1 Chronicles

Introduction

Faithful, obedient response to God’s will and His Word ultimately results in blessing. Forsaking the Lord leads to judgment and punishment. This is a major theme of the Books of Chronicles. These books demonstrate how the facts of history apply to individual lives; they use history to edify the readers, to exhort them to live righteously, and to explain how the events of the past have meaning for the present.

The Book of First Chronicles is a book about David. The book offers a different perspective of David than does Second Samuel (which is the other Biblical book about David), but the two are in no way contradictory. Several points of distinction between these two portrayals of David should be noticed. Unlike Second Samuel, Chronicles stresses David’s contributions to the worship of Israel. Because First Chronicles was written much later, and Second Samuel was readily available, Chronicles does not emphasize those matters already accentuated by Samuel. David’s sins are particularly pointed out in Second Samuel; since they were already well known, Chronicles does not emphasize them.

First and Second Chronicles were originally one book in Hebrew, but were then divided by the Septuagint and succeeding translations; in 1516 A.D., the Hebrew also began dividing the books. In Hebrew, the name for these books is “The Words of (or The Actions of) the Days.” The Septuagint calls them Paraleipomenon or “Things Omitted” (from the Books of Samuel and Kings). Jerome, the translator of the Vulgate, suggested that the name “Chronicles” would be particularly appropriate.

The Books of Chronicles stand last in the Hebrew Bible, placing these books in the third division of the canon, the Writings. English translations follow the Vulgate, which followed the Septuagint, in placing the Books of Chronicles in the “History” division of the Bible. It is probable that the New Testament presupposes the Hebrew arrangement, for in Matthew 23:35 the words of Jesus include “from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah.” Abel is the first martyr in the Hebrew Bible and Zechariah is the last. The Books of Chronicles are not placed in the Prophets section of the Hebrew Bible as are the Books of Samuel and Kings, for the Books of Chronicles are written from the perspective of a priest, whereas Samuel and Kings are written from the perspective of a prophet.

The Books of Chronicles do not name their author. The Talmud suggests that Ezra is the author. Many modern scholars agree with this possibility, offering several items of evidence:

• The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah continue the narrative of the Books of Chronicles. Chronicles is written from a priestly point of view, as is the Book of Ezra; Ezra would have had every reason to produce a history such as Chronicles.
• As to literary style, both Ezra and Chronicles use occasional Aramaisms in language. Both present considerable amounts of statistical material. The writer of Chronicles was certainly a scholarly man, as was Ezra the scribe. Only Chronicles and Ezra mention the Persian coin called the daric [I Chronicles 29:7; Ezra 8:27].
• In II Chronicles 36:9-23 its writer is portrayed as living in Babylon, which was the home of Ezra prior to his arrival in the Holy Land in 458 B.C. Chronicles traces the lineage of David to the sixth generation after Zerubbabel [I Chronicles 3:19], making the writing of Chronicles contemporary with Ezra’s ministry.

Conversely, Clyde T. Francisco points out that there are several characteristics of the Chronicler that are very unlike Ezra:

• The Chronicler is more flexible in his attitude toward the law.
• He expands the duties of the Levites into priestly areas beyond the menial tasks prescribed by the Law of Moses.
• He approves of Hezekiah’s relaxing of the ceremonial laws at the Passover.
• In certain passages the Chronicler uses more graphic language than does “the clerically stylized Ezra.”

Thus it might be said that the author of the Books of Chronicles was not Ezra, but was similar to him in certain ways and probably was contemporary with him.

The Chronicler uses several sources in the composition of his books. Certainly he uses the canonical Books of Samuel and Kings. First Chronicles cites several non-canonical works as well, including prophetic materials (for example, “the Chronicles of Samuel the seer,” “the Chronicles of Nathan the Prophet,” and “the Chronicles of Gad the Seer”) and archival records (for example, the genealogy lists, and “the Chronicles of King David” I Chronicles 27:27).

After a catalog of individual and tribal genealogies and a few verses about the death of Saul, the Book of First Chronicles focuses entirely upon King David.

Outline

Genealogies of the Nation 1:1—9:44

Period of the Patriarchs 1:1-54

Pedigrees of the People 2:1—9:44

Royal Genealogy 2:1—3:24

Tribe of David: Judah 2:1-55

Tree of David’s Family 3:1-24

Related Genealogies 4:1—9:44

Tribal Lists of the Southern Tribes 4:1-43

Transjordanian Tribal Lists 5:1-26

True Servants of God: Tribe of Levi 6:1-81

Territory of the North’s Tribal Lists 7:1-49

Tribe of Saul: Benjamin 8:1-40

Temple Personnel of Jerusalem 9:1-34

Tree of Saul’s Family 9:35-44

Genius of David 10:1—29:30

Pain of Losing Saul and Jonathan 10:1-14

Power of David Growing 11:1—12:40

Placing of the Ark in Jerusalem 13:1—16:43

Provisions for David’s Family and His Nation 17:1—20:8

Preparations for the Temple 21:1—29:25

Precis of David’s Reign 29:26-30

 

Reading 1 Chronicles

1. 1-9, Genealogies of David and Israel
2. 10-13, David’s early years as king
3. 14-16, Acquisition of the Ark
4. 17-21, Victories of David
5. 22-27, Preparation for the Temple
6. 28-29, Last Days of David