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Christian Greek ScripturesInsight on the Scriptures, Volume 1
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a great unified complete entity with no details lacking. They complement and complete the Bible canon and are presently of universal importance, interest, and concern primarily to spiritual Israel, which is the congregation of God, but, additionally, to all persons who seek the approval of God.
For information on the contents of the 27 books, their writers, the time written, and proof of authenticity, see the individual books by name.
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Chronicles, the Books ofInsight on the Scriptures, Volume 1
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CHRONICLES, THE BOOKS OF
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 22 or 24 books, and as two books in the count that regards the total number of books as 39. The division into two books seemingly originated with the translators of the Greek Septuagint. In Hebrew manuscripts the twofold division began in the 15th century. In the Hebrew text, Chronicles appears at the end of the section called Writings. The Hebrew name, Div·rehʹ Hai·ya·mimʹ, means “The Affairs of the Days.” Jerome suggested the name Khro·ni·konʹ, 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; Omitted),” that is, from the books of Samuel and Kings. However, it is to be noted that the Chronicles are by no means a mere supplement to those books.
Writer, Time, and 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. 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. Evidently, only two books of the Hebrew canon were completed after 460 B.C.E., namely, 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 70-year exile.
Sources. Ezra assumed that his readers were 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, 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.—1Ki 4:3.
Ezra names or describes as follows some of the sources he used:
(1) The Book of the Kings of Judah and of Israel (2Ch 16:11; 25:26)
(2) The Book of the Kings of Israel and of Judah (2Ch 27:7; 35:27)
(3) The Book of the Kings of Israel (2Ch 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 the Bible.)
(4) The Book of the Kings of Israel (evidently a genealogical work) (1Ch 9:1)
(5) The exposition of the Book of the Kings (2Ch 24:27) (for information on Jehoash of Judah)
(6) The affairs of the kings of Israel (2Ch 33:18) (for information on Manasseh)
(7) The words of Samuel the seer and of Nathan the prophet and of Gad the visionary (1Ch 29:29) (for information on David) (This may be one work, two, or three; or it may refer to Judges and the books of Samuel.)
(8) The words of Nathan the prophet (2Ch 9:29) (for information on Solomon)
(9) The prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite (2Ch 9:29) (about Solomon)
(10) “Shemaiah . . . wrote” (1Ch 24:6) (about David), and the words of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the visionary by genealogical enrollment (2Ch 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 (2Ch 20:34) (about Jehoshaphat)
(12) The rest of the affairs of Uzziah, by Isaiah the son of Amoz the prophet (2Ch 26:22)
(13) The words of (Manasseh’s) visionaries (2Ch 33:19)
(14) Dirges (of Jeremiah, and possibly of singers) (2Ch 35:25) (about Josiah)
(15) The exposition of the prophet Iddo (2Ch 13:22) (about Abijah)
(16) The account of the affairs of the days of King David (1Ch 27:24)
(17) The commandment of David and of Gad and of Nathan the prophet (2Ch 29:25) (as enforced by Hezekiah)
(18) The writing of David and of Solomon his son (2Ch 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 (2Ch 35:15) (referred to in connection with Josiah’s acts)
(20) The writing of Elijah to King Jehoram of Judah (2Ch 21:12-15)
(There are also references in Chronicles to writings, particularly genealogies, that may designate other sources used by Ezra.)
It is evident that Ezra 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 (2Ti 3:16) and the fact that the Chronicles are included in the Hebrew canon, fully accepted by Jesus and the apostles (Lu 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. Both
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