OT Survey Pt 26: Chronicles

OT Survey Pt 26: Chronicles

Title Originally a Single Book Hebrew: The words of the days loosely derived from 1 Chron 27:24, the account of the chronicles of King David literally, the book of the words of the days pertaining to King David English: The name Chronicles comes from Jerome Jerome proposed that chronicles of the whole divine history or Chronicles of the Entire Sacred History was a good name for the Hebrew title Luther picked up on this Since then, virtually all Protestant Bibles have dubbed it Chronicles

Title Not the same thing as the Annals of the kings of Israel/Judah mentioned in Kings, because Chronicles is written after kings LXX: The things omitted Gk term = Paraleipomenon, Supplement to Things Omitted 55% of what is recorded in Chronicles is not in Samuel or Kings This title in the LXX reflects a long standing depreciated value that has been attached to the book it s really much more than a supplement to the OT The NT does not directly quote either 1 or 2 Chronicles.

Author Neither 1 nor 2 Chronicles contains direct statements regarding the human author, though Jewish tradition strongly favors Ezra the priest as the chronicler.

Historical Background Immediate historical backdrop encompassed the Jews threephase return to the Promised Land from the Babylonian exile: 1) Zerubbabel in Ezra 1 6 (ca. 538 B.C.); 2) Ezra in Ezra 7 10(ca. 458 B.C.); and 3) Nehemiah in Neh. 1 13

Historical Background The Jews had returned from their 70 years of captivity (ca. 538 B.C.) to a land that was markedly different from the one once ruled by King David (ca. 1011 971 B.C.) and King Solomon (971 931 B.C.): 1) there was no Hebrew king, but rather a Persian governor (Ezra 5:3; 6:6); 2) there was no security for Jerusalem, so Nehemiah had to rebuild the wall (Neh. 1 7); 3) there was no temple, so Zerubbabel had to reconstruct a pitiful semblance of the Solomonic temple s former glory (Ezra 3); 4) the Jews no longer dominated the region, but rather were on the defensive (Ezra 4; Neh. 4); 5) they enjoyed few divine blessings beyond the fact of their return; 6) they possessed little of the kingdom s former wealth; and 7) God s divine presence no longer resided in Jerusalem, having departed ca. 597 591 B.C. (Ezek. 8 11).

Historical Background The chronicler s selective genealogy and history of Israel, stretching from Adam (1 Chr. 1:1) to the return from Babylon (2 Chr. 26:23), was intended to remind the Jews of God s promises about: 1) the Land; 2) the nation; 3) the Davidic king; 4) the Levitical priests; 5) the temple; and 6) true worship All of this was to remind them of their spiritual heritage

Date of Events From Adam (Creation, I Chronicles 1:1) to the grandsons of Zerubbabel (c. 450-400 BC, I Chronicles 3:19-21) Ch 1-8 gives lineage pre-exilic, then Ch 9 postexilic lineage supposed to encompass the entire OT everything from creation to postexilic community the point is despite all the problems of Israel, the Davidic line continues It is a mini OT all in itself I, 3:17-24, Goes down to at least the third generation after the exiles Written between 450-400 BC Last book in the OT Canon: It s almost like a hinge to the NT

The Correlation of Samuel/Kings and Chronicles 1 Chronicles is the partner of 2 Samuel First Chronicles opens with Adam (1:1) and closes with the death of David (29:26 30) in 971 B.C. Second Chronicles is the partner of 1 and 2 Kings Focuses exclusively on the kings of the southern kingdom of Judah, It ranges from the reign of Solomon (1:1) in 971 B.C. to the return from Babylon in 538 B.C. (36:23). Over 55 percent of the material in Chronicles is unique

The Correlation of Samuel/Kings and Chronicles Chronicles is telling us things we did not know The chronicler tended to omit what was negative or in opposition to the Davidic kingship He tended to make unique contributions in validating temple worship and the line of David. (David is important!)

The Correlation of Samuel/Kings and Chronicles The Emphasis is on the Davidic Dynasty and Positivity Consider these differences: I Chron 10 fast forwards through the rise and fall of Saul in one chapter I Chron 22-29 gives us something more poignant about David s goodness 2 Chron 1-9 = Solomon (II Chron 11, his divided heart is not mentioned because the author wants to focus on the positive elements from that period) Many of the kings and key persons in the North are not even mentioned

The Correlation of Samuel/Kings and Chronicles Whereas 2 Kings 25 ends dismally with the deportation of Judah to Babylon,2 Chronicles 36:22 23 concludes hopefully with the Jews release from Persia and return to Jerusalem. David and His sons are the Main character in Chronicles this sets the stage for the New Testament because the main character of the New Testament is also a son of David Jesus Christ

The Chronicler s Sources 1. Book of the Kings of Israel/Judah (1 Chr. 9:1; 2 Chr. 16:11; 20:34; 25:26; 27:7; 28:26; 32:32; 35:27; 36:8) 2. The Chronicles of David (1 Chr. 27:24) 3. Book of Samuel (1 Chr. 29:29) 4. Book of Nathan (1 Chr. 29:29; 2 Chr. 9:29) 5. Book of Gad (1 Chr. 29:29). 6. Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite (2 Chr. 9:29) 7. Visions of Iddo (2 Chr. 9:29) 8. Records of Shemaiah (2 Chr. 12:15) 9. Records of Iddo (2 Chr. 12:15) 10. Annals of Iddo (2 Chr. 13:22) 11. Annals of Jehu (2 Chr. 20:34) 12. Commentary on the Book of the Kings (2 Chr. 24:27) 13. Acts of Uzziah by Isaiah (2 Chr. 26:22) 14. Letters/Message of Sennacherib (2 Chr. 32:10 17) 15. Vision of Isaiah (2 Chr. 32:32) 16. Words of the Seers (2 Chr 33:18) 17. Sayings of Hozai (2 Chr. 33:19) 18. Written instructions of David and Solomon (2 Chr. 35:4) 19. The Laments (2 Chr. 35:25).

Major Themes All Israel Looks at the nation as a whole despite their being split in two for centuries Emphasized even in return post-exilic he has a goal of seeing the reunification of the whole nation I Chron 2, he provides genealogy of all the tribes 1 Chron 2:3, even peoples from 4 of the northern tribes were living in Jerusalem in his day As far as he s concerned, there are no 10 lost tribes

Major Themes Israelites did not lose their tribal knowledge until after A.D. 70. Ie. Paul, Anna (Luke 2) knew what tribes they were from. tribal information and records were in the Temple so when it was destroyed AD 70 vs. destruction of 1 st Temple was in waves Realize that Jesus is the last great claim to the Davidic Throne

Major Themes The Temple Author s very concerned with the temple, priests, and Levites The second temple was dramatically more simple than the first By giving great attention to the first one, the author may have hoped to inspire more dedication and sacrifice to building up the second one

Major Themes The Ark of the Covenant Interesting that the ark never returns to the rebuilt temple May be a sovereign indicator that there would be no lasting future for the Mosaic covenant The point of the author seems to be that there s more of a focus on the Davidic covenant than there is on the Mosaic covenant

Major Themes Priests Levites Longest focus/digression in genealogy = the Levites in chap 6 Much attention given to authenticating the authority of the priests and Levites

Major Themes The Davidic Dynasty Even the genealogy (1 Chron 3) spends the larger part of a chapter on Davidic connection Seal with proto-ionic capital and the inscription Pedaiah, son of the king. Pedaiah is named in Chronicles as one of the sons of Jehoiachin and the father of Zerubbabel.

Major Themes The Davidic Dynasty 29 chapters given to David and Solomon There s a tight connection between temple and Davidic dynasty, because it was David s dynasty that brought the temple into existence

Major Themes The Good Kings (II, 10:1-36:21; 17 of 27 chapters) a. Asa (14:1-16:14) b. Jehoshaphat (17:1-21:3) c. Joash (24:1-27) d. Amaziah (25:1-28) e. Uzziah (26:1-23) f. Jotham (27:1-9) g. Hezekiah (29:1-32:33) h. Josiah (34:1-35:27) Even the bad kings are given special attention when they repent (Manasseh)

Major Themes Yahweh is the Cause of all that Happens David / Solomon section bracketed by divine turning points 1 Chr 10:13-14, 13 So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the LORD, because of the word of the LORD which he did not keep; and also because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it, 14 and did not inquire of the LORD. Therefore He killed him and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse. 2 Chr 10:15, So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of events from God that the LORD might establish His word, which He spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Both turns are fulfillments of the prophetic word 1 Chr 11:3; So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the LORD; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the LORD through Samuel

Major Themes Genealogies Runs all the way back to Adam, not just Abraham ESVSB, The genealogies of chs. 1 9 are intended to show the Chronicler s own generation, now existing as the small province of Yehud (Judah) in the Persian Empire, that they are still God s people Israel and retain their central place in God s purposes for humanity.

Major Themes Genealogies of the tribes are not treated equally Judah (2:3 4:23) Simeon (4:24 43) The Transjordanian tribes (5:1 26) Levi (6:1 81) The northern tribes (7:1 40) Benjamin (8:1 40) ESVSB, The greatest amount of detail is devoted to Judah, Levi, and Benjamin. Judah and Benjamin bracket the lists, while Levi is placed at the center. [T]his arrangement indicates that Judah and Benjamin (the core of the old southern kingdom, along with Simeon, whose territory was merged with Judah s) enclose or enfold Israel, while the Levites provide its spiritual heart.

Major Themes Geneology first goes from Adam to Abraham, then from Abraham to David Fascinating that Moses is completely bypassed, except for being mentioned in the lineage of Levi No mention of Mosaic covenant Seems to be because the hope of the nation is not to be had in the Mosaic covenant anymore but in the Davidic covenant

Major Themes Though Moses is not much mentioned, his tribe, Levi, is greatly There s as much attention to tribe of Levi as there is to Judah 1 Chron 6:1-81, much attention given to the Levites ordained by David as musicians, gatekeepers, etc 1 Chron 9:10-34, much attention given to Levites and priests who returned from exile While the monarchy was no longer in power, the nation could connect with God s reign through the priestly functions of leadership

Major Themes The genealogy is a hinge to the NT. Much of the genealogy is spent on the Davidic Kingdom and lineage of King David. Grace there s a strong theme of grace in 2 Chron Even wicked King Manasseh experiences mercy in end, 2 Chron 33:12-14

Purpose In showing Yahweh s faithfulness to the house of David and the Temple in Israel s history, Israel was encouraged to hope that the Son of David will come and build His Temple. 1 Chr 17: the Davidic promise the audience knows that the seed to fulfill this promise is STILL in the future Chronicler in the end speaks to past to encourage the present and anticipates that Messiah will come and build in the future

Purpose The despair over the apparent failure of Zerubbabel and others to inaugurate the messianic kingdom in Judah as predicted Haggai and Zechariah, coupled with the disappointment of the seemingly shallow and short-lived religious reforms carried out by Ezra and Nehemiah, prompted the Chronicler s theology of hope, couched in the annals of Israelite history. The present distress would one day give way to the restoration of Israel, according to the theocratic ideal expresses in Chronicles. The second exodus envisioned by Zechariah was delayed but not canceled. The kingdom of God would eventually break into human history.

Structure

Structure Genealogies From Adam to the Restoration Judah 2:3 4:23 Levi 6:1-81 Priests and Levites 9:10-44 The Reign of David and Solomon The Building of the Temple and Worship at the Temple Verses suggesting that the reigns of David and Solomon can be viewed as one reign II/7:10; 11:17; 35:4 The Reigns of the Davidic Kings The Good Kings Loyal to the Temple 1-9 I/10 - II/9 10-36