1 Chronicles
Book Type
Book of History; the thirteenth book of the Old Testament; the thirteenth book of the Bible.Introduction to the Book of 1 Chronicles
The Books of 1 & 2 Chronicles cover mostly the same information as 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings. Perhaps the biggest distinction is that 1 & 2 Chronicles focus more on the priestly aspect of the time period. The Book of 1 Chronicles was written after the exile to help those returning to Israel understand how to worship God. The history focused on the Southern Kingdom, the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi. These tribes tended to be more faithful to God.History always has the advantage of hindsight. The narrative of 1–2 Chronicles is based on history, but leverages it for something greater: theological lessons. These books tell the story of Israel and Judah, starting with Adam and ending with the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon (538 BC). The account begins with a collection of genealogies (1 Chr 1–9) and then shifts to King David (in the remainder of 1 Chronicles) and his descendants (in 2 Chronicles).The book of Chronicles was written to inspire hope. Exile had robbed the people of Israel of their wealth, and their return to the land created resentment among their neighbors. Despondency and apathy threatened to destroy them entirely. The Chronicler’s task was to establish and validate the people’s links with the past. In writing this history, he organized the past in a way that provided meaning and value for the present. He believed that his community, Judea, was critically significant in representing the Kingdom of God. Further, he knew that the community needed to retain its distinctive sense of identity in order to fulfill its purpose.The word Chronicles in Hebrew has the meaning of an ongoing account, almost like a journal or diary or minutes taken at a meeting. They are the first and second books of a four-book series that includes Ezra and Nehemiah. Together these four books provide a priestly history of Israel from the time of Adam to the rebuilding of the house of God and the walls of Jerusalem. At one time the book of Chronicles was probably one single scroll, which was divided later for convenience by those who translated the Old Testament into Greek.Theme & Overview
The law and the prophets, like the temple, are more crucial to Israel's continuing relationship with the Lord than the presence or absence of a king; the reigns of the Davidic kings themselves being testimony. According to the King James Study Bible, the books of Chronicles were originally one book in the Hebrew text. They became separated into two books by the translators of the Greek version of the Old Testament and were given a title meaning “Things Left Behind”—that is, details not included in Samuel and Kings. The Hebrew title, “Daily Matters,” like the English title “Chronicles,” indicates that the material in these two books recounts the most important affairs in the lives of Israel’s leaders, especially the kings. Since the major thrust of the books is to trace the record of how God’s people stewarded their responsibilities as heirs of the Davidic covenant, the person of David is the central focus. First Chronicles begins with a list of names that gives prominence to the Davidic line. The genealogies end with a consideration of the house of Saul, so after the account of his death the rest of the book can deal with Israel’s greatest king, David. First Chronicles concludes with a summary of King David’s reign.The Chronicler portrays David as a model king who followed Yahweh. This account of David leaves out his most infamous sins—his adultery with Bathsheba and his plot to kill her husband, Uriah (2 Sam 11)—and focuses on the ways in which he was faithful. David embraces God’s ways, establishes Jerusalem as a center for worship, and leads the people in praise (e.g., 1 Chr 16). Yahweh then makes His covenant with David, promising to bless his household forever, and gives David victory over his enemies.Even the strange and troubling story of David’s misguided census (1 Chr 21) points to his heart for God. When David recognizes his sin, he repents and relies on God’s mercy (21:8, 13, 17). The episode ends with David building an altar and offering sacrifices to Yahweh—and vowing that the site will become the house of Yahweh (21:18; 22:1).When 1 Chronicles is contextualized as a work for a Jewish community recovering from military defeat and their former exile to a foreign land, it becomes apparent that its portrayal of David’s partnership with Yahweh is a message of encouragement, meant to call people to worship and obedience, with their full heart. It also is a message of hope, assuring God’s people of His blessings and His covenant promises. First Chronicles challenges us to truly seek Yahweh (16:11; 22:19), to set our minds on His purposes and rejoice in His presence. As we see David not exactly as he was, but more as he should have been, we are given the model of a worshipful life.The central theme of Chronicles is the significance of the Davidic covenant as the enduring basis of Israel’s life and hope. The Davidic covenant is expressed in the two institutions that derive directly from it: the monarchy and the temple. These institutions are mutually related (1 Chron. 17:10b–14), and together they represent God’s kingdom in Israel (2 Chron. 13:5, 8). The Davidic covenant does not replace the Mosaic covenant but builds on it for the new age of the monarchy and the temple. Further dimensions of the Davidic covenant are discussed in the Key Themes.Author
The book itself does not name its author and remains anonymous. Jewish tradition states it was written by the Jewish priest Ezra.Recipients
First and Second Chronicles were originally completed as one book, written to the Jewish people in Jerusalem surrounding regions following the return from Babylonian exile. Its words reminded them of their history, God's promises, the consequences of sin, and God's promised future hope for the Jewish people.Date
Unknown, though it likely took place shortly after the concluding events of 2 Kings; between 450—-425 BC.Background
The books of 1–2 Chronicles were originally a single literary work; they probably were divided because, in antiquity, its length required two scrolls. About half of the content of 1–2 Chronicles is based on 1–2 Samuel and 1–2 Kings, while the genealogies of 1 Chronicles 1–9 rely on the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) and the book of Joshua. Chronicles reworks its sources to emphasize the importance of the temple, priests, King David, and later faithful kings of David’s line. Chronicles also mentions now-lost texts that probably provided some of the material not found in Samuel and Kings (e.g., 1 Chr 29:29–30; 2 Chr 12:15).Chronicles pairs nicely with Ezra and Nehemiah, as they pick up where Chronicles leaves off (538 BC)—completing the story of God’s people all the way up to the rebuilding of the temple and Jerusalem, and the accompanying religious reforms (432 BC). This and other factors suggest 1–2 Chronicles was written in the fifth century BC.The narrative of 1–2 Chronicles is a response to the needs of a formerly exiled Jewish people. In 586 BC the Babylonians conquered the southern kingdom of Judah and deported its people to Babylon (2 Kgs 25:1–30). In 539 BC the Persians conquered Babylon and by 538 BC, the Jewish exiles had permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. In this new context, the Jewish people retold the story of the Israelite nation. This allowed them to highlight positive examples and in doing so, encourage others to establish their lives based on what Yahweh intended.The Babylonians had conquered the kingdom of Judah between 605 and 586 BC. Within a generation, Babylonian power eroded because of its own internal decay (see Dan 5). Meanwhile, to the east, the Persian king Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC) established a new empire that united the Medes and the Persians. In October 539 BC, Babylon fell without resistance, and Cyrus’s empire extended westward to include Babylonia (see Dan 5:30–31).In keeping with his imperial policy, Cyrus provided for the Jewish exiles to return to Judea and establish a province around the city of Jerusalem. The story of this time is told in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah and by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. The new community faced many struggles as they rebuilt the Temple and later the wall of Jerusalem. The community thus experienced spiritual restoration, physical protection, and a measure of economic independence. Yet there was virtually no hope of political autonomy. The besieged community bore little resemblance to the former kingdom. The people needed a sense of purpose and hope.The community of Judah also suffered scorn, opposition, and humiliation from surrounding peoples. The people struggled to maintain their identity, faith, and way of life as social and political forces threatened to absorb them completely. The community needed answers concerning its purpose and its future.The people of Judah faced some profound questions at this time: How could they remain true to their ancestral faith while living under the permanent domination of an imperial power? How could a subordinate people be the people of God? What did the promise of the eternal throne of David mean under these circumstances? One answer, which found expression in later Greek and Roman times (among the “zealots” of the NT era), was a nationalist pressure to rebel and establish independence. Others, recognizing their situation as inescapable, were concerned with the conflict between the political demands of the empire and covenant faithfulness to God. The book of Chronicles was written to address these questions and concerns.The Purpose & Audience (Reasons for the letter)
The significance of God’s promise to David (ch 17) occupies the center of the Chronicler’s message. When David determined to build a house for God’s Ark of the Covenant, Nathan the prophet had a vision informing him that David had it backwards: David would not build a house for God, but God would build a house for David. This house would be a dynasty (17:10–14 // 2 Sam 7:11–14), and the eternal Kingdom of God would come about through David’s lineage. Psalm 2 expresses the importance of this promise; God held the nations in derision because they rejected his kingdom and thought that they could establish their own rule. They ignored the fact that God had already anointed his king on Mount Zion, a king who would shatter the nations and receive the earth (God’s world) as his inheritance. The Chronicler took this promise very seriously. The Kingdom of God would come through the promised son of David. The community around Jerusalem represented that promised kingdom, the hope of the future.The Chronicler had a double task. First, he needed to explain why the kingdom of David had failed. Second, he needed to establish that this small struggling state in the mighty Persian empire would become the kingdom that God had promised to David. The explanation for the failure of David’s kingdom begins with Saul’s failure: God rejected Saul as king over Israel because he was unfaithful. Saul did not obey God, and he violated the covenant to the extent of consulting a medium (10:13). Later kings repeated the essence of Saul’s failure: They rebelled against God’s covenant, and they sought security from foreign powers and pagan gods rather than from their Rock, the Lord (see Deut 32:4, 15–39).The faithful maintenance of communion with the covenant God in His temple would assure to [the congregation of Israel] the fulfillment of the gracious promises of the covenant, and how falling away into idolatry, on the contrary, would bring misfortune and destruction.
C. F. KEIL
1 & 2 Chronicles
“Unfaithfulness” is a key word in Chronicles; the Chronicler uses it repeatedly to document the reasons for judgment against the kings of Judah. The rationale for hope, on the other hand, comes from Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the Temple: “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land” (2 Chr 7:14). This promise reminds the people of the conditions necessary for restoration: humility, prayer, repentance, and healing.The book of 1 Chronicles establishes the necessary premises for restoration. The promise to David did not disappear during the Exile; the community that was reestablished in Jerusalem carried the promise. Even the division of the kingdom after Solomon’s reign had not put any of the tribes outside of Israel’s future. For the Chronicler, all the tribes were present in the restoration, including those of the northern kingdom (9:3). The Chronicler understood Israel as the people of faith, not as a political entity. Israel was not a sovereign nation in his day but a small ethnic province in the mighty empire of Persia. Yet he wanted to show that the unity established by David and Solomon had endured and that the promise made to David gave them hope for the future.Having resettled in Jerusalem after the exile, the people needed to reconnect with their identity as the people of God. Chronicles met this purpose by reminding them of their heritage and by directing them back to God’s presence in their midst as symbolized by the temple. The important ideas that 1 and 2 Chronicles emphasize are (1) a direct connection to God’s people in the past; (2) the continuity of the line of David on the throne of Judah; (3) the centrality of the temple and its rituals in focusing on God; (4) the importance of music in worshiping God; (5) the invincibility of God’s people when they obey him; and (6) the inevitability of punishment when God’s people disobey him.The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles convey several key themes. These include:GOD’S CONTROL OF HISTORY: God desires to dwell among his people in a perfect relationship of holiness in which he is God and the redeemed live as his people. The tabernacle and the temple symbolize that desire, a desire that was ultimately fulfilled through Jesus Christ—the Son of David. Chronicles shows how God worked from the time of Adam but particularly in the time of David through Ezra and Nehemiah to accomplish his desire to dwell in holiness with his people.THE COVENANT WITH DAVID: God chose David and his lineage to build his house. The final ruler in this lineage is the Son of David—the Messiah. Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem, but it is Jesus who is building and shall build to completion God’s true house. Christ is the one who will reign forever. His people are those of Israel and indeed of all nations who will put their trust in him.THE HOLY GOD IS TO BE WORSHIPED PROPERLY: The two books of Chronicles show us that the God who dwells in holiness must be approached according to the law that God gave to Moses. David, in seeking to unite his people around the presence of God, learned that God must be sought in the proper way. Worship by way of the altar of sacrifice as ministered by the Levitical priesthood was important, and the place of the altar of sacrifice was to be in Jerusalem at the threshing floor of Ornan (aka Araunah). There David erected the altar and Solomon built the temple according to God’s directions.THE HOUSE OF GOD: The books of Chronicles intended to encourage God’s people to work together with God and with one another to build God’s house. The people were challenged through these books to go up to Jerusalem to build God’s house. Chronicles reminds the people of God’s history of faithfulness to his people and to his house. God promised that he would bless their obedience to this challenge.CONTRIBUTION TO THE BIBLEChronicles brings together many dimensions of biblical revelation, such as historical events (as recounted in Genesis through Kings), temple ritual (as prescribed in Leviticus), sin and judgment (as preached by the prophets), and even some psalms. Because a recurring theme is that God will always accept people who return to him no matter how wicked they may have been, it has been called, perhaps a little whimsically, “The Gospel According to Ezra.” The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles give us the big picture of OT history, capturing the Davidic covenant in light of Israel’s history back to Adam and pointing to the eternal continuation of that covenant through the reign of the Messiah.Key Verses (ESV)
1 Chronicles 11:1–2: "Then all Israel gathered together to David at Hebron and said, 'Behold, we are your bone and flesh. In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord your God said to you, "You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over my people Israel."'" 1 Chronicles 21:13: "Then David said to Gad, 'I am in great distress. Let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.'"1 Chronicles 29:11: "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all."Structure & Outline 1
The narrative of 1–2 Chronicles can be divided into three major sections. The first section (1 Chr 1–9) includes genealogies and information about people and groups listed in the genealogies. The second section (which straddles both books: 1 Chr 10–2 Chr 9) addresses the united monarchy under David and Solomon. The text says little about King Saul; it simply reports his death in 1 Chronicles 10 to set the stage for David’s reign—the focus throughout the rest of 1 Chronicles. Starting with 1 Chronicles 22, the book focuses on David’s preparations for the Jerusalem temple: His instructions to his son Solomon for building it; his organization of priests and musicians; and his directions about temple worship and sacrifices. First Chronicles ends with David’s death, but the narrative of the united monarchy continues in 2 Chronicles, opening with the start of Solomon’s reign and concluding with his death at the end of 2 Chronicles 9. The third major section of Chronicles (2 Chr 10–36) focuses on the kings of Judah, the southern kingdom, during the divided monarchy.Outline • Genealogy from Adam to Saul (1:1–9:44) • David’s reign (10:1–29:30)Outline 2
This book consists of 29 chapters and includes three main sections. The first section records the genealogy of the Jewish people from Adam to those living in Jerusalem near the time of the book's writing (1 Chronicles 1—9). It starts with the family history of God's people from the first man, Adam, to the time just before the reign of King David (1 Chronicles 1—2). Chapter 3 then lists Jewish genealogy from David to the Babylonian captivity. Chapters 4—9 include a family list of the 12 tribes, with most of chapter 9 focusing on those living in Jerusalem following the return from Babylonian exile. The second section emphasizes David's coming to power and his reign (1 Chronicles 9:35—12:40). Beginning with Saul's life and the death of Saul and his sons (1 Chronicles 9:35—10:14), the book records David's anointing (1 Chronicles 11:1¬–3), his conquest of Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 11:4–9), and his list of mighty men (1 Chronicles 11:10—12:40).The third section of 1 Chronicles emphasizes the reign of David and the transition of royal power to his son Solomon (1 Chronicles 13—29). Great importance is placed on the ark of the covenant's relocation to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 13—16), as well as the Davidic covenant (1 Chronicles 17). Various military battles are then mentioned (1 Chronicles 18—21) followed by the many preparations David took for the Lord's temple in Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 22—29). The book ends with a transition of royal power from David to his son Solomon (1 Chronicles 29:21–30).