Chronicling the Chronicler

Chronicling the Chronicler
Author: Paul S. Evans
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2013-12-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 1575068729

The thirteen essays in this volume are largely revised papers which were originally presented as part of the Ancient Historiography Seminar of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies and they investigate particular texts of Chronicles, examine central themes, and consider future prospects for Chronicles study. The volume includes chapters by Shannon E. Baines, Ehud Ben Zvi, Mark J. Boda, Keith Bodner, Paul S. Evans, Louis Jonker, Gary N. Knoppers, Christine Mitchell, Peter J. Sabo, Steven J. Schweitzer, and John W. Wright. The essays represent many different perspectives, methodologies, and conclusions regarding the Chronicler’s work and this volume will be of particular interest to scholars and students of Chronicles, ancient Israelite historiography and biblical literature in general.

Chronicling the Chronicler

Chronicling the Chronicler
Author: Paul S. Evans
Publisher: Eisenbrauns
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2013
Genre: Bible
ISBN: 9781575062907

The thirteen essays in this volume are largely revised papers which were originally presented as part of the Ancient Historiography Seminar of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies and they investigate particular texts of Chronicles, examine central themes, and consider future prospects for Chronicles study. The volume includes chapters by Shannon E. Baines, Ehud Ben Zvi, Mark J. Boda, Keith Bodner, Paul S. Evans, Louis Jonker, Gary N. Knoppers, Christine Mitchell, Peter J. Sabo, Steven J. Schweitzer, and John W. Wright. The essays represent many different perspectives, methodologies, and conclusions regarding the Chronicler's work and this volume will be of particular interest to scholars and students of Chronicles, ancient Israelite historiography and biblical literature in general.

1 & 2 Chronicles: An Introduction and Study Guide

1 & 2 Chronicles: An Introduction and Study Guide
Author: Leslie C. Allen
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2021-07-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567697037

Leslie C. Allen introduces students to the 1 & 2 Chronicles in the Old Testament, incorporating insights from over two decades of previous scholarship while grounding his analysis in earlier key works. “A Message for Yehud” sums up what has been judged to be a fundamental motivation underlying the whole book, a conviction that the obligation to “seek the Lord” in the light of the Torah and prophetic texts must be laid on the hearts of the community of Yehud in the fourth century BCE. To this end, using Samuel-Kings as a basis, Chronicles reviewed pre-exilic royal history for positive and negative clues as to how the generation for which it was written might achieve this spiritual ideal. In the book, Allen shows how this program was communicated all through the book by literary and rhetorical means.

War in Chronicles

War in Chronicles
Author: Troy D. Cudworth
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2016-03-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567666514

Taking on the established view of Chronicles, which uses retribution theology - the view that the author of Chronicles re-worked the texts in Samuel-Kings to demonstrate that Yahweh rewards the good and punishes the wicked - Troy Cudworth argues that this cause-effect relationship is maintained primarily through the treatment of the themes of war and temple-faithfulness. Cudworth identifies a division of kings into categories, with the immediate exception of David, who belongs in his own category as he pioneered the two most foundational elements of the temple cult. For this reason, he also won many battles to secure Israel's place in the land. The next two groups of kings can be dichotomised in the following way: those who show faithfulness to the temple cult and its practices, and those who neglect it. Based on their attitude to the temple, the Chronicler illustrates how the kings either prosper in the land through military victory or suffer attack. Although many kings begin as faithful in supporting orthodox temple practices, and thus prosper on the battlefield, none of these kings are consistent and persevere in their faithfulness and so their success either stops immediately, or they suffer attack. Conversely, other kings are illustrated who, despite committing some of the worst sins in Israel's history, repent immediately after their swift punishment. Across all of these cases, it is shown how temple faithfulness always ultimately guarantees peace and security for Israel.

Shaping Israelite Identity through Prayers in the Book of Chronicles

Shaping Israelite Identity through Prayers in the Book of Chronicles
Author: Kiyoung Kim
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2021-11-18
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1666706914

What is the post-exilic Israelites’ destiny? What should they have hoped for? How could they actualize their desired community? This book discusses the identity of the post-exilic Israelite community by focusing on the unique rhetorical impetus in the book of Chronicles. Chronicles suggests a picture of the desired future Israel. Yet, the Chronicler does not call for a new identity, creation ex nihilo, from the community but calls for the restoration of the Israelites’ past identity by reporting the history of Israel and Judah. The restoration of their past identity can be actualized when members of the community fulfill portrayed roles and characteristics in Chronicles: worshiping, monotheistic believing, and praying, and Davidic citizenship. Further, recorded prayer plays a crucial role as Chronicles persuades its readers to render or exhibit those roles and characteristics. Prayer invites the community members to participate so that they transform past prayers into their own prayers. By doing so, the prayer participants perceive portrayed roles and characteristics and change their attitude. By rendering and exhibiting desired roles and characteristics, they eventually hope for and actualize a better community, the liturgical community.

Defining All-Israel in Chronicles

Defining All-Israel in Chronicles
Author: Louis C. Jonker
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2016-05-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9783161545955

In this book, Louis C. Jonker considers more sophisticated and nuanced models for applying the heuristic lens of "identity" in the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible book of Chronicles. Not only does he investigate the potential and limitations of different sociological models for this purpose, but the author also provides a more nuanced analysis of the socio-historical context of origin of late Persian-period biblical literature by distinguishing between four levels of socio-historic existence in this period. It is shown that varying power relations were in operation on these different levels which contributed to a multi-levelled process of identity negotiation. Louis C. Jonker shows the value of the chosen methodological approach in his analysis of Chronicles, but also suggests that it holds potential for the investigation of other Hebrew Bible corpora.

The Persuasive Portrayal of David and Solomon in Chronicles

The Persuasive Portrayal of David and Solomon in Chronicles
Author: Suk-Il Ahn
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2018-02-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1532604939

This study examines the speeches and prayers in the David-Solomon narrative in Chronicles and seeks to demonstrate that the Chronicler's portrayal of David and Solomon attempts to establish the Yehudite community's identity. Is the covenantal relationship still valid in the Persian period? The author asserts that as a commitment to YHWH involving the worship of YHWH through the Jerusalem temple, the covenantal relationship between YHWH and Israel continues even into the Persian period. This study employs Kennedy's rhetorical method with the new categories of the narrative situation and the Chronicler's situation being used to further delineate his concept of the narrative situation. The Chronicler's portrayal of David and Solomon through speeches and prayers serves to persuade his audience of the significance of the Jerusalem temple, reformulating the Yehudite community identity as a cultic community in the Persian period.

Chronicles and the Politics of Davidic Restoration

Chronicles and the Politics of Davidic Restoration
Author: David Janzen
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2017-05-18
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567675491

David Janzen argues that the Book of Chronicles is a document with a political message as well as a theological one and moreover, that the book's politics explain its theology. The author of Chronicles was part of a 4th century B.C.E. group within the post-exilic Judean community that hoped to see the Davidides restored to power, and he or she composed this work to promote a restoration of this house to the position of a client monarchy within the Persian Empire. Once this is understood as the political motivation for the work's composition, the reasons behind the Chronicler's particular alterations to source material and emphasis of certain issues becomes clear. The doctrine of immediate retribution, the role of 'all Israel' at important junctures in Judah's past, the promotion of Levitical status and authority, the virtual joint reign of David and Solomon, and the decision to begin the narrative with Saul's death can all be explained as ways in which the Chronicler tries to assure the 4th century assembly that a change in local government to Davidic client rule would benefit them. It is not necessary to argue that Chronicles is either pro-Davidic or pro-Levitical; it is both, and the attention Chronicles pays to the Levites is done in the service of winning over a group within the temple personnel to the pro-Davidic cause, just as many of its other features were designed to appeal to other interest groups within the assembly.

1 & 2 Chronicles

1 & 2 Chronicles
Author: August H. Konkel
Publisher: MennoMedia, Inc.
Total Pages: 406
Release: 2016-02-23
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1513800477

Purity, worship, obedience, and hope: 1 & 2 Chronicles called the early Hebrew people to faithful practice of these things, and they issue the same call to readers today. As August H. Konkel writes in the 30th commentary in the Believers Church Bible Commentary series, the Chronicler provided a unifying vision of the community’s rich traditions in an era of despondency and apathy. Exile had robbed the people of Israel of their wealth, and their return to the land of Judah had created resentment with the surrounding peoples. Struggling to maintain their faith amid intense social pressures, the Hebrew people needed to look to their past for lessons for the present. As two of the most overlooked books in the Christian canon, 1 & 2 Chronicles are exemplary resources for those who seek to be the people of God today. 1 & 2 Chronicles is the thirtieth volume in The Believers Church Bible Commentary Series. Accessible to lay readers, useful in preaching and pastoral care, helpful for Bible study groups and Sunday school teachers, and academically sound, the commentary foregrounds an Anabaptist reading of Scripture. Relying on a unique format that includes sections on The Text in Biblical Context and The Text in the Life of the Church, the commentary series is a cooperative project of Brethren in Christ Church, Brethren Church, Church of the Brethren, Mennonite Brethren Church, Mennonite Church Canada, and Mennonite Church USA. Published for all who seek more fully to understand the original message of Scripture and its meaning for today, the series is based on the conviction that God is still speaking to all who will listen, and that the Holy Spirit makes the Word a living and authoritative guide for all who want to know and do God's will.