (see (2 Chr 9:29) and others), partly common with those records which served to compile 3 and 4 Kings (see Commentary Bible vol. II, p. 164), partly exclusively only in the sacred writer of Chronicles, for example, the “account from the book of the kings,” midrash sefer hamalakim (2 Chr 24:27); the “prayer (tefillah) of Manasseh” (2 Chr 33:18-19). Related to this is the great documentary quality or statistical precision of the exposition of Chronicles in comparison with 3 and 4 Kings.

Regarding the purposes of the books of Chronicles, basing themselves on the inaccurate name of these books in the LXX (Παραλειπόμενα — “omitted” or “forgotten”), the purpose was often seen as presenting a supplement to other historical books of the Old Testament, in particular — regarding 2 Chronicles — to 3 and 4 Kings, or else giving a shortened account of their content. In reality, however, in the book of Chronicles narratives are often repeated that were described rather fully before, sometimes important historical accounts are entirely omitted. Rather, adhering to the Hebrew title of Chronicles, one should see in them annals or chronicles of primarily religious, theocratic, liturgical character: the idea of theocracy and the cult of Jehovah is the dominant idea of Chronicles, hence the special detail of narrative about pious kings, and similar detail in the description of various institutions in public worship, in remarks about the sacred Levitical tribe and its individual families. The religious-theocratic idea governing the book of Chronicles gave occasion for the blessed Jerome to say: “The Book of Chronicles, that is, ἐπιτομή (epitome) of ancient documents, is such that if anyone, not knowing it, wishes to claim knowledge of the scriptures for himself, he ridicules himself. In almost every name and in nearly every combination of words are touched upon the histories omitted in the Books of Kings, and are set forth countless evangelical questions.” (“Letter to Paulinus. On the Study of Holy Scripture.” Works of the blessed Jerome of Stridon in Russian translation pt. 3, Kiev, 1894, p. 83). Important practical significance in the life of the Jews returned from captivity could have had the genealogical Hebrew tables placed in the chapters (1 Chr 1-9), giving the possibility of exact determination of who descended from the sacred tribe and who was a layman (Ezra 2:59-63; Neh 7:61-65). Even more important significance should have had the remarks of religious-cultic character in the restoration of the religious-liturgical life of the Jews in the building of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. Most important of all is that in Chronicles breathes the same divinely exalted spirit as in the other sacred books (compare, for example, (2 Chr 6:18) and (Acts 7:48) and others).

Patristic commentaries on Chronicles — those of the blessed Theodoret and St. Ephrem the Syrian. From Western scholars, earlier: Calmet, Le Clerc, Cornelius a Lapide, and modern: Bertheau (1873), Keil (1870), and others. In Russian literature on Chronicles see Metropolitan of Kiev Arseny. Introduction to the Sacred Books of the Old Testament (Kiev, 1873), Prof. A. A. Olesnitsky. Instructive information about the Old and New Testament Scripture from the works of Church fathers and teachers (St. Petersburg, 1894); also by him, The State Chronicle of the Kings of Judah or the forgotten books (Παραλεπόμενα). Works of the Kiev Theological Academy 1879, Nos. 8 and 12; Prof. Proto-Priest A. S. Tsarevsky, The Origin and Composition of the First and Second Books of Chronicles (Kiev, 1878); Prof. P. A. Yungerov, Origin and Historicity of the Books of Chronicles, Orthodox Interlocutor 1905, September; Expository Notes — in Prof. Gulyaev, Historical Books of the Old Testament Scripture (Kiev, 1866) and others.

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Notes

In the Alexandrian codex of the LXX there is the heading: Παραλειπομένων β. των βασιλειων Ιουδα – 2 Chronicles “on the kingdoms of Judah.”