Chronicles, Books of: 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 Chronicles 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 Chronicles 27:24; 29:29)
(2 Chronicles 9:29; 12:15; 13:22; 20:34; 1 Chronicles 24:27; 26:22-32; 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 Chronicles 17:18) comp.
(2 Samuel 7:18-20)
(1 Chronicles 19:1)ff comp.
(2 Samuel 10:1)ff etc. As compared with
Samuel and Kings, the Book of Chronicles omits many particulars
there recorded
(2 Samuel 6:20-23; 9,11,14-19) etc., and includes many
things peculiar to itself
(1 Chronicles 12:22,23) 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 Chronicles 12:1-37) the
removal of the ark from Kirjath-jearim to Mount Zion
(1 Chronicles 13:1)ff
(1 Chronicles 15:2-24; 16:4-43) comp.
(2 Samuel 6:1) Uzziah's
leprosy and its cause
(2 Chronicles 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 Chronicles 20:4) is used instead of Gob
(2 Samuel 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
(Hebrews 5:4; Matthew 12:42; 23:35)
(Luke 1:5; 11:31,51)
