CHRONICLES, THE BOOKS OF THE

Two inspired books of the Hebrew Scriptures that were apparently one volume in the original Hebrew canon. The Masoretes regarded them as one single work and they are reckoned as one book in the counts that regard the Hebrew Scriptures as made up of twenty-two or twenty-four books, and as two books in the count that regards the total number of books as thirty-nine. The division into two books seemingly originated with the translators of the Septuagint. In modern Hebrew Bibles the twofold division did not become effective until the sixteenth century. In the Hebrew Bible Chronicles appears at the end of the section called “Writings.” The Hebrew name, Div·rehʹ Hay-ya·mimʹ, means “The Affairs of the Days.” Jerome suggested the name “Chronicon,” from which we get “Chronicles” in the English Bible. A chronicle is a record of happenings in the order in which they occurred. The Greek title (in the Septuagint) is Pa·ra·lei·po·meʹnon, meaning “Things passed over, left untold or omitted” (from the books of Samuel and Kings), but since the Chronicles are by no means a mere supplement to those books, the terminology was inaccurate.

WRITER, TIME, PERIOD COVERED

The Jewish priest Ezra is recognized, for a number of reasons, as the writer. Jewish tradition has long held to this view. It is also supported by the striking resemblance between the writing style of Chronicles and the style of the book of Ezra. Furthermore, there is repetition at the close of Second Chronicles and at the beginning of Ezra that is virtually word for word. Moreover, the statement of Cyrus’ decree found at the end of Second Chronicles is given in full in the book of Ezra, indicating that the writer closed the book of Chronicles with the intention of writing another book (Ezra) that would deal with the decree and its execution more fully. Chronicles was completed about 460 B.C.E. With the possible exception of the Psalms, only three books of the Hebrew canon were completed afterward, namely, Ezra, Nehemiah and Malachi.

Aside from the genealogical lists that run from Adam, the Chronicles cover the period from the death of King Saul to the carrying away of exiles to Babylon, with a conclusion telling of Cyrus’ decree at the end of the seventy-year exile.

SOURCES

Ezra assumed his readers to be familiar with the books of Kings and therefore did not try to cover the same ground. The material he used, which in some instances reads exactly or nearly like portions of Kings, is included only in order to retain that which, by its relationship, gives meaning to the additional information in Chronicles. It may be that Ezra used the books of Samuel and Kings as well as some other parts of the Bible as sources, but it seems that in most, if not all cases, he had access to writings not now known to be in existence. Some of these may have been documents of state from both Israel and Judah, some genealogical records, and historical works written by prophets, also documents possessed by tribal or family heads. A portion of the sources used were no doubt the work of professional recorders. (1 Ki. 4:3) In the Apocrypha at 2 Maccabees 2:13 it is said that Nehemiah gathered together books to make a library. If this is true, these books may have been consulted by Ezra, who was not only “a skilled copyist in the law of Moses,” but also a researcher extraordinary.—Ezra 7:6.

There are many documentary sources listed by Ezra. Some believe the sources may have gone as high as twenty-five or more. Sources doubtless included Kings and other canonical books. Ezra names or describes some of the sources he used by the following designations:

(1) The Book of the Kings of Judah and of Israel (2 Chron. 16:11; 25:26)

(2) The Book of the Kings of Israel and of Judah (2 Chron. 27:7; 35:27)

(3) The Book of the Kings of Israel (2 Chron. 20:34) (The above-listed sources may be the same collection of state documents, with varied ways of stating the title, or could possibly refer to the books of Kings in our Bible.)

(4) The Book of the Kings of Israel (evidently a genealogical work) (1 Chron. 9:1)

(5) The exposition of the Book of the Kings (2 Chron. 24:27) (for information on Jehoash of Judah)

(6) The affairs of the kings of Israel (2 Chron. 33:18) (for information on Manasseh)

(7) The words of Samuel the seer and of Nathan the prophet and of Gad the visionary (1 Chron. 29:29) (for information on David) (This may be one work, or two or three; or it may refer to Judges and the books of Samuel.)

(8) The words of Nathan the prophet (2 Chron. 9:29) (for information on Solomon)

(9) The prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite (2 Chron. 9:29) (about Solomon)

(10) “Shemaiah . . . wrote” (1 Chron. 24:6) (about David), and the words of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the visionary by genealogical enrollment (2 Chron. 12:15) (about Rehoboam) (perhaps two or three sources)

(11) The words of Jehu the son of Hanani, which were inserted in the Book of the Kings of Israel (2 Chron. 20:34) (Jehoshaphat)

(12) The rest of the affairs of Uzziah, by Isaiah the son of Amoz the prophet (2 Chron. 26:22)

(13) The words of (Manasseh’s) visionaries (2 Chron. 33:19)

(14) Dirges (of Jeremiah, and possibly of singers) (2 Chron. 35:25) (about Josiah)

(15) The exposition of the prophet Iddo (2 Chron. 13:22) (about Abijah)

(16) The account of the affairs of the days of King David (1 Chron. 27:24)

(17) The commandment of David and of Gad and of Nathan the prophet (2 Chron. 29:25) (as enforced by Hezekiah)

(18) The writing of David and of Solomon his son (2 Chron. 35:4) (as referred to by Josiah)

(19) The commandment of David and of Asaph and of Heman and of Jeduthun the visionary of the king (2 Chron. 35:15) (referred to in connection with Josiah’s acts)

(20) The writing of Elijah to King Jehoram of Judah (2 Chron. 21:12-15)

(Some of the above may refer to the same book or to books in our Bible, especially the prophetic works. There are also references in Chronicles to writings, particularly genealogies, that may designate other sources used by Ezra.)

It is evident that Ezra was no inaccurate historian, but that he was extremely careful, doing meticulous research, going through all the documentary sources accessible to him, evidently investigating every document that would shed light on the subject. He documents his writings, not merely as proof of accuracy as to what he has written, but also to direct the reader of that time to other sources for more detail. Ezra’s painstaking thoroughness should commend the Chronicles as worthy of our utmost confidence in their accuracy and historical authenticity. But, above all, the knowledge that Ezra wrote under inspiration (2 Tim. 3:16), and the fact that the Chronicles are included in the Hebrew canon, fully accepted by Jesus and the apostles (Luke 24:27, 44) ensure their reliability. Moreover, the Chronicles constitute part of the complete written Word of God, the purity of which he has guarded for the followers of his Son, Jesus Christ. These facts recommend Chronicles highly as a source of faith.

PURPOSE

Ezra’s work was not merely to fill in what was left out by the books of Samuel and Kings; rather, he discerned among the returned exiles the need of such a summary of their national history. The work was undoubtedly prepared for those recently returned from exile, as they would be greatly lacking in knowledge of their sacred history and customs. They needed to know about temple worship and the duties of Levites, and Ezra provided this information. And to the returned exiles few things would have greater interest than their ancestral genealogies, to which Ezra devoted much attention. Israel was functioning again as a nation, in their land, with temple, priesthood and governor, even though without a king. They would continue as a nation down to the Messiah’s coming. They needed the information Chronicles provided for unity and true worship.

Both Samuel and Jeremiah were historical writers, but they were also Levites. Jeremiah was a prophet and a priest. Ezra was a priest. But it is a mistake to say that Jeremiah would be especially interested in the fulfillment of prophecies and not so interested in the matters of temple worship and that Ezra would be especially interested in Levitical work and not so interested in prophecies, for they were both servants of God, concerned with his words and dealings with his people and every feature of his worship. The fact is that Ezra had a special purpose as he wrote and was not guided by any bias but was actually inspired by Jehovah to produce his works of Chronicles and Ezra. As Willis J. Beecher writes, in The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia:

“[Ezra’s] purpose was to preserve what he regarded as historical materials that were in danger of being lost, materials concerning the temple-worship, but also concerning a large variety of other matters. He had the historian’s instinct for laying hold of all sorts of details, and putting them into permanent form. His inspiration from God . . . led him this way. He wanted to save for the future that which he regarded as historical fact.”—Vol. I, p. 632.

C. F. Keil, in his Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (Chronicles, p. 19), says: “We clearly see that the chronicler had in view not only the Levitic worship, but also and mainly the attitude of the people and their princes to the Lord and to His law; and that it is from this point of view that he has regarded and written the history of his people before the exile. But it is also not less clear, from the quotations we have made, in so far as they contain practical remarks of the historian, that it was his purpose to hold up to his contemporaries as a mirror the history of the past, in which they might see the consequences of their own conduct towards the God of their fathers. He does not wish, as the author of the books of Kings does, to narrate the events and facts objectively, according to the course of history; but he connects the facts and events with the conduct of the kings and people towards the Lord, and strives to put the historical facts in such a light as to teach that God rewards fidelity to His covenant with happiness and blessing, and avenges faithless defection from it with punitive judgments.”

The Jews who returned from Babylon in 537 B.C.E. did so, not to establish political independence, but to restore true worship, the first work being to erect the altar and then to rebuild the temple. It was appropriate, therefore, that much be said by Ezra concerning worship and the services of the priesthood and the Levites. Also, the genealogies were important. Ezra 2:59-63 shows that some, including certain of the sons of the priests, were unable to find the register to establish their genealogy publicly. While in Babylon these genealogies might not be so important, now they were the means of regaining possession of the heritage of their fathers. This is one of the reasons for the lists of genealogies compiled by Ezra, which are also of great value to Bible scholars today.

Thus we see that Ezra in writing Chronicles was possibly more subjective than Jeremiah was in writing Kings, for he wished to strengthen his contemporaries in fidelity to Jehovah. He encouraged them to fulfill their covenant duties by focusing on the past history of Israel and, particularly by the use of actual historical examples, he emphasized the results of faithful adherence to true worship on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the calamity of forsaking the worship of Jehovah God.

AUTHENTICITY

The foregoing information argues much for the authenticity of the Chronicles. Those who have questioned the reliability of the historical accounts are, for the most part, those who deny the historical trustworthiness of practically all parts of the Bible. From an archaeological standpoint Professor W. F. Albright says: “Chronicles contains a considerable amount of original material dealing with the history of Judah which is not found in Kings and . . . the historical value of this original material is being established by archaeological discoveries.”—Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research No. 100, 1945, p. 18.

VALUE OF THE BOOKS

It is a fine thing for our faith and understanding of the Bible that the books of Chronicles were written. Ezra has added much concerning the temple worship and the arrangements of the priests, Levites, doorkeepers, singers and musicians. He has given us many details that bear on the true worship: the bringing of the Ark to Jerusalem by David (1 Chron. chaps. 15, 16); David’s preparations for the temple and its service (1 Chron. chaps. 22-29); the fact that the priests stayed with Rehoboam at the time of the secession of the ten tribes (2 Chron. 11:13-17); the war between Abijah and Jeroboam (2 Chron. chap. 13); the reforms in favor of true religion under Asa (2 Chron. chaps. 14, 15), Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. chaps. 17, 19, 20), Hezekiah (2 Chron. chaps. 29-31) and Josiah (2 Chron. chaps. 34, 35); Uzziah’s being stricken with leprosy for his presumptuousness (2 Chron. 26:16-21) and Manasseh’s repentance.—2 Chron. 33:10-20.

Ezra shows that he is interested not only in priestly affairs but also in the prophets. (2 Chron. 20:20; 36:12, 16) He uses the words prophet, seer or visionary at least forty-five times and gives added information on many prophets and persons whose names are not otherwise mentioned in the Scriptures. A few are Iddo, Eliezer the son of Dodavahu, Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, a number of Zechariahs and Oded of the time of King Ahaz of Judah.

There are a great many pieces of information in Chronicles that help to round out our knowledge of the history of Israel, for example, the record of the sickness and burial of Asa and of the bad conduct of Jehoash after Jehoiada the high priest died. Then there are the genealogies that are vital in establishing the lineage of Christ and other important matters. The books are also of assistance in establishing an accurate chronology. Here we can see the wisdom of Jehovah the Author of the Bible in having his servant Ezra write these things to fill in that which is necessary so that believers in the Bible have the most complete and harmonious record of man’s history.—See the book “All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial,” pp. 75 to 84.

OUTLINE OF CONTENTS

1 CHRONICLES

I. Genealogies from Adam (1:1–9:44)

A. Adam to Jacob’s twelve sons (1:1–2:2)

B. Jacob’s posterity (2:3–9:44)

1. Judah’s posterity (2:3–4:23). In chapter 3, David’s line through Solomon to Jehoiachin (Jeconiah), who was preserved in Babylon to have sons; then to Zerubbabel and his offspring

2. Simeon, Reuben, Gad, half tribe of Manasseh beyond Jordan (4:24–5:26)

3. Levi’s posterity, including line of priests from Aaron to Jehozadak, father of the high priest Joshua who returned from exile with Zerubbabel (6:1-81)

4. Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, half tribe of Manasseh evidently west of Jordan, Ephraim and Asher (7:1–8:40)

5. Inhabitants of Jerusalem, and family of Saul (9:1-44)

II. History of David (40-year reign) (10:1–29:30)

A. Ruin of Saul and his house (10:1-14)

B. David confirmed in kingdom; captures Zion (11:1–12:40)

1. Anointed by all Israel at Hebron; takes Zion (11:1-9)

2. His mighty men (11:10–12:40)

C. David and the Ark of Jehovah (13:1–16:43)

1. Ark brought up on wagon; Uzzah dies for touching Ark; Ark left at house of Obed-edom (13:1-14)

2. Hiram sends timbers, workmen to build David a house; Philistines defeated twice (14:1-17)

3. Levites organized; Ark brought to Zion (15:1–16:43)

D. David and Jehovah’s house; covenant for kingdom (17:1-27)

E. David’s conquests (18:1–20:8)

1. Defeats Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, Edomites (18:1-17)

2. King Hanun of Ammon insults David; David defeats sons of Ammon and Syrians (19:1–20:3)

3. Philistines (with giant Rephaim) again defeated in three battles (20:4-8)

F. David’s preparation for the temple (21:1–22:19)

1. David sins in numbering people; 70,000 die (21:1-17)

2. Buys threshing floor of Ornan for altar site (21:18-30)

3. Solomon instructed to build house to Jehovah (22:1-19)

G. David organizes for Jehovah’s worship (23:1–29:30)

1. Arrangement of priests, Levites, governmental officials (23:1–27:34)

a. Twenty-four divisions of priests (24:1-19)

b. Levites and officials (24:20–27:34)

2. David instructs heads of nation (28:1–29:30)

a. Inspired architectural plans of temple turned over to Solomon (28:11-21)

b. David blesses Jehovah, offers sacrifices; Solomon anointed second time; begins to sit on “Jehovah’s throne” (29:1-25)

3. David dies (29:26-30)

2 CHRONICLES

I. The glory of Solomon’s reign (40 years) (1:1–9:31)

A. Solomon’s wisdom, prosperity (1:1-17)

B. Construction, inauguration of temple (2:1–7:22)

C. Other constructions; queen of Sheba visits; wealth; Solomon’s death (8:1–9:31)

II. History of the kings of Judah (10:1–36:23)

A. Rehoboam’s bad reign (17 years) (10:1–12:16)

1. Schism; Jeroboam rebels (10:1–11:12)

2. Jeroboam sets up calf worship in Israel (11:13-15)

3. Rehoboam unfaithful after three years of reign; Egypt makes inroads in Judah (11:16–12:16)

B. Abijah’s reign (3 years) (13:1-22)

C. Asa’s good reign (41 years) (14:1–16:14)

1. Defeats Zerah the Ethiopian and his army of one million men (14:1-15)

2. Conducts religious reform (15:1-19)

3. Errs in making alliance with Syria (16:1-11)

4. In sickness looks to healers, not to Jehovah; dies (16:12-14)

D. Jehoshaphat’s good reign (25 years) (17:1–20:37)

1. Institutes teaching program in Judah (17:1-19)

2. Errs in making marriage alliance with Ahab and joining Ahab in war with Syria; Ahab killed (18:1–19:3)

3. Organizes judges in Judah (19:4-11)

4. Jehovah fights for Judah; Moab, Ammon and Seir destroy one another (20:1-33)

5. Partnership venture with Ahaziah of Israel fails; ships built to go to Tarshish wrecked (20:34-37)

E. Jehoram’s bad reign (8 years) (21:1-20)

1. Kills his brothers; Edom revolts (21:1-11)

2. Writing from Elijah warns him (21:12-15)

3. Jehovah punishes him; plagued with malady in intestines, dies two years afterward (21:16-20)

F. Ahaziah’s bad reign (1 year) (22:1-9)

G. Athaliah usurps throne (6 years) (22:10–23:21)

1. Jehoash hidden by wife of priest Jehoiada (22:10-12)

2. Jehoiada anoints Jehoash as king; has Athaliah killed (23:1-21)

H. Jehoash’s bad reign (40 years) (24:1-27)

1. Does right until Jehoiada’s death, renovates the temple (24:1-16)

2. Turns to idolatry; Zechariah son of Jehoiada stoned; Syrians invade; Jehoash, badly diseased, is assassinated (24:17-27)

I. Amaziah’s bad reign (29 years) (25:1-28)

1. Begins well; he defeats sons of Seir (25:1-13)

2. Worships idols of Seir; defeated by Jehoash of Israel; is assassinated (25:14-28)

J. Uzziah’s reign (52 years) (26:1-23)

1. Begins well; military success (26:1-15)

2. Becomes haughty; makes attempt to offer incense in temple; is smitten with leprosy until death (26:16-23)

K. Jotham’s good reign (16 years) (27:1-9)

L. Ahaz’s bad reign (16 years) (28:1-27)

M. Hezekiah’s good reign (29 years) (29:1–32:33)

1. Cleans up temple; holds passover festival in second month; some from all Israel attend; festival of unfermented cakes extended seven extra days (29:1–30:27)

2. Sees that priests and Levites are properly supported by tithe (31:1-21)

3. Sennacherib invades Judah, taunts Jehovah; angel destroys all mighty men and leaders in Assyrian camp (32:1-23)

4. Hezekiah’s illness; his building works, including aqueduct from Gihon to west of city of David (32:24-33)

N. Manasseh’s bad reign (55 years) (33:1-20)

1. Practices gross idolatry; seduces Judah (33:1-9)

2. Captured by king of Assyria, taken to Babylon (33:10, 11)

3. Repents, entreats Jehovah; is restored to throne; does building works (33:12-20)

O. Amon’s bad reign (2 years) (33:21-25)

P. Josiah’s good reign (31 years) (34:1–35:27)

1. Conducts great religious reform; repairs temple (34:1-13)

2. Book of the law found by priest Hilkiah; Josiah greatly moved, inquires of Jehovah (34:14-33)

3. Celebration of passover such as had not been held since Samuel’s time (35:1-19)

4. Killed in unwise battle with Necho king of Egypt (35:20-27)

Q. Jehoahaz’s bad reign (3 months); taken to Egypt by Necho (36:1-4)

R. Jehoiakim’s bad reign (11 years); Nebuchadnezzar comes against him; he dies (36:5-8)

S. Jehoiachin’s (Jeconiah’s) bad reign (3 months, 10 days); taken captive to Babylon (36:9, 10)

T. Zedekiah’s bad reign (11 years) (36:11-23)

1. Rebels against Nebuchadnezzar; with priests and people, despises God and his prophets; Jerusalem, with temple, destroyed (36:11-19)

2. People carried into exile; land desolate seventy years (36:20, 21)

3. Cyrus king of Persia, in his first year, issues decree liberating Jews for return to Jerusalem to rebuild temple (36:22, 23)